Release This: The Last Story, Darksiders II debut stateside

Gamasutra's regular round-up of worldwide video game releases, "Release This!", takes a look at every game title we know to be shipping to stores this week, in a custom compiled list. This week brings The Last Story, Sleeping Dogs, and Darksiders II to North America, while New Super Mario Bros. 2 is set to premiere in Europe. The following list covers all of the game software we know to be available -- across all platforms and regions -- for the week ending August 18th, 2012. Games Released in the United States: Mistwalker and AQ Interactive's Nintendo Wii RPG The Last Story makes its long-awaited North American debut this week. Directed by Final Fantasy series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, The Last Story (along with fellow Wii standout Xenoblade) was a featured title in the fan-driven "Operation Rainfall" localization campaign launched last year. Other big-name titles hitting store shelves in the coming days include Vigil Games' Zelda-like action-adventure sequel Darksiders II and United Front Games' open-world third-person action game Sleeping Dogs (previously titled True Crime: Hong Kong during development). A pair of high-profile digital releases will also launch this week. PlayStation 3 owners can expect to see Sony's Pub Fund-supported adventure game Papa & Yo, while Microsoft wraps up its Summer of Arcade promotion on the Xbox 360 with Humble Hearts' side-scrolling action-RPG Dust: An Elysian Tail. Nintendo Wii: - The Last Story Xbox 360: - Darksiders II - Dust: An Elysian Tail (Xbox Live Arcade) - Sleeping Dogs PlayStation 3: - Darksiders II - Papo & Yo (PlayStation Network) - Sleeping Dogs PC: - Drip Drip - Hero Academy - Sleeping Dogs Games Released in Europe: Nintendo's 3DS platformer New Super Mario Bros. 2 gets an early release this week in Europe, where it will arrive two days in advance of its scheduled North American debut. Xbox 360: - Dust: An Elysian Tail (Xbox Live Arcade) - Sleeping Dogs PlayStation 3: - Sleeping Dogs Nintendo 3DS: - New Super Mario Bros. 2 PC: - Ageod’s Military Strategies 2 - Krater: Shadows over Solside - Sleeping Dogs Games Released in Japan: Mastiff's PlayStation Move-enhanced shooter Heavy Fire: Afghanistan and a new retail package for Capcom's MMORPG Monster Hunter Frontier Online headline a sparse release week in Japan. Xbox 360: - Dust: An Elysian Tail (Xbox Live Arcade) - Monster Hunter Frontier Online Anniversary 2012 Premium Package PlayStation 3: - Heavy Fire: Afghanistan PC: - Monster Hunter Frontier Online Anniversary 2012 Premium Package