Welcome back to the GearGames weekly video game release feature here at Gear Diary! While one would think that the release of the first ‘no local media’ game system this week (i.e. the PSP Go!) would be huge news, my scan of the Sunday papers showed it as a side note in a few stores and not mentioned at all in most. Well, Sony seems to have corralled some folks into supporting the release, as we have a (for the PSP) huge list of games including the much-awaited Gran Turismo. I’ll have a review on that later this week, along with a first look at the PSP Go!

The game I featured this week is the PC game Risen (the XBOX360 version is delayed). This is from the makers of the classic Gothic series of games, and early looks at the game are very positive. Since Gothic 2 is one of my favorite all-time games, I am highly anticipating digging deep into this 80+ hour game.

There is another big game – Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days for the DS, but the early buzz from the folks I respect at RPGamer isn’t so positive, which will keep me away until I find a good sale. There are actually plenty of solid releases I haven’t mentioned, so check out the list!

• Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 2010

• Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2
• Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 2010

• Dead Space Extraction
• Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 2010
• MySims Agents
• Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga

• No new releases

• Gran Turismo
• Beaterator
• MotorStorm Arctic Edge
• Undead Knights
• Obscure: The Aftermath

• Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
• Battle of Giants – Dragons
• MySims Agents
• The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road

• Risen
• Elven Legacy: Ranger

Some notes from last week:

• Halo 3: ODST

- Pretty much just a $60 expansion taht will sell way more than it deserves based solely on the name. Those who buy it, though, will have fun as it is a solid if unremarkable release.

• Katamari Forever

- If you would like to replay what you’ve already played but now on the PS3 … this is the game for you.

• Zombie Apocalypse

- Too repetitive to even recommend as a cheap XBLA multiplayer romp.

• Shin Megami Tensei: Persona

- Very mixed opinions – the original game is a classic, but has this seen enough updating to be worthwhile? The jury is still out, and I’ve not played enough to decide.

• Aion: Tower of Eternity

- Still too early to judge this online multiplayer game, but so far it looks like fun for those who give it a shot.

• Order of War

- Solid and fun RTS … and not much more.

What games am I playing now?:

• PC: Red Faction Guerrilla – still havign fun breaking everything in sight.
• PC: Hearts of Iron III – as I keep learning, this gets better and better. Steep learning curve!
• PC: Majesty 2 – this is very enjoyable, not my normal fare, but I am having a blast.
• PSP: Gran Turismo – lots of fun, but the lack of a career mode is really bogging me down. But each car feels very different, which is nice.
• PSP: Disgaea 2 – d00d! So much fun! This strategy-RPG is right there at the top of the genre on the PSP.

So what are you playing? Chime in below!

Enjoy gaming!

Scribblenauts image courtesy of VGBoxArt