Developers are always scrounging about for a means to differentiate their games from the thousands that preceded it. One way to achieve this is to adopt an unorthodox art style. In recent years, we’ve seen characters resembling stuffed toys (LittleBigPlanet), Russian dolls (Stacking) and needlework creations (Kirby’s Epic Yarn).

The latest title to clamber aboard the surprisingly virulent arts and craft bandwagon is Derrick the Deathfin. An offbeat action game featuring a feisty shark in the lead role, Derrick the Deathfin is set in a world largely constructed from origami style papercraft (as distinct from the flat cut-outs of Paper Mario).

Following the murder of his parents, young Derek embarks on what developer Different Tuna enthusiastically describes as “a worldwide rampage of destruction”. Said rampage will apparently involve gameplay recalling the likes of Ecco the Dolphin, Sonic the Hedgehog and Joe Danger.

Look for Derrick the Deathfin to surface on PSN in winter.

In this episode: Diablo III, The Unfinished Swan, The Elder Scrolls Online, Company of Heroes 2, Black Ops II, MacGuffin’s Curse and much more!

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Presented in glorious alphabetical order, New Media: Retail Roundup is your indispensible checklist of the home console and handheld titles arriving in stores this week. What will you be playing?

MICROSOFT Xbox 360 Dirt: Showdown * Dragon’s Dogma * Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier

NINTENDO Wii Nothing 3DS Mario Tennis Open * Purr Pals Purrfection

SONY PS3 Dirt: Showdown * Dragon’s Dogma * Sorcery * Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier PSV Nothing

VARIOUS PC Dirt: Showdown * Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City * Sid Meier’s Civilization V: Gods & Kings

New Media: Downloadable Digest is your handy reminder of the downloadable titles released during the past week.

MICROSOFT XBLA Dragon’s Lair * Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II Games on Demand The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim * Let’s Cheer * Need For Speed: The Run * Saint’s Row the Third

NINTENDO WiiWare Nothing Wii VC Nothing 3DS eShop Bird Mania 3D 3DS VC Kirby’s Dream Land 2 (GB)

SONY PSN PixelJunk 4am * Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II Full PS3 Games Saint’s Row the Third PS1 Classics Outlaws of the Lost Dynasty PS2 Classics Deus Ex PSV Titles Nothing Minis Nom Nation * Velocity

VALVE Steam Alien Shooter 2: Conscription * Dead Hungry Diner * Gratuitous Tank Battles * Moon Breakers * Nancy Drew: Tomb of the Lost Queen * Offspring Fling * Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City * Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II

NanoBITES captures those small but important morsels of gaming information that otherwise might slip between the cracks.

ITEM! The team responsible for fantasy RPG Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is in trouble. According to WPRI (via Joystiq), 38 Studios has defaulted on a $1.125m loan repayment and is also failing to meet its commitments to its employees.

ITEM! Blizzard has apologised for the rocky launch of Diablo III. Server congestion has prevented countless players from accessing the game and thanks to ‘always on’ DRM, many frustrated fans can’t even start a single player game.

ITEM! The future of Tomonobu Itagaki’s over the top action game Devil’s Third is in doubt. As reported by Gamasutra, the project has been stymied by cost overruns and struggling publisher THQ is now looking to pass the game onto another company.

ITEM! Lara Croft has been keeping a relatively low profile of late and unfortunately for her fans, this looks set to continue. Crystal Dynamics has confirmed that its Tomb Raider reboot has been bumped to the first quarter of 2013.

ITEM! The battle for control of DOTA has ended in an out of court settlement. Valve retains its trademark and publishes DOTA 2, Blizzard DOTA becomes Blizzard All-Stars and Blizzard communities continue to use the term for non-commercial pursuits.