Hindrance

The Sims 2

The successful social interactions simulator and virtual home creation tool suite comes back in full-3D graphics. Guide your Sims throughout their entire existence, or just buy them neat furniture and cool clothes and watch them indulge their needs, pursuit their desires and deal with the mundane or epic challenges of their everyday suburban life.

OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast

20 years after its coin-operated debut the arcade classic returns, this time on the PC. Sit tight in your Ferrari and get ready for ultra-fast old-school racing and crazy challenges through rich and varied environments in beautifully old-fashioned graphics.

Arx Fatalis

What can one say about Arx Fatalis? It's a 1st person RPG from way back (originally released in 2002) made by Arkane Studios (same folks who did "Dark Messiah of Might and Magic"). It was meant to be Ultima Underworld III but due to not being able to secure a license became its own game. I'm glad it's not tied to an existing franchise. It uses a skill based system as well as requiring the player to use mouse gestures to cast spells. The game is in the same vein as Morrowind/Oblivion but is much, much smaller in scale than either.

TimeShift

TimeShift is a FPS created by Saber Interactive released in 2007. This game is noteable for allowing the player to manipulate time. It also received mostly above average review scores.

Spore

Spore is a multi-genre single-player god game developed by Maxis and designed by Will Wright. The game was released for the Microsoft Windows and Macintosh operating systems in September 2008 as Spore. Covering many genres including action, real-time strategy, and RPG, the game allows a player to control the development of a species from its beginnings as a microscopic organism, through development as an intelligent and social creature, to interstellar exploration as a spacefaring culture.

Shaun White Snowboarding

SW is a snowboard game with multiple challenges to choose from in open environments, not unlike the late Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series' most recent titles. The Scimitar engine (Assassin's Creed, Prince of Persia 2008) supposedly allows the gameplay to rely solely on physics whereas most "board" games are animation-based. A more obvious feature though is that you can control your avatar through some half-pipe fun during loading times, something AC's Altayr probably misses terribly.

SC:09 - Ski Challenge

SC'09 is a lightweight, free ski racing game with online rankings. It follows the real european Ski Cup as new tracks will be unlocked as the season progresses.

Grand Theft Auto IV

The fourth installment of the popular series by Rockstar features improved graphics, new features, and new gameplay. Players take on the role of Niko Bellic, a rough-around-the-edge chap from Eastern Europe. Niko has arrived in America, in Liberty City -- a land full of promise and opportunity. His cousin convinced him to emigrate, to join him in his mansion and life of luxury, but as soon as he steps off the boat, Niko discovers the truth about the American way. Still, the wealth, the comfort, the bliss of the good life, it all really is here ... And it's all for the taking.

Multiwinia

Multiplayer take on Darwinia. Indie game darling "Darwinia" realized in multi-player fashion.