Publisher: UFO Interactive
Developer: Epicenter Studios
Genre: FPS
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: October 19, 2010

Is there really anything quite as satisfying as killing zombies? With all the fads, especially in the video game industry, that have come and gone throughout the years, mowing down wave after wave of the undead just never seems to grow old. And while we’ve become more and more creative in the methods in which we dispatch our brain-eating foes, Rock of the Dead offers a new weapon of choice – rock ballads.

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

If you often reminisce about hours of misspent youth playing the Space Hulk boardgame, then Alien Breed 2: Assault may well appeal to you. If you like dark, derelict space hulks crammed with murderously intent bug-like aliens you’ll like this game. While I am not really a fan of top down perspective games, there is something quite appealing to Team17’s sequel to Alien Breed: Evolution. The rich graphics and crisp sound effects combine nicely, and compliment the simplistic gameplay to create an enjoyable experience. I would say that if you played the previous title, then you already know what to expect, but you don’t. There are new weapons, significantly improved graphics and new co-op gameplay in the sequel.

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Publisher: Valve Software
Developer: Turtle Rock Studios
Genre: First-Person Shooter
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

Just in time for Halloween, the Left 4 Dead series is back again offering its players a brand new campaign to try out – The Sacrifice. For the sake of new players, let’s quickly summarize the gist of the previous L4D games: four people kill as many zombies as humanly possible while traversing over various landscapes. The Sacrifice offers more of the same (in a positive way), by letting players experience the events after the ending of the first Left 4 Dead game, but before the episode The Passing, which was released earlier this year and crossed over the characters from the first game into the sequel.

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Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: 2K Czech
Genre: Action
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

As an experiment, let’s take the cover mechanic out of Gears of War and see how it stands on its own as a game. You could also remove, say, the multiplayer component of Halo: Reach, if that’s more topical for you. The point is that some games need that keystone component to really make them stand out, and Mafia II is one of those games. I played the game for the story. If you took that away and gave me just driving from mission to mission, then I could be playing anything from Saint’s Row to True Crime and all points in-between. Or, I could be playing Jimmy’s Vendetta, the second DLC offering for Mafia II.

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Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: Taito
Genre: Arcade shooter
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

No, you haven’t stepped out of Doc Brown’s DeLorean; this is a Space Invaders review. But this is not your mom and dad’s Space Invaders. Square Enix has teamed up with Taito, the game’s original developer (it appeared in western arcades in 1978 under the Midway banner, but Taito was the Japanese manufacturer) to release Space Invaders Infinity Gene, a game that attempts to take the classic arcade shooter into the 21st century.

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Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sonic Team
Genre: Action/Platformer
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

If ever there was a video game console crying out for the E! True Hollywood Story treatment, it’s arguably the Sega Dreamcast. Released in 1999 – poised to get the next-gen jump on the successor systems from Sony and Nintendo – the Dreamcast burned brightly before flaming out in unspectacular fashion. Boasting a launch day line-up that included arcade perfect ports (and some say better) of Crazy Taxi and Soul Caliber, the Dreamcast attracted the Sega fan base but did little to sway the legions of Nintendo fanboys and Sony loyalists. While the system offered the best visuals on the market and some nifty innovation, including the forward thinking VMU (Virtual Memory Unit) device – it wasn’t enough to keep Sega in the game and with that system’s demise, Sega said goodbye to hardware development. Not that they didn’t try their hardest to make an indelible impression – following the old maxim “Live Fast and Leave a Good Looking Corpse” – and who better to sell that ideal than their speedy mascot in his Next Gen debut, Sonic Adventure.

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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: Electronic Arts
Developer: Bioware
Genre: RPG
ESRB Rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

If you haven’t played Dragon Age: Origins, stop reading now. There are no spoilers below for Witch Hunt itself, but given the premise of the DLC and how it’s all about the story, there’s no way to discuss it without spoiling Origins. Head on over to the Origins review, decide if it’s worth a play, then come back when you’re ready. For the rest of you…

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Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Blue Castle Games
Genre: Action
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

To look at him, you’d think Chuck Greene was a formally trained, zombie-killing badass. Unlike Dead Rising’s shutterbug hero, Frank West, and his doughy features, Chuck looks more than comfortable clutching a baseball bat porcupined with ten-penny nails. It doesn’t surprise me in the slightest, either, because unlike Frank’s selfish need to get the best coverage possible, Chuck has something far more valuable at stake if he fails: his daughter. Dead Rising 2: Case Zero is the beginning of their story, a downloadable Xbox Live lead-up to the forthcoming Dead Rising 2.

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Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: 2K Czech
Genre: Action
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

Vito Scaletta is just the right kind of tool for the mafia. He makes himself available at all hours, he’s a snappy dresser, and he can handle a gun when the situation calls for it, thanks to his war experience. He’s a man who anyone with a wad of cash in their hand can trust to do whatever it takes to get the job done. So when the big guy slurping pasta at the end of the table says, “I got dis job for ya….” or “See dat guy? Whack ‘im” in between chews, Vito calmly nods, says “Alright,” and heads out the door, no questions asked. He’s the perfect tool for the job, and in Mafia II, you play as that tool.

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Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Double Fine
Genre: Action
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

Of all the forms of rock and roll, heavy metal boasts perhaps the most hardcore fans, and has branched out into other forms of media more often than some of the other genres. It has spawned a well respected animated feature film (Heavy Metal) and several video games, including KISS Psycho Circus: The Nightmare Child and Heavy Metal F.A.K.K. 2; indeed, metal music is the centerpiece of Guitar Hero III. Adding to the headbanger legend is developer Double Fine’s metal fantasy, Brutal Legend, a violent and challenging journey through a world built on hard rock.

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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: Ignition
Developer: Zombie Studios
Genre: Shooter
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

Looking for a good, engaging, story-based game? Then keep looking, because Blacklight: Tango Down isn’t one of them. From the first moment I delved into the game, I got the immediate impression that its developers put all the big bucks into the action and a few dollars into the story. It didn’t take me long to see that the game lacks an engaging plot and gives me no real sense of identity in the big scheme of the gameplay. I’m just a person with a gun who needs to shoot enemies – who they are and who I am seem irrelevant. Yet I find this to be the case with nearly all FPS games, so we shouldn’t judge the developers so harshly in this respect. For some of you this will be a bonus; you certainly don’t have to sit through hours of cut scenes, you just plough on straight ahead, guns blazing. Blacklight does have its merits, enough to keep the FPS lover happy.

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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: Aksys Games
Developer: Cave
Genre: 2D Side-scrolling Shooter
Release Date: Available now

You know gaming has aged nicely when a large subset of enthusiasts wax rhapsodically for the return to yesteryear. In this age of digital distribution channels, we find we can take that trip to the good old days with more frequency as developers mine the past to give niche gamers their continued fix. The last two years alone have been a boon to fans of 2D platformers and top down shoot ‘em ups; the hallmarks of the 80s arcade scene. With the return of titles like Bionic Commando Rearmed or Sin & Punishment, old school gets a new gloss and finds a hungry appetite in those gamers who value gameplay over pretty visuals – which is exactly the market that Cave looks to tap with the recent release of their shooter, Deathsmiles.

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