Out This Week - 10/06/11

Able to pry your eyes away from all the E3 excitement? Don't click on that link. Here are some games you can actually hold in your hands this Friday.

After a quiet period for new releases, this week's a busy one. Three big new titles - including a meaty platform exclusive - are attempting to sneak out the door while everyone's back is turned. What gives?

One's been in development 14 years. Another's a shockingly (and many other electrical puns) good-looking openworld game. And there's a new entry in a classic Martian-set franchise that's not Doom.

This Week in Shops!

inFamous 2

• Developer: Sucker Punch
• Publisher: Sony
• Formats: PS3

What is it? A sequel to PS3 sandbox adventure inFamous with a new world for returning hero Cole MacGrath to explore, beat up bad guys in, and generally run around being a bit like Jason Statham in that Crank sequel. There are some advanced looking user-generated content functions too - see the video below. What does Eurogamer think? Chris Donlan bestowed an 8/10 in Eurogamer's inFamous 2 review, calling the game a "hard-edged pulp adventure where your tools are perfectly matched to your missions".

Duke Nukem Forever

• Developer: Gearbox
• Publisher: 2K
• Formats: PC, PS3, Xbox 360

What is it? Politically incorrect (but not really as it's just a parody) first-person shooter with a legendary 14 year development cycle. Macho man Duke Nukem has emerged a decade later with all the up-for-it teenage twins, knob gags and jet packs still present. What does Eurogamer think? Eurogamer has yet to receive review code.

Red Faction: Armageddon

• Developer: Volition
• Publisher: THQ/SyFy Games
• Formats: PC, PS3, Xbox 360

What is it? More sci-fi shootery shenanigans as a future human colony on Mars (and some evil looking local beasties) continue to fail at getting along. You play as the grandson of Red Faction: Guerilla hero Alec Mason and are equipped with an array of futuristic weapons and tools to tackle the hostile and fully destructible world. What does Eurogamer think? Dan Whitehead served up a respectable 7/10 in Eurogamer's Red Faction: Armageddon review, noting: "Cut from the borrowed cloth of too many similar, better games, Armageddon is easy enough to like but impossible to get passionate about."

What Else?

• Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters (DS, Wii, PS3, Xbox 360)
• Kung Fu Panda 2 (DS, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360)
• White Knight Chronicles 2 (PS3)
• White Knight Chronicles Origins (PSP)
• Sports Island 3D (3DS)
• The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom (3DS)
• Split/Second Velocity (PSN)
• Excitebike (3DS, 3D Classics)
• Super Mario Land (3DS, GB Virtual Console)
• Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (3DS, GB Virtual Console)

Chart Predictions!

Each week one of the team steps up to predict the UK all-formats chart. The following predicts the outcome for the week beginning Friday 10th June (to be reported on Monday 13th June).

Ellie Gibson, Deputy Editor, Eurogamer.net

"What with all the E3 excitingness, it's easy to get distracted by the far off future and its promises of high definition Wiis, new Grand Theft Autos and games which are beamed directly into your eyes from space. But I'm more interested in what's out this week, and not just because I've had to stay in UK, staring at my PC and feeling enormous while everyone else drinks cocktails by the pool in L.A.

"Speaking of which, I think L.A. Noire will hang on to the top spot for another week. But the amount of hype that's bound to surround Duke Nukem Forever could push it into second place, while inFamous 2 should do all right too. Meanwhile, games for women and children are always strong contenders."

1. L.A. Noire
2. Duke Nukem Forever
3. Lego: Pirates of the Caribbean
4. InFamous 2
5. Zumba Fitness

Eurogamer Features Editor Martin Robinson attempted to predict the future last week. Here's our fancy table to show how well he did.