Thick in the heat of summer, east coast to west coast alike, the pickings for imports on the Playstation 2 are sparse but the hazy days don't exactly beget strenuous activity anyway.

   Idea Factory, the sometimes brilliant developer behind Tobal, ships an oft-delayed RPG and tactical strategy game in August. Generation of Chaos brings together an exotic cast of characters who battle for supremacy on a continent divided by strife. Limited Edition schwag is unknown at this time but more details will be posted soon. New Century EVA Project-E teaches typing by way of dramatic episodes featuring the cast and crew of Evangelion. Type good and save the day, botch it up and ruin it for everyone. Real Robot Regiment continues the full-sized (not SDeformed) robotic tactical adventures of Gundam bots, Aura Battler Dunbine, and other staples of the Bandai stable. Finally, "U better B rapping good" in SCEI's rhythmic follow-up to Parappa the Rapper. 

   Selen, a new publishing group on the PS, unleashes mad skills with a low priced trio of games. The Pai-Pai game plays a mean round of Shanghai-like tile matching whilst the other two game offerings are self explanatory. Gundam Char's revisits the PS console after all full-priced versions of the game sold out about a year ago. It'll be  a welcome re-addition to our stock. The Kick Boxing from D3 looks good, with a whole mess of characters to choose from and pummel inside a 3-D ring. Development comes from Jorudan of Hexcite fame. D3's The Spin offers a medley of 20 different mini-games to engage in, from gambling against wacky characters to silly sporting events. Construction Machine Simulator puts you in charge of an earth mover and you edify foundations, build infrastructure and other such tasks. 

   The PS2 tanks this week in terms of new releases but Gust ships Lillie's Studio ~ Alchemist of Salzburg next week and a flood arrives at the end of the month with City Crisis, Evergrace 2, Mosquito, Remote Control, Shadow Hearts, and Tam Tam Paradise on tap.