Best New Games This Week: 4-14-08

After a few quiet weeks, the video games market is set to explode back into life. Headlining the top-tier releases this week is Sony's long-awaited Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, a trimmed-down and budget-priced version of the upcoming full GT5 release. Elsewhere, the PC and the Wii both enjoy busy weeks, including lots of goodies for Sims players.

Top Three:

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (PS3)

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April 15 might be the day that millions of taxpayers are dreading, but it's also the day that millions (or hundreds of thousands, at any rate) of PS3 owners have been looking forward to. It features north of 60 cars, 14 tracks, split-screen multiplayer racing and a new Drift Mode -- a drop in the bucket compared to the full GT5 release expected next year, but nonetheless a bargain for the $39.99 asking price. It's already a best-seller, shifting more than a million pre-orders in Europe.

Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (PC)

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Although military shooter fans with PS3s or Xbox 360s have already experienced the ups and downs of the Rainbow Six team's second Vegas jaunt, this week gives PC owners a chance to ante up. But unlike our last trip to Sin City, the stakes aren't the 73 cents we found down the back of the couch. Instead, the winner gets a stash of chemical weapons and enough bombs to flatten the whole Strip.

Westward 2

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Time for a change of pace. Westward 2 send players into the Old West on a mission to establish a peaceful, happy and prosperous frontier town. Naturally, the local thugs have a different idea. You'll also have to contend with earthquakes, famines, and drunks. If that all sounds a little too much like home, at least Westward 2 has a cute setting.

Best of the Rest

• Family Feud Dream Home:
  Beautify your home with the awesome power of Family Feud.
• The Sims 2: Kitchen & Bath Interior Design:
  Give your Sims an extreme makeover with this expansion pack.
• Flower Stand Tycoon:
  Take on a city of fellow florists in a bid to become the top flower stand magnate in this Y! Games exclusive.
• Okami (Wii):
  This beautiful, artsy PS2 hit should be perfectly at home on the Wii.
• Coffee Buzz:
  No, not the kind of buzz you get after slurping down fourteen double-latte-mocha-grandes, but the kind of buzz you get from running your very own coffee shop.
• Assassin's Creed:
  The time-traveling, free-running action game becomes a PC steal this week.
• Fashion Star:
  Are you the next Marc Jacobs? Find out with this fashionable game.