Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA Tiburon
Genre: Sports
Release date: August 10, 2010

When the Madden NFL 11 demo becomes available to the public, you’ll get the opportunity to play a game between the New York Jets and the Indianapolis Colts. You’ll also get to experience Madden 11’s newest addition, GameFlow, which enhances the play-calling experience by taking it away from you. I spent some time with the demo this week, and here are my impressions.

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Publisher: Turbine
Developer: Turbine
System requirements: 1.8 GHz or better CPU, 512 MB RAM, 64 MB video card, DirectX 9.0c, 7 GB hard-drive space, Internet connection
Genre: MMORPG
Release date: Fall 2010
Preview by: Lieren Teeling

To the delight of many of us who don’t have the money or inclination to subscribe to monthly-fee MMO games, Lord of the Rings Online, like Dungeons and Dragons Online before it, is joining the ranks of the Free to Play. This fall, the game will re-launch with a complete overhaul, converting it to a game built on micro-transactions rather than monthly payments. A welcome change to most people.

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Publisher: Muzzy Lane
Developer: Muzzy Lane
System requirements: Windows XP or better; Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz or Athlon 64 X2 4200+ or better; Radeon X800 GT or GeForce 7600 GT or better; 2 GB RAM; 1 GB hard drive space.
Genre: Strategy
Release date: Summer 2010

Sometimes when I’m called upon to review or preview a game, I seriously underestimate it by trying to play it “cold turkey,” without reading the manual. Making History II is one of those games…and boy, was I wrong. Maybe if I had played the first game in the series, I wouldn’t have made that mistake. Still in its beta-testing stage, Making History II is one of the most detailed war simulators I’ve ever had the opportunity to play.

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Publisher: Atlus
Developer: Atlus
Genre: Adventure
Release date: July 6, 2010

Recently I attended an online meeting hosted by publisher Atlus USA in which they showcased their upcoming PSP game Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable. The presentation was brief, but they showed off some gameplay and explained the new features in the PSP version.

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Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: Fatshark
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or AMD Athlon X2 5200+ 2.6 GHz CPU, 1.5 GB RAM, 2.0 GB free hard-drive space, GeForce 7800 series or ATI Radeon X1900 graphics card with Shader Model 3.0 compatibility, DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card, DirectX 9.0c
Genre: Team-based shooter
Release date: April 8, 2010

I have been known to complain endlessly about there being too many games set in World War II. I just find it incredibly irritating that game designers seem continuously unable to dream up interesting settings, or to simply use a historical period that isn’t 1939 to 1945. Often one of the reasons cited is that there was no other time when firearms were widely used. Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West, a new game from Swedish developer Fatshark, is a great example of the fallacy that is the above statement. It is set in the Wild West, and is a most welcome break from the excruciatingly overused WWII theme. Setting up a bear trap to catch a gunslinging outlaw seems novel and fresh when compared to planting a land mine to frag a Nazi.

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Publisher: Sparkplay Media
Developer: Sparkplay Media
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7; 1.7 GHz Pentium III or better CPU; 1 GB RAM for Win XP (1.5 GB for Vista/Win 7); 128 MB graphics card with Shader Model 2.0; Broadband Internet connection
Genre: MMORPG
Release date: 2010

When anybody refers to a browser-based MMO, a couple of things come to mind: stripped and limited. Unlike their retail software counterparts, these games can lack the depth that MMOs such as World of Warcraft possess. Sparkplay Media is hoping to bridge this gap with Earth Eternal. Touted as the “real browser MMO,” Earth weaves together elements of other MMOs and community internet boards such as Facebook, Twitter, etc, to create a promising game that is accessible even when you are not at your home computer.

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Publisher: The Game Equation
Developer: The Game Equation
Requirements: Windows or Mac OS X
Genre: Puzzle
Release Date: March 2010

It’s been a few years since the events of Deep Blue Sea. Jessica, the former advertising executive turned treasure hunter, has disappeared. Her younger sister, Melissa, receives a worn postcard with a note in Jessica’s handwriting, written in the secret code that the sisters invented when they were young. The note tells Melissa to go to Billinger Island, which is where the search for her sister – and her own adventure – begins.

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Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: BioWare
Genre: RPG
Release date: March 16, 2010

On March 5, X-Fire hosted a sneak-peek demo of Dragon Age: Origins–Awakening with lead designer Ferret Boudoin.

At the end of Origins, you slay the Archdemon and suffer the consequences of your actions, and the world “should” have returned to normal. Apparently, the returning-to-normal part failed to occur. At the beginning of Awakening, it’s discovered that instead of retreating underground to lick their wounds, the darkspawn are increasing in number and have spawned a new flavor that both speaks and strategizes.

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Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: Gas Powered Games
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/7; 2.6 GHz CPU; 256 MB DX9 compliant videocard with Pixel Shader 3.0; 1GB RAM (1.5GB for Vista/7); 5 GB hard drive space; broadband connection for multiplayer
Genre: RTS
Release date: March 2 for PC, March 16 for Xbox360

This weekend I had an opportunity (and an obligation) to look at the demo of Supreme Commander 2. As someone who generally enjoys the real time strategy genre, I am always interested in taking a look at new iterations of past franchises. Right now, for instance, I am enjoying my time with the Starcraft II beta, while waiting for Chaos Rising, an expansion to Dawn of War II, my 2009 game of the year. My relationship with the Total Annihilation/Supreme Commander series is somewhat complicated, however. Both games impressed me so far as innovation went, but I didn’t really enjoy playing them when they came out.

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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: Kalicanthus Entertainment
Developer: Cyberdemons
System Requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win7, 2 GHz CPU, 1 GB RAM, DirectX 9.0c, Nvidia GeForce 6600 or better graphics card, 10 GB hard-drive space
Genre: MMORPG
Release date: April 2010

I’d imagine that just about any MMO developer you talk to would say that the primary focus of their team is to “build a better mousetrap.” The goal is not only to attract a solid subscriber base, but also to hold onto that base long enough to recoup any investments and, with any luck at all, eventually turn a profit. Sure, there’s something to be said for artistic integrity, but that doesn’t change the bottom line: the goal for an MMO is to make money. If it also happens to be an MMO with a rich backstory and some diversions from the regular formula, then that’s all the better.

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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: 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: Iron Tower Studio
Developer: Iron Tower Studio
System requirements: Pentium III 1000; 512 MB RAM; GeForce4 MX440 with 64MB onboard
Genre: RPG
Release date: TBA

As some of you may have heard me mention, I’ve been following the progress of a game called Age of Decadence for quite some time now. It is an independently developed RPG, which appears to be very promising. In addition to quests, different play styles, weapons, and locations, there are going to be extensive dialogue options that include the ability to use various skills during the course of conversation. What appeals to me the most is that the game will include both diplomacy and intrigue, allowing for non-violent solutions (or at least the kind of violent solutions where you get others to do the dirty work for you).

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Publisher: SCEA
Developer: SCEA
Genre: Action Adventure
Release date: March 2010

As Athena dies in his arms, Kratos shouts a damning promise towards the gods of Olympus. Knowing he cannot defeat all the remaining gods alone, he uses the Loom of Fate to go back in time to recruit the Titans. God of War II ends as Kratos and the Titans scale Mount Olympus, leaving a burning and destroyed world in their wake. It is in this burning wake that God of War III begins.

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