By the first week of December, the annual herd of game releases has thinned considerably. However, the second week of the month will see Nintendo launch the latest installment in its long-running action adventure franchise, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks.

　　Link is going off the rails on a Spirit Train. Announced for the DS at the 2009 Game Developers Conference, Spirit Tracks features the same visual style as Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, released for the GameCube in 2003. The game focuses on a magical locomotive, which hero Link uses to travel around an equally magical island. Railway-based gameplay will consist of blowing up powder kegs on the tracks and shooing wild animals away with a horn blast. The game will also have numerous puzzles and dungeons

　　Just weeks after Pandemic Studios was folded into EALA, The Saboteur arrives for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. The Saboteur tinkers with the stale World War II genre by introducing gameplay similar to Pandemic's open-world action adventure Mercenaries. Taking the role of Irish-racecar-driver-turned-resistance-fighter Sean Devlin, players are encouraged to wreak covert havoc upon the Third Reich in Nazi-occupied France.

　　Konami's Silent Hill: Shattered Memories for the Wii represents the final big-name release of the week. A remake of the maiden installment in the survival horror franchise, Shattered Memories features a revamped user interface and puzzle system. Shattered Memories will reportedly be the last overseen by producer/composer Akira Yamaoka, who has been credited as the driving force of recent installments in the franchise. (The game is expected to arrive for the PlayStation 2 and PSP next year.)

　　For further details on the week's games, visit GameSpot's New Releases page. The full list of downloadable games on the PlayStation Store, Xbox Live Marketplace, and the Wii Shop Channel will be revealed later this week. Release dates are based on retailer listings and are subject to change.

　　DECEMBER 7, 2009

　　The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks--DS--Nintendo

　　DECEMBER 8, 2009

　　James Cameron's Avatar: The Game--PSP--Ubisoft

　　Playmobil 2 Pack--PC--Dreamcatcher

　　Puzzler World--DS--Atari

　　The Saboteur--X360, PS3, PC--Electronic Arts

　　Salon Superstar--DS--505 Games

　　Silent Hill: Shattered Memories--WII--Konami

　　Tales of Monkey Island Chapter 5: Rise of the Pirate God--WII, PC--Telltale Games

　　DECEMBER 9, 2009

　　No new releases announced.

　　DECEMBER 10, 2009

　　PixelJunk Shooter--PS3--SCEA

　　DECEMBER 11, 2009

　　No new releases announced.