Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Genre: Shooter
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

Forty-six hours. What can you do in 46 hours? Watch 46 episodes of your Law and Order series of choice. Drive most of the way across the US (at a law-abiding 60 mph, of course). Watch Wagner’s Ring cycle of operas three times. For me, 46 hours was how long it took to get through Capcom’s new apocalyptic zombie opus, Resident Evil 6. It was a dark, repetitive, sometimes frustrating journey that I’m unlikely to take again.

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Publisher: 505 Games
Developer: Biart
Genre: Shooter
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

The final frontier for shooter games is the ocean, and for good reason. Most projectiles tend to be less than effective when traveling through water, and most heroes have to breathe. Developer Biart has taken a step into this brave new world with Deep Black, a traditional third-person shooter that spends almost as much time in the deep blue sea as it does on dry land.

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Publisher: E-One Studio
Developer: E-One Studio
System requirements: Windows XP SP3/Vista SP1/Win 7 SP1, 1 GHz CPU, 2 GB RAM (3 GB for Vista/Win 7), 512 MB graphics card with Shader Model 3.0 support, 4 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Adventure
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

From the minute Hoodwink sauntered into my review queue, I knew she was trouble. Stylish cell-shaded graphics wrapped around a noir plot set in the future, she was like the lovechild of Tex Murphy and Tex Avery. She seemed too good to be true. She was an adventure game, after all. Yet, she’s a game, and I’m a reviewer. If decades of games journalism couldn’t change that relationship, then neither could I. I took the job, and damn the consequences.

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Publisher: Membranos Interactive Media Studio
Developer: Membranos Interactive Media Studio
System requirements: Windows XP SP3/Vista/Win 7, 2.0 GHz CPU, 1 GB RAM, 512 MB graphics card with Pixel Shader 2.0 support, DirectX-compatible sound device, DirectX 9.0c, 300 MB hard-drive space
Genre: Adventure
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

DeadEnd: Cerebral Vortex is a casual game that advertises itself as a “first-person surreal labyrinth game.” That’s a fancy way of saying it’s a maze game. In these mazes, you’re tasked with navigating your own subconscious in an attempt to find the pieces of your shattered soul. This would be a lot easier if the “surreal” part of the game didn’t include illusory walls or open spaces. You’re navigating a maze, all right, but it’s the kind of maze David Lynch or Rod Serling might create to make you question your sanity.

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Publisher: THQ
Developer: Illfonic
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 2.0 GHz Core2Duo/Athlon 64 or better CPU, 2 GB RAM (3 GB for Vista/Win 7), 512 MB GeForce 8800 GT/Radeon 3850 HD or better graphics card, DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound device, 3 GB hard-drive space
Genre: FPS
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

In the mid-1990s, a new genre hit the gaming scene with a bang. Soon, burly men with guns blew platformers off their thrones with well-placed rockets and tea-bagged the remains of their cartoon mascots. As new technology allowed for a revolution in graphics, new networking infrastructure created the online deathmatch. The FPS genre arguably hit its peak around the turn of the millennium, powered by lightning-fast online frag-fests exemplified by Quake 3 and Unreal Tournament. These are the halcyon days that developer Illfonic tries to recreate in Nexuiz. However, the result is more “A Bigger Bang” than “Beggar’s Banquet.”

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Publisher: Focus Home Interactive
Developer: Cyanide Studio
System requirements: Windows XP SP3/Vista SP2/Win 7, 2.0 GHz dual-core CPU, 256 MB GeForce 7900 GTX/Radeon HD 2600 XT or better graphics card with Shader Model 3.0 support, 2 GB RAM, DirectX 9-compatible sound device, 4 GB hard-drive space
Genre: RPG
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

“Foretold by many prophecies, the Rag’narok is the war of the age of darkness, the battle during which the gods will choose their champions before putting Aarklash to fire and sword.” Yes, the setting of Cyanide Studio’s Confrontation is grim. A strategy RPG with a rather detailed fantasy setting, Confrontation sees you gathering your group of heroes and going deep into the heart of the enemy’s territory, fighting innumerable battles to overcome your foes, using swords, spells and cunning strategies, emphasizing strategy over RPG elements.

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Publisher: Evolved Games
Developer: Trickstar Games
System requirements: Windows XP (SP2)/Vista/Win 7, 2 GHz Core 2 Duo/Athlon X2 4000+ CPU, GeForce 6800/Radeon X1600 graphics card with Shader 3.0 support, 2 GB RAM, 1.5 GB hard-drive space
Genre: Simulation
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

Once upon a time, Jane’s was a title that meant something. Being the foremost producer of military analysis, they once licensed their name to produce a series of well received, highly detailed military simulations. Longbow, F-15, Fleet Command; if it had the Jane’s logo on it, chances are it was the best you could find. Today, after a decade of lying dormant, the proud logo once again appears, this time on Jane’s Advanced Strike Fighters. However, it ends up being more Bay of Pigs than Normandy Invasion.

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Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: Kerberos Productions
System requirements: Windows Vista/XP, Core2Duo or better CPU, 512 MB graphics card with DirectX 10 support, DirectX 10 (February 2011 or newer), 2 GB RAM, Vista-compatible sound device, 2 GB hard-drive space
Genre: RTS
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

Fans of 4X games spent last summer waiting in anticipation for the release of Kerberos’s Sword of the Stars II. Given the excellence of the previous installment in the series and its expansions, expectations were high as trailers were released and the developers teased their fans with tidbits about the game. After wrestling with it for hours on end, it’s clear that SOTS II doesn’t live up to the hype. In fact, it doesn’t even live up to the basic promises to be expected of any game that had an original release price of $39.95.

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Publisher: 505 Games
Developer: Reverie World Studios
System requirements: Windows 2000/XP/Vista, 2.4 GHz Pentium IV or AMD CPU, 1 GB RAM (2 GB Vista), 1 GB hard-drive space, 256 MB GeForce 7600 graphics card or equivalent, DirectX 9.0-compatible sound card, Internet connection
Genre: RTS/MMO
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now
Review by Mindy Hartman

Those darn elves, orcs and humans are at it again: building cities, competing for resources and just plain refusing to get along. Dawn of Fantasy was released a little more than three months ago by developer Reverie World Studios as their first released game. Publisher 505 Games looks like they’re trying to branch out with this publication too, as their bread and butter seems to be cutesy animal games for the DS.

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Publisher: PETA
Developer: PETA
System requirements: A browser and a keyboard
Genre: Poorly-crafted satire?
Release date: Available now

In a world where seemingly nothing is sacred, PETA has created and launched a new browser-based game called Super Tanooki Skin 2D. In the game, everyone’s favorite plumber is depicted as a bloody, fur-wearing murderer floating away from a freshly-skinned tanuki. Players control the tiny, hairless animal as he chases Mario down to get his fur back.

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Manufacturer: TekNmotion
MSRP: $29.99
Written by: Ethan Nixon

Today, I have for review the TekNmotion Yapster Blaster headset. This headset has quite a powerful impact for the price and size. The universal headset supports both PC and XBOX 360. Inside the package you will find the headset, necessary adapters to connect to the XBOX, and a USB amplifier. The cables included with the Yapster Blaster are quite long, so get ready to scrunch them up.

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Publisher: 505 Games
Developer: Kung Fu Factory
Genre: Fighting
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

Fighting games work best when they adhere to a simple design philosophy: “easy to play – hard to master.” A good fighting game should be built around a model where anybody can pick it up and have fun, but still be deep enough that those willing to commit the time to learning its systems can mine the true treasure beneath. A good fighting game should evolve the better you get at it. That’s the standard I apply when reviewing a fighter. Can someone mash away and come off feeling satisfied while experts are able to discover a whole new level of strategy? That’s the challenge Supremacy MMA faces today.

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Developer: Backbone Entertainment
Publisher: 345 Games
Genre: Dual Stick Shooter
ESRB Rating: Mature
Release Date: Available Now
Review by: Michael Rabalais

If I had one wish, it would be for unlimited time; time to play games, read books, watch shows and movies and generally consume media. Unfortunately, I don’t have a ton of time at my disposal, and as a result I’m not especially familiar with a ton of TV. I have certainly heard of Comedy Central show Ugly Americans, but I have not had an opportunity to watch it. I have however, had time to play its game adaptation. It’s only too often that licensed games feel rushed or of poor quality. Does Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon deviate from that standard?

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Developer: Rising Star Games
Publisher: UFO Interactive
ESRB Rating: Everyone
Release Date: Available now
Review by: Michael Rabalais

When I received my copy of Pucca Power Up in the mail, I was drawn to a phrase on the back: “Pucca and Garu’s action romance story.” Personally, I can’t think of a more exciting sentence. The possibilities of such a statement drive me absolutely wild. Are they driving monster trucks through the Arc de Triomphe while feeding each other chocolate covered strawberries? Are they searching for the Ark of the Covenant while drawing scented bubble baths? It’s incredible! So it leaves the question, is Pucca Power Up the Expendables mixed with the Royal Wedding, or Hudson Hawk hanging out with my high school girlfriend?

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Publisher: Deep Silver
Developer: Techland
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 2.66 GHz Core2Duo or better CPU, 512 MB GeForce 8600GT/ATI 2600XT or better graphics card, 1 GB RAM, 7 GB hard-drive space, DirectX 9.0c
Genre: Action RPG
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

Zombies have practically replaced Nazis and space aliens as gaming’s enemy du jour. From Plants vs. Zombies to Left 4 Dead and Dead Rising and beyond, the shambling undead are everywhere these days. Developer Techland (Call of Juarez) and publisher Deep Silver feed our hunger for all things undead with Dead Island, a massive survival horror RPG that tries to overcome its myriad faults to provide us with fright-filled zombie carnage.

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