Weekly video game releases: 'Assassin's Creed II', 'Left 4 Dead 2', 'Lego Indiana Jones 2'

(All rights reserved - Ubisoft)

A week of sequels starting on Monday, November 15: Historical subterfuge in 'Assassin's Creed II', the zombie apocalypse continues in 'Left 4 Dead 2', calories burn in 'EA Sports: More Workouts', small Lego people meet big screen action in 'Lego Indiana Jones 2', 'LittleBigPlanet' gets littler and better on PSP, the 'God Of War Collection' gets a makeover on PS3, and 'New Super Mario Brothers' leaps onto Wii.

Assassin's Creed II (360 PC PS3)
Release: North America, November 17. Europe, November 19.
Just as in 2007's Assassin's Creed, the second main title in the series sees bartender Desmond Miles discover his ancestry by means of the Abstergo corporation and their enforced memory reclamation experiments. ACII promises the same free roaming, building climbing, gorgeous panoramas and adrenaline-fuelled action sequences as the story moves from the Medieval crusades to Renaissance Italy. Desmond, his captors, and his ancestor Eizo hunt down a powerful ancient artifact in a gameworld filled with historical figures. Bonus content is available in the region-specific limited editions.
Price: $59.99 / €69.99 (360 PS3), $49.99 / €49.99 (PC)
Black Limited Edition: €89.99 (360 PS3), €69.99 (PC)
White Limited Edition: €74.99 (360 PS3), €59.99 (PC)
Master Assassin's Edition: $79.99 (360 PS3)
Companion titles also available:
Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines (PSP, $39.99 / €39.99)
Assassin's Creed II: Discovery (DS, $29.99 / €39.99)
Assassin's Creed: Lineage (short film, youtube.com/user/assassinscreedUK)

EA Sports Active: More Workouts (Wii)
Release: North America, November 17. Europe, November 19.
Electronic Arts' Sports Active platform emerged as a harder, tougher rival to Nintendo's comparatively gentle Wii Fit. Reviewers rated it just as highly as Wii Fit, it supports use of the Wii's Balance Board but focuses on resistance training and weight loss exercise rather than stretching and flexibility, emphasizing the use of a resistance band and leg strap. More Workouts includes the game disc only, other accessories are available separately.
Price: $39.99 / €39.95

God of War Collection (PS3)
Release: North America, November 17.
Not strictly a new game, but notable for the enthusiasm generated amongst fans of the series, the God of War Collection for Playstation 3 is a remastering of the first two games in the series that were released for the Playstation 2, with high definition graphics and various other visual improvements that take advantage of the PS3's grunt. The storyline is that of mysterious warrior Kratos who embarks on a brutal revenge quest against the gods and monsters of Greek mythology; the action is unrelenting.
Price: $39.99

Left 4 Dead 2 (360 PC)
Release: North America, November 17. Europe, November 19.
Initially, the developers of 2008's hit zombie survival game Left 4 Dead had promised a raft of downloadable add-on content, but went back to the drawing board with ideas that demanded a total overhaul rather than incremental updates. Left 4 Dead 2 takes the best of the first game - tight teamwork, zombie movie tropes, frenetic action - and ups the stakes with new game modes, close combat, ingenious survivalist techniques and tools for surviving the ongoing zombie apocalypse.
Price: $59.95 / €64.95 (360), $49.95 / €49.95 (PC)

Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues (360 DS PC PS3 PSP Wii)
Release: North America, November 17. Europe, November 19.
This is both a continuation of and an alternative take on the first Lego Indiana Jones. Indy and friends make their way across the first three films in the series - though entirely different parts than those featured in the first game - added to which is the fourth and most recent film, split-screen two-player mode, and an all-new level creator.
Price: $49.99 / €59.95 (360 PS3 Wii), $29.99 / €29.95 (DS PC PSP)

LittleBigPlanet (PSP)
Release: North America, November 17. Europe, November 20.
Little Big Planet was becoming one of the PlayStation 3's big hits this time last year, and is still going strong with its lovable characters, active community, and growing number of fun and inspiring player-created levels. The PSP version is in some ways stripped down in order to accommodate the handheld's hardware: it's lost the PS3's multiplayer mode, but many level-creating features have been tweaked and improved, ensuring PSP owners can play, create and share in the same joyous manner as their PS3-owning counterparts have done. Excellent.
Price: $39.99 / €39.99

New Super Mario Bros Wii (Wii)
Release: North America, November 15. Europe, November 20. Japan, December 3.
Mario and friends once more set about rescuing Princess Peach from the evil (or at least severely misunderstood) Bowser. The difference this time is that up to four players can scramble, jump, slide and float together from level to level. NSMBW exhibits a sort of competitive co-operation as players rush for bonus items, propeller hats, penguin suits and dinosaurs, saving each other from (or shoving each other into) perilous falls. Those struggling to get through the game in solo mode can benefit from a Super Guide mode that chaperones the player through any difficult sections.
Price: $49.99 / €49.99 / ¥5800

Bit.Trip VOID (Wii)
Release: North America, November 23. Europe, TBC.
The latest in the Bit.Trip series from Gaijin Games once again teaches an old dog new tricks in the now characteristic pixelated Bit.Trip beauty, this time invoking memories of the much-loved SpyHunter and Rez in a positive early review at gaming site Destructoid. Bit.Trip VOID will be downloadable via the Wii's online Wii Shop.
Price: estimated 600 Wii Points ($6 / €6)

Tekken 6 (PSP)
Release: North America, November 24.
Tekken 6 (or to be precise, the update of Tekken 6, Bloodline Rebellion) is everything that Tekken fans expect - fantastic graphics, a furious pumelling of buttons to pull out incredible martial arts moves, bizarre character choices, and perhaps a little too much extraneous material.
Price: $39.99 / €39.95

Lego Rock Band (360 DS PS3 Wii)
Release: North America, released November 3, Europe, November 27.
Lego Rock Band is Harmonix's Rock Band re-done as seen through bricky Lego-style spectacles with on-screen Lego versions of rock and pop stars through the ages, an all-new cache of songs to sing and play through, plus a Super Easy mode to make it fun for all the family. It's compatible with the special controllers available separately or as part of other games in the Rock Band franchise.
Prices: $49.99 (360 PS3 Wii), $29.99 (DS); €59.99 (360, PS3), €44.99 (Wii), €39.99 (DS)