Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Visceral Games
System requirements: Windows XP SP3/Vista SP1/Win 7, 2.8 GHz or better CPU, 1 GB RAM (2 GB Vista/Win 7), 256 MB GeForce 6800/ATI X1600 Pro or better graphics card with Shader Model 3.0 compatibility, DirectX 9.0, 10 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Shooter
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now
Review by Christopher Lazenby

I’m not sure what to make of Dead Space 3. I’m happy to see a new chapter in one of the greatest new series of this gaming generation has been released, but three games in just four-and-a-half years? Isn’t that pushing it a little?

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Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Criterion
System requirements: Windows Vista SP2/Win 7, 2.4 GHz Core2Duo/2.7 GHz Athlon X2 or better CPU, 2 GB RAM, 512 MB DirectX 10-compatible graphics card, DirectX-compatible sound device, 20 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Racing
ESRB rating: Everyone 10+
Release date: Available now
Review by Christopher Lazenby

Need for Speed: Most Wanted is the 19th entry in the popular racing franchise, and Criterion’s second foray into the series. Gone are the cheesy plotlines, bad acting and cringe-worthy cutscenes. Most Wanted is just pure racing and chasing, and I actually think it’s a better step for the franchise.

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We’ve spent years speculating about what the next generation of game consoles might look like. To help us out, Sony decided to take a few hours out of their busy day on February 20 to share some info about their next-generation machine. (The image at left is one of many concepts created by various sources, and might not be an accurate view of the console; we still don’t know what the damn thing will look like when it releases in the 2013 holiday season).

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I know it’s been in gaming news all week, but I wanted to chime in on the release of Aliens: Colonial Marines. No, this isn’t going to be a game review; it’s just going to be an editorial rant. And yes, I’m going to vent some anger and frustration at Gearbox.

First of all, I have to say that I didn’t get a review copy, so I only started playing two days after it was out (and I pre-ordered, but more on that later). So, game sites that had reviews out on release day beat me to the punch. That’s not normally a big deal, but in this case, if you’re wondering why I’m only now saying anything, it’s because other reviewers got the jump on me in terms of time. And, in this case, I was just a normal, paying customer like the average gamer who bought it on Steam.

So what’s wrong with Aliens: Colonial Marines? I’m glad you asked, because I have an itemized list (major spoilers ahead).

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Publisher: Sega
Developer: Double Fine
Genre: Adventure/Platformer
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

The Cave sees a return to Ron Gilbert’s stable of adventure gaming after some sidestepping into the realm of the action-RPG genre with the great DeathSpank series. My initial reaction when I was asked to review The Cave was, how shall I say, restrained. An apt description, as it would be the same response I’d give if someone asked me to go caving. The Cave is somewhat of a gaming nemesis for me, it being a hybrid platformer/puzzle/adventure, a combination that doesn’t usually inspire many outbursts of excitement from the gaming couch in my household. So, with my jaw set in grim determination, I donned my hardhat, checked my clamps, turned on my torch and descended into the depths of Ron Gilbert’s mind.

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Publisher: Perfect World
Developer: Cryptic Studios
System requirements: Windows XP SP3/Vista SP2/Win 7/Win 8, 2.8 GHz Core2Duo or better CPU, 2 GB RAM, 512 MB GeForce 8800/Radeon HD 2900GT or better graphics card, DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound device
Genre: MMO
ESRB rating: Not rated at press time
Release date: Early 2013

If you’ve been keeping up with D&D news, you’ve no doubt heard some stuff about the upcoming Neverwinter MMO. This week, I was given a chance to muck around in the city of Neverwinter in the first of several beta weekends. I spent a lot of time killing enemies, setting off traps, forming groups with other players, and screwing up my group runs because I suck at healing. In other words, another day in the life of an MMO player.

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Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Ninja Theory
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7/Win 8, 2.4 GHz Core2Duo/2.8 GHz Athlon X2 or better CPU, 2 GB RAM, GeForce 8800GTS/Radeon HD3850 or better graphics card, DirectX 9.0c, 9 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Action
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

Censorship might seem so Nuremberg 1937, but don’t forget that we Americans have many systems in place to insure that every medium has its own classification ghettos. Sometimes, this results in the R-rated action movie, which is labeled as including “mature content” despite having no maturity whatsoever. Like cartoon cigarette mascots, it’s always been known that Schwarzenegger movies are made with the 14-year-old male demographic in mind. DMC Devil May Cry, like those action movies, revels in its violence and gore in a way that only an adolescent can. With a new reboot by a decidedly western developer, the series takes a more colorful approach with the juvenile demon-vs-the-system series. Even though it’s the kind of game that literally scrawls obscenities directed towards the player on the walls, it doesn’t play dirty. In fact, it just might be the best action game to come out in years.

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Publisher: Dark Vale Games
Developer: Dark Vale Games
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 2.0 GHz dual-core CPU, 512 MB DirectX 9.0c-compliant graphics card, 2 GB RAM, DirectX 9.0c, DirectX-compatible sound device, 6 GB hard-drive space
Genre: RPG
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now
Review by Peter Gore

In December, those of us who write for Avault were asked to submit their wish lists for potential reviews in the upcoming year. I threw in some of the more interesting Tier 1 games such as Crysis 3, but I had also just finished reading a teaser for a soon-to-be-released game that combined multiplayer PvP play with RPG elements, entitled Forge. Not long after, a key code arrived in my inbox with the offer of a review. I grabbed the chance to play what I thought would be a unique gaming experience.

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Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: Paradox Development Studio
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 2.4 GHz Pentium IV/AMD 3500+ or better CPU, 2 GB RAM, 512 MB GeForce 8800/Radeon X1900 or better graphics card, DirectX 9.0, 2 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Strategy
ESRB rating: Not rated at press time
Release date: February 18, 2013

Last year, I got a chance to see March of the Eagles up close during the Paradox Strategy Tour. The game depicts the Napoleonic Wars, with the help of developer Paradox’s Clausewitz engine. I recently received a preview copy, and I’ve been marching my armies across Europe for the past couple of weeks. It’s shaping up to be a fine strategy title, offering you a very realpolitik experience on top of its emphasis on warfare and military campaigns.

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Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Firaxis
System requirements: Windows Vista/Win 7, 2.0 GHz dual-core CPU, 2 GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce 8800GT/ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT or better graphics card, DirectX 9.0, 20 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Strategy
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

In 1994, Mythos Games and MicroProse released XCOM: UFO Defense, a game regarded even today as the best of all time. It was simple and frustratingly difficult, all at the same time, and PC gamers loved it. After 18 years of waiting, gamers of all platforms (it would be rude to let PC players have all the fun again) have the chance to see what all the fuss was about with XCOM: Enemy Unknown.

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Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
Developer: Project Aces
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7/Win 8, 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo/2.4 GHz AMD Athlon X2 or better CPU, 2 GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce 8800GT/ATI Radeon HD 3850 or better graphics card, DirectX 9.0c, 16 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Flight sim
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

Ace Combat holds a special place in my heart, mostly for its childlike disregard for reality. It’s a high-budget projection of what goes through a 14-year-old boy’s mind when he obsesses over back issues of Jane’s. Decades of fighter jet technology swooshing over a city, unleashing dozens of missiles at each other as they dive and roll in close knife fights. Reality is so much more boring, as planes sparingly launch their handful of ordinance from miles outside of visual range. Ace Combat takes the shape and names of the real world and paints them atop a much more interesting reality. The latest in the series, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon has now landed on PC in the form of an Enhanced Edition. With a new cinematic presentation and aircraft that aren’t jet planes, Assault Horizon tries to do something new with an old formula, but keep that romantic fantasy alive.

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As the author of the long-running (almost decade and a half) Top Indie PC Games of the Year awards article series, I am inaugurating a new, parallel awards feature for games for the iPad. My rationale is simple: the explosion of game releases on the iPad makes the platform unique in that, unlike consoles, the Macintosh, and non-Apple mobile devices, the quantity and quality of iPad games are now comparable to those on the personal computer. Indeed, the 2012 release of the iPad retina display has stimulated an outpouring of games with improvements in graphics and gameplay.

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Publisher: Soldak Entertainment
Developer: Soldak Entertainment
System requirements: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista/Win 7/Mac OS10.4, 1.5 GHz Pentium IV or better CPU, 256 MB RAM, GeForce 2 or better graphics card, 200 MB hard-drive space
Genre: RPG
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

Every once in awhile, I get something new and interesting across my virtual desk. Drox Operative is one such game. In many ways, it plays like a space version of Diablo, but it has victory conditions like any of a hundred RTS games. It also has espionage action with planets that brings to mind some older CRPGs. My experience with Drox Operative was interesting, and while not the most addicting game I’ve played, it certainly has appeal for those looking for something altogether different.

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Publisher: Devolver Digital
Developer: Dennaton Games
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 1.2 GHz or better CPU, 512 MB RAM, 32 MB DirectX 8-compatible graphics card, DirectX 9.0c, 250 MB hard-drive space
Genre: Action
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

Apparently thinking that the edutainment sector was looking a bit thin, Dennaton Games has made an electronic simulacrum of what it might feel like to go on a coked-up shooting rampage. With a strong retro 80s style, Hotline Miami is fast, fun, and will make you feel terrible about yourself by the end.

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Despite the proliferation of games designed for mobile platforms, the indie computer games market continues to flourish. The personal computer—because of its openness and ubiquitous presence—remains a primary development platform. So, while many other game sites still focus their attention exclusively on conventional big-budget AAA retail offerings, or alternatively concentrate their coverage on games from a variety of hardware platforms other than the PC, for your playing pleasure I unearth the very best hidden computer treasures that indie gaming has to offer. This represents the latest in a series of annual awards articles that now has continued for almost a decade and a half, by far the longest consecutive indie games award series anywhere.

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