Publisher: Disney Interactive
Developer: Disney Interactive
Genre: Music/Rhythm/Adventure
Release date: Available now

I’m going to launch this review with an earth-shattering revelation. We’re talking Da Vinci Code, faked moon landing, Milli Vanilli levels of conspiracy paranoia. I am utterly convinced that tween rocker Hannah Montana (star of Disney’s “reality show” of the same name) and Miley Cyrus (Achy Breaky’s brat), are one and the same. After all, I’ve never seen them in the same place at the same time. Also (while we’re talking conspiracy theories), I am utterly convinced that my editors have installed a covert Webcam in my home and assigned this game to me just so they could catch me lip-synching with Crowley Corners’ celeb crooner in the hopes that the video of a 36-year-old dude busting out “The Climb” would become the next hot Web sensation.

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Publisher: Midway Games
Developer: Midway Games
Genre: Football
Release Date: Available now
Review by: Mark Turcotte

In a world with only one officially licensed NFL game, our choices are rather slim when it comes to football. With Blitz: The League II, Midway once again brings us their version of the hard-hitting sport, abandoning realism in favor of over-the-top action. This arcade alternative to EA’s Madden series tries to be an NFL simulator, but is this crazy brand of football worth huddling up to play?

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Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Tigon Studios
Genre: Action
Release date: Available now

There’s an old saying that goes, “borrow widely, steal wisely,” which is very fitting of the action hero in Vin Diesel’s new game, Wheelman. This mission-based driving opus takes its inspiration from two mega-franchises: Burnout and Grand Theft Auto. From Burnout, Wheelman takes a more arcade-like feel with its vehicles, and like GTA it features the freedom of sandbox gameplay. Though a promising formula, the resulting product fails to capitalize upon what made its predecessors so great: their reliance on the things that appeal most to the players. With its attention divided between car and on-foot action, Wheelman comes up short on both.

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Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Romania
Genre: Action
Release date: Available now
Review by: Ryan Asher

The Tom Clancy brand is dominating the ground war with its impressive Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six series, and now it’s looking for air superiority with HAWX. In HAWX, you trade in your MP5 for a seat in the cockpits of some of the nastiest fighter jets in the world. I think you’ll agree that it’s a pretty decent trade once you make the sound barrier your “female dog” for the first time.

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Publisher: Mommy’s Best Games
Developer: Mommy’s Best Games
Genre: Side Scrolling Shooter
Release date: Available now
Review by: Christopher J. Troilo

The age of home gaming was revolutionized by the NES, and most owners had a few staple titles in their collection. If the mood struck you to run-and-gun your way through endless bad guys and aliens, then most likely you were popping in the all-time classic, Contra. While the age of shoot-em-up 8-bit games is long gone, there are still some trying to improve upon their designs and introduce their brand of fun to a new generation of players, which is where Weapon of Choice comes in.

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Publisher: Take 2 Interactive
Developer: Rockstar Games
Genre: Action
Release date: Available now
Review by: Ryan Asher

Niko Bellic’s Liberty City was so good the first time, it only makes sense to double dip and head back. Only this time you’re not reprising your role as the mass-murdering Eastern European immigrant. You’re playing as the pit-bull-like Johnny Klebitz. Johnny is the vice president of the Lost Motorcycle Club, and as the Grand Theft Auto IV expansion pack The Lost and Damned begins, he has just returned to the role of second fiddle with the release of the club’s previously incarcerated president, Billy Grey.

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Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA Redwood Shores
Genre: Action
Release date: April 7, 2009
Review by: Michele White

Okay, confession time: I never saw the Godfather movies (despite popular myth, I was too young when they came out), and I’ve avoided them since their release because of a rumor about a horse. That said, the NYC girl in me has always been fascinated with the Italian mob and the books and films describing it, so when I received a surprise package from Electronic Arts containing developer EA Redwood Shores’ new video-game adaptation of The Godfather II, I couldn’t wait to dive into the blood-soaked world of the Corleone family.

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Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: TikGames Inc.
Genre: Puzzle
Release date: Available now
Review by: Ryan Asher

That fiendish old criminal Dr. Chaos has escaped, and now his crew of equally clichéd conspirators is up to all sorts of evil shenanigans. Worse yet, they’ve cut short your vacation (the bastards!). Before you think about bursting through doors, guns blazing, blasting your way to these Buzz Killingtons, the makers of Interpol have a different type of game in mind. You’ll be exercising that keen eye of yours instead of that calloused, trigger finger.

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Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Shanghai
Genre: Real-Time Strategy
Release date: Available now
Review by: Michael Smith

Successful developers know that, if you’re creating a game in a long-popular genre, you need a hook, something that will distinguish your new game from the rest. Whether it’s a lead character with a distinctive personality (Duke Nukem in Duke Nukem 3D), a revolutionary interface and deep gameplay mechanics (the Homeworld series), or a fast-moving story backed by excellent visuals (the Half Life 2 episodes); new games need something to rescue them from a lonely future in the bargain bin. Ubisoft Shanghai’s Tom Clancy’s EndWar’s hook is a command-and-control system that gives even the novice RTS player a fair shot at global domination.

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Publisher: Southpeak Games
Developer: Spark Unlimited
Genre: First Person Shooter
Release date: Available now
Review by: Ryan Asher

As professional thief Deckard, you’ve been duped into opening Pandora’s Box, dooming mankind to a plague of mythical, violent beasts. (Way to go, smarty-pants!) As if the end of the world isn’t a big enough problem, your double-crossing employer, LeFey, has sent his paramilitary squad to put the finishing touches on your life. Mercenaries? Werewolves? Fire engine-sized griffons? Good luck surviving the next several hours of Legendary.

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Publisher: Konami
Developers: Zoe Mode, HB Studios
Genre: Rhythm/Music
Release date: Available now
Review by: James Dolbeare

You’ve played every song in Rock Band and Guitar Hero three billion times and you never want to hear those songs again, but now Konami has released Rock Revolution to entice you to drag out your plastic instruments once more. You can use your old guitars and drum sets with RR, but the game doesn’t feature any karaoke-style gameplay for singers, so you’ll have to find some other way to torture your neighbors.

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Publisher: Fervent Interactive
Developer: Fervent Interactive
System: XBLA
Genre: 3D Platformer
Release date: Available now
Review by: Ryan Asher

With the introduction of Xbox Live Community Games, independent developers now have an easy way to reach the consumer and showcase their hard work. Totem is one result of this effort – a game combining creepy, multi-colored totem faces and a style similar to Tetris.

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Publisher: Activision
Developer: Treyarch
System: Xbox 360
Genre: Action
Release date: Available now
Review by: Ed Humphries

There will never be another Goldeneye. “James Bond Will Return” is the post-script that ends every Bond film (as well as Rare’s treasured 1998 N64 release), but the promise of another Goldeneye lives on only in dreams. This hasn’t stopped developers from trying to replicate the game’s success, however, with each successive adventure falling under the weight of the creaky 11-year old shooter. A burden that Bond’s latest outing, Quantum of Solace, must now bear.

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Publisher: Midway Games
Developer: Epic Games
System: Xbox 360
Genre: FPS
Release date: Available now
Review by: Ryan Asher

I still remember my first experience with the Unreal Tournament franchise. All the kids in school were babbling about some insanely sweet level that slightly resembled the allied landing on Utah Beach. Being a World War II nerd, I was fascinated with Normandy, so I had to get my hands on this game. I couldn’t get my D-Day fix from games such as Allied Assault or Conker’s Bad Fur Day because they hadn’t hit store shelves yet, so Unreal Tournament was the best recreation I could get, and it didn’t disappoint.

Raking in the kills and hearing the ever-so-satisfying “MULTI-KILL!” and “RAMPAGE!” for the first time as some poor saps attempted to cross the beach will forever be engrained in my gaming memory. Many gamers around the world feel the same way, which is why the Unreal Tournament franchise continues to be one of the most dominant series in online deathmatching. The PC game has spawned a multitude of sequels and ports on consoles, one of which helped kick-start online gaming on the Dreamcast’s SegaNet. This legacy continues today with Unreal Tournament 3.

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Publisher: Activision Blizzard
Developer: Radical Entertainment
System: Xbox 360
Genre: Adventure
Release date: Available now
Review by: Christopher J. Troilo

Maybe this isn’t a surprise to most people, but I can’t tell you how stunned I was to learn that Crash: Mind over Mutant is actually the 15th installment of the crazy Crash Bandicoot series. I had never played a Crash game before, so unfortunately, I’m judging this solely as a standalone platforming adventure since I can’t compare it to the previous 14 games.

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