Genres

If you follow mobile games at all, you'll probably have heard of The Drowning. It's the latest first-person shooter to be brought to iOS and the one that the developers have promised us will revolutionize the control scheme for shooters on touch screens. On top of that, it's a game about some sort of crazy water zombies coming from the ocean to drown all human life.

Neverwinter, a game set in the D&D universe, started as a series of isometric RPG games with a heavy focus on pausable strategic combat. Since then Neverwinter has evolved into a free to play MMO with fast paced action combat, player created content, and a unique currency system.

Like many that grew up during the 8-bit generation, I have an intrinsic love for Capcom's DuckTales for the NES. I found its music, visuals and level design to be among the best during that time, and I revisit it occasionally. Despite my skills at deftly pogo-jumping my way to victory being rusty, I still believe it's a classic, and I was more than just a little thrilled when Capcom and developer WayForward announced an updated version. While some of the redesign decisions are questionable, DuckTales: Remastered (DT:R) is a faithful and solid modernization.

There's a reason that Plants Vs Zombies 2 has the subtitle "It's About Time." It's become a global phenomenon, encompassing multiple platforms, books, figurines, plushies and more. That all of this has comes from a single game is remarkable, especially since it's not especially long, nor does it have some great RPG-like depth to it. It's just simple good fun.

The original Epic Mickey was fairly well received when it was released on the Wii in 2010. It was well received enough that its sequel, Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, was released across four different platforms. Despite very average reviews and disappointing sales, The Power of Two still managed to make it to the PlayStation Vita late last month. While it's most likely the best version of Mickey's adventure through Wasteland, that's not really saying much. Like the characters you'll come across throughout your adventure, Epic Mickey 2 is bound for the ...

Dubai, like many places in the east, is a city of opposites. Wholly modern but with tradition and history spanning millennia, it's one of those places that almost everybody has heard of, but many wouldn't be able to place on a map. It's a beautiful city but one that is often understood (partly thanks to strict control of their image), and that's partly why the developers behind Dubai Delivery decided to make their game. On some levels they succeed in painting a rich tapestry of life in Dubai, and I found myself learning things I never knew. But in all the ...

Le Vamp is another in a seemingly endless run of endless runner games on the App Store. Where many games put you in direct control of a character who has to run, jump, and/or fight for as long as possible, Le Vamp has you acting as the tiny vampire's protector, removing obstacles from his path as he runs from a crowd of angry villagers.

Motorbike games have always been a part of video gaming culture. Go back to the early days of SEGA and Nintendo and you'll see countless attempts at bringing those two-wheeled speed demons to the digital realm. This has kind of dropped off in recent years as developers would rather show off pretty cars with high end labels. MotoGP 13 proves that there are still games out there for people that want their motorbike fix, offering high speeds, realistic physics and challenging gameplay that will keep a hardcore fan happy for months.

These days, it seems like everyone is trying to breathe new life into the zombie genre. Most developers are looking for the angle that nobody has done before, trying to make zombies terrifying all over again and forcing people to sneak around in the darkness lest they find their tender brains being chewed. What happened to all the fun we used to have with zombies, where we were the ones with all the power and they were just rotten targets, ripe for the shooting? Splatter brings it all back.

While many indie developers are attempting to make old genres relevant again, there are those that are trying to create new ones. One such dev is Lucas Pope, with his latest game, Papers, Please, being labeled as "A Dystopian Document Thriller". The word "Dodocument" will no doubt throw some people off, but after spending some time cross-referencing passports and work releases as an immigration inspector in the fictional country of Arstotzka, I can safely say that stamping papers can definitely be thrilling.