Shipping Out - March 2 - 4, 2009

You’ve heard everyone talk about Halo Wars and maybe you’ve even played the demo but this week you’ll be able to go to GameStop or Best Buy or wherever the hell it is you buy games, and pick up a copy. No more second hand accounts for you, my friend. Another strategy game, Empire: Total War, hits the PC this week as well - along with a fancy collector’s edition for those that have extra money during these hard, hard times.

Also out this week of general importance three new baseball games for various platforms, Tom Clancy’s HAWX, Tomb Raider Underworld for the PS2 (which I suspect will sell better than other platforms) several SpongeBob games (you know, for the kids), Sonic and the Black Knight and the promising Phantasy Star Portable. The whole list of releases this week can be found below:

March 2:
Monster Band - DS

March 3:
Halo Wars - Xbox 360
Empire: Total War - PC
Phantasy Star Portable - PSP
Major League Baseball 2K9 - Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, PS3
MLB 09: The Show - PSP, PS2, PS3
MLB 2K9 Fantasy All-Stars - DS
Tom Clancy’s HAWX - Xbox 360, PS3
Tomb Raider: Underworld - PS2
Sonic and the Black Knight - wii
We Ski & Snowboard - Wii
SpongeBob vs. The Big One: Beach Party Cook-Off - DS
Spongebob: Happy Squared Pack - PS2
Brain Challenge Deluxe - PS3
Littlest Pet Shop: Spring - DS
SBK: Superbike World Championship - PS3
Six Flags Fun Park - Wii
The King of Fighters ‘98 Ultimate Match - PS2, Xbox 360
Action Pack-Armed Forces/Terrorist - PC

March 4:
Grey’s Anatomy - DS, PS3, Wii

WGA Videogame Writing Nominees Announced

After people complained about Dead Head Fred winning last year’s award (the reason being that the nominated game in question had to feature writing from a member), it looks like the Writers Guild Association is trying to redeem itself this year. The organization announced this year’s nominees, which includes an excellent indie game from Mouschief. See this year’s nominees after the break.

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Tomb Raider Underworld UK Review Pressure?

Sometimes, when review scores look like they are going to be very bad for a game, instead of trying to control the message, publishers may try to control the timing. That is apparently the case with Tomb Raider Underworld reviews going live in the United Kingdom. John Keefer wrote an article about this in Sept. (see From the Pulpit: Are Embargoes Really Necessary? ) , and stories like this only further the need to examine the use of embargoes.

The first hint that this was happening came from a twitter post from Gamespot UK journalist Guy Cocker, who said that Eidos’ UK PR representatives had asked journalists to not post a review if the score was below 8.0.

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EA Mobile Taps Eidos

Eidos and EA Mobile are teaming to bring some of its popular franchises to mobile devices, starting with the irrepressible Lara Croft and some casual game properties. The initial result of this agreement will be four titles Tomb Raider Underworld, Just Cause 2, California Games X and Minesweeper, with an option to create more games for up to a three year period.

EA Mobile did not disclose when these games will be released, but we will keep you posted, as always.

The Face of Tomb Raider Underworld

Angelina Jolie? Who the hell is that? Meet the new face of Lara Croft: world-class gymnast Alison Carroll. Alison will not be starring in any half-assed movies though, thank god. She will serve as the real world face of protagonist Lara Croft in a worldwide promotional tour for the upcoming game Tomb Raider Underworld.

Eidos says that Alison captures the essential characteristics at the core of Lara Croft’s personality — brawn, brains and beauty. Eidos feels that she also captures the athleticism of Lara in the latest game, which makes sense given her own ultra awesome skills as a gymnast.

Tomb Raider: Underworld launches November 2008 and is co-published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment in North America.

Tomb Raider: Underworld Screens

Screens from Lara Croft’s newest adventure from Eidos.

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Tomb Raider: Underworld Dated

From E3 today Eidos announced that its latest Lara Croft adventure will be released November 18th. The game will be released simultaneously for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, DS, and PC. With development led by Crystal Dynamics, Underworld takes players on an adventure designed specifically for next generation consoles featuring an all new storyline a refined game world and a brand new storyline..

We’ll have a full preview of the game shortly, so keep your eyes on our E3 Hub.