Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios
Developer: Avalanche
Genre: Racing
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

It’s become cliche to knock licensed titles that hit shelves days before each summer blockbuster flickers at the multiplex, but what is a cliche but an oft-told truth? That being said, in the last few years we’ve seen the tide turn. When you vote with your dollars, developers realize the quickie cash grab isn’t going to work much longer. Last summer, Avalanche provided one of the best examples to date in this seismic shift, with their Toy Story 3 tie-in that featured the fun and addictive Toy Box mode. With another PIXAR sequel ready to race, it’s encouraging to see Avalanche steering Cars 2 to retail, but will the same lighting strike twice.

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Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Frontier Developments
Genre: Pet Simulation
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

If you’re the kind of person who’s ever wondered how much fun you could have with a baby tiger without the fear of being either scratched to death or arrested (and no, I’m not labeling you), then you should check out Kinectimals. I bought this game with my four year old daughter, Leela, firmly in mind, but I can’t lie to you. I’m just going to confess straight away and clear my gaming conscience by telling you that I’ve played it more than she has.

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Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Double Fine Productions
Genre: Tower Defense / Third Person Shooter
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: June 22, 2011

I think there’s something kind of neat about remembering a genre’s inception and watching as it evolves and grows. The Internet has proven to be a fantastic sandbox where novice developers can get their ideas, even in rudimentary form, out to the masses and see their reactions. One such concept was that of the tower defense style of game, where players build weapons and defenses in order to defeat increasing hordes of enemies and protect some object or point. Today, this basic, and very popular, style of game has spawned many iterations, and one is about to hit the Xbox Live Arcade – Trenched.

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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: 505 Games
Developer: Behaviour Interactive
Genre: Action
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

There’s a simple truth about humans: every so often, we all feel the need to vent our frustrations. Venting on other humans is generally frowned upon, so the responsible ones among us search for other ways to reduce our daily stress levels. Last summer, developer Artificial Minds and Movement (now known as Behaviour Interactive) offered us just such an outlet in Naughty Bear, a dark, fluff-covered fable about a world-worn, patchwork teddy bear and his quest for revenge against the bright and fluffy neighbors who have been tormenting him. As we approach the one-year anniversary of Naughty’s campaign of terror and retribution, publisher 505 Games offers a return to his island home in Naughty Bear Gold Edition.

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Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Developer: inXile Entertainment
Genre: Action
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

Teamwork is usually optional in games. A lot of co-op campaigns have a very relaxed sense of camaraderie, where you can either choose to work together or alone, but the end result remains the same. There is rarely any need for interaction. This is not the case with Bethesda’s Hunted: The Demon’s Forge. Developed by inXile Entertainment, Hunted gives new life to the phrase, “everything is better in pairs.”

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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: TimeGate Studios
Developer: TimeGate Studios
Genre: FPS
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: April 20, 2011

Section 8: Prejudice was released today at the Xbox Live Marketplace. In a week full of top-tier game releases, it would seem that TimeGate Studios was setting itself up for failure by releasing it in such close proximity to these other titles. There’s plenty in this title, however, that make it deserving to rank amongst the best releases of 2011. And the best part is the price. For 1200 MS points (roughly $15), you can have a game that is as good as any Halo iteration I’ve played.

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

Well, the Masters has ended, which means that sports fans are now left with two options: the NHL playoffs and the start of baseball. Nothing against hockey, but as the weather begins to get warmer, I’m personally going to prefer to indulge in a sport without ice or anything else that reminds me of the cold days I can now safely put in my rearview mirror. So, in accordance with the sporting calendar, we’re treated to the baseball genre’s newest entry: Major League Baseball 2K11.

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Publisher: Atari
Developer: Behaviour Interactive
Genre: Action-adventure
ESRB Rating: Everyone 10 and older
Release date: Available now

I rarely rush out the door the day a game is released, but awhile back when Ghostbusters: The Video Game hit the market, I was there in a flash. The Ghostbusters franchise is one that is very dear to my heart, and usually anything branded with a no-ghost logo is considered awesome in my book. So when I heard there was going to be yet another GB game, I was extremely anxious to play, especially considering how much I enjoyed the previous one.

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Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Crytek
Genre: FPS
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

An enemy sees you and begins firing a gun at you. Quickly you make your armor stronger at will. The bullets do minimal damage and you take cover. Why not make yourself invisible, sneak behind your enemy and snap his neck? This is all thanks to the Nanosuit, a piece of high-tech equipment you have attached to your body. You don’t have to worry if your PC can run this game to experience gameplay like this. Crysis 2 from EA is the sequel to the PC game that made computers cry, but this time it’s available for all platforms.

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Publisher: Team17 Software
Developer: Team17 Software
Genre: Shooter
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

First and foremost, I have never played either of the previous titles in the Alien Breed series on Xbox Live Arcade, but the idea of blasting hostile alien monsters with guns is a genre that always sings to me as a gamer. Is that enough for this game? It only took me to play the third and final installment, Alien Breed 3: Descent by Team17 Software, to get a good idea about what this game has to offer.

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Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA Tiburon
Genre: Sports
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

Spring is in the air and March Madness is reaching its end, but before the first pitch can be thrown on opening day, there’s one more epic sporting event to undertake: The Masters (“A tradition unlike any other,” I believe the tagline goes). It’s fitting, then, that EA has chosen this timeframe to release (as it does every year) its newest Tiger Woods golf game, aptly named PGA Tour 12: The Masters.

As the name might suggest, the bulk of the golfing action revolves around The Masters, the major PGA tournament held at the Augusta National Golf Club. For the first time in the series, Augusta has been completely re-created, so you can get a fairly realistic sense of what playing those 18 holes feels like. There are 16 courses included in the game (including such fan favorites as Pebble Beach), with at least 20 others slated to be available for download. Throughout the game, you hone your golfing skills to win the ultimate prize—the illustrious green jacket.

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Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA Canada
Genre: Sports
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

In all the wide world of sports, boxing is arguably the most cinematic. Its punchy pugilists, our modern-day gladiators, battle in the ring before screaming masses, shedding their blood and working their opponents to the bone, all for our entertainment. In the end, there can be only one, and it’s that sentiment that provides a compelling narrative hook each time out. From Rocky to Raging Bull and the recent Mickey Ward tale, The Fighter, Hollywood has continually served up a series of Cinderella men ready for their close-ups on the canvas. It’s this same approach that EA uses with Fight Night Champion.

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Publisher: MTV Games
Developer: Harmonix
Genre: Music
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

Until recently, gamers could only satisfy their love of dancing in games such as Dance Dance Revolution. While DDR made us perform some pretty fancy footwork, everything above the waist remained largely unused. The Nintendo Wii brought in a new wave of arm-friendly dancing games, but it still felt like there were parts of our bodies that weren’t getting down as much as we wanted. Dance Central, developed for the Kinect by Harmonix Music Systems, gets your whole body involved. Is it worth it, or should you sit this one out?

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