This week's big releases are the uber violent and highly criticized Manhunt 2 and finally Nippon Ichi's Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness. Unfortunately for our European and Asian brothers, there's not much in the way of new software this week.

US Games

• Ben 10: Protector of Earth
• Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness
• Manhunt 2
  

EU Games

• Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes

Asia Games

• No new releases

While there isn't a lot to go around in any region, don't be sad because Silent Hill Origins and Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops + will hit in a few weeks.

You did enter our Square Enix Store contest on PSP Fanboy right? Of course, maybe you don't want to win a Final Fantasy VII figurine (pictured, above). Or, maybe you really don't want a Chocobo. Heck, a free copy of Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions probably doesn't float your boat. That's okay!

We have tons of winners this week. Congrats to Lars, Deviation and mondomondoman on winning a Ratchet & Clank fan pack, which includes a limited edition poster, t-shirt and concept art. And now, the news:

Interviews

• Secret Agent Clank (PSP)
  Exclusive! The first real details on the brand new PSP-exclusive Ratchet & Clank game.

Downloads

• PS Fanboy Wallpapers: Volume 8
  Viking: Battle for Asgard wallpapers. For download on PS3 and PSP.
• Welcome to Helios: a brand new God of War level
  Premiere! Brand new Chains of Olympus screenshots you won't find anywhere else.
• Warhammer 40,000 Squad Command
  Playable demo for PSP.

Previews & Reviews

• Crash of the Titans (PSP)
  Review: "Shows his lessened aspirations in a game that's incredibly by-the-numbers."
• Eye of Judgment (PS3)
  Review: "It is also one of the best CCGs to come along in ages."
• NBA 2K8 (PS3)
  Review: "Casual basketball fans should definitely approach the title with caution."
• SOCOM: Tactical Strike (PSP)
  Preview: "An easy contender for Game of the Year on any platform."
• SWAT: Target Liberty (PSP)
  Review: "Neither tactical enough to be a thinking man's shooter, nor action-packed to be a fun arcade shooter."

PS3 Headlines

• More Metal Gear Solid 4 figures spotted
  Who knew Raiden would ever be cool?
  
• 40GB pre-orders go on sale
  New price-reduced systems available later this week.
  
• Motorstorm patch version 3.0 now available
  Adds rumble, fixes issues.
  
• Whoops, print your own Eye of Judgment cards
  Card collectors around the world cry.
• PES 2008 features serious lag on PS3
  More first-generation port woes.
• Sony registers new trademarks, possibly PSN games
  Hopefully, they're more like fl0w than Super Rub a Dub.
• Ratchet & Clank comes bundled with annoying (but fixable) glitch
  Your hard drive needs some scrubbing.
• Michael Bay: 'Blu-ray is where my money is'
  Maybe it's because his movies are HD DVD exclusive?

PSP Headlines

• Wait, is Hot Shots Golf supposed to look this good?
  PSP sequel is sporting some impressive new tech.
• Homebrew brings PSP to the blind
  Includes facial recognition software, and navigation tools.

PS3 Videos

• Nobi Nobi Boy video makes debut, but no sense
  From the creator of Katamari Damacy.
  
• Magic happens when PS3 is injected with nectar
  The price just keeps on dropping ...
• Never too stupid: Blu-ray disc battles microwave
  The victor should be pretty clear.
• Unreal Tournament trailer reveals 'story'
  Now you have a reason to <UT announcer>headshot </UT announcer>.
• Insomniac developers talk Ratchet & Clank Future
  Let's hope those rave reviews aren't going to their heads.

PSP Videos

• Smackdown vs. Raw 2008 improves on predecessors
  LOL, are the load times gone?

Also featured: Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness, Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles, Rock Band, Conan

Every week, PSP and PS3 Fanboy will bring you new backgrounds for your Sony consoles, in resolutions up to 1080p. Download them directly to your PS3 by accessing PS3 Fanboy on your system. Download PSP wallpapers directly to your PSP by accessing the site wirelessly at m.pspfanboy.com.

This weekend, we're focusing on Sega's upcoming PS3 title Viking: Battle for Asgard.

It's pretty hard to describe, this video. While we understand the concepts of "King of the Hill", the video really confuses us as to how it'll all play out in the end. No matter, we're more interested in Tag Mode -- something that seems a natural fit for the Sonic universe. The mode plays exactly as it sounds: you tag an opposing player, giving them the "bomb" and they chase someone else down to tag them. Since Sonic games are always built on speed, we expect that mode to have a little more playability than sitting on the top of a hill. Seriously, Sonic doesn't like standing still. He taps his feet and glares angrily at you.

The original PSP Wipeout Pure remains one of the best games on the system, and Pulse looks to improve upon an already impressive foundation. This new trailer is unfortunately sized for this web window. However, go to GameTrailers, download the HD version and you'll see the game in the full visual splendor it deserves.

[Thanks, Hashbrown_Hunter!]

If simple math isn't your strong suit, you may have a hard time playing at least one of Bomberman Land's more than 50 mini-games. Taking a page out of the recent "brain training" craze, this mini-game will have you trying to beat out your opponents by looking at the problem and answer and choosing if addition or subtraction needs to be used to reach finish the problem.

What makes this even more fun? You'll be able to match wits against your friends via the game's Game Sharing feature.

A terrific episode of the Not the 1UP Show chronicles the launch of the Star Wars Battlefront PSP. Obviously, tons of Star Wars nerds came geeked out in their favorite cosplay, trying to get their hands on this limited edition system. We really love the Star Wars-esque presentation of the video, and think it's a great way to end your work week. Enjoy!

SOCOM: Tactical Strike recently went gold, and it's been in our hands for the past week or so. We have to admit, we're totally enamored with this brand new re-imagining of the SOCOM series. It's hard to think of a single flaw with Tactical Strike -- it's just that good. Of course, there's a lot more we have to do. After the first five hours of play, we've only gone through three missions. Ignoring any Instant Action replays or Infrastructure-enabled multiplayer, it's clear that Tactical Strike will offer at least twenty hours of gameplay, if not more.

Tactical Strike delivers on so many levels, and is easily on its way to becoming more than just PSP Game of the Year. No, the sheer quality of this title makes it an easy contender for Game of the Year on any platform. The technical excellence is absolutely astounding. Graphics like these simply shouldn't be possible on the PSP, as it easily bests most of the PS2 library. If you thought Logan's Shadow of Chains of Olympus looked good, you haven't seen Tactical Strike. Textures are incredible, especially for a PSP game. The character models are well detailed, and feature incredibly detailed animations. Then, you add real time lighting, fantastic volumetric smoke effects, and large, expansive, detailed environments that must be seen to be believed. Just wait until you see the streaks of sunlight pour through the jungle flora above you. On the PSP screen, or connected to a TV, this game looks absolutely incredible. These screenshots just don't do the game justice: it must be seen to be believed.

Square Enix Shop is updating their collections for the holidays. Coming soon in November, December and January are a wide range of plushes, figures and collectibles. Get ready to break the bank!

To celebrate the gift-giving season, we're giving away a Final Fantasy Tactics prize package, which includes the new PSP remake, and a gift of your choice from the Square Enix Shop holiday lineup. The new items for sale are featured after the break.

To enter, leave a comment with your most-wanted item from Square Enix's holiday lineup. The comment must be left before November 1st, 5PM Eastern Time. You may enter only once. One (1) winner will be selected in a random drawing. Selected winner will receive a copy of Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions and a gift of their choice from the Square Enix Store holiday collection, up to $30. Total ARV of prizes: up to $70. Click here for complete Official Rules. You must be a US resident, age 18 or older to enter.

Ah, so that's why it was banned ...

Rockstar's Manhunt 2, although edited, looks quite gruesome. Although the violence is covered by the dramatic use of visual filters, it still maintains the visceral feel that many (if not most) so-called-violent games are missing. Taking a cue from The Bourne Identity, we see our favorite anti-hero kill a man with a pen -- but for reasons unknown. Check out IGN for more brutality.

"I must say it was one of the hardest working days of my career," Winstone said of his days spent working with Ubisoft. "But it was vital to capturing the power of the film and translating that into a great gaming experience. Beowulf is a brutal character, a Dark Age-gangster with both hero and monster in him ... as a player, I can identify with the monster slayer."

Not only will the game benefit from the movie actor's participation, Ubisoft is also adding in more than 30 years of story that didn't make the cut in the movie. It's about time this legendary story has been turned into a video game, but we just hope Ubisoft can capture director Robert Zemeckis' excellent vision. We'll see when the game releases Nov. 13.

What is Helios? No, it's not a cell phone. It's a new level in God of War: Chains of Olympus. These brand new screenshots (12 in all) showcase Kratos' carnage once again. Just like Tartarus and Attica before it, these shots look absolutely stunning. In one of the screens, we see Kratos charging the spell acquired from the CoD demo. The lighting and particle effects look stunning, and we're certain that it'll look even better in motion.

There's still a long while before we'll see more of Kratos' new PSP adventure. Until then, check out these new screens:

Konami's creepy PSP exclusive Silent Hill Origins is coming soon. Before this survival horror adventure hits the handheld, Konami has given you a chance to ask the team your burning questions. Get your journalist's notebook out, and join us in brainstorming some questions to shoot over.

Please submit your questions in the comments section by Monday, October 29th.

Little is known about the upcoming PSP exclusive Secret Agent Clank, briefly seen at an invite-only pre-Tokyo Game Show cocktail party. With the incredible mystery surrounding this new title, we asked our readers to come up with questions for the High Impact Games team. We're proud to present this PSP Fanboy mega-interview, which reveals the game's story, connectivity with the previous Ratchet games, and plans for a demo. Read on.

How are you going to improve on Size Matters? Are there any improvements on your previous engine or are you building a new one?
Dave Goodrich, Lead Designer: High Impact Games has taken advantage of the Size Matters engine to give us a strong base to work from for this exciting new adventure. Secret Agent Clank has a different style than Size Matters and has expanded into new game types such as timing and stealth. Along with new gameplay modes, there is an assortment of playable characters, each with their own unique levels.

What kind of multiplayer support will there be? Will it work through Infrastructure?
Dave Goodrich, Lead Designer: Secret Agent Clank is a very story intensive game with lots of unique gameplay elements. We have decided to focus our efforts on the single player game to make a really engrossing experience for the player. There is no multiplayer planned for this installment of the game.