Believe it or not, it's a slow week. The threat level is mildly elevated for Playstation 2 owners desperate for something new. Be on the alert for a sequel to Yakuza, an awkward Japanese gangster game that tried hard to be Grand Theft Auto, but never rose above the level of Shenmue . I'll let the screenshot above speak for itself.

There's no credible threat to PC owners from Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI, which lets you recreate the confusion of Ancient Chinese names at your desk instead of from the comfort of your couch. Besides, it's not like PC gamers are hurting for strategy games; we've already got Civ IV to last us a lifetime (Incidentally, for a more casual take on Ancient China, the historical China scenario in Civ IV: Warlords was brilliant).

Finally, NHL 09 is the latest game from one of the only sports franchises not locked down by Electronic Arts. However, it only constitutes a threat to Canadian wallets.

Oh, there's also something called Spore.