This week's releases

I'm excited about a few of this week's game releases, as (after a bit of a lull), the holiday game season starts in earnest.

You can get full lists of the games at places like GameSpot.com or Kotaku, but here are a few to watch:

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (360, PC, PS3) -- The sequel to a mondo game is a mondo game of its own, and the biggest of the week -- if not the year. We play every Monday and Wednesday nights.
  
  
• Phantasy Star Zero (NDS) -- As an RPG franchise, I really dig Phantasy Star, and Zero looks to rock the Nintendo DS. At around 20 hours of story / gameplay per character (and three characters), this game'll likely take up residence in my handheld, now that I'm finally wrapping up Chrono Trigger.
  
  
• Dreamkiller (360) -- I'm unabashedly a Painkiller fan (on the PC). Dreamkiller looks to be a spiritual successor to that game (complete with eastern European dev team), with a creepy, supernatural hook (psychiatrist goes into crazy's heads, a la an FPS trope, and ... erm ... cures them). Works for me!
  
  
• Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans (NDS) -- Dunno if this one will work. I still keep trying to finish Dragon Ball: Origins, but the freaking 10-minute, non-skippable intro pisses me off, so I play it rarely. Still, I'm a franchise fan.
  
  
• Dragon Ball: Raging Blast (PS3, 360) -- I think DBZ: Burst Limit was really under-rated, and if you played this demo on XBL recently, you may agree that this frenetic 3D fighter might be the next Saiyan evolution. Or, you may not. But you're probably wrong.
  
  
• Final Fantasy XI: Ultimate Collection (360, PC) -- Granted, on the PC it's the "Vana'diel Collection 2010" ('cause that'll get you the ladies), but whatever. It's the MMO version of the FF universe, and while it's been patchily received, this rendition will have the base game, all four expansions, and all three add-on scenarios -- all for less than twenty bucks.
  
  
• Braid (PS3) -- If you missed this solid little indie title on XBLA, then PC, now's your chance on PSN. It's a fun, hearty little platformer that does a better job than some full-box titles. Sure, it might be a little over-rated. But genuinely good games are.
  
  
• WorldShift (PC) -- Pretty sure this title, from Crytek-purchased Black Sea Studios, is actually powered by Gamebryo tech, since development was fairly far along before the acquisition. It's a good-looking RTS / RPG online / offline hybrid.
  
  
• Rogue Trooper: Quartz Zone Massacre (Wii) -- OK, this one actually came out way earlier this year, but seeing it inadvertently included one someone's list for this week gives me an excuse to tout it again. I so liked this PS2/PC/original Xbox game, and gushed over it. Twice. Now, with my yearnings for a next-gen update, I kind of got my wish, as it's as it's polished and available for the now-gen Wii. No new content, per se, but if you missed it the first time, find an inexpensive copy. Go nuts.

That's it for this week. Next week, it's New Super Mario Bros. time!