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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Publisher: Quest Online
Developer: Quest Online
System requirements: Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7; 2.4 GHz CPU; 2 GB RAM; 4 GB hard-drive space; DirectX 9.0c-compatible video card; broadband Internet connection
Genre: MMORPG
Release date: October 31, 2009

From the graphicless days of Major Mudd to the emergence of Everquest (and everything in-between before World of Warcraft), I’ve given time to my fair share of MMORPGs.  By saying “Before World of Warcraft,” you’d assume that I got sucked into Blizzard’s world and never went to another, but this is far from the truth. See, I’m one of those people who couldn’t get completely into WoW; all of the exclamation points, raid stories and class-nerfing patches that go along with it fall on deaf ears when conversations take a turn towards Azeroth. It’s still hard to deny the attraction, however, as it has somehow reeled me back four times despite my disinterest.

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Publisher: Southpeak Games
Developer: Timegate
System requirements: Windows XP SP3 or Vista SP1, 3.0 ghz Pentium 4 or higher, GeForce 7800 or Radeon X1800 graphics card, 1 gb RAM (2 gb for Vista), 6 gb hard-drive space, broadband connection for multiplayer
Genre: First Person Shooter
Release date: September 2009

Section 8 is a futuristic combat game in which two teams of Angry Internet Men shoot, stab and smash the crap out of each other, all while jumping out of spacecraft without parachutes, leaping across buildings in jet-pack-powered jumps, manning tanks and bipedal war machines and generally blowing stuff up. Team 1 is called The 8th Armoured Infantry Division, affectionately nicknamed Section 8 in reference to a code used for those who are mentally unfit to serve in the armed forces. Their opponents are known as the Arm of Orion, and are some sort of insurgents.

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Publisher: Focus Home Interactive
Developer: Frogwares
System requirements: Intel Pentium 4 3-ghz or AMD Athlon 3000+ CPU, 1 gb RAM, Windows XP SP2/3 or Vista, 128 mb NVIDIA GeForce 6600 or ATI Radeon X700 video card
Genre: MMORPG
Release date: Q3 2009

Strategy gamers are always looking for the next title to tantalize their brains. Whether it’s coordinating individual soldiers in combat formations or managing the creation of armies needed to subdue entire nation-states, enthusiasts crave the mental challenge of doing something more than furiously mashing buttons. Thus, it’s never a surprise when a new strategy game comes across my virtual desk, as the demand for them never seems to decline. I was intrigued to find that Frogwares, a company with a solid reputation for making adventure games, has decided to create World of Battles, which bills itself as “a free-to-play massively multiplayer online real-time wargame in a fantasy setting.”

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Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: Paradox Interactive
System requirements: To be confirmed
Release date: August 2009

Don’t talk to me about war. I’ve got a bulletproof vest made out of purple hearts I’ve earned, bent together with my teeth and barely sound enough to stop an incoming rubber band assault. Suffice it to say, as a soldier, battle isn’t my strongpoint; yet given the chance to set up camp in the war room, my eyes get a little wider for a moment. BattleGoat’s Supreme Ruler 2020 was my initial foray into large-scale strategy, and ever since, I’ve put a little bit more thought into every game I play. And if that’s the case, then I get to prove it with Paradox Interactive’s Hearts of Iron 3.

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Publisher: Mommy’s Best Games
Developer: Mommy’s Best Games
Genre: Action-Adventure
Release date: Q4 2009

During my trip to E3 I was able to meet with Nathan Fouts from Mommy’s Best Games to discuss and play his next project, Grapple Buggy. Some of you might be familiar with his first game, Weapon of Choice, which won multiple awards as one of the best XBL Community games of 2008. As a follow up to Weapon, Grapple Buggy is looking to not only surpass Weapon‘s success, but to be one of the best adventure games on XBLA.

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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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