Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Petroglyph Games
Genre: Strategy
Release date: Available now

Like tanks? Big explosions? Strafing aircraft? Unpredictability? Then you might do well to invest some time into Panzer General: Allied Assault. It wouldn’t surprise me if you haven’t heard of it. This turn-based wargame has sneaked under the marketing radar. This is rather a shame, as it offers more value and entertainment than some of the bigger hitters. There have been a plethora of World War II games (most have been first-person shooters), so it’s refreshing to see a different type of wargame. Don’t get me wrong, I love bumping up other players’ kill ratios in Call of Duty, but it tests my reflexes without giving me much of a neuron workout. So it’s nice to find a game like Panzer General that keeps the cobwebs at bay.

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Publisher: D3Publisher
Developer: Vicious Cycle
Genre: Shooter/Side-Scroller
Release date: Available now

Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond marks the second appearance of extreme action hero parody Hazard in an all-new Xbox Live Arcade downloadable game. A direct sequel to Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard, Blood Bath decides to go retro, placing Hazard into a throwback of 8-bit side-scrolling action. Unlike the first Hazard, which was completely 3D, Blood Bath is completely 2D, linear and platform-based, very much akin to old classics such as Contra and Metal Slug.

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Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Gearbox Software
Genre: RPS
Release date: Available Now

Mad Madame Moxxi is like a praying mantis. The oddly sexy ringmaster of the Underdome loves nothing more than to watch potential suitors get devoured in her brutal arena spectacles. It’s an idea similar to that of Auntie Entity, the principal antagonist in the film “Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome,” only instead of the phrase “Two men enter, one man leaves,” it’s a little more like “Bring friends, you’ll need ‘em!” Read on to see if Borderlands: Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot is worth a spin of the wheel.

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Publisher: Valcon Games
Developer: Eiconic Games
Genre: Puzzle
Release date: Available now

Just a few days ago, as I was perusing the massive backlog of games that I have downloaded from the Xbox Live Marketplace, I was struck by a thought. The XBL Arcade has really blossomed dramatically from its humble beginnings on the original Xbox. Gone are the days when you simply popped in for a spell to give yourself a nostalgic kick with a round or two of Ms. Pac-Man. The Marketplace, and other digital distribution streams, has become a great arena for smaller-market developers to shill their wares and offer players new twists on a variety of gameplay concepts, giving us a reason to look forward to each Wednesday, when Microsoft unveils the latest attractions. While the puzzle genre is well represented, there’s always room for a new twist, which is what developer Eiconic Games offers in their latest release, Polar Panic.

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Publisher: CDV Software Entertainment
Developer: Larian Studios
Genre: RPG
Release date: Available now

Japanese developers once set the rules for console role-playing games, but the video-game industry has seen a seismic shift towards Western-developed titles during the past decade, shaped in no small part by the massive success of games such as Oblivion, Mass Effect and the recently released Dragon Age: Origins. This has set the bar high for other developers looking to garner experience points with gamers eager to turn over a few hundred hours of their lives to the latest fantasy. It’s a gambit that Larian, developer of the formerly PC-centric Divinity series, finds itself confronting with the Xbox 360 release of Divinity II: Ego Draconis.

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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: Activision
Developer: Red Octane
Genre: Music
Release date: December 22, 2009

As I type this, my area is being hammered by the worst winter storm in 13 years. What better way to warm things up around the old homestead than to rock out with Van Halen, one of the best live-performance bands of all time? In Guitar Hero: Van Halen, Activision and developer Red Octane feature one of the true guitar gods and one of the most distinctive voices in the history of rock in another band-centric edition of the series that revitalized the gaming industry.

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Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: Spike
Genre: Fighting
Release date: Available now

Spike’s latest Dragonball Z-based fighter, Dragonball: Raging Blast, takes place in a world where tall hair and exaggerated yelling reign supreme. Fast battles and tight clothes are commonplace in this world, and you’ll be experiencing plenty of both as you play through the game.

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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: 2K Games
Developer: Gearbox Software
Genre: RPS
Release date: Available now

One of the more obvious trends in gaming lately has been the gravitational pull towards the undead. See, with a zombie there’s no moral conundrum to deal with; you just aim for the head and try not to get any blood in your eyes. Games like Left 4 Dead and its recently released sequel have capitalized on this, as well as Call of Duty: World at War, which added yet another layer of shoot first certainty by making the resident shamblers part of the third Reich. Capping soulless abominations requires no thinking and no need to check your fire, either, making the concept a perfect fit for a game like Borderlands. With that, let’s take a trip to Jakob’s Cove and the Zombie Island of Dr. Ned.

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