Publisher: Perfect World
Developer: Perfect World
System requirements: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/Win 7, 1 GHz Pentium IV or faster CPU, 1 GB RAM (2 GB for XP, 3 GB for Vista/Win 7), 8 GB hard-drive space, 256 MB GeForce 6200/Radeon 9550 or better graphics card with Shader Model 2.0 support, DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card
Genre: MMORPG
ESRB rating: Not rated at press time
Release date: TBA

True story: I lost a friend to a Perfect World game about two years ago. I still have no idea where he is. Last I heard, a mutual friend of ours found him while playing the latest addition to the PWE lineup, Forsaken World. In a last-ditch effort to locate them again, I downloaded the game and entered the world before me. My goals were pretty clear: I had to find them and figure out what aspects of the game kept them sucked in. Fear not, my friends, I will find you. Maybe.

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Publisher: TimeGate Studios
Developer: TimeGate Studios
Genre: FPS
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: April 20, 2011

Section 8: Prejudice was released today at the Xbox Live Marketplace. In a week full of top-tier game releases, it would seem that TimeGate Studios was setting itself up for failure by releasing it in such close proximity to these other titles. There’s plenty in this title, however, that make it deserving to rank amongst the best releases of 2011. And the best part is the price. For 1200 MS points (roughly $15), you can have a game that is as good as any Halo iteration I’ve played.

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We’re trying something new with iOS games. Instead of writing a weekly (sometimes less frequent) review for a single app, each Wednesday we’ll do a “round-up” that features 6 games that deserve your attention. There are way too many iOS games being released to keep track of them all, and frankly, only a handful are worth buying. Each week I’ll present you with the handful worth buying.

Berzerk Ball
Developed by Berzerk Studio, Berzerk Ball is the mobile version of a popular Flash game. There’s only one goal, smack a geek as far as you can, but there are plenty of power-ups and weapon upgrades to keep you busy. This is one of my favorite iOS games to date. I’ve played it a ton this week and plan on getting all the trophies (something I never try to do). The next time someone asks you if play Angry Birds, just say “no, noob, I play Berzerk Ball.” Then you’ll can be the cool, indie mobile gamer in the office.

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Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: HexaDrive
Genre: Action RPG
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

Square Enix games share a lot of features: fantastic graphics, strange hairstyles and highly dramatic cutscenes, to name a few. But they also frequently get spin-offs, strange games that have little to do with the core series and explore otherwise unrelated or alternate situations in ways only vaguely connected to them. The 3rd Birthday, a tactical over-the-shoulder shooter with RPG elements, is one of these spin-offs. While technically considered part of the Parasite Eve series, 3rd Birthday is definitely not Parasite Eve 3.

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Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
Developer: Namco Bandai Games
Genre: Puzzle
iTunes rating: 9+
Release date: Available now

Some old dude once said, “there’s nothing new under the sun.” Thousands of years later, his statement still holds true, especially in the gaming industry. Namco Bandai games has released Bird Zapper for iOS devices, and while it might be nothing new in terms of game mechanics, its graphics are humorous and the gameplay is ideal for mobile gaming situations. So put down those dusty manuscripts and join me as we delve into mobile gaming in the modern era.

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Publisher: THQ
Developer: Vigil Games
System requirements: Windows XP SP3/Vista SP1/Win 7, 2.4 GHz AMD Athlon 64 3800+/3.0 GHz Pentium IV 530 or better CPU, 256 MB graphics card with Pixel Shader 3 support, 1 GB RAM (2 GB for Vista/Win 7), DirectX 9.0c-compliant sound card, 12 GB hard-drive space, DirectX 9.0c
Genre: Action-Adventure
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

I have to say, while there are certainly a few post-apocalyptic games out there, Darksiders is the first one in which the apocalypse was not our own fault. You get to take control of War, the First Horseman of the Apocalypse. The forces of evil deceived him into prematurely inciting a war between Heaven and Hell without waiting for the Seventh Seal to be broken. The war destroyed the human race, the demonic forces defeated the heavenly host and laid claim to the Earth. War is indicted by the Charred Council (whose self-proclaimed duty is to preserve balance), stripped of his powers and sentenced to death. He gets a last-minute reprieve and is allowed to return to Earth to search for the truth and punish those responsible.

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Publisher: Viva Media
Developer: FAKT Software
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 2.0 GHz or better CPU, 128 MB DirectX 9-compatible graphics card with Pixel Shader 2 support, 512 MB RAM, 800 MB hard-drive space
Genre: Puzzle
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

So you think you’re good at puzzle solving? That’s great, but when’s the last time you built a Rube Goldberg machine? Well, I’d bet most of the people reading this review already know what one is (including anyone who’s already played The Incredible Machine), but for those who don’t, a Rube Goldberg machine is a mechanical device that takes a simple task and makes it incredibly difficult by adding pulleys, rolling balls, dominoes, and all sorts of other things that are completely unnecessary for the task. And that’s basically what Crazy Machines 2 Complete is all about.

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Publisher: Sega
Developer: tri-Ace
Genre: RPG
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

For whatever reason, Japanese gamers love long RPGs. Perhaps they demand that they get the most out of the Yen-equivalent of $60, but their developers can’t seem to make a game that takes less than 40 to 60 hours to finish. A fine example of this is developer tri-Ace’s 2010 epic Resonance of Fate (known as End of Eternity in Japan), a stylish RPG that throws in everything but the kitchen sink, yet suffers from a disappointing lack of gameplay variety.

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Publisher: 2K Sports
Developer: Visual Concepts
Genre: Sports
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

Well, the Masters has ended, which means that sports fans are now left with two options: the NHL playoffs and the start of baseball. Nothing against hockey, but as the weather begins to get warmer, I’m personally going to prefer to indulge in a sport without ice or anything else that reminds me of the cold days I can now safely put in my rearview mirror. So, in accordance with the sporting calendar, we’re treated to the baseball genre’s newest entry: Major League Baseball 2K11.

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Publisher: Liv Games
Developer: Liv Games
Genre: RTS/RPG
iTunes rating: 12+
Release date: Available now

Legendary Wars by Liv Games is a labor of love. It shows in how the developer continually updates the app in response to user feedback. Their latest update adds retina-display support and improved load times (on most devices), amongst other fixes. All this might seem like business as usual to those of us who are used to PC and console games being patched and updated regularly, but as I’ve found in the world of iOS gaming, 99-cent apps usually don’t see consistent developer updates and support. The game itself is pretty darn fun, and I think you’ll be surprised by what it offers.

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Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Electronic Arts
System requirements: Windows XP SP 2/Vista SP 1/Win 7, 2 GHz Pentium IV or better CPU (2.4 GHz for Vista/Win 7), 1 GB RAM (1.5 GB Vista/Win 7), 128 MB graphics card with Pixel Shader 2.0 support, 5.3 GB hard-drive space, DirectX 9.0c
Genre: Simulation
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

I’m not a fan of the “life simulation” genre. I was pleased to find out that the creator of Second Life is an alumnus of my alma mater, but I had no interest in that virtual world. I purchased Sims 2 for my wife, but it sat unplayed and now I can’t find the discs. So when I got a FedEx package containing The Sims: Medieval, I was excited to be receiving a new game, but nary a sound escaped my lips. My feelings about Medieval are as complicated as the in-game relationships I puppeteer. At one point I cursed the day the package arrived in the mailbox, but after hours of playing the game and crafting the heroes’ stories, I’ve grown to love it. Before you purchase, read this review and decide if you’d be as forgiving as I am.

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Publisher: Telltale Games
Developer: Telltale Games
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 1.8 GHz Pentium IV or equivalent CPU, 2 GB RAM, 256 MB graphics card, DirectX 9.0c, sound card
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

If there’s anyone who should know that messing around with past events is a bad thing, it should certainly be Marty McFly. The Hill Valley teenager has had his present upended multiple times because of his excursions to the past with his friend, eccentric scientist Emmett “Doc” Brown. But in Back to the Future: Citizen Brown, the third episode in developer Telltale’s series based on the classic Back to the Future feature film, Marty instead must escape from his new present to restore his old one.

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Publisher: Atari
Developer: Behaviour Interactive
Genre: Action-adventure
ESRB Rating: Everyone 10 and older
Release date: Available now

I rarely rush out the door the day a game is released, but awhile back when Ghostbusters: The Video Game hit the market, I was there in a flash. The Ghostbusters franchise is one that is very dear to my heart, and usually anything branded with a no-ghost logo is considered awesome in my book. So when I heard there was going to be yet another GB game, I was extremely anxious to play, especially considering how much I enjoyed the previous one.

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Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Crytek
Genre: FPS
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

An enemy sees you and begins firing a gun at you. Quickly you make your armor stronger at will. The bullets do minimal damage and you take cover. Why not make yourself invisible, sneak behind your enemy and snap his neck? This is all thanks to the Nanosuit, a piece of high-tech equipment you have attached to your body. You don’t have to worry if your PC can run this game to experience gameplay like this. Crysis 2 from EA is the sequel to the PC game that made computers cry, but this time it’s available for all platforms.

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Publisher: Alaplaya
Developer: Burda:ic
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 2.4 GHz quad core or better CPU, 2 GB RAM, 256 MB graphics card, 3 GB hard-drive space, DirectX 9-compatible sound card, DirectX 9.0c
Genre: MMORTS
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

Games with leaderboards and ranking systems fascinate me; I’m not sure what it is about them that keeps me coming back. Is it the thrill of passing the person ahead of me in kills, or is it just taking a leader down a notch? I’ll never really know, but it’s likely you could tell me there’s a leaderboard for a non-existent Curious George MMO and I would be the guy slugging it out with the PBS Kids age bracket for glory. Land of Chaos, developed by Alaplaya, helps curb my competitive cravings with third-person shooter, RPG and RTS genres impressively blended together to keep up with my ever-shortening attention span.

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