Release This: 'Ultimate Saints 'n Tingle'

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. Publishers team up to empty the wallets of gamers across the United States this week, as the region is set to see several major releases in the next few days. Some of these big names include Star Fox Command, Disgaea 2, Ultimate Ghosts'n Goblins, and Saints Row, among many other notable titles. Europe and Japan are hard-pressed to compete with such a strong release list, but still manage to impress with games like Gangs of London, Phantasy Star Universe, Guitar Freaks & Drummania: Masterpiece Silver, and Mogitate Tingle no Bara Iro Rupee Land. The following list covers all of the game software we know to be available -- across all platforms and regions -- for the week ending September 2, 2006. Games Released in the United States:

The United States will soon enjoy one of the biggest weeks of new releases in recent memory, with several major titles encompassing many genres making their debut this week. The Xbox 360 in particular has a good variety of games on the horizon, with Bomberman Act: Zero providing a dystopian future-fied take on the classic Bomberman formula, and the highly anticipated Saints Row promising the first Grand Theft Auto-style experience on Microsoft's console. RPG fans, on the other hand, have both Enchanted Arms and the Xenosaga series finale Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra to look forward to, as well as the more strategy-oriented Disgaea 2. All told, this week's RPG releases add up to approximately ten solid years of gameplay. Have fun, guys. Also seeing release is Capcom's Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins for the PSP, a new entry in the infamously difficult Ghosts 'n Goblins series of sidescrolling platformers. The series has remained dormant since the release of Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991, but Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins is said to be just as challenging as its predecessors, if not more so. Games Released in Europe:

Europe is no slouch when it comes to new releases, either, with Saints Row seeing release in the region a few days after it makes its debut in the United States, along with a good number of other games spanning various platforms. One of the more notable titles of the week is Gangs of London, a PSP release that will remain a European exclusive until it sees American soil in October. Developed by the same team responsible for The Getaway series on the PlayStation 2, Gangs of London looks to offer similar action and free-roaming gameplay, along with a variety of minigames. Gangs of London also somewhat inexplicably features a mode that has players fighting off an army of zombies -- an odd but very welcome addition that could be of benefit to just about any title. Games Released in Japan:

Japan's list this week is strong enough to rival that of the United States, with many popular titles seeing release in the next several days. The release of Nintendo's Mogitate Tingle no Bara Iro Rupee Land is of particular significance to The Legend of Zelda fans, as the spin-off title is an RPG starring the Zelda series' infamous supporting character Tingle. Nintendo Power is currently surveying its readers to gauge interest in a possible U.S. release, though given Tingle's surprising unpopularity among many American gamers, this doesn't seem too likely. On the online front is Daikoukai Jidai Online: La Frontera, a PC update to the classic strategy series released in the United States as Uncharted Waters. Phantasy Star Universe is also scheduled to make its multiplatform debut this week, and promises an action-oriented MMORPG experience much in the same vein of Phantasy Star Online Episodes 1 and 2. This week's release of Guitar Freaks & DrumMania: Masterpiece Silver is a fan-driven compilation of songs from the many previous arcade versions of Guitar Freaks and DrumMania that never saw console release. Featuring the ability for up to three players to play at a time -- two on guitar, one on drums -- Masterpiece Silver is the game Bemani fans have waited years for, but was never thought to become a reality due to Konami's discontinuation of home ports for both Guitar Freaks and DrumMania in 2001. Konami's recent patenting of the name "Guitar Revolution" implies that a localized version of Guitar Freaks is in the cards for future U.S. release. It remains to be seen whether DrumMania will follow suit.