Genres

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.

Star Craft 2: Wings of Liberty, is part one of three planned expansion packs to be released by Blizzard over the next following years, allowing the gamers to play the story from completely different races. Just like its predecessor, Star Craft 2’s universe revolves are the classic races. The ancient and intelligent alien race, the Protoss, the hive creatures, the Zerlings who are controlled by their queen, Sarah Kerrigan and the exiled race of humans known as the Terrans, who take the central focus of the first Starcraft 2 release.

Dead Space 3 brings a lot to the franchise that has had long-time fans hesitant in their purchase. Trailers and the demo seem to show a game not so much survival horror as third person action, more like Gears of War than Dead Space. In an industry not generally interested in scaring those that want to be scared, major franchises dropping the horror element that made them big is a problem for many, but does that mean that action and horror aren’t at all compatible? Dead Space 3 proves that you can have your cake and eat it too, and that first impressions ...

If you talk to gamers who have followed the Tekken series for a long time, chances are they’ll tell you that it has been on an up and down ride. The fighting mechanics have stayed solid for the most part, but the experience from the last few Tekken games has been a bit underwhelming, especially when utilizing the potential of the great 3D fighting engine. Now fans and newcomers will be happy to know that Tekken Tag Tournament 2, the latest installment of the Tekken series, has brought the franchise back to its glory days with a great combination of fighting ...

Wrestling games have a rather long and odd history, especially when it comes to their core audience. The core audience for wrestling games isn’t always fans of wrestling, oddly enough, but just fans of wrestling games mixed in with wrestling fans themselves. I know that reads like a rather odd distinction, but it is very true. THQ’s rather sordid history with the WWE license extends back quite a while and has its ups and downs before they reached the end of the line with WWE ‘13, leaving the question of did they do the best that they could with developer ...

The Far Cry series began life with the Crytek-developed PC title, Far Cry. Positively received on release, the original game cast the mold for the sandbox-shooter franchise and though development since that first game has been handled by Ubisoft Montreal, the second instalment received similar praise. Now, Far Cry 3 has arrived with the aim of continuing the series’ success, and fans will be pleased to hear that it doesn’t disappoint.

Hotline Miami is an interesting indie title that was released in late 2012. The gritty game has received numerous awards and accolades, particularly for its soundtrack and gameplay. I've logged many hours playing through this ultra-violent offering from Dennaton Games, and it has been one of the more cerebral video game experiences I've had in awhile.

Chivalry Medieval Warfare released at the end of last year as a surprisingly good sword- fighting game from an independent studio. It successfully captured the finesse and brutality of hand-to-hand combat in the middle ages, but it had a few clear flaws. The handful of maps and game modes grew repetitive, and highly-skilled players often found themselves besieged by swarms of button mashers. The developer, Torn Banner Studios has released a large, free patch to correct some of these problems and now Chivalry has gone from a good game to a great one.