Big Releases for the Week of September 11th, 2006: Mario Hoops 3-on-3, Lego Star Wars II, Rule of Rose, Mega Man ZX

More big name titles are hitting your home consoles with a righteous fury this week. Almost every single platform in the world is seeing a version of Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy from Traveler’s Tales. The first Lego Star Wars became one of the single best selling games of this console generation after its release last year and the sequel promises more of the same engaging all-ages gameplay and goofy humor on top of some extensive character creation modes. The biggest and best difference between the original game and the sequel is that this time players get to experience the world of the first Star Wars Trilogy (episodes 4 through 6 for you nerds out there). Put politely, this game’s based on the movies that don’t suck nerf herder.

Rule of Rose from Atlus is something of an anomaly on shelves this week. A horror title about a cult of adolescent girls and their cruel initiation rights for a new recruit is the type of game that usually never makes it outside of Japan let alone on a home console at all. Rule of Rose features some classically styled survival-horror gameplay, a killer soundtrack, and some of the creepiest art direction outside of Silent Hill. Gamers looking for something different would do well to check it out.

The DS gets two hot titles this week. Square-Enix developed Mario Hoops 3-on-3 got rave reviews after its release in Japan this past summer. The game has the arcade-style speed and ease that is the trade mark of Mario’s sports titles and gives players a special treat featuring Mario franchise characters alongside Final Fantasy staples like Mog and Cactuar. Capcom’s Mega Man ZX is the latest spin-off series starring the Blue Bomber. Old-school 2D goodness abounds with much shooting, much platforming, and steep difficulty to be had. The big addition to the series here is the seamless world in the style of Metroid and latter-day Castlevania.