Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: Nitro Games
Minimum requirements: Windows XP or Vista, 1.6 ghz Intel Pentium or AMD Athlon CPU, 1 gb RAM (2 gb for Vista), 128 mb DirectX 9.0c video card with pixel shader 2, 4X DVD-ROM drive, DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card, 6 gb free hard drive space, DirectX 9.0c.
Genre: RTS
Release date: July 28, 2009

In the 17th century, the known world was ruled not by military might, but by trade. And the international hub of this trade was India. Fleets of sailing ships from many nations, including England, France, Spain, Portugal and Holland, criss-crossed the Atlantic and Indian Oceans transporting cotton, silk, saltpetre, tea, opium and indigo dye from India to their home ports. The trips were long and arduous, and not without danger, as piracy was rampant. Publisher Paradox Interactive and developer Nitro Games want to give you a taste of life in this fascinating time with East India Company, a real-time strategy game that puts you in the captain’s chair for adventure on the high seas.

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Publisher: Nobilis Games
Developer: Frozenbyte
Genre: Action Adventure
Release date: June 2009

A new game for the PS3 and the PC is poised to change our perception of current 2D side-scrollers. Lauri Hyvärinen and his crew at Frozenbyte are putting the finishing touches on Trine, a fantasy game that utilizes physics as a primary element of its interface.

Trine brings something new to the gameplay table. It possesses unique visual and auditory panache in a fantasy setting, but its physics-based interface is what will likely make it stand out. According to Hyvärinen, “while our physics bring neat ragdoll deaths, they also are something the player must use in order to pass various puzzles and obstacles. I think Trine brings something new to the fantasy genre of games – or to games altogether for that matter.” Physics is an essential component of the gameplay, with each puzzle requiring you to move objects such as counterweights or swings to solve them.

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Publisher: 3000AD
Developer: 3000AD
System Requirements: Windows XP (SP3) or Vista (SP1); Pentium 4 (3.4 GHz) or Athlon 64 X2 (3.0 GHz) CPU; 1 GB RAM (2 GB for Vista); 256 MB graphics card with Shader Model 3; DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card; Multiplayer requires LAN or broadband connection
Genre: Flight Sim FPS
Release date: June 9, 2009

More than a decade after the publication of the first game in the Battlecruiser series, developer Derek Smart and his company, 3000 AD, return to the Battlecruiser universe with its latest incarnation, All Aspect Warfare. I recently had the chance to play a beta build of the combination air combat\FPS, and what I found had me smiling and frowning in equal measure.

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Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: Taleworlds
System: PC
Minimum requirements: Pentium 766 MHz or compatible processor; Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista; Direct3D accelerator
Genre: RPG
Release date: September 16, 2008
Review by: Jason Pitruzzello

It is an image that has become symbolic of both gaming and literature: an armed warrior atop a horse, battling against enemies. Fantasy novels and RPGs make use of such images in their artwork, from covers to books to interior pictures, as do more historical and less fantastic medieval games and literature. Yet, when it comes to CRPGs that are set in either a fantasy or a medieval setting, we often find horses relegated to a means of fast travel, and mounted combat occurs rarely, if at all. The vast groups of armed warriors, wizards and wandering bards to be found in blockbuster games such as Oblivion and Neverwinter Nights fight and die on foot, no matter how realistic, well done or complicated the combat systems for these games are. Now, for those looking for a more comprehensive model of combat, one that puts cavalry in its rightful place, there is Mount and Blade, a new CRPG in development by Taleworlds that I have had the privilege of previewing during the past two weeks.

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Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: BattleGoat Studios
System: PC
Minimum requirements: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista with DirectX 8.1; 800MHz Pentium III or equivalent; 512MB RAM; 16MB Graphics Card; DirectX compatible Sound Card
Genre: Strategy
Release date: June 17th, 2008
Review by: Andrew Clark

Our world has a tendency to seldom work the way we want it to. Despot rulers have been known to use an iron fist to slaughter the innocent or enact an oppressive police state, fat business executives line their pockets and forget the backs they stepped on to achieve their position, and the cost of gas is just too damn high. As part of the normal populace I’ve often wondered what would happen if I could just run things for a little while. Rearrange a few expenditures; perhaps pour some funding into an experimental technology, or just blow it all on the education system. Would I be a success? And if so why stop there? What about, dare I say it, world domination?

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