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Summer in the northern hemisphere officially starts today, which means one thing: sharing strawberries with a loved one in a tranquil hay meadow as you soak up the rays grabbing cheap games in the sales! The folks at HMV know the heat turns us Brits into mushy-minded impulse buyers, and so they've gone and slashed prices on approximately 30 DS titles to around the £12 - £15 mark. Here's the best of what's on offer:

• Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits for £11.99
• Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings for £15.99
• Drawn to Life for £11.99
• The Simpsons Game for £12.99
• Geometry Wars: Galaxies for £12.99
• Sim City for £11.99
• MySims for £14.99
• Magical Starsign for £11.99
  

Remember also that HMV offers free shipping to the UK, so you won't need to leave your La-Z-Boy and expose yourself to that nasty summer sun.

Square Enix has been big on the strategy games this year, and Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings is the latest to get the treatment. Taking the spin-off of an RPG in a tactical direction might have been seen as a risk for anyone else, but this isn't just any company -- when they do something, they tend to do it well, and if the scores are any indication, Revenant Wings is just the latest of their greats.

1UP -- 80%: It's an RPG. It's strategy. It's something entirely new that is like both of these things, yet not, and the result is a little lightweight. "Lightweight doesn't mean worthless, though. Thanks to some tough (but never unreasonably frustrating) battles, a healthy dose of fan service, and a quality localization, Revenant Wings is a thoroughly enjoyable hybrid. It's hardly the second coming of Final Fantasy XII ... but somehow manages to turn that into a strength anyway."

GameZone -- 85%: Risky, but successful. " ... the gamble has ultimately paid off, as the game is a great direction for the series, and fits well on the Nintendo DS. While the controls themselves are a little hard to get used to, the game is a deep and complex handheld game that will keep Final Fantasy fanatics entertained for a long while."

GameBrink -- 94%: They checked out the Japanese import, and found a solid, beautiful game. "On the graphics side of things, Square Enix has once again shown what beautiful graphics the DS is capable of with some very beautifully rendered 3D backgrounds from the lush green forests to the bright red heated volcanic caverns. The fun thing is you even get to customise your airship base a little by placing monuments!"

All of our European readers who've been sitting on their hands, anxiously awaiting a release date for Square Enix's Final Fantasy XII spin-off title for the DS, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, can now breathe a sigh of relief. Releasing to the territory in early 2008, no longer do gamers residing in the PAL region even have to wonder if they're getting the title. And, while we'd like to provide an exact date when you can expect to be able to pick the game up, sadly this is all Square Enix has given us to go on.

Screenshot offerings were slim on the Revenant Wings front when it came to E3 media, but this trailer makes up for it, despite the lower quality. Obviously, we're Final Fantasy fans -- could you tell from the flood of FF-themed posts that occasionally inundates the site? -- but this game, along with Ring of Fates, is looking pretty good, even when we try not to be biased.

Hey, speaking of, where was Ring of Fates? We could use some new media on that as well ....

Since its April debut in Japan, Revenant Wings has been playfully called "My First Final Fantasy," owing to the game's elementary difficulty. Square Enix promises that the difficulty has been tweaked for its November release in North America -- and we believe it, having been beat down by the E3 demo after a careless bum rush. Most sources liken Revenant Wings to real-time strategy, but Square Enix wants us to see it as a true RPG.

The game is directed by Motomu Toriyama, who handled Final Fantasy X & X-2, and who is currently directing Final Fantasy XIII. Final Fantasy XII's executive producer and composer are also on board. The team has created a spin-off sequel to XII that focuses on Vaan and Penelo, now deeper in the game (of sky pirating). The action is pint-sized and crowded, as your party alone can reach numbers of 15 characters on screen, but distinct CG cut scenes help to enhance the emo-narrative. Still, the relatively tiny dual-screens make it difficult to be lulled by the sentimentalism.

We love Final Fantasy and we're sure you do too. And, like us, we're sure you are of the mind that Revenant Wings is shaping up to be better than we could've ever hoped for. So, supplement your lust and dark desire for this game with some more screenshots in the gallery below, fresh from E3.

Square Enix spent the morning revealing its lineup of "fresh new faces and timeless classics" that the company plans to exhibit this week at E3, attaching US release dates to its upcoming titles:

• Heroes of Mana - August 14
• Front Mission - October 23
• Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker - November 6
• Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings - November 20
• Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates - Spring 2008

We're jumping on our beds with glee over the fact that we'll be receiving Front Mission so early after the localization was announced, but several disappointing details failed to escape our attention -- Final Fantasy Tactics A2: The Sealed Grimoire, It's a Wonderful World, FFIV DS, and Dragon Quest IX's absence; and Ring of Fates' distant date. The multiplayer ARPG and its DS Lite bundle are scheduled to hit Japan this August 23rd.

[Via NeoGAF]

Unlike its PSP counterpart, the Nintendo DS has been no stranger to North American Square Enix releases. Chocobo Tales, Final Fantasy III, Children of Mana and Dragon Quest Rocket Slime have all graced their presence on Western shores. And Square Enix is far from done supporting Nintendo's money-printer.

Of the eight titles, we've got 4 Final Fantasy games, 3 strategy games, 2 remakes, and one surefire Japanese phenomenon by way of Dragon Quest IX. Have a look at the publisher's upcoming selection after the break.

If you've been dying to know when Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings would be soaring onto your DS, then take heart: we at least have a release window now. The game is scheduled to make its way to North American gamers this winter. Considering it was just released in Japan, the wait isn't terribly long. Plenty of time to run through Final Fantasy XII again, if you're so inclined! It's been a much longer wait for Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker, which is also slated for later this year, though the game was released last December in Japan. Square Enix wants all our money this holiday season, and with games like these, they just might get it.

[Via press release]

Square Enix has announced release dates for Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings for Nintendo DS and Final Fantasy Tactics: The Lion War for Sony PSP.

The Lion War is coming October 2007, according to a press release sent out today. As an added bonus to European gamers, the title will be released simultaneously in both North American and PAL territories. Enhancements from the PlayStation One original include anime-styled cinematics, two character classes (Onion Knight and Dark Knight), the inclusion of FFXII's Balthier, and wireless multiplayer modes, both cooperative and versus.

Revenant Wings, which is sitting at the top of the Japanese sales charts after three weeks of availability, is coming this winter to North America.

[Via PSP Fanboy]

Attendees at the Square Enix party 2007 will be able to pick up a ton of fantastic gear, including the pictured clock. The 'Ivalice Alliance' inscription is taken from the Final Fantasy universe. Other things up for grabs include Final Fantasy XI treasure coins, Dragon Quest pin badges, coaster sets and manga. The party takes place this weekend in Chiba, Japan.

All this swag doesn't come for nothing -- you're expected to earn your game memorablia. The requirements aren't too onerous though; most of them involve collecting stamps from the various game stands present at the party.

You could just wait for this stuff to find its way onto your online auction site of choice in the not-too-distant future.

We doubt that's going to be the real title, but we never could avoid sequel humor. Apparently, director Motomu Toriyama enjoyed making Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings so much that he'd like to develop a sequel.

This is by no means a confirmation or an announcement or any of the other things it'll be labeled on message boards. It's just a casual statement. But a Revenant Wings sequel seems likely, since the sales have been pretty good, and, most importantly, we're talking about Square Enix, who has kind of a thing for sequels.

Reports in Japan show Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, the DS spin-off of Square Enix's PS2 title Final Fantasy XII, selling 180,000 copies of its initial shipment of 450,000. In case you were wondering whether or not this news is impressive, rest assured it definitely is.

And we're sure those lucky folk who were able to get out to the local store and wait in line for hours so that they could procure a copy are probably loving the game so far, deeply immersed in their title.

Lucky jerks ...

[Via QJ]

As you may have heard, there's some serious Pokémon action this week, and the sheer magnitude of that spotlight has somewhat dwarfed everything else -- but fear not, there are other games for those who aren't Poké-fans. Note that we're not promising they're good ... we're just saying that they are, in fact, games. We're curious how SNK vs. Capcom Card Fighters turns out, definitely, since we've heard mixed reports.

• Classic Action: Devilish
• Pokemon Diamond
  
• Pokemon Pearl
  
• SNK vs. Capcom Card Fighters DS

Check after the jump to see what's out this week in the rest of the world. Japanese-speaking importers, take note: there is some serious hotness releasing in Japan this week, along with 367 other games.