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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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: 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: Blizzard Entertainment
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7/Win 8/Mac OS 10.6.8, 2.8 GHz Pentium D/Athlon 64 X2 4400+ or better CPU, GeForce 7800 GT/Radeon X1950 Pro or better graphics card, 1 GB RAM (1.5 GB for Vista/Win7/Win 8, 2 GB for Mac), 12 GB hard-drive space, broadband Internet connection
Genre: RPG/Shooter
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

Review by: Peter Gore

I knew that Diablo III wasn’t going to be your grandfather’s Diablo. I slogged through hours upon hours of monster slaying and loot gathering in both the original game, then the follow up Diablo II and its expansion, Lords of Destruction. But the last iteration of Diablo appeared 12 years ago. In gaming time, this represents a quantum leap in terms of graphics, sound and game design. How would this new and highly anticipated third chapter look and feel? And what, if anything, would it bring new to the table in terms of game mechanics and the all-important gaming experience?

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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: 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: 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: 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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Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer: Minority
Genre: Puzzle/Adventure
ESRB rating: Everyone 10+
Release date: Available now

When we play games, we don’t usually think too much about the story behind the story. There are plenty of games in which a writer’s personal experiences have been used as inspiration for their stories, but seldom have they been more prominent than in Papo y Yo, a colorful, evocative kids game with a very adult message.

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Publisher: Cateia Games
Developer: Cateia Games
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7/Mac OSX 10.5, 1 GHz CPU, 512 MB RAM, 64 MB graphics card, DirectX 9.0, 350 MB hard-drive space
Genre: Adventure
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

Red Crow Mysteries: Legion is a puzzle/hidden-object game from Cateia Games that tells the story of a gifted girl on a quest to discover the hidden secrets needed to defeat Legion. In a setting filled with mystery and atmosphere, you guide your avatar through the game’s challenges to reveal its secrets. It’s too bad that so little is revealed.

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Publisher: Shovsoft
Developer: Shovsoft
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 1.8 GHz CPU, 2 GB RAM, 512 MB GeForce 8800/Radeon X1900 graphics card, DirectX-compatible sound device, 900 MB hard-drive space
Genre: Simulation
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

Once upon a time, there was an old Atari game called Lunar Lander. It was fairly difficult (for me, at least, when I was a very young lad), and it epitomized the simplicity of early videogame mechanics. Using the thrust engine of your space ship, you were tasked with landing on the moon, without crashing.

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Publisher: Nordic Games
Developer: King Art Games
System requirements: Windows XP SP3/Vista SP2/Win 7 SP 1/Mac OS10.6, 2.0 GHz Pentium IV/2.4 GHz Athlon/1.4 GHz Intel Mac Core Duo CPU, 128 MB graphics card with Pixel Shader 2.0 support/64 MB Intel GMA-950 (Mac), 2 GB RAM (1.5 GB Mac), DirectX 9.0c, 6 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Adventure
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

Jim Croce was right. You don’t tug on Superman’s cape or spit into the wind — and you certainly don’t make a point-and-click adventure that takes longer than three average shooters to finish. And yet, that’s what developer King Art has done with The Book of Unwritten Tales, a sprawling, artistically gorgeous PnC that just doesn’t want to end.

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