Release This: 360 Does Guitar Hero II, Wii Gets Rival Swords

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 an exclusively compiled list. The enhanced Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II is set to warm amps and melt faces in the United States and Europe this week, while anticipated titles like Prince of Persia: Rival Swords and Enchanted Arms prepare to fight for their share of attention on store shelves. Japan, meanwhile, has an influx of brain trainers and baseball sims on the horizon, along with awaited licensed fare such as Naruto Shippuuden: Narutimate Accel and Kidou Senshi Gundam Seed: Rengou vs. Z.A.F.T. Portable. The following list covers all of the game software we know to be available -- across all platforms and regions -- for the week ending April 7, 2007. Games Released in the United States:

The coming week will bring a host of enhanced and upgraded ports to several platforms in the United States, with the new Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II currently generating the greatest amount of awareness and purchase intent among all debuting software. One of last year's biggest-selling PlayStation 2 titles, Guitar Hero II is expected to have a significant following on the Xbox 360 as well, with the allure of new songs and downloadable content being prime motivators for series fans to pick up the new guitar controller-bundled package at its retail price of $89.99. The PlayStation 3 port of former Xbox 360-exclusive RPG Enchanted Arms is also meeting with high amounts of anticipation in the days leading up to its release, and both the Wii and PSP versions of The Two Thrones-based Prince of Persia: Rival Swords are making a big impression as well. Next week will feature a considerably slimmer lineup compared to this week's offerings, however, with the Wii's Super Paper Mario facing little competition from upcoming software on any platform. The rest of April will likely be similarly sparse in terms of new U.S. releases, though things are expected to heat up again at the end of the month with the release of Pokemon Diamond Version and Pokemon Pearl Version for the Nintendo DS. Games Released in Europe:

Guitar Hero II and Prince of Persia: Rival Swords will see near-simultaneous release in the United States and the UK this week, with both titles expected to meet with similar success in both regions. European gamers will also enjoy an Xbox 360 port of Rayman Raving Rabbids several weeks in advance of its scheduled U.S. release, while a selection of region-exclusive PC titles round out the week with intriguing variety. Games Released in Japan:

The coming days feature little for gamers in Japan to get excited about, with the anime-licensed Naruto Shippuuden: Narutimate Accel and Kidou Senshi Gundam Seed: Rengou vs. Z.A.F.T. Portable starring as the most anticipated titles among this week's meager offerings. Baseball sims and brain training software make up the bulk of the remainder of this week's Japanese release list, and next week will likely offer more of the same. [About IGN GamerMetrics: IGN GamerMetrics is an interactive tool designed to report the real-time behavior and interests of visitors to IGN Entertainment's network of gaming enthusiast web sites. Using data collected from IGN's readers, GamerMetrics shows the levels of consumer awareness, engagement, and purchase intent in every video game title released in the U.S. market.]