Although every year many computer gamers complacently think that their hardware accessories are more than adequate, technology marches on and superior peripherals are emerging that would make their lives easier or provide crucial features they lack. Many gamers regularly shell out lots of money for new graphics boards, but are relative skinflints when it comes to such basic necessities such as better keyboards, mice or headphones. This article identifies in a nontechnical way my personal preferences about some of the very best new gaming accessories out there, without regard to price. The selections are certainly not inexpensive, but in my mind they represent the best products available. While the descriptions here are relatively short, in each case I have evaluated numerous other offerings in each competitive category to reach these conclusions. Without doubt, because of insatiable gamer demand for top performance, much more innovation is likely to appear and mature in the future—including 3D monitors and solid-state hard drives—but in the meantime, opportunity beckons.

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Publisher: Headup Games
Developer: DnS Development
System requirements: Windows XP SP3 or Vista SP2, Pentium IV 2.4 GHz CPU or better, 1 GB RAM, ATI Radeon 9600/nVidia Geforce 6600 or better graphics card, 8 GB hard-drive space, DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card
Genre: Action/Puzzle
Release date: Available now

Tired of mindless shoot-em-ups that require no strategic thinking? Frictional Games’ Penumbra series and Valve’s Portal introduced a different type of gaming challenge, in which physics-based interaction within a full 3D environment—not shooting—is the key to overcoming obstacles. German DnS Development’s Twin Sector continues this tradition, trapping you in locational predicaments from which you have to emerge unscathed. Completely devoid of human interaction, you’d better keep your thinking cap on and your hand-eye coordination sharp.

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Despite the explosion of blockbuster AAA retail releases this holiday season, the casual computer games market continues to flourish. Although more temptations than ever seduce game developers away from the PC platform, what with Xbox Live Arcade and the iPhone becoming primary casual-game outlets, the personal computer—because it is so open and everyone owns one—remains a primary development platform. So while many other game sites focus their attention on conventional retail offerings, I unearth for your playing pleasure the very best hidden computer treasures that casual gaming has to offer. To select the dozen 2009 award winners from an increasingly competitive field, I spent many hours scouring hundreds of full, registered versions developed all over the world to discern their overall value. Because of increasingly intrusive and annoying copy-protection schemes and the presence in many homes of multiple computers, some of which lack online access, I tested only the single-player modes of offerings that can be registered and played on a non-Internet-connected machine.

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Many diehard PC gamers I know are obsessed with the “next big thing” coming down the pike and couldn’t care less about the past. The moment these folks finish playing a game to the end, they uninstall it permanently from their computers; they consider even last year’s releases “ancient history.” But others, including myself, form deep emotional bonds with PC games we love and want to keep them around for future replay possibility. Given the increasing speed of computers, the changing operating systems, the continuing need to upgrade one’s gaming rig and annoying machine-specific copy protection schemes, it has become quite difficult to keep favorite PC offerings available and running successfully for long periods of time.

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Publisher: Frozenbyte
Developer: Frozenbyte
System Requirements: 2.0 GHz CPU; 512 MB RAM (1 GB for Vista); Graphics Card Radeon X800 or GeForce 6800; 1 GB hard-drive space; Windows XP; Windows Vista or Windows 7
Genre: Action/Platform/Puzzle
Release date: Available now

Side-scrolling games incorporating a lot of platform action are considered a bit retro on the PC, so it’s refreshing when a new release comes along with the goal of breathing new life into the genre. Created by Finnish developer Frozenbyte, renowned for the excellent third-person action shooter Shadowgrounds, Trine is an innovative game that combines physics-based action with physical puzzle solving in a variety of lush medieval settings.

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Publishers: 1C Publishing; Aspyr Media
Developer: The Farm 51
System requirements: Pentium IV 2.4 GHz CPU; 1 GB RAM (1.5 GB for Vista); 256 MB graphics card with DirectX 9 pixel shader 3.0 support; DirectX 9.0c-compliant sound card; 8 GB hard-drive space; Windows XP SP2/Vista
Genre: First Person Shooter
Release date: Available now

Want some mindless virtual carnage? The developers of the popular Painkiller franchise have released NecroVisioN, a quirky, underpublicized first-person shooter. It combines earthly combat action against human soldiers with supernatural battles with zombies and monsters of all varieties. It breaks with many of the conventions of modern FPS releases, charting its own special course in challenging your ability to handle challenges. The game’s most reminiscent of the Serious Sam series, although it contains the highly unusual combination of dark and gory action with occasional lighthearted humor.

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Publisher: 1C Publishing
Developer: Aspyr
Minimum requirements: Windows XP/Vista; Intel Pentium 4/AMD Athlon XP; 1 GB RAM; nVidia GeForce 7800/ATI Radeon x1800; 6 GB hard disk space
Genre: FPS
Release date: Available now

For months I have been looking forward to the release of Cryostasis, from Russian developer Aspyr and publisher 1C. Clearly deviating sharply from the standard characteristics of modern shooters, Cryostasis is a horror-oriented FPS in many ways reminiscent of Frictional Games’ Penumbra series in terms of its overall tone and its combination of puzzle-solving and shooting action. It also has been highly publicized as a state-of-the-art implementation of nVidia’s PhysX physics engine’s capabilities.

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Publisher: Encore
Developer: White Birds Productions
System: PC
Minimum requirements: Pentium III 1.5 Ghz; 512 MB RAM; Windows XP SP2/Vista; 3D Video Card
Genre: Adventure
Release date: Available now
Review by: Bob Mandel

Benoit Sokal is a renowned French game developer most famous for the Syberia franchise, an emotionally touching set of two games that stunned the adventure-gaming community with their stories, innovation, polish and intrigue. What followed was another PC release, Paradise, which did not match the success achieved by the Syberia series. Now, White Birds Productions has returned with Sinking Island, a new adventure that combines the traditional play dynamics of the adventure genre with those of a classic murder mystery. What with the popularity of “hidden object” games among casual gamers, on the surface it would seem that this combination could provide a winning formula.

The story of Sinking Island is not one of its stronger aspects. Police inspector Jack Norm is asked to investigate the death of powerful and ego-centric magnate Walter Jones, who has fallen off a steep cliff in his wheelchair. Norm flies by helicopter to the scene of the crime—the island of Sangorah in the Indian Ocean—and has three days to identify the killer before the island sinks beneath the waves. Jones was disliked by many people, so there is no shortage of suspects, but as the plot unfolds, there is nothing particularly distinctive or surprising about it, making the sequence of events somewhat predictable and uninvolving.

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Publisher: Paolo Cosentino
Developer: Paolo Cosentino
System: PC
Minimum requirements: Intel Celeron 2.0 GHz, 256 MB RAM, Windows 98, 3D Graphics (developer has not tested the game under Windows Vista)
Genre: First-person shooter/Adventure
Release date: Available now
Review by: Bob Mandel

Sometimes in the midst of highly touted blockbusters, a surprise game emerges that stands out from the crowd. Such is the case for TECNO, an obscure release from Montevideo, Uruguay that was largely developed by a single individual across several years. This title has a high ambition: to provide a hybrid science-fiction first-person shooter/adventure/puzzle play experience in a manner that is quite distinct from most of what is out there. TECNO takes a big risk by refusing to mimic current fads in its design.

The plot is not one of TECNO’s strong points, as sadly there is very little story development. Despite a fascinating introductory video, you don’t find out much about whom or where you are, and as you progress you never really learn much more. Your mission is to escape from an advanced technology-filled base where robots have malfunctioned. The ending of this game, while nicely done, will leave you wanting more. Although the first-person shooter crowd does not always demand a plot, adventure fans do, and they will be disappointed.

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Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: Frictional Games
System: PC
Minimum requirements: 1.5 GHz processor; 512 MB RAM; 3D graphics acceleration; Windows 2000/XP/Vista
Genre: Adventure
Release date: Available now
Review by: Bob Mandel

In 2007, an obscure Swedish company called Frictional Games developed a title (published through Got Games Entertainment) called Penumbra: Overture, originally scheduled to be the first of three episodes. I reviewed that game, and was so amazed at its quality that I gave it the Adrenaline Vault Seal of Excellence award. Recently, without much fanfare the sequel and final installment — Penumbra: Black Plague — has been released (this time published through Paradox Interactive). Like its predecessor, this new first-person horror adventure-puzzle title defies easy categorization, as it combines elements of the point-and-click adventure genre with the more action-oriented first-person shooter genre.

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Publisher: Meridian4
Developer: Frozenbyte
System: PC
Minimum requirements: 1.5 GHz processor; 512 MB RAM; 128 MB graphics card; 1 GB hard drive space; DirectX 9.0c; Windows XP/Vista
Genre: Action shooter
Release date: Available now
Review by: Bob Mandel

When the Finnish developer Frozenbyte released Shadowgrounds in 2006, I was thrilled to find a near-perfect implementation of old-school third-person arcade shooting action. The gunplay was fast, providing immediate gratification, and the creative implementation of the eerie environments and evil monstrosities was just right for a sustained session of escapist thrills. Recently, Frozenbyte released a sequel, Shadowgrounds Survivor, raising the question of whether the new offering is just a rehash of what came before or a fresh and original experience.

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Publisher: Midway Home Entertainment
Developer: Midway Home Entertainment
System: PC
Minimum requirements: Pentium IV 3 GHz; 2 GB RAM; Pixel Shader 3.0 capable video card with 256 MB RAM; Windows XP or Vista
Genre: First-person action
Release date: Available now
Review by: Bob Mandel

In 2005, Midway released the PC game, Area 51, which, while not groundbreaking, offered a fun experience encountering and battling weird otherworldly predicaments at the legendary and mysterious locale in the Nevada desert. Considerable buzz and high expectations developed when word leaked out that a sequel was being prepared for release. So excitement surrounded the recent development by a different team of Blacksite: Area 51, which was supposed to be not at all like the original. Does this highly anticipated release live up to its hype?

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Publisher: Sierra Entertainment
Developer: Saber Interactive
System: PC
Minimum requirements: Pentium 4 2 GHz or equivalent; 1 GB RAM; Windows XP or Vista
Genre: First-person shooter
Release date: Available now
Review by: Bob Mandel

This holiday season is chock full of first-person shooters for the PC. How many times do you see games the quality of Bioshock, Painkiller Overdose, Orange Box, Call of Duty 4, Crysis and Blacksite: Area 51 all being released in such close proximity to each other? Of course, that’s not even considering non-PC blockbuster releases such as Halo 3. In the midst of this embarrassment of riches, Sierra Entertainment has published Saber Interactive’s TIMESHIFT (released on the PS3 and Xbox 360 as well as on the PC). Can TIMESHIFT stand up to its competition?

The story in TIMESHIFT rings very familiar. You play as a mysterious physicist doing research on a special suit — originally developed for time jumping — under a former physics professor named Aiden Krone. After an explosion in the lab, the unscrupulous Krone steals a prototype of the suit and flees to a different spot in the time-space continuum; you grab the other prototype and race after him. You find yourself in an era reminiscent of the 1930s, characterized by violent turmoil between the dictator Krone, who’s commanding a large army, and a valiant resistance movement called the Occupants. As you progress, cutscenes move the story forward. In retrospect, the plot is both disjointed and peripheral, and could’ve been more novel and fleshed out.

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Publisher: Got Game Entertainment
Developer: Frictional Games
System: PC
System requirements: Pentium 1 GHz; 256 MB RAM; Windows 2000/XP/Vista; 3D graphics acceleration.
Genre: Survival horror
Release date: Available now
Review by: Bob Mandel

Many games have emerged in recent years in the survival-horror genre, including Clive Barker’s Undying, Scratches and the Alone in the Dark and Resident Evil series. But none of them combined the action of first-person shooters with the puzzle solving and exploration of adventure titles. Now Frictional Games, a small Swedish development team, has released Penumbra: Overture — Episode One, which attempts to combine elements of horror, first-person combat and adventure.

Penumbra started out as a very scary tech demo which didn’t do well in the game contest for which it was made. While it gained popularity when it was released to the public, it had little in the way of story or cohesiveness. In this ultra-competitive world of gaming, is it possible for a limited group to make a successful game? And could the unique blending of adventure and FPS gameplay work? These were the questions on my mind when I began to play Penumbra.

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Review by: Bob Mandel
Published: May 8, 2006

With all the sophistication and complexity of modern computer games, sometimes I yearn for the pure arcade simplicity of the past. So when I heard that the Finnish company Frozenbyte was developing an old-school action shooter, my ears really perked up. ( read more… )