If you've been penny-pinching to save up for upcoming games, here's a little primer on US retail releases this week, starting July 2.

Eye catchers of the week (for the grown-ups) would be Ninja Gaiden Sigma for the PS3 and Vampire Rain for the 360. We've been covering both games for quite some time now, and the anticipation is fit to burst through Rachel's black leather suit.

Moms and dads may also want to get Platinum Sudoku or Vegas Casino for those quiet times when the kids are busy with Marvel TCG and Taito Legends 2. (More about these and other games in our Full Article).

What a way to start the month of July! New month, new week... new games!

Ninja Gaiden Sigma. The demo for this ninja action adventure title was one of the few demos that actually lived up to its hype. For those who are old enough to crave challenges and gameplay more suitable for mature audiences, this PS3 exclusive is a must-buy.

• PlayStation 3 - July 3, 2007
• US$ 59.99
• ESRB M (Mature)
• Tecmo and Team Ninja

Vampire Rain. Take on the role of John Lloyd, the government's vampire hunter, as he purges Los Angeles of the vampire threat. We're hoping that this horror action adventure game will cast new light on the vampire game genre with its stealthy "high-tech Buffy meets Sam Fisher" gameplay.

• Xbox 360 - July 3, 2007
• US$ 59.99
• ESRB M (Mature)
• Microsoft Game Studios and Artoon

See the other game releases by clicking on the Full Article link below!

Baby Mario's back, and of course, with trusted Yoshi along for the adventure. This time, we have here for you the Antics gameplay video for Yoshi's Island 2.

The classic flower-fiends are still there, and they're still out to make a snack out of you if you get too close. Have your fill of the gold coins littered about, and you can bet it's not gonna be a breeze plucking them one by one. Of course, Baby Mario isn't the only one around for some sweet ride atop Yoshi. Babies Wario, Peach, and Donkey Kong are also here, so this will surely be one great adventure.

Anyway, the video can be viewed below, so you can just check it out and see for yourself. Also, we have the downloadable file right here, for you.

Enjoy!

Download: [Yoshi's Island: Antics gameplay vid]

If you're a fan of all things Mario, then here are a few gameplay details of Artoon's Yoshi's Island DS that the nice folks of Go Nintendo were able to get from the Yoshi breakfast event.

According to them, everything that was in the original Yoshi's Island has made a return. A big change is the inclusion of new playable characters. This time, aside from baby Mario, Yoshi can get help from baby Peach, baby Wario, and baby Donkey Kong. Through the course of a level you will run into a sign that lets you switch babies.

The ability to switch babies and the fact that each baby has a unique ability leads to entertaining gameplay sequences. Baby Wario's got his magnet to collect coins, baby Donkey Kong can use his strength (swing from vines and stuff) to help Yoshi get around, and Peach has her umbrella.

A nice example of the switch affecting gameplay would be in the second stage in the demo. There are sections there that have gusts of wind blowing through them. Baby Mario can't do anything about them, but if you switch to baby Peach, you can jump into the wind tunnel and have her open her umbrella and carry you high into the air.

Sometimes you have to switch to get through a stage, and sometimes you don't need to, and a lot of times switching can help you find the "secret stuff" in the level.

Another gameplay addition is the presence of character specific coins. Hidden within each level are coins that have the faces of each playable character, you can't get full completion without having found these coins first. A nice place to start looking for them is in the tunnels you can get to via the many "travel pipes" (a classic Mario feature, and a nice throwback to the first few Mario titles) in the game.

That's that. It may not be breaking news as some of you may be feverishly following the development of this game, at least this could serve as confirmation from a source that was there.