Publisher: Konami
Developer: Konami
Genre: Card Combat
Release date: Available now

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s Stardust Accelerator: World Championship 2009 is an open-world trading-card game. It might have a learning curve for newcomers, but it does have depth that any strategy player will appreciate. Every card is viable, and there is a myriad of ways to customize your card deck to complement your play style. As you get adept at utilizing all the options of monster, spell and trap cards, gameplay becomes a battle of wits with a dash of luck, and it’s quite satisfying to put yours to the test. Though the focus of the game is on dueling, that doesn’t excuse it from it’s otherwise overall shallowness. It’s plagued by a throwaway story and a lifeless city to explore. Mini-games act as alternatives to dueling, but they are nothing more than frustrations.

(read more…)

Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
Genre: Action RPG
Release date: Available now

Bethesda’s DLC support for Fallout 3 has been nothing but fantastic. There have been some minor bugs and loading issues when some of the add-ons launched, but all were fixed rather quickly. Each piece of DLC has been progressively better than the last, and Point Lookout continues this trend. It not only expands the universe, but it also truly captures the essence of what it is that fans of Bethesda’s action RPG’s love: exploration.

(read more…)

Publisher: Telltale Games
Developer: Telltale Games
Genre: Adventure
Release date: Available Now

Earlier this month at E3, developer Telltale Games announced that Guybrush Threepwood and the denizens of Monkey Island have joined the developer’s growing stable of character-driven episodic adventure games. Fans of the old LucasArts adventures can now check another buried treasure off their wish lists and set their hopes high for a potential Full Throttle or Grim Fandango reunion. Of course, it was Telltale’s expert handling of the beloved Sam & Max series (originally released on the PC two years ago) that paved the way for the return trip to Monkey Island. PC gamers and Wii wagglers have had their chance to reacquaint themselves with the canine gumshoe Sam and his psychotic little buddy Max, and now Xbox players finally get to enjoy their hijinks in the recent release of Season 1 of Sam & Max Save the World.

(read more…)

Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Phenomic
Minimum Requirements: Windows XP (SP2) or Vista, 1.8 ghz CPU, 512 mb RAM (XP)/2 gb (Vista), 4X DVD drive, 7 gb hard-drive space, DirectX 9.0c-compatible video and sound cards
Genre: RPG
Release date: Available Now

Patience, they say, is a virtue. But from an early age, patience is something that most of us are sadly lacking. This is true about most aspects of life, but especially in gaming. How many of us have popped a new game into our machine of choice, left the instruction manual in the box, skipped the tutorials (which, as we all know, are for noobs) and jumped straight into a new game—only to give up after having our asses kicked unrelentingly for an hour? Electronic Arts and developer Phenomic’s RPG BattleForge is one such game, but don’t fall for the trap, lest you spend more time cursing the game than you do enjoying it.

(read more…)

Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: Mezmer Games
Minimum Requirements: Windows® XP/Vista, Pentium 4 1.5 GHz or Athlon XP; 1 gb RAM (2 gb recommended); nVidia GeForce 6/7/8/9 series, ATI Radeon 9600/X1xxx, AMD Radeon HD 2xxx series or Matrox Parhelia video card; at least 2 GB of free hard-drive space; DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card; DirectX 9.0
Genre: RTS
Release date: Available Now

Every once in a while, a game comes along that combines great parody with great fun. Dungeon Keeper and its iterations are a good example of such a fusion. In a similar vein, Stalin vs. Martians attempts to parody the RTS genre, combining a ridiculous premise with absurd gameplay elements. Unfortunately, SvM doesn’t give the player gameplay that’s either stimulating or fun.

(read more…)

Publisher: Atari
Developer: Terminal Reality
Genre: Action
Release date: Available now

I stumble blindly back to my feet after suffering a stomping that could only have come courtesy of the embodiment of evil (in the shape of a 100-ft-tall Sumerian marshmallow). A familiar “ching-whiiiiirrr” emanates from my proton pack, and I eagerly unleash a stream of nuclear energy at the white giant, crisping his outsides and spawning a fully blown craving for graham crackers and chocolate. After 25 years of waiting, I’m finally a Ghostbuster, and it’s everything I’ve ever dreamed it would be…almost.

(read more…)

Publisher: City Interactive
Developer: City Interactive
System Requirements: Windows XP\Vista, DirectX 9.0, 1.6 ghz CPU, 512 mb RAM, 64 mb DirectX-compatible video card, DirectX-compatible sound card, 4 gb hard-drive space, DVD-ROM drive
Genre: Adventure
Release date: Available Now

Having a bad day at the office? Fax machine eating your documents? This is nowhere near as bad as being a federal agent hunting a serial killer. City Interactive’s Art of Murder: Hunt for the Puppeteer gives us a chance to experience what it’s like to be a G-man (or woman).

(read more…)

Publisher: 1C Publishing
Developer: Aspyr
Minimum requirements: Windows XP/Vista; Intel Pentium 4/AMD Athlon XP; 1 GB RAM; nVidia GeForce 7800/ATI Radeon x1800; 6 GB hard disk space
Genre: FPS
Release date: Available now

For months I have been looking forward to the release of Cryostasis, from Russian developer Aspyr and publisher 1C. Clearly deviating sharply from the standard characteristics of modern shooters, Cryostasis is a horror-oriented FPS in many ways reminiscent of Frictional Games’ Penumbra series in terms of its overall tone and its combination of puzzle-solving and shooting action. It also has been highly publicized as a state-of-the-art implementation of nVidia’s PhysX physics engine’s capabilities.

(read more…)

Publisher: THQ
Developer: Relic
Minimum requirements: Windows XP or Vista; SSE capable processor, 2.0 Ghz Intel Pentium IV or equivalent or AMD Athlon XP or equivalent; 512 MB RAM, 1GB MB RAM required for Vista; DirectX 9.0c compatible 64MB video card with Pixel Shader 1.1 support or equivalent and latest manufacturer drivers
Genre: RTS
Release date: Available now

Having missed the original Company of Heroes when it was first released, I was pleased to get a chance to play the newest expansion, Tales of Valor, as the original got such good press. Still set in World War II, it follows the military exploits of both Allied and Axis units in the weeks and months following D-Day. While there are a few new units and gameplay features, the expansion focuses primarily on some new single player missions and multiplayer modes.

(read more…)

Publisher: Lighthouse Interactive
Developer: Kerberos
Minimum requirements: Windows 2000/XP/Vista; 1.5 GHz Intel Pentium or comparable AMD Processor; 1 GB RAM; 128 MB RAM DirectX 9x compatible video card; 3 GB hard disk space; DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card; LAN or 56 Kbps Internet connection
Genre: Strategy
Release date: Available now

It’s been a strategy-filled few weeks for me. I’ve been fortunate enough to have multiple RTS titles come across my virtual desk as I stroll from game to game; it’s no secret that I enjoy empire building. This time around, I had the pleasure of reviewing the 4X strategy game Sword of the Stars: Ultimate Collection, a turn-based, science-fiction epic set in a universe with star-spanning empires, raging space battles, highly advanced technology and interesting civilizations with which to interact (and annihilate).

(read more…)

Publisher: Tale of Tales
Developer: Tale of Tales
Minimum requirements: Windows XP or Vista; 2 GHz CPU; 2 GB RAM; 256 MB Radeon or Geforce video card of at least x6xx type (integrated video cards are not supported)
Genre: Action/Horror
Release date: Available now

It’s not too often that one finds a game so quick to lie to you from the outset. We’re accustomed to following some sort of rule-set in games, so when you play one that issues a failing grade for just doing what you’re told; you rear back a bit in surprise. This is exactly what happened to me the first time I played The Path, a pseudo horror/action offering from oddball publisher, Tale of Tales.

(read more…)

Publisher: Chronic Logic
Developer: Chronic Logic
Minimum requirements: Java and Win98/ME/2000/XP/Vista/OSX/Linux
Genre: Strategy
Release date: Available now

When you have been involved with playing strategy games as long as I have, including those old school Avalon Hill table top box sets from what seems like the distant past, it is easy to forget that aside from all the bells and whistles you can find in games today, there are some very basic structures and formulas that contribute to a successful game. When you strip away cool graphics, immersive audio and plausible plotlines, strategy gamers are really looking for games that provide a wide range of strategic options. The more complicated and nuanced those options are, the more a gamer can get out of a game. Zatikon is a turn-based strategy game that successfully provides the nuanced strategic gameplay for which gamers are looking.

(read more…)

Publisher: Strategy First
Developer: KDV Games
Minimum requirements: Windows XP; DirectX 9.0c; Pentium 4 3.0 GHz or Athlon XP 2500+; 512 MB RAM; GeForce 6600 128MB Graphics card; DirectX 9 Compatible Sound Card; 8 GB Hard Drive Space
Genre: RTS
Release date: Available now

Entire genres can go stale over time; so it is with RTS games. It can be a difficult task to create a game that cashes in on the successful aspects of a well entrenched genre while giving gamers enough of something new to stave off boredom. I had these thoughts on my mind as I installed Perimeter II: New Earth, an RTS game from KD Vision Games Development Company. Never having played the original, but having read some reviews of it a few years ago, I came to the game hoping for something new and interesting.

(read more…)

Publisher: Aspyr
Developer: Best Way
Minimum requirements: Windows 2000/XP/Vista; 1.7GHz Processor; 512MB RAM; nVidia GeForce 3/ATI Radeon 9600 video card or higher; DirectX 9.0b compatible sound card; 4GB free hard drive space; DVD drive
Genre: Real-Time Strategy
Release date: Available now

I often talk about the game Dungeon Keeper 2 as being one of my favorite PC games of all time. I think what stood out to me the most about the Bullfrog RTS/sim mash-up was that your minions were in your capable hands at all times. If you didn’t like how the AI was handling itself, there was always the option of possessing the henchmen and taking care of business yourself. This is perhaps the most tantalizing part of Best Way’s Men of War, and the main reason I requested the opportunity to review it.

(read more…)

Publisher: Tik Games
Developer: Creat Studios
Genre: Puzzle
Release date: Available now
Review by: James Dolbeare

It takes a lot of staying power for a game to remain popular for more than a century. Mahjong has been around for about 2500 years, so by any account, the game has enduring appeal. But can a game like Mahjong succeed on a next-gen gaming platform such as the PS3? TikGames and Creat Studios think so. With Mahjong Tales: Ancient Wisdom, the developers have brought Mahjong to the Playstation Network, and have added some new flourishes to boot.

(read more…)