Publisher: Soldak Entertainment
Developer: Soldak Entertainment
System requirements: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista or Mac OS 10.4; 1.5 GHz Pentium IV (or AMD equivalent); 256MB RAM; 3D graphics card; 200MB of hard-drive space
Genre: Action RPG
Release date: Q1 2010

Wandering into a dark, dangerous dungeon might not always sound like the best idea. You get some crazy thoughts in your head when you’re at the dungeon entrance. Because you might never come back alive, you kick yourself for not talking to that hottie at the tavern last night. You tap your pouch a couple of times to remind yourself of the expensive health potions you purchased. You grip your short sword tighter because you thought the long sword cost too much. You feel the cold breeze through your cloth armor and curse at the monopoly prices the armorsmith charged back in town. Din’s Curse from Soldak Entertainment brings us another interesting dungeon-crawling action adventure RPG for the PC.

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Publisher: Phoenix New Media
Developer: Triple Hippo
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista or Mac Tiger, 1.0 GHz CPU, 128 MB RAM, DirectX 9.0, 193 MB hard-drive space
Genre: Hidden Object Puzzle
Release date: February 19, 2010

One of our greatest fears is the unknown. We sometimes do crazy things to get some knowledge of things yet to come. Whether you believe in tarot cards or not, they are one of the best-known tools to help people in their quest to see what the future brings. The Tarot’s Misfortune is a hidden-object puzzle game from Phoenix New Media with an interesting take on tarot cards in games.

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Publisher: NHN games
Developer: Redduck
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 2.4 GHz Pentium IV CPU or better, 1 GB RAM, 128 MB Nvidia GeForce 6600 or Radeon X600 graphics card with Shader Model 2.0 support, 1.6 GB hard-drive space
Genre: FPS
Release date: Available now

There’s one thing that comes to mind when I think about computer games: first-person shooters. I’ve come to accept the console controller as an acceptable FPS device, but nothing can compare to a mouse and keyboard. NHN Games’ Alliance of Valiant Arms adds to the vast library of FPSs available for the PC.

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Publisher: Atari
Developer: Cryptic Studios
System requirements: Windows XP SP2/Vista/Win 7 (32- or 64-bit), Intel Core2Duo 1.8 GHz or AMD Athlon X2 3800+ or better CPU, 1 GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce 7950/ATI Radeon X1800 or better graphics card, DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card, DirectX 9.0c or higher, 10 GB hard-drive space, broadband Internet connection
Genre: MMORPG
Release date: February 2, 2010

There are three types of sci-fi aficionados. The first are the ones who accept they are “Star Trek” fans. The second are those who have never been exposed to any of the many forms of the Trek saga. And the third are the ones who just cannot possibly come to terms with their obsession and who stay in their “Star Trek” closets. So, when one of the most recognizable science-fiction franchises of our time gets its own MMORPG, it’s going to turn some heads. Star Trek Online gets thrown into the scene with amazing and innovative gameplay elements that bring both fans and non-fans of Gene Roddenberry’s sci-fi universe together in one place. My pre-order of STO granted me access to the open beta, and I took advantage of it.

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Publisher: Namco Games
Developer: Mean Hamster Software
System requirements: Windows XP (SP2), Vista, 1.2 GHz Pentium IV or better CPU, 256 MB RAM, 4 MB 3D graphics card, DirectX 7 or higher, 45 MB hard-drive space
Genre: Simulation
Release date: Available now

The worst thing about having pets is bathing them. They can’t stand it and they basically hate you for it. If you don’t wash them, other people will hate you for it because the animals get stinky. A smelly, dirty pet doesn’t help your social life and it doesn’t bring world peace. If it doesn’t bring anything other than negatives, then you might find yourself asking this question: When will they make a game in which I can wash cats? The answer is Cat Wash from Namco Games and developer Mean Hamster Software.

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Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: VD Dev
Genre: Action Adventure
Release date: Available now

If you’ve ever been pulled over by a police officer, then you know it’s never fun. Most people driving by slow down and stare at you like you’re a sideshow feature at a traveling carnival; some people must enjoy it when others get in trouble. C.O.P.: The Recruit from Ubisoft gives you the chance to be on the side of the city protector, flashing your red and blue lights whenever you feel like it.

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A lot of things happened in the year 2009. I was able to travel to a place I always wanted to go: Japan. I started going back to school, which I guess is always a good thing. I also experienced many new, interesting and different games. Some of them were good, some of them bad, and some of them…great. Every person who plays video games remembers games they played in the past and how much they influenced their lives in some way. The best example I remember is from when I was a kid. A trivia question came up reading something like “What is the name of armor worn in medieval times that protected the hands?”. Because I played many fantasy games at a young age I knew the answer in a second: Gauntlets. Silly.

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Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: Monolift Soft
Genre: RPG
Release date: Available now

Take one of the most recognizable Manga and anime series and have it fused with a turn-based RPG. The result is…Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans for the DS. For the first time ever in North America, the world famous Dragon Ball Z series arrives in a turn-based RPG from Namco Bandai.

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Publisher: Vulcando Games
Developer: Vulcando Games
System requirements: Pentium 4 3.0 GHz or a Dual Core CPU; 512 MB RAM; 3D graphics card, 300 MB hard-drive space
Genre: Real Time Strategy
Release date: Available now

Do you remember the first time you played a real-time strategy game? Did it take over your life? Would you stay up late every night just to get a couple of wins and only a few losses (because you were a stud)? Would you battle your friends for glory and hold grudges against them if they defeated you? Can Vulcando Games’ Hive Rise provide all these wonderful memories to PC gamers?

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Publisher: Got Game Entertainment
Developer: Centauri Production
System requirements: Windows XP or Vista; 1.8 GHz processor or higher; 512 MB RAM Windows XP (1 GB for Vista); 64 MB Direct X 8.1-compatible video card; 350 MB free hard-drive space
Genre: Adventure
Release date: Available now

Remember you will die…is the translation of the Latin phrase, Memento Mori. Paintings that remind people of their own mortality are considered to be part of the Memento Mori genre. You may wonder how a Latin phrase would be the title of a mystery point-and-click adventure PC game from Got Game Entertainment. The answer is Paintings and…Murder?

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I remember the old days when every time you bought a video game at a certain store chain, they always offered to sell you a cleaning kit. Systems and games do not need cleaning kits these days, but what they do need is Borderlands from Gearbox Software. I have been anxiously waiting for this game to be released since I first heard about it. It’s like an RPG and FPS went on a blind date, liked each other, got married and had a child. Each of the four character classes is going to have its own skill tree, and you can play them the way you want to. The game’s story and everything that comes with it is going to be just purely amazing.

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Publisher: Aeria Games
Developer: Sonov Entertainment
System requirements: Windows XP/2000 (Vista not officially supported): Pentium III 800 MHz or better CPU; 512mb RAM; 3 GB free hard-drive space; GeForce FX 5200 or Radeon 7600 64-MB or better video card; DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card; broadband Internet connection
Genre: MMORPG
Release date: Q3 2009

Have you ever dreamed of being a martial artist as you jumped, kicked and threw punches in your underwear in front of a mirror? If not, you must do so at once. Aeria Games has put MMORPG and martial arts in the same sentence in the free-to-play Dragon Sky.

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Publisher: Tripwire
Developer: Tripwire
System requirements: Windows 2000/XP/Vista, 1.2 GHz or equivalent CPU, 512 MB RAM, 2 GB free hard-drive space, 64 MB DX9-compatible video card, DX8.1-compatible sound card
Genre: First Person Shooter
Release date: Available now

Imagine you’re walking alone in a dark, abandoned building with blood smeared on the walls. You can barely see and your flashlight battery is about to run out as you hear things that are not human all around you. Hearing your squadmate’s gunshots and screams in the background makes you want to crawl into a ball and hide from this nightmare. Tripwire Interactive lets you experience this horror from the comfort of your PC in Killing Floor.

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I would like to extend my arms with a great big gaming-and-introductory-blog-post hug. Not a creepy get-out-of-my-face hug, but rather a have-not-seen-you-in-forever, I-thought-you-were-dead hug to everyone. I am very excited to get the opportunity to have this blog and share it with you.

Having been mostly a PC gamer first and console gamer second, I recently broke into today’s “Next Gen” consoles when I bought an Xbox 360. It all started while visiting my brother in Japan. To make a long story short, I tore up my knee while skiing and required surgery. This finally gave me an excuse to get rid of my Wii and get myself an Xbox 360, because I was not going to be doing any break dancing for a while. After that I became a hybrid PC/console gamer who dabbles in portable systems from time to time.

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Publisher: City Interactive
Developer: City Interactive
System Requirements: Windows XP\Vista, DirectX 9.0, 1.6 ghz CPU, 512 mb RAM, 64 mb DirectX-compatible video card, DirectX-compatible sound card, 4 gb hard-drive space, DVD-ROM drive
Genre: Adventure
Release date: Available Now

Having a bad day at the office? Fax machine eating your documents? This is nowhere near as bad as being a federal agent hunting a serial killer. City Interactive’s Art of Murder: Hunt for the Puppeteer gives us a chance to experience what it’s like to be a G-man (or woman).

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