Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Firaxis Games
Genre: Simulation/Social
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available Now
Review by: Michael Rabalais

When I told my friends I had been assigned to review the Civilization Facebook game, their reaction was to laugh in my face. Social games aren’t especially well received by the hardcore gamer community, and after wiping the tears from my still wet eyes, I promised myself I would remain resolute in providing an objective and thorough review of a product I had never envisioned myself playing. Civilization World is a game I played on Facebook. It doesn’t get much more objective than that.

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Publisher: Open Emotion Studios
Developer: Open Emotion Studios
Genre: Puzzle
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

One of the cool things Sony has going for it, is the existence of the PS Minis (which can be found in their online store). Essentially, these are small downloadable diversions that can be played on either your PS3 or PSP. So for those die hard Sony fanboys who grab every piece of tech the company puts out, it’s a nice perk to take one of these pieces of casual fare on the go. Is Mad Blocker Ultra – Revenge of the Fluzzles a remedy for those tired of those pesky Angry Birds? Read on and find out.

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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: Electronic Arts
Developer: People Can Fly
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 1.6 GHz Core 2 Duo or better CPU, 256 MB graphics card, 1.5 GB RAM, 9 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Shooter
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

Sometimes you want deep stories, memorable characters and impressive visuals from your games. Other times, all you want is a game that looks pretty and lets you slay copious numbers of mutants. EA and Polish developer People Can Fly have given you the latter with Bulletstorm, a sci-fi shooter that combines old-school FPS goodness and modern graphics excellence to tell the story of one man’s quest for vengeance and absolution.

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Publisher: Majesco
Developer: Super X Studios
Genre: Shooter
ESRB rating: Everyone 10+
Release date: Available now

Paintball is a fast-paced and incredibly difficult live-action sport. It requires skill, accuracy, teamwork, and the right equipment to win. It’s something that seems like it would find itself at home in the first-person shooter genre. Super X Studios thought the same thing when they developed Greg Hastings Paintball 2, now available on the PSN.

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Publisher: Telltale Games
Developer: Telltale Games
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 2 GHz Pentium IV or better CPU, 512 MB graphics card, 3 GB RAM, DirectX 9.0c, sound card
Genre: Puzzle/Adventure
ESRB rating: Not rated at press time
Release date: Available now

Puzzles have always been a key component in point-and-click adventuring, but they usually are employed as a means to advance a game’s story. Publisher/developer Telltale has taken a different track with the Puzzle Agent games, in which puzzles don’t just move the story along, they are part of the story. Puzzle Agent 2 combines conundrum-solving and a hand-drawn-comic graphic style to continue the story of last year’s original.

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Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: AGEOD Studios
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 1.8 GHz Pentium IV or better CPU, 1 GB RAM (2 GB Vista/Win 7), 512 MB graphics card, DirectX 9.0c or better, DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card, 3 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Strategy
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

It is, and always has been, my judgment that strategy games rise and fall on their mechanics, not their graphics. Considering the diplomatic and economic complexities of the period covering European expansion into Africa and the lead up to World War I, a game covering the 19th century can shine wonderfully when the mechanics demonstrate an understanding of all the nuances. I’m always on the lookout for the next strategy game in the hope that I’ll strike gold yet again. I was enthusiastic to get a review copy of Pride of Nations, a game that advertises itself as having ”the most original diplomacy model ever created for a grand strategy game…[and] a detailed world economy with realistic components.” After a few weeks of playing it, I can say that it certainly lives up to these claims.

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Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
System requirements: Windows XP SP3, Vista SP1, Windows 7; Core 2 Duo 2.5 GHz; 1.5 GB RAM; Radeon HD 3870 or GeForce 9800 GT; DirectX 9.0c; 4 GB HDD/SSD space
Genre: Hack-n-Slash RPG
Release date: Available now

Before I begin talking about Dungeon Siege III, I want to mention two things that are directly related to my review. First and foremost, I am not really a fan of the hack-n-slash RPG genre. I liked Diablo because it was fresh and novel, but found Diablo II to be tedious and unpleasant. Nox was pretty cool, but the original Dungeon Siege was clearly not my type of game. The second thing I want to disclose is that I am really not a fan of Obsidian Entertainment. I believe KotOR 2 to be an unfinished mess, and Neverwinter Nights 2 is one of my least favorite games of all time. I haven’t played their other games, but believed every bad thing I heard about them. In fact I used to use the studio’s name as a synonym for “terrible developer.”

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Publisher: THQ
Developer: Volition
System requirements: Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7; 2GHz Dual Core Processor (Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon X2) or higher; 2 GB RAM; 7.5 GB free disk space; 320 MB Graphics Memory with shader model 3.0; DirectX 9 compatible sound card; DirectX 9 (10/11 recommended)
Genre: Third Person Shooter
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available

It’s been 2 years since Volition developed Red Faction Guerrilla. It focused on open world gameplay, but this time around Volition has opted for linear gameplay and in-your-face weaponry in Red Faction Armageddon. It’s an interesting gamble given the success and positive feedback that surrounds the previous title, but it seems to be a gamble based on a desire to create a story and game mechanics that not only live up to the Red Faction name, but moves it forward. Does it work? Keep reading to find out.

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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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