UEFA Euro 2008 kicks off next week, according to EA

Maybe we shouldn't be surprised – after all this is a game about sneaking up on people – but if you wanted an example explaining how buying online games can be complex, you only need to consider Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles on DS.

According to Play.com, it's already available for purchase, whereas GAME has it down for release on Friday. Over on Amazon, however, the release date is listed as November 4th 2008. It's the sort of problem we have to deal with on a weekly basis when it comes to trying to inform you about current releases.

Sometimes we think it's down to retailers trying to encourage you to pre-order with them by listing overly ambitious release dates but mostly we think they, and the game publishers, are just incompetent. More so the publishers, in fact. Yes, really.

So, how does that pan out in terms of the next eight days' releases? Well, there's certainly a lot of games listed – especially on DS, as per usual.

But with the exception of Assassin's Creed (a game we don't recommend, by the way), the only obvious contender is EA's regular-as-clockwork release UEFA Euro 2008 for PSP.

Wonder how EA became the big, big game publisher in the world? Easy: it rarely misses a release date, and hardly ever when it comes to licensed sports games.

Europe: Out April 11th
Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles (DS) (Click to read our review.)
Chessmaster (PSP)
Draglade (DS)
Dr Reiner Knizia's Brainbenders (DS)
Jetix Puzzle Buzzle (DS)
Solitaire (DS)

Europe: Out April 18th
Allied Ace Pilots (DS)
Betty Boop's Double Shift (DS)
Pirates: Duels on the High Seas (DS)
The Sun Crossword Challenge (DS)
The World Ends With You (DS)
UEFA Euro 2008 (PSP)
Undercover: Dual Motives (DS) (Click to read our review.)
World Cup of Pool (DS)
Zero G (DS)

US: Out April 11th
Fab 5 Soccer (DS)
Plushees (DS)

US: Out April 15th
Cory in the House (DS)
High School Musical 2: Work This Out (DS)
MLB 2K8 Fantasy All-Stars (DS)
Rondo of Swords (DS)