Genres

The first Borderlands was one of the breakout successes of 2009. With its incredibly unique blend of first person shooter action with role-playing game character customization, Borderlands was an instant phenomenon. Gamers logged thousands of hours shooting bad guys, picking up loot, and repeating. Three years and lot of DLC later, Gearbox has finally released a proper sequel, complete with new characters, new gameplay features, and of course, about a billion new guns.

It took an awful long time and a lot of legal wrangling with Blizzard for Valve to be able to call their new game DotA 2, but that’s what it is. In terms of spirit and content, this is the follow-up to the top Warcraft 3 mod that started a genre and remains popular to this day. Although the characters and maps aren’t a million miles away from those available in, for instance, League of Legends, it’s the unique polish and the effort placed into graphics and gameplay that really make DotA 2 a game worth checking out.

Omerta – City of Gangsters had a lot of promise. It’s developed by the same people that make the endlessly fun Tropico series and promises a Gangster-based strategy game, not really something we’ve seen since the sequel to the Eidos classic Gangsters: Organized Crime. The incredibly high price point at least hints at the idea that Omerta has been worked on to the level that’s deserving of that amount of money. Gangster Sims are criminally overlooked and I’m sure there’s a market for them. Unfortunately, Omerta has probably put off any of that market taking ...

When Valve announced Left 4 Dead 2, the internet imploded. Fans had been promised a wealth of DLC, long-lasting support and now the developers had had the nerve to release a sequel. After mild controversy around launch and a steady sale-by-sale drop in price, this is a game that has become increasingly difficult to resist. Not only has the price dropped, but the content in the game has been expanded on as well. Along with the original five campaigns, Left 4 Dead 2 now contains every level from the first game, and a host of other content. If you’re looking for ...

The Cave brings together Monkey Island alumni Tim Schaefer and Ron Gilbert for a brand new adventure game unlike anything you’re likely to have played before. Pick from a cast of seven characters and explore a dark cave where anything is possible, where your character’s traits are tested over and over again. With the hilarious writing and critical thinking that made the genre great in the nineties, The Cave is a nostalgic look back at a time when games were more about character than interactivity. This is its biggest asset, but it’s also its biggest fault.

If this generation of home consoles has been missing anything in particular, I’d have to say that it was missing outstanding quality Japanese RPGs more than anything else. That isn’t to say that there haven’t been some quality Japanese RPGs floating around on the PS3 and the Wii, but as a whole it has felt like the wonder and excitement of past generations just isn’t there. All of that changed when Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch was announced and when the concept was explained; it was a Japanese RPG developed by Level-5 with the legendary Studio Ghibli ...

The original Sims game was a massive leap forward for gaming. News articles were run announcing that AI had finally got to a point where little people could run around inside your computer and teenage boys everywhere were making the girls they knew at school WooHoo in heart-shaped vibrating beds. Finally, a game where you could truly define the lives of your characters – so long as they weren’t hopping up and down on the spot or burning the house down. The Sims 3 for PC builds upon the franchise by add more options and making lives more realistic. This brings ...

It’s been about half a dozen years since the release of Hitman: Blood Money in 2006. Since then, fans of the franchise have been impatiently waiting for the next installment of the series. At long last, Agent 47 made his impressive return in 2012 with Hitman: Absolution. Unfortunately, there are a few noticeable flaws here and there but I can assure you, the game has been well worth the wait.

Guardians of Middle-Earth is the first MOBA game made specifically for consoles and the first set in the Lord of the Rings universe. That alone would make it worth playing, but the fact that it’s a big part of PlayStation+ (or that it’s going to be, depending on your location) should push that excitement over the edge. Good or bad, this is a title that is part of MOBA history and as MOBA is one of the most popular genres in the world right now, that’s a pretty big deal.

Assassin’s Creed 3 continue the story of Desmond Miles, a now fully fledged assassin, whose aim of saving the world from destruction at the hands of mysterious forces has taken him to new depths. As Desmond and his team, now including his own father, continue to evade the Templar’s, he must return to the Animus and meet yet another of his ancestors, Connor. Through Connor’s own journey Desmond will find out where his leads, which may ultimately lead him to victory.