With summer mere weeks away from falling by the wayside and ushering in those cooler climates that herald the holidays, it seems like a fitting time to wrap up the big Christmas in July promotion that has been featured on this site over the last two months. For 22 loyal listeners and readers of this site and its related podcasts, they didn’t need to deck their malls to see it’s never too early to hang the holly – for Christmas did indeed come early this year. And for one lucky contestant, he got the shock of his life when Avault founder Angel Munoz rung him up one sleepy September morn and announced the Big Prize was headed his way.

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Publisher: Square-Enix
Developer: Crystal Dynamics
Genre: Action-Adventure
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

Lara Croft is arguably the first true celebrity of video games. Sure, there have been mascots that have crossed over to the mainstream and become household words, but Lara did what neither Mario nor Sonic could ever do. She made gaming seem cool and adventurous to those who often looked upon the hobby as child’s play. With her initial title leading gamers into a brave new world of 3D adventure – launching fairly close to Mario’s first foray into that extra dimension – Lara put forth more than just a pretty face – even if those good looks helped her vault the velvet rope, repping appearances on everything from Entertainment Tonight to the U2 concert tour. And yes, she eventually fell from grace but that was largely to do with the poor handling of her core product and less about the character herself. Square-Enix, the new owners of Eidos’ darling, hopes to trade on her fame with their download-only release, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light.

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Publisher: Aksys Games
Developer: Cave
Genre: 2D Side-scrolling Shooter
Release Date: Available now

You know gaming has aged nicely when a large subset of enthusiasts wax rhapsodically for the return to yesteryear. In this age of digital distribution channels, we find we can take that trip to the good old days with more frequency as developers mine the past to give niche gamers their continued fix. The last two years alone have been a boon to fans of 2D platformers and top down shoot ‘em ups; the hallmarks of the 80s arcade scene. With the return of titles like Bionic Commando Rearmed or Sin & Punishment, old school gets a new gloss and finds a hungry appetite in those gamers who value gameplay over pretty visuals – which is exactly the market that Cave looks to tap with the recent release of their shooter, Deathsmiles.

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Publisher: Activision
Developer: Raven Software
Genre: FPS
Release date: Available now

A few weeks back, I reviewed Alpha Protocol, which marked developer Obsidian’s venture into new IP after a successful career of stepping into other RPG franchises to deliver sophomore efforts. There seems to be a few developers out there who have mined that niche, and while Obsidian might be the go-to developer for RPG sequels, the offspring of popular first-person shooters have found suitable childcare in Raven Software, the developer that previously shepherded Quake 4 and Wolfenstein, among others. Once again I’m presented with the opportunity to pass judgment when one of these “cover bands” aims to go solo as Raven unleashes their stab at a new franchise with Singularity.

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Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Stainless Games
Genre: Strategy
Release date: Available now

As a child of the Eighties, one who saw the world move on from tabletop entertainment to games we could play on our big screens, I feel I have a decent enough vantage point to declare: Board Games Are Dead! Well, maybe not buried, but certainly a niche product pulled out purely for parties and holiday get-togethers. I know some of you Dungeons & Dragons nerds will argue about it, but these games certainly don’t own the market share they once did when they were the only game in town. And with people progressively finding themselves running on a longer leash thanks to the wonders of modern technology, we’ve discovered that we can take our musty enchantments on the go and get in a quick game or two of Parcheesi while paging through iPad apps. It’s this digital distribution stream which the developers of Risk: Factions look to attack.

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Last week, the video game industry held its annual convention in Los Angeles. Every year, game publishers, developers and mainstream press come together to get a sneak peek at the new titles heading our way for the upcoming holiday season and beyond at the Electronic Entertainment Expo. And each year, the conference just grows larger and larger in terms of scope and exposure, if not necessarily attendance (it’s been closed to the general public for a few years). With games occupying equal entertainment real estate as some of Hollywood’s largest blockbusters, the rest of the real world stops for a spell in June to take notice of what’s coming down the pike. You can ditch the Gamepro and scope all the sites on the Today show.

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Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Genre: Action Platformer
Release date: Available now

Pity the poor Prince of Persia. No matter what he does to save his kingdom of sand, he always manages to mess things up again. Fortunately for him, he can turn back time, and that’s just what he does to get himself out of another fine mess he’s made. Fortunately for me, this adrenaline-fueled take on the dungeon exploration that spelunking classics like Tomb Raider made famous is a fast ball right down the middle. I love a good puzzle platformer and the Prince of Persia titles have entertained me greatly ever since Jordan Mechner churned out that initial 2D dazzler way back in the early 90s.

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Publisher: Sega
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Genre: RPG
Release Date: Available now

Over the last several years, veteran game developer Obsidian has built a strange niche for itself – becoming the go-to developer for the sequels to popular role playing games. In the past, they’ve pinch hit in the Dungeons & Dragons realm with Neverwinter Nights II, picked up BioWare’s baton for the Knights of the Old Republic follow-up, and are currently working hard to prep the Fallout return, New Vegas. Which makes their latest release, the new IP Alpha Protocol, stand out. While the developer has proven adept at playing in other’s universes, do they have what it takes to craft their own?

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Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Remedy
Genre: Action/Survival Horror
Release date: Available now

“Wake me when Alan Wake is released.” That used to be my running joke when my most anticipated game announced in 2006 failed to materialize year after year. In fact, for a spell of time between late 2007 and early ‘09, the game completely vanished from Microsoft’s radar, leading many to believe that it had been unceremoniously cancelled. Then, at last year’s E3 conference, Remedy finally exposed their labor of love to the light and allowed the gaming press to fawn all over it. Previews raved about the game’s taut mix of action gameplay and a driving narrative ripped from the pages of contemporary pulp fiction.

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Publisher: Kalypso Media
Developer: Haemimont Games
Genre: Strategy
Release date: Available now

City-building strategy games are a dime a dozen in the PC realm, but on the consoles they still represent a minor niche at best. Part of this is the control scheme. A mouse and keyboard becomes an extension of the strategic-minded player’s mindset, while controllers lack the sheer number of inputs needed to tend to every angle of a growing empire at a moment’s notice. Then there’s the target demographic, with the top-tier consoles such as the 360 and the PS3 catering to the fratcore demographic that aims to get their gun on. Running an island nation, a conceit that the recently released Tropico 3 offers, can prove to be a bit too cerebral for the console crowd.

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Early this season, when the episode titles were announced, my eyes fixed on The End. A title so simple, so bold and so perfect. It told us absolutely nothing except the one unwavering fact – All Good Things Must Come to an End!

After all, we are the rare breed. The fans of a show who knew the exact end date two years ago. There would be no more aimless wandering and wondering once Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse secured the ‘all clear’ to plant their flag on a finale and then begin a 2 & 1/2 year journey toward that final destination. Fans knew that the show would never run on until the ad revenue petered out and ABC halfheartedly pulled the plug, and we wouldn’t feel the sting of an abrupt cancellation that would leave us with five billion story threads tattered and dangling.

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Publisher: Atlus
Developer: ACE Team
Genre: First Person Brawler
Release date: Available now

I remember the first time I ever laid eyes on a first-person shooter. It was in the early 1990s at University of Massachusetts/Amherst when a departing senior tossed me a diskette containing the shareware code for Doom. Somehow Wolfenstein 3D had escaped my gaze, so it was Doom that showed me the brave new world of future gameplay. And while I reveled in toting a boomstick and busting out a chainsaw in all its over-pixelated glory, my mind raced to other applications. Busting caps made for a fine diversion, but this seemed like the first step in realizing the dream of virtual reality. And yet, here we are, almost two decades later, and the first-person viewpoint, with few exceptions, seems rooted in the realm of shooters.

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When we turned the page to Monday, it hit me. In one week’s time, we’ll get the final three and a half hours of this epic tale, and then we’re done. A tough pill to swallow especially after receiving last week’s information download regarding the true nature of the island that almost unanimously fell like a 10-ton crocodile statue. I’ve scoured the web and aside from the blind faithful (every cult has them), you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who really, truly appreciated the episode.

I’ve been giving a lot of thought to that and I think I finally hit upon the reason why. It’s not so much what the island is, but how we were told this in such exacting detail. Sure, the cave of light (as rendered on a TV series’ modest budget) looked ripped from Land of the Lost. And we all know this is a visual medium so if you’re going to express a heady sci-fi infused spiritual ideal, you’d better nail the visual as it’s going to tattoo itself to the mainstream psyche.

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When I was in college (way back in the flannel-decked intro to the Nineties) I found that one semester, I glommed onto The Doors’ The End something fierce. As a raging Pearl Jam fan, I think I spied a kissing cousin in Morrison’s moody evocative lyricism and that song bridged worlds to PJ’s heralded disc Ten, which felt more like an anthem of my soul than Nevermind ever did. Maybe it’s because I was a year or two off from really giving off that Teen Spirit scent. Who knows?

Anyway, back then, as I chased down my Journalism degree at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, I found myself ‘hired on’ as a scribe for the University’s daily newspaper, The Collegian, where I quickly made the jump from hard news stories to the Arts & Living desk. There I could point my pen towards the world of entertainment, which really lit my fire. As a raging film buff, it was one step removed from my dream job destination – screenwriting.

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A lot to cover today. Let’s get Lost.

You know you’re in for it when “Lost” opens without the trademark “Previously on ‘Lost’.” It’s as if the producers don’t want to waste any time, knowing they have a full docket before them and precious few moments to spill all the details. In other words, it’s time to get down to business.

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