Genres

Naughty Dog, without question, is one of the most praised developers this generation, not so much for their gameplay, but for their smart, character-driven writing and breathtaking set pieces. This cinematic, directed design found in their Uncharted series has placed them at the forefront of narrative gaming, and The Last of Us continues this trend in emphatic fashion.

Not long after the release of Kingdom Rush on iOS in 2011, Ironhide Studios announced a sequel for the game - and save for a few screenshots released during the holiday season, they kept a pretty tight lid on development of their next tower defense title, which finally hit the App Store last week. I don't know if I'd call it a true 'sequel' - but as a version 1.5 of sorts, Frontiers brings the same fantastic gameplay as the original, with enough tweaks and additions to keep the experience fresh.

State of Decay is the zombie game that is taking the world by storm, after seeming to come almost out of nowhere. With a distinct lack of marketing dollars spent on the game, it's incredible to see how word of mouth has sold so many people on surviving a zombie apocalypse. But when you actually play the game, it's easy to see why the word of mouth is so positive. Despite a few issues, State of Decay is essentially the zombie game that people have been asking about for ages.

Ever since its first global release for the Nintendo Gamecube a decade ago, Animal Crossing has amassed a very large and devoted fanbase. Its Sims-meets-Harvest Moon real-time gameplay is notable for its charm, depth and accessibility. This fact alone easily makes Animal Crossing one of Nintendo's most popular franchises. Animal Crossing: New Leaf is the latest iteration of the series, this time finding its home on the 3DS. For many, this was a highly anticipated game, especially after it was revealed that the Japanese release last September was an instant ...

How can God be omnipotent and benevolent yet the world be filled with constant war and unending suffering? Perhaps there is a greater god out there who wants nothing more than to sit back and watch as humanity wages meaningless conflict just for the amusement of a callous divine being! That's basically the premise behind Skyward Collapse, a new turn-based strategy game from Arcen Games in which players control both sides in a battle where the hapless combatants waste their lives in perpetual war.

For the most part, iOS and Android ports of board games are pretty straightforward, relying on the convenience of having classic tabletop titles without all the plastic pieces, dies, and paper objects needed for the physical product. Warhammer Quest is a different kind of digital interpretation, taking the multiplayer board game and transforming it into a enjoyable, but familiar-feeling tactical dungeon crawler.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is one of the touchstone RPG's of my life. It's the first BioWare game I had ever played, having missed the large majority of them as a person who spent most of my time on consoles as opposed to PC. Thinking back, it might even be the first proper western RPG I played as I spent most of my RPG hours playing games like Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior. Who'd have guessed at the time that a game with the Star Wars license would be so essential to the hobby?

The original Coconut Dodge, released as a PlayStation Mini in 2010, is one of only a small handful of games that I've rewarded with a 10/10. At a time before FuturLab became the Sony darlings they so deservedly are today, they were just another developer vying for attention on the Minis platform and in Coconut Dodge they made a game that was not only so much better than almost anything else on the platform, but that was so much better than it needed to be. They'd gone above and beyond, taking a simple idea and creating perfection.

Designing an endless runner game that catches the attention of the public must be a challenge. The App store is flooded with them, because they are great for quick gaming sessions and they don't typically require complex inputs from the player. How does Dead Ahead set itself apart from the pack?

Back in the days when 64 kilobytes of RAM was impressive, there was the Commodore 64. Released in August 1982 (with a price tag of $595), the Commodore 64 brought 16 colors, three-channel sound, and it's iconic blue start up screen to American households, and quickly dominated the home gaming market with titles like Last Ninja 2, Maniac Mansion, and Sid Meir's Pirates! (plus it had awesome peripherals like the prehistoric mouse and the 'Datasette').