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: 2K Games
Developer: Gearbox Software
Genre: FPS
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

It was 4:30 pm on Saturday, June 11, 2011, when I could finally stop saying, “I’ll believe it when I see it.” Duke Nukem Forever was vaporware no more. The longest development cycle in videogame history was finally at an end. An actual copy of the game was in my hands. My expectations were high, but they were also tempered with the knowledge that a game with a history such as this would never live up to them. All that was left was to play it and find out for myself if it was worth the decade-and-a-half wait.

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Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Genre: Virtual Pet
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now
Reviewer: Michael Rabalais

Everyone remembers their first pet. In fact, now that I’ve brought it up, I can guarantee that you’re thinking about his name (Mayonnaise), the games you played with it (Adventure Island), maybe how you got it (The Stork), and the day that it died (Didn’t. Lives on a big happy farm in Montana). Well now through the wonders of technology, Nintendo has developed a patented technodog that is completely portable, and can never die or feel any sort of genuine emotion towards you or your actions, with Nintendogs + Cats!

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Publisher: JoWood
Developer: Spellbound Entertainment
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 2.8 GHz dual-core CPU, Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX or better graphics card, 2 GB RAM, DirectX 9-compatible sound card, 9 GB hard-drive space
Genre: RPG
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

There is a formula that RPGs usually follow. You start at Point A with an overarching story objective. Sixty or so hours later (depending upon how many side quests you complete), you fight a massive, sometimes frustrating boss battle to arrive at Point B. Your level of frustration in that final encounter is determined by how well you’ve improved your character during the journey. Developer Spellbound’s Arcania: Gothic 4 fits into that paradigm like a glove. But whereas other games of the genre weigh you down with dozens of useless diversions, Arcania offers a streamlined version of the RPG that helps make that trip from A to B enjoyable.

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Publisher: Telltale Games
Developer: Straandlooper Animation
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 1.8 GHz Pentium IV or equivalent CPU, 256 MB graphics card, 2 GB RAM, DirectX 9.0c
Genre: Adventure
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

The reason why no one should ever negotiate with terrorists is because once you’re in such a situation, you can’t possibly win. The only reasonable course of action is to immediately cut your losses. Yes, there will be losses, and you must come to terms with the fact that they are unavoidable. The moment you falter and try do to damage control, they will grow. Moreover, you’ll be lucky if there’s only linear or logarithmic growth, since chances are you’ll find yourself facing exponential escalation. Coincidentally, the same advice applies in situations that involve girlfriends, but that’s of no concern to Det. Insp. Hector, since he doesn’t have one. What he does have is a cop job in the worst city ever, along with a hostage crisis on his hands. If it was up to him, he’d go back to bed, but the higher-ups insist on negotiating.

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Publisher: GameSamba
Developer: GameSamba
System requirements: Windows XP, 800 MHz Pentium III, 256 MB RAM, ATI Radeon 7500/Nvidia GeForce 2 or better graphics card, 1 GB hard-drive space
Genre: MMORPG
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: May 3, 2011

Today Realms Online, a new free-to-play MMORPG, opens its doors to the general public. The F2P MMO market is already over-saturated with games, but publisher GameSamba hopes Realms Online will stand out because of the ways it’s different from other games. I spent some time with it before the servers went live, and here are my impressions.

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

Ace, backhand, advantage, deuce, baseline, and slice. These are all tennis-related terms that I learned during my time with 2K Sports’ Top Spin 4. Before I pushed the start button, I knew that you used a tennis racket to hit a tennis ball. Whoever hit the ball the most – won. Now, I’m no Andre Federer, but Top Spin 4 did its best to teach me the game.

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Publisher: Sega
Developer: High Voltage Software
Genre: First Person Shooter
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

At the time The Conduit was released on the Wii, there was some praise heaped upon it, labeling it as one of the best first-person shooters…for the Wii. Perhaps the best. This was before Goldeneye 007 and several of the Call of Duty games appeared on the console, I should add. Like nearly every movie that surpasses $100 million at the box office these days, a sequel was quickly ordered, and now, about two years later, we get Conduit 2 (minus the “The” because, no joke, the developers thought it would be easier for people to say).

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Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer: Zen Studios

Originally published in July 2009, reprinted for additional content.

Few things in my life actually bring back childhood memories. Lemons, “The Goonies” and pinball. The lemons is a long story. “The Goonies” is obvious. But pinball? Yes, it was nothing short of magical to go to the arcade with my father and beat that shiny marble ball around inside those exotic tables of gaming goodness. So when I was given the chance to play Zen Pinball on the Playstation 3, I knew I’d be rehashing those fond memories.

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Publisher: THQ
Developer: THQ San Diego
Genre: Sports
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available Now

Growing up in the UK, wrestling was quite a rarity on TV. Yet despite its sporadic appearances, it didn’t take me long to work out that those huge, oiled, hulking, spandex-wearing grapplers were in effect acting out a tightly choreographed ring-bound spectacle. Sadly, this realisation spoiled the sport for me—just as when I realised the supposed “crack team of soldiers” that were The A Team never actually shot anyone. What kind of real soldiers were they? No wonder the army was after them; probably wanted to silence them for the embarrassment they were to the profession. Anyway, flashback over, back to wrestling. I never played the Smackdown vs. Raw game from THQ, so it was therefore with some reluctance that I finally unwrapped my copy of WWE All-Stars.

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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: 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: 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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