Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Yager
System requirements: Windows XP SP3/Vista/Win 7, 2.0 GHz Core2Duo or better CPU, 2 GB RAM, 256 MB GeForce 8600/Radeon HD2600 XT or better graphics card, DirectX-compatible sound device, DirectX 9.0c, 6 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Shooter
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

“I love the smell of white phosphorus in the morning.” Not really; that would make me a homicidal maniac. But the farther I progressed through developer Yager’s long-awaited shooter SpecOps: The Line, the more parallels I uncovered between this game and one of the greatest war movies ever made, and the story upon which it’s based.

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Publisher: Rebellion
Developer: Rebellion
System requirements: Windows Vista (SP2)/Win 7 (Windows XP is not supported), 3.0 GHz Pentium D/Athlon 64 X2 4200 or better CPU, 256 MB DirectX 10-compatible graphics card, 2 GB RAM, DirectX 10-compatible sound device, DirectX 10 or better
Genre: Shooter
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

There are plenty of opportunities out there for shooter gamers to let their inner Rambos escape, spraying bullets around like they’re confetti on New Year’s Eve in Times Square. But rare are the games in which a more careful, thoughtful approach is required for success. Sniper Elite: V2 is one such game. Developer Rebellion has crafted a handsome-looking World War II adventure that pits your covert talents and sniping skills against the Nazis and the Soviets in the blasted ruins of the German capitol in 1945.

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Publisher: Big Fish Games
Developer: Tuttifrutti Interactive/Casual Mechanics
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 1 GHz CPU, 512 MB RAM, DirectX 9, 272 MB hard-drive space
Genre: Hidden object
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

Who doesn’t like The Flintstones? While it’s a short, fun show satirizing 1950s suburbia, most importantly it’s a known quantity. You always know what you’re getting. Fred bumbles about his marriage, Barney offers questionable support, while Wilma and Betty are the brains of the operation. Casual games often get a short shrift for their similarity with one another, but like The Flintstones, that’s its selling point. While Casual Mechanics’s hidden-object game Antique Mysteries: Secrets of Howard’s Mansion colors within all the lines, it’s built so well that you might not care.

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Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: Ino-Co
System requirements: Windows Vista/Win 7, dual-core CPU, 2 GB RAM, 512 MB GeForce GT240 or better graphics card, DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound device, DirectX 9.0c, 4 GB hard-drive space
Genre: RTS
ESRB rating: Everyone 10+
Release date: Available now

Warlock: Master of the Arcane is a turn-based strategy game that asks a simple question: if the King of Ardania disappeared and multiple powerful wizards were left behind to rule, what would happen? The answer is lots of warfare, spellcasting, and the triumph of one warlock to rule them all. Set in the same universe as Majesty 2 and featuring fantasy 4X gameplay, Warlock strives to give players a strategy-gaming experience with the kind of flavor you’d expect from the Majesty franchise, and all the fantasy elements you could possibly want.

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Publisher: Red Wasp Design
Developer: Red Wasp Design
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 1.8 GHz CPU, 1 GB RAM, OpenGL-compatible graphics card
Genre: Strategy
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

Oh, what is man? What can pierce the sky with metal and fire? What can split the foundations of the universe into kindling for laptops and iPods? What god is man? And yet, when we stare at the universe, either through a telescope or a microscope, we see the same things. Beyond the banality of planets and particles, we see a large darkness. No matter how much we look into it, it never looks back. This is our modern horror, the unthinking, unfeeling insanity of H.P. Lovecraft’s lauded Cthulhu mythos. These century-old works of fiction have gripped the modern mind and spread through Internet culture like a mutated cult. Heck, even Batman’s Arkham Asylum is a nod towards Miskatonicly minded individuals. However, when the awakening cults finally hit gaming, I expected a Korean MMO, a card-battle game, or something equally insane. What we got was The Wasted Land, a turn-based strategy game originally on iOS. Much like the works that birthed it, what The Wasted Land lacks in body it has in soul.

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Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: Turbo Tape Games
System requirements: Windows Vista/Win 7, dual-core CPU, 2 GB RAM, 512 MB GeForce GT 240 or better graphics card, 4 GB hard-drive space, DirectX 9-compatible sound device, DirectX 9.0c
Genre: Simulation
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

I’m not cut out for Navy life. Being crammed into poorly-lit metallic rooms filled with smelly people in the middle of nowhere reminds me too much of my college experience. There’s also my problem with authority. While I don’t think I’m cut out for taking orders in a tuna can, sitting in a climate controlled C&C bunker giving orders is entirely different. Turbo Tape Games is there to fulfill my curiosity with their new strategy game, Naval War: Arctic Circle. Featuring a depiction of modern naval combat so detailed it borders on simulation, Naval War has more than enough depth to drown in. But is it worth braving the cold?

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Publisher: Lace Mamba Global
Developer: CBE Software
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 3.0 GHz Pentium IV or better CPU, GeForce 8400 GS/Radeon HD 4200 or better graphics card, 1 GB RAM, 2 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Adventure
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

Indie game development has come a long way in 20 years. It started out as one lone coder peddling 8-bit shareware games on floppy disks in plastic bags to anyone willing to try them out. Things are a bit more high-tech these days, but the passion to create a great game with minimal resources is still alive and well. Witness CBE Software, a two-man Czech development team that has created J.U.L.I.A., an intriguing and visually impressive sci-fi adventure game that tries to give a fresh outlook to a shopworn genre story.

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Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: BioWare
System requirements: Windows XP SP3/Vista/Win 7, 2 GHz Core2Duo/Athlon 64 X2 4000+ or better CPU, 1.5 GB RAM (XP)/2 GB RAM (Vista/Win 7), 256 MB Nvidia 7800/ATI X1800 or better graphics card with Shader 3.0 support, Internet connection
Genre: MMORPG
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

When it comes to MMOs, it’s absolutely vital to do your homework, doubly so if the game is based on a beloved franchise. With the release of Star Wars: The Old Republic, Star Wars MMOs have entered their ninth consecutive year, even as servers for Star Wars Galaxies were closed down last December. If you’re a fan of Star Wars or BioWare, then you’ve been bombarded with hype for months regarding this game. It’s not just a question of whether SWTOR can replace SWG, or whether BioWare can lend its roleplaying touch to a genre renowned for grind. The question plaguing anyone who cares is whether it’s worth the subscription. In an answer that will no doubt lead to accusations of favoritism and bias, I have to say yes. BioWare has created something special with SWTOR. Why it’s so special will take some explaining, but believe me when I say I haven’t lost my mind.

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Publisher: Focus Home Interactive
Developer: Pendulo Studios
System requirements: Windows XP (SP2)/Vista (SP1)/Win 7, 2.0 GHz CPU, 1 GB RAM Win XP (2 GB Vista/Win 7), 256 MB GeForce 6800/Radeon X800 or better graphics card with DirectX 9 support, DirectX 9-compatible sound device, 4 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Adventure
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

My aunt lives on a farm in the middle of the Wisconsin countryside. Like Keepers of the Citadel, innumerable cats run around, performing secret but essential tasks. As needed as they are, no one’s taken care of them in years. Once you could wonder into a barn and be greeted by a furry tribe of cuteness, but now you find a swarm of hideously inbred monsters. Adventure games are like those cats. Leave them alone in a vacuum for a decade and what comes out is a sickening mixture of all the recessive genes of 1990s point-and-clicks. Yet, where there’s a will, there’s a market. Some studios actually manage to craft fun games out of inventory puzzles. Adventure vets Pendulo think they can straddle the line with Yesterday and still deliver an approachable yet hardcore classic adventure game. Wrapped up with the styling of a horror thriller, is Yesterday a cute and cuddly kitten, or a mangled, inbred beast?

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Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: Neocore Games
System requirements: Windows XP (SP3)/Vista (SP2)/Win 7, 2 GHz Core 2 Duo or equivalent CPU, 1.5 GB RAM (XP)/2 GB (Vista, Win7), 512 MB Nvidia 8800 GT/ATI 3850 or better graphics card, DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound device, DirectX 9.0c or better, 16 GB hard-drive space
Genre: RTS
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

Neocore Games has returned to their flagship title with a sequel. It’s time to return to Britannia and continue the adventures of King Arthur and his knights. This time, the player doesn’t rule as Arthur, but as Arthur’s son, desperately trying to heal the land and his father, and save the realm from demonic hordes. With plenty of combat to go around, and plenty of story with which to engage, Neocore is very ambitious with their new offering, attempting to capture and meld both strategy and role-playing genres.

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Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: Microsoft Studios
System requirements: Windows XP SP3/Vista/Win 7, Dual Core 2.0 GHz CPU, 256 MB graphics card with Shader 3.0 support, 2.0 GB RAM, 10 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Simulator
ESRB rating: E
Release date: Available now

Once upon a time, flight simulators were popular. Their intricate details were great at showing off what your new home computer could do, and besides, who doesn’t want to fly? At some point, those with only a passing interest got tired of feeling like they needed actual flying lessons to buzz around, and flight simulators fell into the purview of those weird people who run virtual airlines. After canning the team that developed Flight Simulator, Microsoft is back with the new Flight, a free-to-play sim that’s aimed at those with an interest in planes but who don’t own a $200 joystick-and-pedal setup. Does Flight succeed at broadening its audience without alienating core sim fans?

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Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: Paradox Interactive
System Requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 2.4 GHz Pentium IV/AMD 3500+ CPU, GeForce 8800/ATI Radeon X1900 graphics card, 2 GB RAM, 2 GB hard-drive space, Direct X-compatible sound card, DirectX 9, Internet connection for multiplayer, retail copy of Victoria II
Genre: RTS
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

It’s been almost 18 months since Victoria II was released, and Paradox Interactive has decided that an expansion is in order: Victoria II: A House Divided. The expansion doesn’t add any additional time to the original game, which is still set from 1836 to 1936. Instead, it focuses on additional game mechanics and a scenario that starts at the beginning of the American Civil War. Rather than giving more of the same, AHD aims to add even more nuanced gameplay to a franchise that’s already very complicated. It’s a more ambitious expansion than its simple name belies, and, even moreso than the base game, it rewards strategy players for patient and thoughtful gameplay.

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Publisher: Wadget Eye Games
Developer: Icebox Studios
System Requirements: Windows ME or later, Intel Pentium or better CPU, 64 MB RAM, Direct X-compatible graphics cards and sound devices
Genre: Adventure
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: February 29, 2012

Step into the wayback machine with me for a trip to the 1990s. This was the heyday of the point-and-click adventure. Puzzle solving. Pixel hunting. Punishing difficulty with no hints to be found anywhere. Nonsensical combinations of inventory items. We’d never have the patience for games like this today; we’d just find a walkthrough on our favorite cheats site and breeze through without a care in the world. But indie developer Icebox Studios is taking a chance that there might still be dedicated adventurers out there searching for a new challenge. Hence Da New Guys: Day of the Jackass, a classic point-and-clicker with a hearty helping of dry British wit.

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Publisher: Telltale Games
Developer: Telltale Games
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 1.8 GHz Pentium IV or better CPU, 256 MB graphics card, 2 GB RAM, DirectX 9.0c, DirectX 8.1-compatible sound device, 2 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Adventure
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

There was a time when some part of creator Dick Wolf’s ubiquitous Law and Order TV franchise was on the tube almost every day in the US. Some didn’t last long (Crime and Punishment, Trial by Jury, Law and Order: Los Angeles), while the parent show became one of the longest-running scripted shows in American TV history. These days, only Special Victims Unit remains, but now Wolf and NBC/Universal are pushing the franchise into new frontiers with the help of game developer Telltale.

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Publisher: Nexon
Developer: Eyedentity Games
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, Pentium 4 dual-core CPU, 1 GB RAM, GeForce 7600 or better graphics card, 4 GB hard-drive space, DirectX 9.0c or newer, broadband Internet connection
Genre: MMORPG
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

MMORPGs have become a major segment of the modern gaming landscape, but many of the most successful of them feature content that really isn’t meant for the younger gamer. Publisher Nexon brings PG-13 material to the genre with Dragon Nest, a fantasy/action MMO that tries to tone down the graphic violence while still making the game enticing to adult gamers.

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