Last week yielded quite a healthy release of titles from varied platforms, spearheaded by the launch of one of the most anticipated handheld games, Square Enix's Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. This time around PC games take up the spotlight as several publishers churn out  titles of varied genres sure to satisfy most gaming palates, as well as a smattering of handheld gems on the side. Check out this week's games in the full article.

Is your phone ready to rock? This is the tag line for possibly the smallest platform for Activision's critically acclaimed guitar sim game, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PC, Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, Wii) for the mobile.

As you can see from the trailer below, the mobile phone version of the game tries very hard to include all the fun elements that made the console platforms such a big hit.

Watch the trailer right after the jump!

Today's gaming scene reminds us that there's a huge market for casual gamers who are looking to play fun games which take you right into the excitement rather than sit in front of the TV for hours on end. Electronic Arts recognizes that and has formed a new division called EA Casual Entertainment which will dedicate its efforts exactly for that type of clientele.

To spearhead the new project, EA appointed former Activision president Kathy Vrabeck as the chief of EA Casual. Vrabeck has led Activision and enhanced its sales and marketing for years doing her stint with the company. EA hopes she can do the same for them.

EA CEO John Riccitiello said, "EA is aligning talent and resources to focus on the growing market for highly accessible games. We’re fortunate to have recruited a dynamic executive like Kathy Vrabeck to lead this team."

EA says that their casual division will cover all platforms from consoles, handhelds, PC and even mobile phones. "All over the world, consumers are playing games that don’t require hours of intense concentration," said Vrabeck. "The common denominator is casual fun."

 

To all Call of Duty fans out there, we suggest you whip out your mobile phones quick, as Glu Mobile Inc. and Activision have partnered up to bring your favorite game right to your cellphones.

That's right, pretty soon you'll be having a mobile version of the hit FPS game, so you can fire away anytime, anywhere. Says Greg Ballard, CEO and President of Glu, "The Call of Duty franchise has brought new meaning and innovation to the first person action category and is a great addition to Glu's portfolio of award-winning games."

As for Activision, "The mobile launch will give fans the ability to experience the thrilling action and heart-pounding intensity of Call of Duty, whenever and wherever they are."

So get your gears ready, troops. Call of Duty mobile will invade your mobile phones later this year. We'll keep you posted on the latest updates.

Guitar Hero for the Xbox 360 is already available on some areas, and so Ars Technica caught up with Harmonix producer Daniel Sussman to ask his views of this hit game. Although Harmonix and Red Octane has been bought by MTV and Activision respectively, Daniel says that he honestly feels excited about what other developers could bring to the table of the music game genre. We are, too...

There may be some gamers who think that while the gameplay updates are great in GH II, the songlist is not quite as varied as the first game. Daniel thinks, however, that with 10 more songs on the Guitar Hero II song list, there is actually more variety in there than in the first title. Releasing GH song downloads is also a new and exciting opportunity for record companies, bands and developers.

Daniel also wonders about the possibility of Sony releasing one of their titles on Live Arcade. The idea came from bringing the Sony-owned Frequency/Amplitude brand to the Live Arcade or as a PS3 download. Daniel's team is also considering trying to incorporate custom soundtracks in Guitar Hero for the Xbox 360.

Daniel says that he's living his dream, making a game like Guitar Hero. His last words may be up to the reader to digest well; when asked about his fave platform for GH, Daniel replies Guitar Hero can be a great experience for all platforms, albeit you don't really need much CPU mojo to run a great rhythm game...

Straight from the official press release from Activision, Hands-On Mobile announced that they have agreed with Activision to develop a mobile game version of the popular Guitar Hero franchise. The Guitar Hero series took the handheld and console market by storm, as music and gaming became a fusion of two entertainment delights.

 

"Guitar Hero is an epic game experience that has mushroomed into a cultural phenomenon. We are thrilled to bring this award-winning franchise to mobile and to continue our successful relationship with Activision," Erik Pavelka, VP of Business Development at Hands-On Mobile, said.

RedOctane is also happy about the agreement, saying, "The lifestyle of music is strongly immersed into our everyday culture, and having Guitar Hero on mobile platforms will now allow our dedicated fans the opportunity to passionately feel the music, anytime and anywhere." Well, at least Go Gaming now has something great to feature on their service.

Dusty Welch, head of publishing at RedOctane, concluded, "Hands-On Mobile has extensive experience and success in bringing established franchises to mobile devices, and we greatly look forward to extending the Guitar Hero brand to mobile users." So while Guitar Hero II will rock gamers on the Xbox 360 soon, gamers-on-the-go will now get a chance to mix their love for music and gaming into one exciting package. Although we just have to ask: will a mini, pocket-sized guitar come with it?

Even before the sound check could begin, Guitar Hero Mobile had to do a rain check. Over at the GDC, they initially posted a schedule of sessions and discussions, in which the mobile version was to be unveiled by Sonivox. However, the scheduled presentation was pulled out.

It was found later on that it wasn't only the presentation of the game pulled out, but actually, the game itself has been axed. Sources from Sonivox revealed that the Activision deal had a whole lot to do with the collapse of the supposed mobile project for the GH franchise.

Awww...dang. So close, but still no cigar. Oh well, to try and make up for it, Sonivox revealed that they will have a music game on Cingular next month, entitled Guitar Star. Quick to point out that this ain't a clone of the preempted GH mobile, fans will just have to go and see for themselves when it comes out in the market.

GamesIndustry reports that OneNine Studios, a new development team comprised of veterans from Activision, Vicarious Visions, Gameloft, Digital Eclipse, and Kush Games are currently focusing on  the development of handheld and mobile development.

The developer already has a deal to create a mobile game with GoPets. GoPets has an online gaming/social networking community that boasts over 500,000 registered users.

A company statement reads: "We are looking to expand into DS and PSP development, as well as games for the web/downloadable and Xbox Live Arcade markets."

We'll update you if any more word on their plans for the DS or the PSP is made public.