Publisher: Team 17 Software
Developer: Team 17 Software
System requirements: Windows XP, Vista, or 7; 1.25 GHz AMD Athlon or Intel equivalent processor or better; 2 GB of hard drive space; 1 GB of RAM; GeForce 4 Series or equivalent video card with 128 MB video RAM; DirectX 9.0c-compliant sound card; Internet connection
Genre: Turn-based strategy
ESRB rating: Everyone 10+
Release Date: Available Now

It’s hard to believe that it’s been fifteen years since the Worms series kicked off on the Amiga, but Team 17 has brought us a fantastic new entry for the PC platform. The new release returns to the original 2D aspect for the first time since Worms: Open Warfare in 2003. Based largely on Worms 2: Armageddon, released via the Xbox Live Arcade last year, Worms: Reloaded adds even more voice banks, weapons, maps, and game modes.

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Publisher: Turbine
Developer: Turbine
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 1.8 GHz Pentium IV or equivalent CPU, 512 MB RAM, 64 MB GeForce 3/Radeon 8500 or better graphics card, 11 GB hard-drive space, DirectX 9.0c or higher, Internet connection
Genre: Free-to-Play MMO
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date (FTP version): September 10, 2010

After three years as a subscription-model MMO, Turbine’s Lord of the Rings Online is moving to a free-to-play structure, almost one year to the day after their other hit MMO, Dungeons and Dragons Online, went FTP. I hadn’t played LOTRO since participating in the game’s original beta test in 2007, so I decided to return to Middle Earth and see what’s new in Tolkien’s universe. Turns out, things are pretty much the same, only prettier.

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Publisher: Wadjet Eye Games
Developer: Wadjet Eye Games
System requirements: 1.5 GHz Pentium 4/Athlon XP 1500+ or better CPU, 64 MB GeForce 2 MX 400/Radeon X300 series or better graphics card, 256 MB RAM, 512 MB hard-drive space, DirectX 9-compatible sound card, DirectX 9
Genre: Puzzle adventure
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

“There’s a big secret at Dr. Hugo’s Factory for Making Robots. When the inventors aren’t looking, their tiny robots go on big adventures! It all starts when Zander – possibly the world’s most absent-minded inventor – trips over a metal box buried outside the factory. When nobody can figure out how to open it, the robots sneak out and try it for themselves.” Actually, this info from the Puzzle Bots home page pretty much sums up this point-and-click adventure game. Dr. Hugo has hired five top-notch inventors to design robots to sell that do nothing but chores. Not only are they tiny, but they’re also self-aware, so when they’re put in the “robot habitat,” they decide it would be fun to escape and explore their surroundings.

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Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: Paradox Interactive
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, Pentium IV 2.4 GHz or AMD 3500+ or better CPU, 2GB RAM, 2 GB hard-drive space, NVIDIA GeForce 8800 or ATI Radeon X1900 or better graphics card, Direct X-compatible sound card, DirectX 9, Internet connection for multiplayer
Genre: RTS
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

It has been almost seven years since Victoria: An Empire Under the Sun was released, and I have to agree with Avault’s Jim Richmond in his description of its enormous depth and complexity. Victoria, a strategy game of imperialism, politics and economics in the 19th century, was the kind of game that could overwhelm even the most hardcore gamers, and yet its minutia was part of its appeal. It was a game that made sure every single person in the game world, from farmers in Manchuria to factory workers in London, had an economic impact. It rewarded smart, patient players instead of mindless violence and button-mashing. It even provoked online discussions that demanded a minimal understanding of economics to follow what some players were saying. It’s no surprise, then, that some of the staff at Paradox Interactive were reluctant to make a sequel. So reluctant, in fact, that Paradox CEO Frederick Wester promised to shave his head if the sequel turns a profit (high pre-order sales have since triggered Wester’s promised trip to the barbershop). But the real question facing strategy gamers is whether Victoria II can live up to its promise of complicated, nuanced gameplay, while at the same time being a game that you can learn to play without dual PhDs in 19th-century political science and economics. The short answer is that Victoria II achieves these goals and gives strategy gamers a game that can keep them occupied for hours on end, with a few reservations as to how some mechanics currently work. The long answer is about as complicated as the game itself.

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Publisher: Valve
Developer: Black Cat Games
Genre: Action
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, Pentium IV 3.0 GHz or better CPU, 1 GB RAM (2 GB for Vista), 128 MB DirectX 9-compatible graphics card with Shader Model 2.0 support (ATI X800, NVidia 6600 or better), 2.5 GB hard-drive space, DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

For some reason, when we think of a swarm of something we automatically think it’s coming after us. It’s always, “I was attacked by a swarm of bees” or “My family’s farm was decimated by a swarm of locusts!” Well, in Alien Swarm’s case, this association holds especially true, because before you’re done playing, you’ll say, “My entire squad of marines was attacked, eviscerated and scattered about the corridors like piñata innards by a swarm of aliens!” Or something like that.

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Publisher: Telltale
Developer: Telltale
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7/Mac (OS 10.5 or newer), 2.0 GHz CPU, 1 GB RAM, 128 MB DirectX 8.1-compatible graphics card, DirectX 8.1-compatible sound card, DirectX 9.0c or better
Genre: Adventure
Release date: August 31, 2010

All good stories must come to an end, even strange ones such as Sam and Max Season 3: The Devil’s Playhouse. So it is with the series’ final chapter, The City That Dares Not Sleep, a fast and funny wrapup that brings back favorite elements and characters from past adventures of the Freelance Police.

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Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios
Developer: Black Rock Studio
System requirements: 3.0 Ghz Pentium Processor; 2.5 GB RAM; 6.5 GB hard drive space; nVidia GeForce 7600 or ATI Radeon X1600; Windows 7/Vista SP2/XP SP3
Genre: Arcade racer
ESRB rating: Everyone 10+
Release date: Available now

In recent years, across genre realistic simulation has been the rage in computer games, with everyone trumpeting how you cannot differentiate what you see on the screen from reality. The racing niche has been no exception, with accurate physics of motion, tracks replicating actual courses, and branded vehicles sporting all the handling features of their real-world counterparts. However, Black Rock Studio’s recent release Split/Second breaks this trend, going back in a retro way to the pure hormonal rush of arcade racing. Does it deserve to be mentioned in the company of such old PC classics as Wipeout, Burnout, POD, and Dethkarz?

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Publisher: NASA
Developer: NASA
Minimum requirements: Win XP SP3; 2.0+ GHZ Single Core Processor; 2GB of System RAM; NVIDIA 7000-series or ATI Radeon X1900 Video Card; 2GB of Free Hard Drive Space; DirectX 9.0c
Genre: Sim
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

Sometimes I look at my life and wonder why I didn’t choose to pursue one of those little-boy dreams, like becoming an astronaut. And then, every so often, along comes a video game like Moonbase Alpha to remind me. Mind you, I’m not knocking astronauts. I’m sure that, in reality, it’s really exciting to know that the only thing keeping you from being turned inside out is a thin piece of glass that’s mere inches from your nose. But when you strip away the lurking danger of the vacuum, the fact that a missing screw could ignite the hundreds of tons of rocket fuel you’re sitting on, the natural splendor of space, and the feeling of weightlessness, you’re really just a slow moving piece of meat in the middle of nowhere. And with Moonbase Alpha, you too can be a slow moving oaf in a spacesuit.

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Publisher: Alawar Games
Developer: Boolat Games
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7; 1 GHz CPU; 1 GB RAM; 110 MB hard-drive space; DirectX 8.0 or later
Genre: Time management
ESRB rating: Not rated at press time
Release date: Available now
Review by: Lieren Teeling

Time management is a bigger game genre than most people think. They’re extremely popular with casual gamers, with hundreds available for download or as flash games all over the Internet. Amelie’s Cafe: Summer Time is the latest in Boolat Games’ and Alawar Games’ Amelie’s Cafe series.

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Publisher: Her Interactive
Developer: Her Interactive
System requirements: 1 GHz or greater Pentium or equivalent class CPU; 256 MB of RAM; 1 GB or more of hard drive space; 32 MB DirectX 9.0 compatible video card; 16 bit DirectX compatible sound card; 24X CD-ROM drive
Genre: Adventure
Release date: August 24, 2010
Review by: Lieren Teeling

Secrets Can Kill is Her Interactive’s latest point and click adventure starring iconic girl detective Nancy Drew. A remastered version of the first Nancy Drew game, the title celebrates the 80th anniversary of Nancy’s book debut in 1930.

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Publisher: Blizzard
Developer: Blizzard
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7/Mac OSX 10.5.8 or newer, 2.6 GHz Pentium IV or equivalent CPU, 128 MB GeForce 6600/ATI Radeon 9800 Pro or better graphics card, 1 GB RAM (1.5 GB for Vista/Win 7, 2 GB for Mac), 12 GB hard-drive space, broadband Internet connection, 1024 x 720 minimum screen resolution
Genre: RTS
Release date: Available now

StarCraft II continues the saga of Terrans, Protoss and Zerg, the three space-faring races that plot (in real time) each other’s demise. The original StarCraft (1998) took the world by storm. Although it was somewhat lacking in terms of technology and advancement of the RTS genre, its sheer polish, for which Blizzard is so famous, has made it one of the best selling games ever. Some claim that it went further than all others and became something more. For example, when traveling in Korea a few years ago, I fell sick and had to stay at home for a few days. During that time, I entertained myself by watching non-stop StarCraft matches on four channels of Korean national television.

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Publisher: THQ
Developer: 4A Games
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7; dual-core CPU; 1 GB RAM; DirectX 9-compatible graphics card with Shader Model 3 support; DirectX 9.0c; playable in 3D (Vista and Win 7 only) with 120-Hz monitor, GeForce GTX 275 or better graphics card and nVidia 3D Vision pack
Genre: Shooter
Release date: Available now

I always try to applaud innovation in games, no matter how successful they might be. But there are times when I feel like saying, “To hell with innovation! Today I just want to make some popcorn, pop open a cold one and slay monsters with the biggest weapon I can find.” If this happens to you as well from time to time, then THQ and first-time developer 4A Games’ Metro 2033 is the game for you. No multiple plot lines or squad management. Just you, a gun collection and enemies to annihilate.

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Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: Paradox Interactive
System requirements: Windows 2000/XP/Vista; Intel Pentium IV 2.4 GHz or AMD 3500+ (quad core) CPU; 2 GB RAM; 2 GB hard-drive space; NVIDIA GeForce 8800 or ATI Radeon X1900 graphics card; DirectX-compatible sound card; DirectX 9
Genre: Strategy
Release date: Available now

Several months ago, I reviewed Hearts of Iron III and found it to be a worthy WWII game in spite of a few flaws. Capitalizing on the continued financial success of the franchise, Paradox Interactive has released Hearts of Iron 3: Semper Fi, an expansion to what is already a complicated and in-depth war game. Rather than just layer on random features or correct obvious errors, Paradox has kept the game true to its complex roots, while selecting a few important additions that fundamentally alter vital aspects of the gameplay.

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Publisher: Rose Portal Games
Developer: Rose Portal Games
System requirements: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista, 700 MHz CPU, 256 MB RAM, DirectX 6.0, 160 MB hard-drive space
Genre: Adventure
Release date: Available now

When Whisper of a Rose: Gold came across my virtual desk, I was not especially thrilled. The protagonist, Melrose, is described by RosePortal Games as “The…heroine of the story. Her everyday life is sad: no one understands her. One day she decides to make a drastic change, and she ends up in the realm of dreams and fantasy.” It sounded like an immature fantasy offering, with twinkly godmothers, fairies, and a bubbly, cute heroine, but I begrudgingly installed the game and set to work. Imagine my surprise upon finding a girl who’s struggling with abusive parents, a dream world that has become a nightmarish reflection of her terrible life, and gameplay with both puzzles and plenty of combat. Whisper of a Rose: Gold is a CRPG that covers its depth of story with a fairy-tale façade.

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Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Realtime Worlds
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 2.0 GHz Intel Core2Duo/2.6 GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ or better CPU, 256 MB graphics card, 2 GB RAM, 256 kb/sec Internet connection
Genre: MMO/Shooter
Release date: Available now

Welcome to San Paro! Twenty-three years ago, Mayor John Derren was assassinated by a 16-year-old criminal. In the aftermath, San Paro went from bad to worse because of a series of weak and opportunistic politicians and a corrupt, underfunded and understaffed police force. Two years ago, the daughter of Mayor Derren returned to the city and, in just a few months, rose to become mayor. One year ago, she passed the City Security Act (CSA), which legalized vigilantism, empowering ordinary citizens to take up the burden of law enforcement. Two factions—the criminals and the enforcers—now fight it out every day in the streets. Both claim to hold the key to San Paro’s salvation. Only one of them can be right. The other could destroy the city even as it claims to be trying to save it. Welcome to APB.

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