Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Weekly video game releases: 'Kingdom Hearts: Recoded,' 'DC Universe Online,' 'LittleBigPlanet 2'

Relaxnews
Wednesday 05 January 2011 01:00 GMT
Comments

Amid growing excitement for the Nintendo 3DS, Kingdom Hearts: Recoded and Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective arrive on its predecessor, the Nintendo DS. Sony launches DC Universe Online for PC and PlayStation 3, a massively multiplayer game starring some of the comic book world's most recognizable heroes and villains, while further away are LittleBigPlanet 2 and the PlayStation 3 version of Mass Effect 2.

Kingdom Hearts: Recoded (DS)
Release: North America, January 11. Europe, January 14.
Age rating: Everyone 10+ / 12+

Continuing the Disney / Square Enix crossover from Kingdom Hearts II on the PlayStation 2, Recoded stars Mickey Mouse, Jiminy Cricket, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Malificent, Sleeping Beauty's wicked fairy.
Price: $34/€34/£29
http://kingdomheartsrecoded.com/

DC Universe Online (PC, PlayStation 3)
Release: North America, January 11. Europe, January 14.
Age rating: Teen / 16+

Sony follows up on its massively multiplayer online games EverQuest II and Free Realms by looking to dethrone the City of Heroes & Villains series. This adventure stars Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Lex Luthor, and a whole host of heroes and villains from the DC Comics stable.
Price: $49 / €49 (PC), $59 / €59 (PS3), subcription $15 / €13 per month
http://www.dcuniverseonline.com

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (DS)
Release: North America, January 11. Europe, January 14
Age rating: Teen / 12+

From the creator of the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney series, dead man Sissel has the chance to use his ghostly powers to help young detective Lynne and stop more mysterious murders - including her own - from occurring.
Price: $29 / €39 / £29
http://www.capcom-unity.com/ghost_trick

Plants vs Zombies (DS)
Release: North America, January 18.
Age rating: Everyone 10+

Popcap's simplified tower defense game, made most famous by its iPhone version. Extra mini-games, customizable zombies, and a 2-player mode attempt to justify the increase in price as compared to the $2.99 (€2.39/£1.79) iOS favorite.
Price: $19
http://www.popcap.com/extras/pvz

LittleBigPlanet 2 (PS3)
Release: North America, January 18. Europe, January 19 (UK, January 21).
Age rating: Everyone / 7+

The first LittleBigPlanet was known just as much for its cute sackboy and sackgirl characters as for the multitude of free levels created and shared by its players. LBP2 builds on that and this time players can make all kinds of games: racing, flying, shooting and action-packed puzzles for starters.
Price: $59 / €69 / £49
Collector's Edition: $79 / €79
http://www.littlebigplanet.com/2

Mass Effect 2 (PS3)
Release: North America, January 18. Europe, January 21.
Age rating: Mature / 18+

Already available on Xbox 360 and PC, this version of the award winning sci-fi adventure Mass Effect 2 for PlayStation 3 is built using tech from late 2011's Mass Effect 3.
Price: $59 / €59 / £49
http://masseffect.bioware.com

Due for release during the week of January 25 are the greatly improved role-playing sequel Two Worlds II (Xbox 360, PC, Mac - already out in mainland Europe) and sci-fi survival horror Dead Space 2 (Xbox 360, PC, PlayStation 3). Downloadable Xbox 360 game Breach is slated for a January release via Xbox Live.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in