Publisher: LudoCraft
Developer: LudoCraft
System requirements: Windows XP SP2/Vista/Win 7, 2.6 GHz CPU, 2 GB RAM, DirectX 9.0c-compatible graphics card, DirectX-compatible sound device, DirectX 9.0c, 1 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Action
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now
Review by Peter Gore

One of my favorite all-time games combined tanks, combat and racing. Treadmarks was an indie multiplayer game that had you racing your tank against others in wide-open vistas and enclosed tracks, allowing for combat as well as a race to the finish line. It never made the big time, but it had a cult of online followers that still plays today, even 10 years after it was published. So when I was assigned to review Air Buccaneers, I was reminded of odd combinations that could work. Buccaneers have been known to have a cannon or two. How is any self-respecting pirate-buccaneer type going to plunder the high seas without one. But Vikings? I’ve seen my share of Viking movies (13th Warrior remains an eternal favorite), and I don’t remember Vikings having either cannons or gunpowder. And neither buccaneers nor Vikings had hot air balloons in which to tool around the skies. But Air Buccaneers throws the entire mish-mash into one place, creating a sort of “chocolate meets peanut butter” collision with the hopeful result of an entertaining gaming experience.

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Publisher: Krystian Majewski
Developer: Krystian Majewski
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7/Mac OSX Leopard, DirectX 5, 2.0 GHz dual-core CPU, 200 MB hard-drive space
Genre: Adventure
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

Math classes occupy similar places in my life where dentist appointments are usually found. It’s not that I can’t do math (my weekends of Dungeons and Dragons prove that much), but when it comes to the classroom, all the joy leaves me. One day I stumbled upon Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas Hofstadter, quite by accident. I barely even knew what it was about, only that it sounded interesting and had Escher pictures in it. Soon, enthralled by stories about pretty high-end mathematical theories, the nature of numbers, and formalized logic, I was enraged. Why hadn’t my teachers showed me how beautiful math truly was? I felt like I had been eating grape skins and wasn’t told about the fine wine next to it.

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Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: Zeal Game Studio
System requirements: Windows Vista/Win 7, Dual Core 2.4 GHz or better CPU, 4 GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce 8000/AMD Radeon 2000 or better graphics card with Shader Model 4 support, DirectX-compatible sound device, DirectX 10, 3 GB hard-drive space, broadband Internet connection
Genre: Strategy
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

What would it be like to run a kingdom of dwarves? This is the central question posed by A Game of Dwarves. As it turns out, it takes some real effort to run a kingdom of short, ill-tempered, mythological sentient beings with a penchant for digging their way through the world. In the tradition of memorable games such as Dungeon Keeper, A Game of Dwarves asks you to manage your people, build them a home that satisfies their needs, and lead them to victory against their enemies, while digging to find riches and materials for them to use and trade.

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Publisher: UTV Ignition Entertainment
Developer: Golgoth Studio
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7/Win 8, 2 GHz Intel Core2Duo or better CPU, 2 GB RAM, GeForce 8800 GT or better graphics card, DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound device, DirectX 9.0c, 500 MB hard-drive space
Genre: Puzzle
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

Review by: Peter Gore

I’m not a puzzle guy. Oh sure, I’ve had Tetris on my cell phone as a time-waster, but I never joined the cult of Bejeweled or any of the similar knockoffs that have come along. So when I received Magical Drop V to review, two questions sprang to mind: How am I going to review a game of a type I know nothing about, and what do you suppose happened to Magical Drop I through IV?

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Publisher: Telltale Games
Developer: Telltale Games
System requirements: Windows XP SP3/Vista/Win 7/Mac Snow Leopard, 2 GB Pentium IV or better CPU, 3 GB RAM (4 GB for Mac), 512 MB graphics card, DirectX 9.0c, 2 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Adventure
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: All five episodes available now

Many players complain about the stories in games, or the lack of them. These folks should be flocking to The Walking Dead, Telltale’s five-part odyssey through graphic novelist Robert Kirkman’s zombified universe. You’ll find more honest-to-god storytelling in a single episode of this series than in any three AAA releases. But is all of this narrative emphasis too much of a good thing?

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Publisher: Daedalic Entertainment
Developer: Daedalic Entertainment
System requirements: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/Win 7, 2 GHz single-core/1.8 GHz dual-core or better CPU, 256 MB OpenGL 2.0-compatible graphics card, 1.5 GB RAM (2 GB for Vista/Win 7), DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound device, 3.5 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Point-and-click adventure
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

It seems that everyone at the convent has a problem with poor little Lilli. She comes across as such a quiet and sweet girl. The kind that would never think of firing a blunderbuss in close proximity to someone just to set off their anxiety…at least, not out of malice. Actually, the outside observer would say a gal like Lilli is always doing what she’s told or going out of her way to help a friend—even if that means using a chainsaw to get the job done. So why, no matter how hard she tries, is there always someone waiting to chastise or dream-crush her? Always a fellow student, the resident bully, or worse: Mother Superior herself. It’s enough to make someone do horrible, horrible things, maybe without realizing it.

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Publisher: BlueGiant Interactive
Developer: BlueGiant Interactive
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, dual-core or better CPU, 512 MB nVidia 9500 GT/Radeon 3650 or better graphics card, 2 GB RAM, DirectX 10, 6 GB hard-drive space, broadband Internet connection
Genre: RTS
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

RTS games are not going away; no matter what else happens in the strategy portion of the gaming industry, they’re going to continue to be produced. Bringing something new to the genre is difficult and, in many cases, unnecessary. Those looking for the adrenaline rush to be found in RTS games are looking for a good experience, even if it’s very similar to the last 10 games they’ve played. Tryst strives to give players this experience. Despite its odd name, Tryst is another RTS game that brings standard gameplay to the table. Relying on fast action rather than novelty to keep players interested, it’s a game that goes through the motions without being phenomenal.

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Publisher: Nordic Games
Developer: The Farm 51
System requirements: Windows XP SP3/Vista/Win 7, 2.0 GHz Core2Duo/Athlon 64 X2 or better CPU, 2 GB RAM, 256 MB GeForce 8600/Radeon HD 2600XT or better graphics card, DirectX-compatible sound device, DirectX 9.0c, 5 GB hard-drive space
Genre: FPS
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

Painkiller was a game that resonated with audiences primarily because of its retro throwbacks. Dressed up in heavy metal, its gory brand of shooting had a pure, unadulterated quality that provided a bloody refuge in a world increasingly filled with chest-high walls. Not only was it a smash hit back in 2004, but it also spawned five expansion packs. Developer The Farm 51, who previously made Necrovision, their own demonic shooter (in the Painkiller engine, no less), is now remaking the original game, with shiny new graphics and a co-op mode. However, it seems that Painkiller: Hell and Damnation’s greatest enemy just might be itself.

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Publisher: Digital Tribe Games
Developer: Serious Brew
Genre: Action
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7/Mac OSX 10.5.8, 2.0 GHz CPU, 2 GB RAM, DirectX 9.0c-compatible graphics card, 120 MB hard-drive space
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

As the father of an ever-growing/ever-distancing preteen, I know what it’s like to miss my kid; these days more than ever, actually. Yet my parental lamentations are meaningless compared to the dad you play in Cargo Commander. Whereas one or two days without father/child interaction is a seemingly infinite space of time for me, this dude is literally stuck in the middle of space. All alone. Constantly in peril. Giant containers full of aliens and co-worker corpses smashing into his ship, each one containing the prospect of coming one more step closer to seeing his family again. Or to his untimely death. You never know.

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Publisher: Team 17
Developer: Team 17
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, dual-core CPU, 2 GB RAM, 256 MB GeForce 8600 GT/512 MB Radeon HD 3650 or better graphics card, 2 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Strategy
ESRB rating: Everyone 10+
Release date: Available now

I’m probably the only reviewer who got a copy of Worms Revolution and said, “Hey, I’ve never played a Worms game. I wonder what they’re all about.” Somehow the franchise has passed me by over the years, and it turns out I’ve been missing some lighthearted strategy fun. While it doesn’t take itself too seriously, Worms Revolution aims to give players a fun 2D turn-based strategy experience with its own peculiar brand of whimsy.

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Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Gearbox Software
System requrements: Windows XP SP3/Vista/Win 7, 2.3 GHz quad-core CPU, 2 GB RAM, 512 MB GeForce GTX 560/Radeon HD 5850 or better graphics card, DirectX 9.0-compatible sound device, 20 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Shooter
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

I’m rarely apprehensive about playing games. Usually the only thing I lose if one disappoints me is whatever I paid for it (and a few hours). I had seen the hype (and the dubstep) that promised me great things from Borderlands 2. But this time around, my fond memories of the original Borderlands were a stake. What if the sequel was a repackaging of the original with little more than a shinier veneer? Are a bazillion new guns and loot items going to increase the game’s fun factor? Would Claptrap still exhibit the ridiculous humor that was simultaneously annoying and entertaining? Once I dove into the world of Pandora again, would any of these questions even matter?

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Publisher: Iceberg Interactive
Developer: Kukouri Mobile Entertainment
System requirements: Windows XP SP3/Vista/Win 7, 1.8 GHz Core2Duo/2.0 GHz AMD X2 64 or better CPU, 2 GB RAM, 256 MB Nvidia 7900/Radeon HD 2600 or better graphics card, DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound device, DirectX 9.0c, 500 MB hard-drive space
Genre: Shooter
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

Playing games on mobile devices has become big business, despite the small prices we have to pay for the games (outside of the devices themselves and their monthly fees, of course). The popularity of the mobile gaming genre has made developers sit up and take notice, with several mainstream games now having small-screen versions. But it’s rare that a mobile game takes the reverse trip of moving from iPhones and tablets to the PC. One of these is Tiny Troopers, Finnish developer Kukouri’s squad-based shooter featuring pint-sized soldiers firing full-sized weapons.

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Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Reflections
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 3.0 GHz Pentium D/2.2 GHz Athlon 64 X2 4400+ or better CPU, 1 GB RAM (2 GB for Vista/Win7), 256 MB graphics card with Shader Model 4.0 support, DirectX 9-compatible sound device, DirectX 9.0c, 10 GB hard drive space
Genre: Driving
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

Driving games seem to fall into two camps: simulation and arcade. This division shows just how stagnant the genre has become. Just because a game’s based around cars, doesn’t mean that they have to all be so similar. Of all things, Driver: San Francisco comes along to stir the pot. After its first smash hit a decade ago, the franchise was dragged down by a series of poorly received sequels. Can developer Reflections revive both the property and the entire genre?

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Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: From Software
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 3.0 GHz Intel Core2Duo E6850/AMD Phenom II X2 545 or better CPU, 2 GB RAM, GeForce 9800 GTX/Radeon HD 4870+ or better graphics card, DirectX-compatible sound device, DirectX 9.0c, 8 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Adventure
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

My console colleagues have had a lot of good things to say about Dark Souls. It’s been praised for its difficulty, its multiplayer, and its terror-inducing gameplay. While games such as Skyrim are designed to be friendly to new players and scale their difficulty in a variety of ways, Dark Souls does nothing of the sort. It’s unabashedly designed so that even trash pulls are an exercise in playing your A game. Now that it’s been ported to PC (and dubbed the Prepare to Die Edition), we can play the game in its entire splendor with our favorite custom rigs. And I have to say that the game lives up to its hype in terms of difficulty and game design, but was ported in a way that makes no sense, disappointing and frustrating me to no end.

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Publisher: Wastelands Interactive
Developer: Wastelands Interactive
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 1.5 Ghz AMD 2000+ or better CPU, 1 GB RAM, 256 MB DirectX 9-compatible graphics card, DirectX 9-compatible sound device, 600 MB hard-drive space
Genre: RTS
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

Some strategy gamers these days forget there was a time when the only complicated RTSs available were board games made by companies such as Avalon Hill. They would take forever to set up and play, and the rule books were the size of small novels, but if you wanted to fight World War II at the divisional level, then it was your only option. Video games have alleviated most of that by automating the rules and making games with your friends a lot easier to organize. They’ve also gotten even more complicated in the past 10 years. But Polish developer Wastelands Interactive wants to take us back to the golden age of strategy games with its new title, Strategic War in Europe. They claim that it’s “A board game on your screen. Strategic War in Europe allows you to play a computer game [that] looks and plays as a board game, but you don’t have to look for a human opponent anymore.” In a market saturated with newer games and fancy graphics, SWE is a nostalgic throwback to the good ol’ days that almost, but not quite, lives up to expectations.

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