Game releases: Week of September 6, 2009

September 8, 1:38 AMLA Console Game ExaminerAsh Paulsen

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Box art for Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Wii).

Because it can be difficult to keep track of the plethora of games that are released every day, I am publishing a weekly column where I lay out the coming week's notable (and not so notable) game releases for you, so you know exactly what's coming out and when.

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After an unexpectedly long hiatus caused by moving into a new apartment, I'm back! I'm starting with my usual update on the week's game releases, which is pretty much characterized this week by a couple of big-name multiplatform releases -- DiRT 2 on Tuesday and The Beatles: Rock Band on Wednesday -- and one highly-anticipated, high-profile Wii title (imagine!), Vanillaware's Muramasa: The Demon Blade. But if none of the above tickle your fancy, don't fret -- truthfully, there's a little something for almost everyone this week. For you PS3 owners who somehow haven't gotten around to owning LittleBigPlanet, you no longer have an excuse, as the Game of the Year Edition drops this week. Those of you who fancy playing your favorite JRPG franchises on your PSP (and have somehow already finished Dissidia: Final Fantasy), heads up: a remixed port of Disgaea 2, subtitled Dark Hero Days, is headed your way on Tuesday. Finally, retro games -- and new games that look and/or play like retro games -- are all the rage this week, as sh'mup Raiden IV hits the Xbox 360, an Achievement-equipped version of Sonic & Knuckles hits Xbox Live Arcade, and Contra Rebirth -- an original (and still tough-as-nails) Contra title designed to look and feel like the Super NES' Contra III: The Alien Wars -- graces Nintendo's WiiWare downloadable title service. All in all, it's a pretty full week for game releases, with a lot more good stuff yet to come throughout the rest of September -- and August has already played host to several high-quality releases! I already know I won't have time to play everything I'm looking forward to...

Monday, September 7

Clubhouse Games Express: Family Favorites (DS)

ColorZ (WiiWare)

Contra Rebirth (WiiWare)

Tuesday, September 8

Ant Nation (DS)

Arcade Zone (Wii)

Darkest of Days (360)

DiRT 2 (360, DS, PS3, PSP, Wii)

Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days (PSP)

IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey (360, PS3)

Imagine: Detective (DS)

Jump Start Pet Rescue (Wii)

LittleBigPlanet: Game of the Year Edition (PS3)

Mini Ninjas (360, DS, PS3, Wii)

Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Wii)

Qubed (360)

Raiden IV (360)

Raiden IV - Limited Edition (360)

Trine (PS3)

Wednesday, September 9

The Beatles: Rock Band (360, PS3, Wii)

The Beatles: Rock Band - Special Edition Bundle (360, PS3, Wii)

Sonic & Knuckles (Xbox Live Arcade)

Friday, September 11

My Virtual Tutor: Reading First to Second Grade (DS)

My Virtual Tutor: Reading Kindergarten to First (DS)

My Virtual Tutor: Reading Pre-K to Kindergarten (DS)

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All release dates are subject to last-minute changes, and are gathered by way of GameFAQs, a site that I have long found to be a reliable source for release dates (among other things).

Also keep in mind that all listed release dates are for a game's ship date; games are not usually available on store shelves until the following day (although there are rare exceptions where the game is available on the same day).