Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: BioWare
Genre: RPG
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: March 8, 2011

At 1.98 GB, the demo for Dragon Age II was downloaded in a mere six hours. Due to the lengthy delay, my initial enthusiasm waned as my mood shifted from elation to pissed. When I finally got to the black and white (with a hint of red) opening screen, I was not impressed. Still, I’d waited almost a year for this, so it was with much anxiety that I clicked that Start button.

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Sequels are a tough gig. In a shoot first ask questions later gaming market, it’s difficult to keep your fan base excited for the next chapter. There are so many different factors involved, but the main one always is the same basic idea. Keep the title fresh while managing to retain the good qualities of the original title. As a reviewer, I never find myself completely satisfied with many ongoing game titles out there, and find myself wondering why the developers bother trying to top some plot twist or an awe-inspiring digital scene. Guerilla Games’ Killzone 3, however, aims to please and it does it well. All I can say is: “The madness begins.”

Killzone 3 immediately follows the events of the execution of Autarch Scolar Visari by Master Sergeant Rico Velasquez. Sergeant Tomas “Sev” Sevchenko sat, disillusioned by his comrade’s actions, on the steps of the Imperial Palace as the remaining fleet of the ISA is assaulted by a massive fleet of Helghast ships. With the almost requiem sound of violins, you find yourself as Sev, on a drop ship with a rag-tag group of ISA survivors, struggling to escape the now overwhelming Helghast forces. As your ship is shot down, you crash land into what looks like a refinery in an arctic tundra. As Sev scavenges for any useful weapons you find yourself already under attack. Slowly trudging through ice, snow and enemy fire; the game creates a tone of desperation, as you cling to a glimmering shred of hope in the enveloping darkness.

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Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: Colossal Order
System requirements: Microsoft Windows XP/Vista/7; 2 GHz Dual Core or higher processor; 2 GB RAM; 2 GB hard disk space; NVIDIA GeForce 8800/ATI Radeon HD 3850 or higher video card
Genre: Simulation
ESRB: Rating pending
Release date: February 22, 2011

In America, public transportation is a part of our society, but not quite as integral as it is overseas. While we in the states climb into our gas guzzlers, mount our motorcycles and pedal our bikes to green consciousness, the majority of our Euro brethren are hopping on trains, buses, streetcars and water taxis as part of their daily routine to get around town. Finnish developer, Colossal Order smartly understands this, which is why all of the scenarios in their inaugural game, Cities in Motion, take place in Europe.

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Publisher: SG Interactive
Developer: SG Interactive
System requirements: TBD
Genre: Shooter
ESRB rating: Not rated at press time
Release date: Q1 2011

So here comes another online shooter ready to duke it out with the likes of Counter-Strike and Call of Duty. Developed by SG Interactive, Project Blackout seeks to bring something new to the table in what is already a highly competitive genre.

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On Thursday, February 3, Atlus PR Manager Aram Jabbari hosted a live web demo of their upcoming DS RPG Radiant Historia. Everything I’d seen of it showed promise, so I was more than happy to attend. I went in optimistic, eager to get not only the closest to hands-on I could until the release, but also participate in an open forum and ask the team behind the US release anything concerning the game, from localization decisions to quality control.

The first thing we were treated to was a roughly half hour walkthrough of the introductory portions of the game. Aram provided intel on its technical aspects, story background information, and commentary about the translation and localization of dialogue.

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Publisher: Masthead Studios
Developer: Masthead Studios
System requirements: Windows XP SP2/Vista SP1/Win 7, 2.4+ GHz Single Core CPU, 2 GB RAM, 256 MB NVIDIA 7800GT+/ATI Radeon 9800 SE or better graphics card, 20 GB hard-drive space, high-bandwidth Internet connection (DSL, Cable)
ESRB rating: Not rated at press time
Release Date: February 4, 2011

Gamers have feeding frenzies on games with post-apocalyptic world settings; our imaginations love the idea of being a hero in a world that’s plummeted into despair. Television, film and games all manage to keep us sucked in, and most of us tend to love the genre, with the usual few haters who don’t. During the past few months, if you’ve been searching random sites about games, you found the Earthrise banner. If you’re anything like me, you’ll likely notice a woman in a seemingly tight leather outfit with a gun holstered, beckoning you to click the link and find out what Earthrise is. This only leaves two major questions in my mind: What is Masthead Studios’ new MMO all about, and how soon before I can kill something?

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Publisher: Perfect World Entertainment
Developer: Perfect World Entertainment
System requirements: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/Win 7, 1 GHz Intel Pentium IV or faster CPU, 1 GB RAM (2GB for XP, 3GB for Vista/Win 7), 8 GB hard-drive space, 256 MB GeForce 6200/Radeon 9550 or better graphics card with Shader Model 2.0 support, DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card
Genre: MMORPG
ESRB rating: Not rated at press time
Release date: TBA

Perfect World International is best known for its flagship game, Perfect World, but it has more than a few others to its name. Forsaken World is their latest upcoming MMO, and in an industry saturated with free-to-play games, it manages to make itself stand out. After playing through Phase 1 of the beta, I’ve come to two conclusions: I’m really looking forward to the final release, and I’m really going to miss my characters after the final beta wipe.

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Publisher: Konami
Developer: Konami
Genre: Sports
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: October 19, 2010
Preview by: Benjy Ikimi

So here comes another year when Shingo “Seabass” Takatsuka, the brains behind Pro Evolution Soccer 2011, attempts to reclaim the crown stolen from him by EA’s FIFA series. For a good few years, Konami has produced the ultimate football (soccer) experience, but once the FIFA developers got their act together, they seemed to take large steps in the opposite direction.

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Publisher: Wargaming.net
Developer: Wargaming.net
System Requirements: Not yet listed
Genre: Action MMO
ESRB rating: Not yet rated
Release date: TBA

There is a feeling of power associated with tanks. Driving over obstacles, blowing targets up with large caliber high explosive shells, and being impervious to small arms fire are some of the perks associated with these great armored beasts of land battles. Hoping to capitalize on these gaming inclinations, Wargaming.net has already begun closed beta-testing of World of Tanks, an MMO dedicated to the tactical employment of armor in World War II battles.

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Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista, Intel Core2Duo/AMD Athlon X2 or better CPU, GeForce 7800/Radeon HD 2400 Pro or better graphics card with Pixel Shader 3.0 support, 1 GB RAM (2 GB Vista), DirectX 9.0c, 13 GB hard-drive space, DirectSound-compatible sound card
Genre: Third-person shooter/RPG
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: October 15, 2010
Preview by: Lieren Teeling

Currently available for PS3 and Xbox 360, Lost Planet 2 comes to the PC October 15, 2010. Available for download on the official site is a nice demo featuring two benchmark tests for your PC. The first is a simple performance test to show you how well the game will typically run on your computer; the second pushes your PC to its outer limits to see how well it can handle it.

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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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