Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Bungie
Genre: First Person Shooter
Rating: Mature
Release Date: Available now

It’s pretty safe to say that without the support of Master Chief, Microsoft never would have soldiered this deep into the console wars. Bungie’s much-lauded launch title, Halo, arguably did as much to evolve the console-based first person shooter as Goldeneye did for the prior generation, and it helped put the Xbox in a nice strategic footing. While Microsoft wouldn’t win the last round, Bungie’s expert blend of run-and-gun shooting with cinematic narrative beats had many gamers looking at the beloved PS2s and for the first time, giving serious thought to defecting to the other side. Two sequels, a side story, and an entire cottage industry later – Bungie has returned to send their beloved property off with a fitting swan song. Halo will continue but under new guardianship. As these forerunners take their show on the road, pointing their eyes towards multi-platform development, the talent at Bungie offers one final take on the mythos – plunging headfirst into the Reach.

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Publisher: Square-Enix
Developer: Crystal Dynamics
Genre: Action-Adventure
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

Lara Croft is arguably the first true celebrity of video games. Sure, there have been mascots that have crossed over to the mainstream and become household words, but Lara did what neither Mario nor Sonic could ever do. She made gaming seem cool and adventurous to those who often looked upon the hobby as child’s play. With her initial title leading gamers into a brave new world of 3D adventure – launching fairly close to Mario’s first foray into that extra dimension – Lara put forth more than just a pretty face – even if those good looks helped her vault the velvet rope, repping appearances on everything from Entertainment Tonight to the U2 concert tour. And yes, she eventually fell from grace but that was largely to do with the poor handling of her core product and less about the character herself. Square-Enix, the new owners of Eidos’ darling, hopes to trade on her fame with their download-only release, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light.

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Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Vector Unit
Genre: Racing
Release date: Available now

Back in 1999 (I can’t believe that was 11 years ago), Hydro Thunder hit local arcades. A relatively simple game, it quickly became popular as one of the most exciting boat racing games on the market. As a result, the title soon found itself gracing all of the current generation platforms and consoles, from the Dreamcast to the PC. Now after nearly a decade-long hiatus, Hydro Thunder has been revamped and repackaged for the Xbox Live Arcade.

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Publisher: Blizzard
Developer: Blizzard
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7/Mac OSX 10.5.8 or newer, 2.6 GHz Pentium IV or equivalent CPU, 128 MB GeForce 6600/ATI Radeon 9800 Pro or better graphics card, 1 GB RAM (1.5 GB for Vista/Win 7, 2 GB for Mac), 12 GB hard-drive space, broadband Internet connection, 1024 x 720 minimum screen resolution
Genre: RTS
Release date: Available now

StarCraft II continues the saga of Terrans, Protoss and Zerg, the three space-faring races that plot (in real time) each other’s demise. The original StarCraft (1998) took the world by storm. Although it was somewhat lacking in terms of technology and advancement of the RTS genre, its sheer polish, for which Blizzard is so famous, has made it one of the best selling games ever. Some claim that it went further than all others and became something more. For example, when traveling in Korea a few years ago, I fell sick and had to stay at home for a few days. During that time, I entertained myself by watching non-stop StarCraft matches on four channels of Korean national television.

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Publisher: Kalypso Media
Developer: Haemimont Games
Minimum requirements: Windows XP/Vista/7; 2.4 GHz CPU; 1 GB of RAM; DirectX9-compatible video card with Shader 3.0 support and 256MB of video RAM (GeForce 6 series or better, ATI Radeon X1300 or better); DirectX9-compatible sound card
Genre: Strategy
Release date: Available now

Holá, El Presidente! Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to rule our small Caribbean island nation, and lead it to prominence! Welcome to my newest addiction! Tropico 3 is very much like the original Tropico, but with upgraded, fully 3D graphics, and lots of new gameplay features make it even more enjoyable than the original. The first official expansion pack, Absolute Power, adds even more to the experience and guarantees dozens of hours of additional gameplay, especially for perfectionists like me who will continue playing a mission after already winning it, to try to get that island just perfect.

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Publisher: Namco
Developer: Namco
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7; 1.0 GHz CPU or better; 512 MB memory; 200 MB of hard-drive space; DirectX 7.0 or better, 64 MB graphics card
Genre: Sports
Release date: Available now

I once said that I’m not a big fan of sports games, usually, other than racing games. But I forgot that I also like billiards and bowling, so I was very pleasantly surprised by Pool Pro Online 3. Using Namco’s new cross-platform UniteSDK, you can play solo or online in a game of 8-ball, 9-ball or snooker against players on the PC, iPhone or iPad, with a version for the Android coming up.

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Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer: Sucker Punch
Genre: Action
Release date: Available now

A trend has begun to rear its ugly head in the gaming world. Some developers have heard your cries about games being too short and have responded with stories that reach completion lengths previously only seen in Final Fantasy games. The real key is to make the gameplay interesting and involving enough to make you want to invest the considerable time and energy required to reach the end. Developer Sucker Punch has succeeded in this regard with inFamous, a multilayered thrill ride that pushes all of the right buttons.

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Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer: SCE Santa Monica
Genre: Action
Release date: Available now

In 2005, SCE Studios Santa Monica introduced us to Kratos, a former Spartan who was tricked by the god of war himself into killing his own family. After this, Kratos became consumed with one thought: revenge on the gods who had forsaken him. Three games and thousands of dead Olympians later, Kratos’s journey will come to an end, one way or another.

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Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: BioWare
Genre: RPG
Release date: Available now

It’s been a little while since we defeated the Archdemon (the corrupted old god in the shape of a giant high dragon), about six months to a year by my watch, but the Darkspawn did not disband and retreat to the Deep Roads. They’re organizing and ransacking the north country, and rumors abound of some that speak. As not only Ferelden’s Queen, but also its Grey Warden commander, I find myself on the road to Vigil’s Keep to rebuild the Wardens and scoop up those pesky post-blight stragglers. Of course, the new recruits and I are attacked along the way, so the ritual dismemberments resume in Dragon Age: Origins—Awakening.

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Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: BioWare
System requirements: Windows XP SP3/Vista SP1/Win 7, 1.8 GHz Intel Core2Duo or equivalent CPU, 1 GB RAM for Win XP/2GB for Vista or Win 7, 256 MB graphics card with Pixel Shader 3.0 support, DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card, 15 GB hard-drive space, DirectX 9.0c August 2008
Genre: RPG
Release date: Available now

In the gaming industry, much like in Hollywood, sequels to successful products have become just like death and taxes: unavoidable. Many times, publishers and producers decide to crank out a new installment and make a quick buck or two, not worrying too much about quality because they know the fans will buy whatever they’re offered. But every now and then, a sequel pops up that throws out the bad from the first game, while keeping and improving upon the good. One such sequel is EA and BioWare’s Mass Effect 2, the second in a planned trilogy of space-faring RPGs that tells the galaxy-emcompassing tale of a valiant ship commander and his diverse crew battling an unknown force that threatens universal destruction.

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Publisher: Atlus
Developer: FromSoftware
Genre: RPG
Release date: Available now

Game makers put a lot of effort into getting an emotional reaction out of players. Devices such as a trusted animal companion biting the dust or your in-game girlfriend getting impaled are all there in an effort to make you “feel” something, to establish a direct connection to your heartstrings and play an adagio until tears are pooling at your feet. That’s the kind of immersion tool that seems to be popular these days; if they can get you to cry, they can get you to do anything. What about anger, though? Not anger at a virtual thing, but old-school 8- and 16-bit anger. The kind of anger you get from playing Ghosts n’ Goblins. The kind you get from the Quickman stage in Mega Man 2. Or the kind you get from Demon’s Souls, the most painfully rewarding game I’ve played this generation.

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Publisher: Warner Bros Interactive
Developer: Rocksteady
Requirements: Windows XP/Vista, Intel Pentium 4 @ 3 GHz or AMD Athlon64 3000+ CPU, 1 GB of RAM, 9 GB of hard-drive space, 256 MB graphics card (GeForce 6600/ATI Radeon X1300 or better), DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card
Genre: Action
Release date: Available now

Ladies and gentlemen, if I may now draw your attention to the center ring, it is now time for something that everyone has been waiting for. Well, okay, maybe not everyone, but definitely Dark Knight fans: A Batman game that is actually good. No, wait, “good” doesn’t quite cut it. Let me put it this way: Batman: Arkham Asylum is awesome.

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Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Bioware
Genre: RPG
Release date: Available now

It’s been a really long time since I’ve played a game that aimed to take over my life. In fact, I can probably count all such games (going back to my first video game RPG in 1988) on both hands. Baldur’s Gate and Oblivion are the most memorable of the lot, but my last adventure as the Hero of Kevatch was about two years ago. Since then, Fallout 3 filled the void for a time, and Borderlands tried its best to be rebound relationship number two, but they’ll both end up on that list of dalliances I refer to as “almost rans.” I’ve a new game in my life now, we’re very happy together, and I’m ready to commit to it completely. Dragon Age: Origins is that game. It’s poised to consume my life, and that’s just the way I like my games: deep.

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Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Valve Software
Genre: Shooter
Release date: Available now

Valve has already set a high bar when making video games. With such hits as the Half-Life series, Team Fortress, Portal and the first Left 4 Dead, people keep wondering when they will run out of creative steam. Well, I can assure you, they certainly haven’t yet. You might remember a growing voice in the gaming community calling for a boycott of Left 4 Dead 2 because of its being released so soon after the original and concerns that issues from the first game had not been resolved. That boycott call ceased this past October before L4D2‘s release, and if you play this game, you’ll see why – it’s fantastic.

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Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer: Naughty Dog
Genre: Shooter
Release date: Available now

Supporters of the videogame industry like to mention that game sales across all platforms bring in more money than Hollywood does at the movie box office in a year. But conversations tend to shorten when the question of the quality of the product comes into play. Developer Naughty Dog bucked that trend in the fall of 2007 with the release of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, which used a decidedly cinematic approach to tell the story of fortune hunter Nathan Drake and journalist Elena Fisher as they chased the treasure of Sir Francis Drake. Uncharted was easily the best shooter of the year on the PS3, perhaps the best on any platform, and now Drake returns for another grand adventure, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.

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