Publisher: Zen Studios
Developer: Zen Studios
Genre: Pinball
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

Some of Marvel’s toughest villains are running amok and need to be stopped. Enter the Marvel super group of Spider-Man, Wolverine, Iron Man, and…Blade? In Marvel Pinball, developed by Zen Studios, you battle the forces of evil using webs, lasers and a tiny metal ball.

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Publisher: Digital Reality Ltd.
Developer: Candygun Games
Genre: Zombie Defense
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

Zombie games are neither few nor far between, and seem to lurk up on us like…well…zombies. Countless titles are based in the zombie genre and tend to be the going up and blast them in the face type of games. Dead Block, however, employs a different and unique take on this cult genre. I will take a peek at it from within my barricaded safe haven, of course.

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Publisher: Doctor Entertainment
Developer: Doctor Entertainment
Genre: Puzzle
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

No matter how advanced and sophisticated games get, there will always be a place for the laid-back puzzle game. Sometimes we don’t want to shoot down the bad guys, or wrack our brains to find out how to defeat the impossible boss. Sometimes, late at night, we’re tired and we just want to relax while trying to figure out how to get some…flowers.

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Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Q Entertainment
Genre: Action
ESRB rating: Everyone 10+
Release date: Available now

In 2001, a game called Rez was released for the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2. It featured an on-rails experience with amazing sound effects and a sound track that changed based on what you were doing. 2011’s Child of Eden, created by Rez designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi, is a prequel of sorts that features many of the same gameplay and sound effects. Is Child of Eden, developed by Q Entertainment, worth the trip, or does it skip a beat?

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Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Developer: Seed Studios
Genre: Real-time Strategy
ESRB rating: Everyone 10+
Release date: Available now

Every once in a while, the RTS genre, which enjoys vast popularity on the PC, makes its way to a game console. The console RTS is a rare breed, often marred by watered down gameplay options and a poor control scheme. Seed Studios took a chance and developed Under Siege, a medieval fantasy-based RTS available now on the PlayStation Network.

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Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Genre: Action RPG
ESRB rating: Everyone 10+
Release date: Available now
Review by: Michael Rabalais

Nostalgia can be a fickle beast. I recently purchased two remasters from Paul McCartney’s solo catalog and realized, much to my surprise, that each album held a new significance to me. McCartney, his first solo outing after the breakup of the Beatles, was one of my favorite albums to come out of the seventies. Its raw homemade production lent it a charm I was unaccustomed to hearing upon my first listen. But I felt nothing but bilious disgust for McCartney II. Whereas the first album had proven itself through bare-bones instrumentation, the follow-up seemed to be an exercise in the bizarre, wild with synthesizer and boasting an embarrassment of vocal effects. Coming back to these albums in their remastered state, however, left me confused. The homegrown simplicity of McCartney suddenly seemed cold and distracted, while McCartney II showed a completely different musician, one confident enough to experiment with his music, even if it meant disappointing his most loyal fans. Home is never the same as you remember it, and going into Nintendo’s 3DS remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, a question stood out in my mind: How can I objectively review a remake of what many consider to be the very best game of all time?

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Publisher: Spiderweb Software
Developer: Spiderweb Software
System requirements: Windows XP/Mac OS 10.4 or later, 800 MHz CPU, 32 MB graphics card with OpenGL support, 512 MB RAM, 200 MB hard-drive space
Genre: RPG
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

The very first PC game I can remember being enamored with is Dune II (the second game would be Starcraft). In fact, it was Dune II that prompted me to convince my dad that our home needed a PC. My first computer was purchased during my junior year of high school (2000), and if I remember correctly, I ended up killing the hard drive by filling it full of games and other nonsense. It’s now 11 years later, and I’ve found myself transported back to a time when games weren’t regurgitated piles of cud. If you have a moment, go to Avadon: The Black Fortress developer Spiderweb Software’s website and read their Promise page. Spiderweb’s passionate manifesto is a cuff to the ears of jaded gamers everywhere. The company offers a one-year, money-back guarantee with their games, versus the usual return policy we face: “If you’ve played it, you can only exchange it for the same game.”

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Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios
Developer: Avalanche
Genre: Racing
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

It’s become cliche to knock licensed titles that hit shelves days before each summer blockbuster flickers at the multiplex, but what is a cliche but an oft-told truth? That being said, in the last few years we’ve seen the tide turn. When you vote with your dollars, developers realize the quickie cash grab isn’t going to work much longer. Last summer, Avalanche provided one of the best examples to date in this seismic shift, with their Toy Story 3 tie-in that featured the fun and addictive Toy Box mode. With another PIXAR sequel ready to race, it’s encouraging to see Avalanche steering Cars 2 to retail, but will the same lighting strike twice.

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Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Frontier Developments
Genre: Pet Simulation
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

If you’re the kind of person who’s ever wondered how much fun you could have with a baby tiger without the fear of being either scratched to death or arrested (and no, I’m not labeling you), then you should check out Kinectimals. I bought this game with my four year old daughter, Leela, firmly in mind, but I can’t lie to you. I’m just going to confess straight away and clear my gaming conscience by telling you that I’ve played it more than she has.

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Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: Square Enix
Genre: RPG
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

There are so many pieces to any well written story, usually with many different fragments of characters that end up colliding, making the incomplete tale whole. It’s Day 13 and you’re not sure what kind of stage is being laid out in front of you, just glimpses of passengers on a train, dressed in similar garb. An armed guard is patrolling. As the cameras weave in and out, you begin to see the opening act for what it’s unfolding to become. You’re watching prisoners, two in particular, who are planning to escape. With a whisper back and forth, a quickening of pace begins as one of these prisoners dispatches his captor, freeing himself and his companion. As more prisoners are freed and as seconds pass, a war of survival between captors and captives ensues, and then the monsters start appearing. The next moments are now in your control, the stage has now been set, and surviving The Purge is left in your hands. Interested yet? These are just the opening moments of the latest installment of Square Enix’s Final Fantasy series. This is Cocoon.

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Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Double Fine Productions
Genre: Tower Defense / Third Person Shooter
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: June 22, 2011

I think there’s something kind of neat about remembering a genre’s inception and watching as it evolves and grows. The Internet has proven to be a fantastic sandbox where novice developers can get their ideas, even in rudimentary form, out to the masses and see their reactions. One such concept was that of the tower defense style of game, where players build weapons and defenses in order to defeat increasing hordes of enemies and protect some object or point. Today, this basic, and very popular, style of game has spawned many iterations, and one is about to hit the Xbox Live Arcade – Trenched.

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Manufacturer: XJacKer
MSRP: $19.99

Sound is an important part of gaming. Being able to hear your opponent coming can mean the difference between life and death, and clear communication is vital for your team to succeed. These are things the Soniq Rush Gaming Headset Amp Kit, created by XJacKer, promise to deliver to your Xbox 360. After I explain a little about how it works, I’ll tell you whether or not it’s worth your money.

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Publisher: Atari
Developer: CD Projekt Red
System requirements: Core 2Duo 2.2 GHz or dual core AMD 2.5 GHz CPU; GB RAM Windows XP, 2 GB Windows Vista/7; GeForce 8800 512 MB or Radeon (HD3850 512 MB); 16 GB Drive Space
Genre: RPG
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

Everyone is at E3 right now and I’m not. There are two reasons for that. First, I have my finals this week. By the time you read this I will hold a degree in History and Anthropology. Second, I just really wanted to play The Witcher 2, a sequel to one of my top RPGs of all time. Both games are based on my favorite series of fantasy novels and although it is impossible for any game to match the type of experience a sublime work of literature can provide, in this case a valiant effort was made. Andrzej Sapkowski, the maestro himself, was consulting CD Projekt during the development of both titles. The bar was raised pretty high already, but it appeared that the development team was intent on not just raising it again this time around, but rather on rocketing right through it and into previously unknown heights.

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Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Developer: inXile Entertainment
Genre: Action
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

Teamwork is usually optional in games. A lot of co-op campaigns have a very relaxed sense of camaraderie, where you can either choose to work together or alone, but the end result remains the same. There is rarely any need for interaction. This is not the case with Bethesda’s Hunted: The Demon’s Forge. Developed by inXile Entertainment, Hunted gives new life to the phrase, “everything is better in pairs.”

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Publisher: Sony
Developer: Sucker Punch
Genre: Action
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: June 7, 2011

Though they all suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous origin tales, once a superhero gets his powers, he usually gets to keep them. That’s one of the perks of getting bit by a radioactive Chihuahua in the funny pages. Until some evil-doer ups the ante and kidnaps his Auntie, these guys are free to wield that great power with no responsibility. But in video games, it’s one and done. Too often, gamers spend an entire title building their abilities, only to see them stripped by some plot inconvenience in the inevitable sequel. And then it’s back to square one. Having built their own powerhouse in the lightning bug Cole McGrath, the question remains, will Sucker Punch let this guy fly high once again in his long-awaited return, inFamous 2?

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