Xbox 360 | Shippin' Out April 11-17: Splinter Cell: Conviction, GTA Episodes for PS3, PC

Ubisoft's long-delayed stealth-action game finally creeps into retail along with the Windows and Sony-console expansions for GTAIV; Final Fight: Double Impact hitting XBLA, PSN.

Four years after Splinter Cell: Double Agent, the next installment in the Tom Clancy-inspired franchise is finally sneaking into retailers. Following several delays and a wide-ranging overhaul of its gameplay, Splinter Cell: Conviction will finally arrive this Tuesday--on the Xbox 360, anyway. The PC edition of the M for Mature-rated title is due two weeks later on April 27, with a DS spin-off due at a later date.

Mr. Fisher, I presume?

Conviction is set two years after Double Agent, which saw series hero Sam Fisher become a fugitive from the FBI, NSA, and an alphabet soup of other agencies. In the course of investigating his daughter's death, the now-grizzled Fisher learns that his former employer, the covert organization Third Echelon, has double-crossed him. The game will be available solo, as part of an $80 special edition, or in a $400 bundle with a 250GB Xbox 360. Check back Tuesday for GameSpot's full review.

Gamers who prefer more direct confrontation can get it in the form of the expansions for the 2008 blockbuster Grand Theft Auto IV. Tuesday will see Rockstar Games release Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City for the PlayStation 3 and PC at retail and the compilation's two expansions--The Lost & Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony--a la carte online. All three were released last year for the Xbox 360 and received high critical praise for the mayhem they added to the original GTAIV, which has sold more than 15 million units worldwide.

Also of note this week is Capcom's Final Fight: Double Impact. Available as a download on Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network, the game sports a tweaked version of the 1989 arcade original Final Fight, as well as next year's side-scrolling arcade action game Magic Sword. The "Double Impact" moniker has been used by Capcom once before for 2000's Street Fighter III: Double Impact on the Dreamcast, a combo pack featuring the arcade fighter's first two revisions.

"The wait for the PC and PS3 editions of Lost & Damned drove me to drink!"

For further details on the week's games, visit GameSpot's New Releases page. The full list of downloadable games on the PlayStation Store, Xbox Live Marketplace, and Wii Shop Channel will be revealed later in the week. Release dates are based on retailer listings and are subject to change.

April 11, 2010
Final Saga--X360--Microsoft Game Studios

April 12, 2010
AlphaBounce--DS--Motion Twin
Dark Void Zero--IP, PC--Capcom
Military Madness: Nectaris--WII--Hudson Entertainment

April 13, 2010
Arcade Shooter: Ilvelo--WII--UFO Interactive
Blood Bowl--PSP--Focus Home Interactive
Easy Piano--DS--Valcon Games
Grand Theft Auto IV: Episodes from Liberty City--PC, PS3--Rockstar Games
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony--PC, PS3--Rockstar Games
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned--PS3, PC--Rockstar Games
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction--X360--Ubisoft

April 14, 2010
Final Fight: Double Impact--X360--Action--Capcom

April 15, 2010

Final Fight: Double Impact--PS3--Capcom
Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse Episode 1: The Penal Zone--PC, MAC, PS3--Telltale Games

April 16, 2010

Brothers in Arms: Double Time--MAC--Feral Interactive
Rig'n'Roll--PC--Atari

I'm Shipping Up To Boston - Dropkick Murphys

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/tomclancyssplintercellconviction/news.html?sid=6257487