Brace yourselves, Spark is back with another idea to tear New York, London and the whole world apart. Legendary is a checkpoint-based corridor FPS with lots of gore, in which you'll shoot down mythological creatures on the loose and drain their "animus" to heal yourself or release a shockwave of energy around you. The game also features LAN and online multiplayer modes.
X-Blades was developed by Gaijin Entertainment. This is a third-person action game where you control Ayumi the treasure hunter. The gameplay is a mix of Painkiller and Dynasty Warriors. As Ayumi collects souls the player is able to purchase upgrades and unlock new attacks for her to use. I buy these types of games for the articles.
The first in the Burnout series to be ported to the PC, Burnout Paradise is an arcade driving/racing game. Unlock dozens of cars each featuring a detailed damage model and packing large amounts of "boost". Enter a challenge at every crossroad in Paradise City, from "orienteering" races to stunt contests - or freely roam the streets, train tracks, multiple-storey parking lots and buidings roofs in search of Super Jumps or "smashables" to add to your achievements list. With a host of community tools, modes and leaderboards, the game is also strongly oriented towards online multiplayer.
Developed by a two-man team, Aquaria is a sidescrolling action/puzzle game. Although the gameplay is two-dimensional it is really a 2.5D game (as opposed to 2D), using animated and skinned polygon models. Help lonesome Naija find her way through underwater worlds and unravel the mysteries of her very existence. Learn siren songs to cast various spells or turn into an energy bolt-firing warrior form. Swim your way through reefs and abysses where beautiful or deadly creatures dwell and long-forgotten secrets await.
Command whole squadrons or take control of individual ships and airplanes in this naval action game depicting the US vs. Japan episode of WW2 in the Pacific. Although aimed towards online team-based multiplayer, the game features a story-driven singleplayer campaign (US side) and "challenges" focusing on the control of ships, planes and submarines respectively.
The highly anticipated follow-up of F.E.A.R. will still be a FPS with loads of graphical violence and bullet time in a paranormal atmosphere.
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.
Crazy Machines 2 is a contraption builder/puzzle game very similar to good ol' DOS-based The Incredible Machine (1992), although with gorgeous 3D graphics and a sophisticated physics model.
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 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.
