WHATS NEW September 12th 08

After a big hitting week of new releases

last week

, things are a little calmer this Friday, though there’s still something for owners of any of the next-gen consoles, as well as a couple of treats for portable console owners.

The long-awaited PS3, Wii and PS2 versions of EA’s all-conquering Rock Band finally make their European debuts this week – arrivals that are sure to propel Harmonix’s title back into the higher echelons of the charts.

Koei’s Opoona will have been on the radar of a lot of Wii owners for quite some time. With RPG offerings a little thin on the ground on the console at present, Koei’s title is certainly an interesting offering, and undoubtedly one that fans of the genre will be anticipating.

Another title of interest is Midway’s TNA Impact, an interesting alternative to THQ’s established WWE franchise.

Also on the RPG theme, Square Enix’s Dragon Quest IV remake, Chapters of the Chosen, looks to be another fine addition to the DS’s extensive RPG library – and a long-awaited one seeing as the original 1990 NES release never made it to Europe.

Other titles likely to do well this week include EA’s latest ice hockey outing NHL 09 for Xbox 360 and PS3 and Rising Star’s curious outing from developer Irem, R-Type: Tactics.

Full Release Schedule for September 12th (taken from MCV’s constantly updated online release schedule):

Rock Band (EA) – (PS3, Wii, PS2)
Opoona (Koei) – Wii
Dragon Quest: The Chapters of the Chosen (Square Enix) – DS
TNA Impact (Midway) – (PS3, 360, Wii, PS2)
NHL 09 (EA) – (360, PS3)
R-Type Tactics (Rising Star Games) – PSP

Pimp My Ride (Activision) – Wii

12 (Phoenix) – DS
Bakushow (Rising Star Games) – DS
Love Hearts (Phoenix) – DS
My Animal Centre (Deep Silver) – DS
Subbuteo (505 Games) – DS
Valentines Day (Phoenix) – DS

7.62 (505 Games) – PC
Classic Car Racing (505 Games) – PC
Colin McRae Rally 2005 (Mastertronic) – PC
Scrabble Interactive 2007 Edition (Focus) – PC
The Tomorrow War (505 Games) – PC
Juiced 2 Hot Import Nights (Focus) – PC
Bookworm Adventures (Focus) – PC
Catz 2 (Focus) – PC
Dogz 2 (Focus) – PC
Imagine Pet Vet at the Zoo (Focus) – PC
Imagine Pet Vet in Australia (Focus) – PC
Telly Addicts (Focus) – PC
Crazy Chicken Atlantis (Focus) – PC
Crazy Chicken Kart Thunder (Focus) – PC
Cars Mater-National (Focus) – PC
Disney Pixar Ratatouille (Focus) – PC
Total Overdose (Mastertronic) – PC
Championship Manager 2006 (Mastertronic) – PC
Tropico 2: Pirate Cove (Mastertronic) – PC

Sea Monsters (Zoo Digital) – PS2