You wait ages for a handheld Final Fantasy game, then two turn up at once

Is too much choice a good thing? Talk to those who still remember the days when you could only buy a single type of car – available in black, of course – and the transformation of that particular market to one offering every shape and colour under the sun is a welcome development.

For those of us lucky enough to have grown up in the full glare of global consumerism, however, there's a real risk we've become a little complacent. "What ya mean, I can't get a double-bubble frappo-earl-grey with extra cream and a dark chocolate flake stuck in the top?"

With 18 DS and PSP games scheduled to be released over the next eight days, choice is certainly on the shelves. Was it really only a month ago that there was a Friday on which just one new game was released?

Perhaps more relevant though is the fact that games people will actually want to play are being released, so it's not a case of being flooded in budget nonsense.

The big news on PSP is the arrival of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, which is also being supported with a branded PSP bundle. But there's also a DS Final Fantasy game, with the rather hardcore RPG Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift out next week.

And, as per usual, it's the catalogue of DS games that provides the most excitement and variation.

For those into the whole DS lifestyle thang, there's Nintendo's quirky Cooking Guide: Can't Decide What to Eat? or Ubisoft's My Health Coach: Manage Your Weight (with free pedometer, no less). Meanwhile, film tie-ins include The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Kung Fu Panda and Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

Significantly, there are also some DS versions of the big console brands in the dual-screen forms of slasher Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword, racer Race Driver: GRID and thinker Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution (although the release dates on the last two might be a little flexible).

Europe: Out June 20th
ATV Offroad Fury Pro (PSP)
Cooking Guide: Can't Decide What to Eat? (DS)
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (PSP) (Read our review.)
Mary King's Riding School (DS)
My Health Coach: Manage Your Weight (DS)
New International Track & Field (DS)
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (DS) (Read our review.)

Europe: Out June 27th
Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift (DS)
Harvest Fishing (DS)
Journey to the Centre of the Earth (DS)
Kung Fu Panda (DS) (Read our review.)
Mister Slime (DS)
Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword (DS) (Read our review.)
Race Driver: GRID (DS)
Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution (DS)
Skate Park City (PSP)
Yamaha Supercross (DS)

US: Out up to June 30th
1 vs 100 (DS)
American Girl: Kit Mystery Challenge (DS)
Cake Mania 2 (DS)
Code Lyoko: Fall of XANA (DS)
Final Fantasy Tactics A2 (DS)
Gourmet Chef (DS)
Guitar Hero: On Tour (DS)
Hellboy: Science of Evil (PSP)
Journey to the Center of the Earth (DS)
Mega Man Star Force 2 Zerker X Ninja (DS)
Midnight Play Pack (DS)
My Weight Loss Coach (DS)
Naruto Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: The Phantom Fortress (PSP)
Puzzler Collection (DS)
Top Spin 3 (DS)
Wall-E (DS/PSP)