Publisher: Phoenix Online Studios
Developer: Phoenix Online Studios
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7/iOS 10.6 (Snow Leopard), 2.0 GHz CPU, 2 GB RAM, 512 MB DirectX 9-compatible graphics card, 2.5 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Adventure
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

I think we can stop using the “adventure games are dead, but…” line. Along with platformers, adventure games are low-cost laboratories where creative indies can play around within well-established genre conventions. If the subtitle didn’t tip you off, Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller is an adventure game in the vein of the airport thrillers of Clive Cussler and James Patterson. Think Castle without the snark, or the Alex Cross movies without the suck. It’s a world where murder happens like an elemental force, and killers leave puzzles and traps behind like rats leave droppings. With remarkably high production values and Adventure Goddess Jane Jensen attached as a story consultant, Cognition seems to have everything going for it.

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Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7/Win 8, 2.4 GHz Core2Duo/2.8 GHz Athlon X2 or better CPU, 2 GB RAM, GeForce 8800 GTS or better graphics card, DirectX 9.0c, 16 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Shooter
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

Resident Evil is one of the industry’s most financially rewarding franchises. Say what you want about Call of Duty, but Capcom has managed to sell books, movie rights and spin-offs of its popular series of zombie shooters for years. While the word “multimedia” gets tossed around a lot these days, basically the only form Resident Evil doesn’t come packaged in is a vacation cruise (although I’m betting the idea for a Resident Evil getaway has been discussed). With the release of Resident Evil 6 on consoles late last year, critical opinion was divided, but consoles and PC are not the same kind of platform. How does the latest iteration of this venerable franchise stack up on PC? The short answer is this: it ain’t survival horror anymore. The long answer is a bit more complicated.

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Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer: Ratloop Asia
Genre: Side-scrolling shooter
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

Despite the high-minded aims that Sony has for the Playstation Vita, the truth is that one of the things for which it’s best suited is the old-school platformer. Developer Ratloop Asia has delivered just such an item with their Vita port of the PC/PS3 hit Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken, which takes the original game and juices it up a little bit to take advantage of the new handheld’s unique attributes.

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Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Crytek
System requirements: Windows Vista/Win 7/Win 8, 2.4 GHz Core2Duo/2.7 GHz Athlon 64 X2 or better CPU, 2 GB RAM (3 GB for Vista), 1 GB Nvidia GTS 450/Radeon HD5770 or better graphics card, DirectX 11, 16 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Shooter
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

I’m a gamer of habit, but while I enjoy a certain type of beverage or music selection while I’m playing on a console, it’s a completely (and far less simple) story with my beloved, albeit aging, gaming PC. See, I want the “maximum performance” out of my game, and if I know there’s something I can do to make my experience better, I do it. For example, I’d format my PC every time I got a new video card or dropped in a significant amount of RAM because I needed to see what the cleanest install and most updated drivers could do. Of course, back in the day I always had a test game — the height of what my PC could handle at the time. Whether it was how big I could make my Doom II window, or how high I could bump my resolution in Black & White 2, there was always that one contemporary that defined the level of my rig. Then along came Crysis…

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Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: Paradox Development Studio
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, Pentium IV 2.4 GHz/AMD 3500+ or better CPU, 2 GB RAM, 512 MB GeForce 8800/Radeon X1900 or better graphics card, Direct X-compatible sound device, DirectX 9, 2 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Strategy
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

It’s been two weeks since March of the Eagles was officially released, and I keep coming back to play despite the deadline for this review. I’ve found myself carving up the Ottoman Empire as Austria, conquering North Africa for Spain, dividing Prussia in half with France as Russia, and even trying (and failing miserably) to return Sweden to greatness. Paradox Interactive labels March of the Eagles as a game that brings the Napoleonic Wars “to life in this war-focused strategy game.” I admit I was skeptical at first that a company known for its epic grand strategy games could create a tightly focused product covering only a small historical period. But after playing the preview and the full version, I can say that Paradox has hit the mark with this strategy game.

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Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Visceral Games
System requirements: Windows XP SP3/Vista SP1/Win 7, 2.8 GHz or better CPU, 1 GB RAM (2 GB Vista/Win 7), 256 MB GeForce 6800/ATI X1600 Pro or better graphics card with Shader Model 3.0 compatibility, DirectX 9.0, 10 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Shooter
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now
Review by Christopher Lazenby

I’m not sure what to make of Dead Space 3. I’m happy to see a new chapter in one of the greatest new series of this gaming generation has been released, but three games in just four-and-a-half years? Isn’t that pushing it a little?

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Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Criterion
System requirements: Windows Vista SP2/Win 7, 2.4 GHz Core2Duo/2.7 GHz Athlon X2 or better CPU, 2 GB RAM, 512 MB DirectX 10-compatible graphics card, DirectX-compatible sound device, 20 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Racing
ESRB rating: Everyone 10+
Release date: Available now
Review by Christopher Lazenby

Need for Speed: Most Wanted is the 19th entry in the popular racing franchise, and Criterion’s second foray into the series. Gone are the cheesy plotlines, bad acting and cringe-worthy cutscenes. Most Wanted is just pure racing and chasing, and I actually think it’s a better step for the franchise.

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Publisher: Sega
Developer: Double Fine
Genre: Adventure/Platformer
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

The Cave sees a return to Ron Gilbert’s stable of adventure gaming after some sidestepping into the realm of the action-RPG genre with the great DeathSpank series. My initial reaction when I was asked to review The Cave was, how shall I say, restrained. An apt description, as it would be the same response I’d give if someone asked me to go caving. The Cave is somewhat of a gaming nemesis for me, it being a hybrid platformer/puzzle/adventure, a combination that doesn’t usually inspire many outbursts of excitement from the gaming couch in my household. So, with my jaw set in grim determination, I donned my hardhat, checked my clamps, turned on my torch and descended into the depths of Ron Gilbert’s mind.

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Publisher: Dark Vale Games
Developer: Dark Vale Games
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 2.0 GHz dual-core CPU, 512 MB DirectX 9.0c-compliant graphics card, 2 GB RAM, DirectX 9.0c, DirectX-compatible sound device, 6 GB hard-drive space
Genre: RPG
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now
Review by Peter Gore

In December, those of us who write for Avault were asked to submit their wish lists for potential reviews in the upcoming year. I threw in some of the more interesting Tier 1 games such as Crysis 3, but I had also just finished reading a teaser for a soon-to-be-released game that combined multiplayer PvP play with RPG elements, entitled Forge. Not long after, a key code arrived in my inbox with the offer of a review. I grabbed the chance to play what I thought would be a unique gaming experience.

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Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Firaxis
System requirements: Windows Vista/Win 7, 2.0 GHz dual-core CPU, 2 GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce 8800GT/ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT or better graphics card, DirectX 9.0, 20 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Strategy
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

In 1994, Mythos Games and MicroProse released XCOM: UFO Defense, a game regarded even today as the best of all time. It was simple and frustratingly difficult, all at the same time, and PC gamers loved it. After 18 years of waiting, gamers of all platforms (it would be rude to let PC players have all the fun again) have the chance to see what all the fuss was about with XCOM: Enemy Unknown.

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Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
Developer: Project Aces
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7/Win 8, 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo/2.4 GHz AMD Athlon X2 or better CPU, 2 GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce 8800GT/ATI Radeon HD 3850 or better graphics card, DirectX 9.0c, 16 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Flight sim
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

Ace Combat holds a special place in my heart, mostly for its childlike disregard for reality. It’s a high-budget projection of what goes through a 14-year-old boy’s mind when he obsesses over back issues of Jane’s. Decades of fighter jet technology swooshing over a city, unleashing dozens of missiles at each other as they dive and roll in close knife fights. Reality is so much more boring, as planes sparingly launch their handful of ordinance from miles outside of visual range. Ace Combat takes the shape and names of the real world and paints them atop a much more interesting reality. The latest in the series, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon has now landed on PC in the form of an Enhanced Edition. With a new cinematic presentation and aircraft that aren’t jet planes, Assault Horizon tries to do something new with an old formula, but keep that romantic fantasy alive.

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Publisher: Soldak Entertainment
Developer: Soldak Entertainment
System requirements: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista/Win 7/Mac OS10.4, 1.5 GHz Pentium IV or better CPU, 256 MB RAM, GeForce 2 or better graphics card, 200 MB hard-drive space
Genre: RPG
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

Every once in awhile, I get something new and interesting across my virtual desk. Drox Operative is one such game. In many ways, it plays like a space version of Diablo, but it has victory conditions like any of a hundred RTS games. It also has espionage action with planets that brings to mind some older CRPGs. My experience with Drox Operative was interesting, and while not the most addicting game I’ve played, it certainly has appeal for those looking for something altogether different.

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Publisher: Devolver Digital
Developer: Dennaton Games
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 1.2 GHz or better CPU, 512 MB RAM, 32 MB DirectX 8-compatible graphics card, DirectX 9.0c, 250 MB hard-drive space
Genre: Action
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

Apparently thinking that the edutainment sector was looking a bit thin, Dennaton Games has made an electronic simulacrum of what it might feel like to go on a coked-up shooting rampage. With a strong retro 80s style, Hotline Miami is fast, fun, and will make you feel terrible about yourself by the end.

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Publisher: Renegade Kid
Developer: Renegade Kid
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 1.8 GHz CPU, 512 MB RAM, DirectX 9-compatible graphics card, 23 MB hard-drive space
Genre: Platformer
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

Retro-nostalgia is a many-layered cake. One one level, it can simply be a way to advertize that “I remember my childhood.” That’s why Walmart sells shirts with the NES controller over the word “addict,” despite the fact that whoever actually buys those shirts likely spends far more time yelling at 10-year-olds on Xbox Live than actually interacting with their NES. But rose-colored glasses aside, there’s a general feeling that gaming has lost something. Don’t be so ignorant to ignore that we’ve also gained so very much, but it’s OK to acknowledge that perhaps there’s something nestled within the pixels of a 2D platformer that you won’t find inside the quad-core renderings of a blockbuster game. It’s from here that Mutant Mudds comes. It has it’s own reason to exist, but it’s heart is in love with the past, for better or worse.

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Publisher: Beatshapers
Developer: Nurium Games
Genre: Puzzle
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

In these days when a high premium is placed on innovation, face-melting graphics and cinematic plots, it’s oddly comforting to spend a few hours with a good, old-fashioned gaming concept. Developer Nurium Games has provided us with just such a respite with BreakQuest: Extra Evolution, a shout-out to the long-gone days when all you needed in a game was a fire button and a joystick (and a stack of coins).

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