AU Shippin' Out October 19-23: Borderlands

After undergoing a hefty redesign and implementing a system that has created over 17 million weapons, Borderlands is just about ready to go on sale. The game revolves around a mercenary seeking a secret vault said to contain alien technology--the problem is nobody knows the location of the vault. Played from a first-person perspective, Borderlands is attempting to blur the lines between first-person shooters and role-playing games, with many of the gameplay mechanics like quests, random instances, and a stats system being borrowed from more traditional role-playing games. The entire campaign is also playable in co-op with other people online from the get-go. You'll be able to see what all the hype around Borderlands is about when it comes out on Thursday.

Now if you thought the storylines in WWE were already ridiculous, then things are about to get a whole lot stranger when THQ's WWE Smackdown vs. RAW 2010 lands on store shelves later this week. The biggest new feature to be introduced this year is the create-a-moment, which allows players to build their own wrestling storylines, with multiple branching stories, and upload them for other people to download. The PlayStation 3 version also allows users to record short gameplay clips and then upload them to YouTube directly from the console. For more details on how the user-generated content is going to work, be sure to check out our video interview with Yukes from TGS.

Based on the Marvel Super Hero Squad toy and TV show lineup, Melbourne-based developer Blue Tongue Entertainment is on the verge of shipping its tie-in game of the same name. You play as the Super Hero Squad as it attempts to stop Dr. Doom and his Lethal Legion from gathering fragments to the Infinity Sword. The gameplay sticks fairly close to the beat-'em-up formula laid out by the Lego action series, and you’ll have over 20 licensed characters to choose from heading into battle. On top of the Story mode, there's also a Battle mode packed in, which is a free-for-all fight among players who can defeat each other by either knocking them out of the arena (Super Smash Bros. style) or taking out all of their health. Marvel Super Hero Squad comes out later this week on the 22nd.

October 22, 2009
Borderlands (360, PS3)
WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 (360, PS3, PS2, Wii, DS, PSP)
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (DS)
Marvel Super Hero Squad (PS2, PSP, DS, Wii)
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (DS)
Charm Girls Club My Fashion Mall (DS)
Charm Girls Club My Fashion Show (DS)
Charm Girls Club My Perfect Prom (DS)
CSI: Deadly Intent (DS)

October 23, 2009
Angel Cat Sugar (DS)
Forza Motorsport 3 (360)