Best graphic computer game 2009

Metascore: User Score: 8. At the completion of the second World Warrior Tournament, the Shadaloo crime syndicate was left in ruins, its grandmasters defeated and scattered to the winds. Corporation, has set up yet another tournament and invited a blend of old friends and new faces to battle again for the title of the world's strongest. With 25 characters including the original 12 street fighters , a blend of 2D and 3D graphics, and the new focus-attack system, Street Fighter has returned with a vengeance.

User Score: 7. As the spiritual successor to BioWare's "Baldur's Gate", one of the most successful role-playing games in the industry, Dragon Age: Origins represents BioWare's return to its roots, delivering a fusion of the best elements of existing fantasy works with stunning visuals, emotionally-driven narrative, heart-pounding combat, powerful magic abilities and credible digital actors.

Powerful Magic — Raining down awesome destruction on enemies is even more compelling as players apply "spell combos," a way of combining together different spells to create emergent unique effects. Players develop their characters and gain powerful special abilities spells, talents and skills and discover ever-increasing weapons of destruction.

With its emotionally compelling story, players choose with whom they wish to forge alliances or crush under their mighty fist, redefining the world with the choices they make and how they wield their power.

Players select and play a unique prelude that provides the lens through which the player sees the world and how the world sees the player. The player's choice of Origin determines who they are and where they begin the adventure, as they play through a customized story opening that profoundly impacts the course of every adventure. Braid is a puzzle-platformer, drawn in a painterly style, where the player manipulates the flow of time in strange and unusual ways.

From a house in the city, journey to a series of worlds and solve puzzles to rescue an abducted princess. In each world, you have a different power to affect the way time behaves, and it is time's strangeness that creates the puzzles.

The time behaviors include: the ability to rewind, objects that are immune to being rewound, time that is tied to space, parallel realities, time dilation, and perhaps more. Braid treats your time and attention as precious; there is no filler in this game.

Every puzzle shows you something new and interesting about the game world. Braid is a 2-D platform game where you can never die and never lose. The game features themes such as the Industrial Revolution, America's struggle for independence, the race to control Eastern trade routes and the globalisation of war on land and sea. PC Gamers intuitively command vast fleets or single ships upon seascapes rich with extraordinary water and weather effects that play a huge role in your eventual glorious success or ignominious defeat.

After pummelling your enemy with cannon fire, close in to grapple their ship and prepare to board taking control your men as they fight hand to hand on the decks. Empire: Total War also sees further enhancements to the Total War series signature 3D battles and turn based campaign map. Real time battles pose new challenges with the addition of cannon and musket, challenging players to master new formations and tactics as a result of the increasing role of gunpowder within warfare.

And the Campaign Map — for many the heart of Total War — will see new improved systems for Trade, Diplomacy and Espionage with agents, a refined and streamlined UI, improved Advisors and extended scope taking in the riches of India, the turbulence of Europe and the untapped potential of North America. This co-operative action horror FPS takes you and your friends through the cities, swamps and cemeteries of the Deep South, from Savannah to New Orleans across five expansive campaigns.

Play as one of four new survivors armed with a wide and devastating array of classic and upgraded weapons. In addition to firearms, you'll also get a chance to take out some aggression on infected with a variety of carnage-creating melee weapons, from chainsaws to axes and even the deadly frying pan.

You'll be putting these weapons to the test against or playing as in Versus three horrific and formidable new Special Infected. L4D2 promises a satisfying and uniquely challenging experience every time the game is played, custom-fitted to your style of play. Taking players on an exhilarating World Tour, DiRT 2 delivers over stunning events, including aggressive, multi-vehicle races and intense solo challenges, set in the most diverse and demanding real-world environments.

From the muddy tracks of the Malaysian rainforest to spectator-packed stadiums in London and Los Angeles, racers compete in contemporary off-road race disciplines covering Rallycross, Trailblazer, Raid, Landrush, and Rally. Embracing the culture and new heroes of modern off-road racing, DiRT 2 features an exciting line-up of the best new rally drivers - including the multi medal-winning Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block alongside Travis Pastrana, Dave Mirra, and Tanner Faust, who help players build their racing career.

The fabric of space itself is transformed as vast, unpredictable wormholes open to connect previously unexplored regions of the universe to the stars of New Eden. The seeds of advanced new technology await inside of these cosmic anomalies for those brave enough to explore them.

This infusion of technology enables production of the most dynamic vessels ever — Tech 3 modular ships with an astounding amount of customizability that can fill any role from skirmish muscle to industrial support. These branching, far-reaching mission strings are full of meaningful stories and more intelligent and deadly adversaries.

Zombies are invading your home, and the only defense is your arsenal of plants! Armed with an alien nursery-worth of zombie-zapping plants like peashooters and cherry bombs, you'll need to think fast and plant faster to stop dozens of types of zombies dead in their tracks.

Obstacles like a setting sun, creeping fog and a swimming pool add to the challenge, and with five game modes to dig into, the fun never dies! Improved Match Engine - improved AI, over new animations in 3D mode, new stadiums and crowds, improved pitch degradations and better lighting make for the most immersive pitch-side experience ever. Match Analysis - a match analysis tool that shows you where shots, passes, crosses, headers, tackles, fouls and interceptions have been made on the field for both teams.

See this analysis both live in game, and post match, allowing you to pinpoint the weaknesses and strengths of both your team and your opponents. New User Interface - a completely new vibrant look and feel to the game, plus a navigational overhaul. The side menu is replaced by an intuitive tab system, based on extensive consumer feedback and usability studies, which allows you to access all areas of FM quickly and easily.

Tactical Overhaul - a new tactics module makes it much easier to make your team play as you want them to. There are thousands of possible pre-set options and touchline "shout" instructions for making instant changes to your teams playing style.

Don't worry; the old system is still there for people who love their sliders. News Center - a subscription based newspaper. Get the news about the football world around you that you want, and not the news you don't want.

New Data Editor - including a brand new Competition Editor allowing you to add competitions and extra levels for leagues currently in the game, and add completely new competitions and leagues all via a very simple to use editor.

Plus, the new editor allows you to keep your game up to date more easily than ever before. Burnout Paradise The Ultimate Box is a special edition release that includes the award-winning Burnout Paradise game, the previously-released Cagney and Bikes downloadable content updates, plus the brand new Burnout Paradise Party pack. The Party pack brings the social fun of Burnout Paradise into an offline multiplayer mode where players compete in different stunt, speed and skill events.

The Party pack also includes a host of new features including a restart option added for racing and easier control of the early vehicles. Burnout Paradise proves that crashing is awesome! Now the development team can realize their original vision for the Burnout franchise: an open world environment where you can do anything, anywhere, anytime. Feel the adrenaline course through your veins as you take to the road for the first time in Paradise City, where the action is all around you.

Explore the city, discover events, and look for the best opportunities to crash, jump and pull signature takedowns.

In Burnout Paradise you're given the keys to the city, but it's up to you to earn the keys to the meanest and most dangerous cars on the street, and earn your Burnout license. In Resident Evil 5, returning hero Chris Redfield is sent to Africa to investigate a biological weapon that is transforming the populace into aggressive and disturbing creatures.

Joined by another local BSAA agent, Sheva Alomar, the two must work together to solve the truth behind the frightening turn of events. Featuring a revolutionary new co-op mode of gameplay, Resident Evil 5 will let players experience fear together as terror moves out of the shadows and into the light of day.

Create lifelike Sims with a unique personality and take them anywhere in the neighborhood. The powerful Create-a-Sim tool allows you to create Sims that are more realistic than ever. Select from dozens of personality traits such as brave, artistic, kleptomaniac, clumsy, paranoid and romantic. With Create-a-Sim, you can create a limitless number of truly unique Sims.

Enjoy the challenge of short and long-term goals and then reap the rewards! Based on personality traits, skills and career choices, your Sims have Wishes that provide constant fun challenges and so many things to do and achieve.

You have the ultimate freedom to choose whether to fulfill their destiny, giving them lifetime happiness and rewards or not! Visit The Store each month for new, never-seen-before themed items. These easily accessible tools inspire creativity and allow you to share your masterpieces with your friends and other players on The Sims 3 official website, personal blogs, or any social media network. See what you can create with The Sims 3. Modern Warfare 2 continues the gripping and heart-racing action as players face off against a new threat dedicated to bringing the world to the brink of collapse.

An entirely new gameplay mode which supports 2-player co-operative play online that is unique from the single player story campaign. Special Ops pits players into a gauntlet of time-trial and objective-based missions. Rank-up as players unlock new Special Ops missions, each more difficult.

Missions include highlights from the single player campaign, fan favorites from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and all new, exclusive missions. Setting a new bar for online multiplayer, Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer delivers new capabilities, customization, gamestates and modes, including: Create-a-Class Evolved. Riot Shields. Perk Upgrades. Bling Dual Attachments. Accolades Post match reports. User Score: 4. As ye venture out onto the docks of Melee Island, there'll be a shock to yer system the likes of which you've never seen.

The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition gives you the world you remember, yet it be shown to ya like only yer imagination could. It seems Guybrush Threepwood, a young lad wantin' to be a bloodthirsty pirate is back to relive his hunt fo the fabled riches of Monkey Island. Hilarious swashbuckling misadventures: Embark on a bumbling misadventure in an attempt to become the most infamous pirate in the Caribbean, win the heart of the beautiful governor, Elaine Marley, and confront the evil ghost pirate, LeChuck!

High-definition graphics: The game is all-new and re-imagined with a contemporary art style, hand-drawn and presented in p. Complete voice over using original Monkey Island franchise cast members brings the story and characters to life like never before. Renewed music score: Enjoy the re-mastered and re-recorded musical score using live instruments. Special Edition and Classic modes: Scene-for-scene hot swap lets you seamlessly transition between Special Edition and Classic modes at anytime during gameplay.

Enhanced gameplay: The all-new intuitive game interface and controls provide a more interactive gameplay experience. Hint system: Not sure what to do next? The in-game puzzle hint system keeps the puzzles fresh and fun.

The historical strategy game features new content and features across the board including: Brand new Casus Belli system, where wars have specific goals from start to finish. Monarchs now belong to dynasties, with new influence on the diplomatic model. Increased Holy Roman Empire and Papacy options for more powerful ruling. New diplomatic options for Merchant Republics. Enhanced "Cultural Tradition" and recruitment of specific advisor types.

Dawn of War II ushers in a new chapter in the RTS series, as ancient races — including the dauntless Space Marines and savage Orks - clash across ruined worlds on a mission to claim the galaxy and preserve their own existence. Powered by the re-vamped Essence Engine 2. The game immerses players in an in-depth non-linear single-player campaign and a fully-co-operative multiplayer mode.

NBA Today - All the real world matchups, news and stats are automatically streamed right into your game. No longer will your commentary and overlays be stale and out of date. The road to being an NBA star is a long and hard battle.

Living Rosters - The 2K Insider and his team of NBA analysts continue to keep NBA 2K10 fresh with up-to-date team and player information, including roster and lineup moves, trades, injuries and player ratings. Now track all of the changes through the season with interactive menus and analysis. Now you can play the AI, challenge the friend sitting next to you or play your buddy across town anytime, from anywhere in the game.

User Score: 6. Ned is an add-on pack for Borderlands with new enemy types, new missions, and new The Jakobs Corporation would like to invite you to experience the splendor of a corporate owned small town known as Jakobs Cove.

Any rumors you may have heard about the "undead" walking our streets are completely preposterous and we officially deny them all. If those rumors turn out to be true simply purchase a firearm from the conveniently located Jakobs Brand Vending Machines and aim for the head. Also, would you mind saving our employees? Non-union only please. This update includes Book 9 and the Epilogue to the sweeping epic tale begun with the award-winning Mines of Moria expansion. Increased Level Cap - Players are able advance their characters up to level 65, gaining access to new traits, virtues, skills and class quests.

Answer the Call of War! Skirmishes offer endless action in repeatable, randomized instances where players can create and lead customizable soldiers into battle, training them to greater skill as they earn victories against the forces of shadow.

Answer the call of war wherever violence erupts with the new "World Join" function that lets players and their fellowships band together to fight in various locations throughout Middle-earth. Take up Arms! Players will experience improved responsiveness when in the heat of battle.

Achieve new Legacies, new titles, and a fourth Runic slot that will make Legendary Items even more unique and powerful. Out of the Park Baseball 10 "OOTP 10" , the latest in the award-winning series, is the most immersive, realistic, and customizable baseball management simulation game on the market today.

OOTP 10 provides what fantasy baseballers truly desire - the ability to control every aspect of a baseball team. With online or solo play, real Major League rosters, historical simulations, and purely fictional leagues, OOTP 10 has all of the bases covered! Players are thrust into the loud, intense, and athletic experience of racing a car from the driver's perspective through the combination of perception based G-forces, the hyper reality of the cockpit view, and the all-new brutally disorienting crash dynamic.

Need for Speed SHIFT features an accurate, accessible physics-based driving model that allows you to feel every impact, every change of track surface and every last bit of grip as you push yourself to the edge. User Score: 5. Ember is the essence of magic and the keystone of alchemy; it lures the restless with promises of power and riches. Miners burrowed deep beneath the dirt streets of Torchlight, discovering veins of the ore richer than any found in living memory- but they were not the first to covet these mines.

The miners from Torchlight broke through into the buried past, a dangerous labyrinth of caverns and ruined civilizations, twisted creatures and the bones of those who came before. Evil bubbles up from the depths and threatens to overrun Torchlight as it has so many others.

The heart of a villain has infused the Ember, and his darkness seeps through the veins. Red Faction: Guerrilla is a 3rd person, open-world action shooter set on Mars, 50 years after the events of the original Red Faction. Players assume the role of an insurgent fighter with the newly re-established Red Faction movement as they battle for liberation from the oppressive Earth Defense Force. Throughout their fight for freedom, players carve their own path, wreaking havoc across the vast, open-world environment of Mars, from the desolate mining outpost of Parker to the gleaming EDF capital city of Eos.

Utilizing improvised weapons, explosives and re-purposed mining equipment and vehicles, Red Faction: Guerrilla allows players to tear through fully destructible environments in an unforgiving Martian landscape swarming with EDF forces, Red Faction resistance fighters, and the downtrodden settlers caught in the cross-fire. Red Faction: Guerrilla also features a robust multiplayer component, including several modes focused on destruction-based gameplay. Also known as "Anno Dawn of Discovery" Dawn of Discovery takes place in the year , when King George's land is suffering from severe droughts and brutal famine.

Whereas Edward suggests aggressive means to collect the precious resources, his brother William offers a peaceful solution, proposing to explore new and unsettled lands in the south of the kingdom. But there are still many unmet needs within the king's empire, and players are tasked with the mission of fulfilling those needs while both expanding and sustaining the vast society.

Build and sustain your own expansive empire. Explore the beautifully detailed world and discover new places to create your civilization. Set up trade posts in the spice mines of the Orient and explore new trade routes to keep your nation growing.

Learn from other nearby cultures to expand your horizons and master the challenges of establishing a prosperous society. In the third Tales of Monkey Island chapter, Guybrush gets in deep literally! Trapped in the belly of the beast, our hero encounters a surprising band of castaways, including the long-lost and obsessive-compulsive explorer Coronado De Cava.

Real time battles pose new challenges with the addition of cannon and musket, challenging players to master new formations and tactics as a result of the increasing role of gunpowder within warfare. And the Campaign Map — for many the heart of Total War — will see new improved systems for Trade, Diplomacy and Espionage with agents, a refined and streamlined UI, improved Advisors and extended scope taking in the riches of India, the turbulence of Europe and the untapped potential of North America.

This co-operative action horror FPS takes you and your friends through the cities, swamps and cemeteries of the Deep South, from Savannah to New Orleans across five expansive campaigns. Play as one of four new survivors armed with a wide and devastating array of classic and upgraded weapons. In addition to firearms, you'll also get a chance to take out some aggression on infected with a variety of carnage-creating melee weapons, from chainsaws to axes and even the deadly frying pan.

You'll be putting these weapons to the test against or playing as in Versus three horrific and formidable new Special Infected. L4D2 promises a satisfying and uniquely challenging experience every time the game is played, custom-fitted to your style of play.

Taking players on an exhilarating World Tour, DiRT 2 delivers over stunning events, including aggressive, multi-vehicle races and intense solo challenges, set in the most diverse and demanding real-world environments. From the muddy tracks of the Malaysian rainforest to spectator-packed stadiums in London and Los Angeles, racers compete in contemporary off-road race disciplines covering Rallycross, Trailblazer, Raid, Landrush, and Rally. Embracing the culture and new heroes of modern off-road racing, DiRT 2 features an exciting line-up of the best new rally drivers - including the multi medal-winning Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block alongside Travis Pastrana, Dave Mirra, and Tanner Faust, who help players build their racing career.

The fabric of space itself is transformed as vast, unpredictable wormholes open to connect previously unexplored regions of the universe to the stars of New Eden. The seeds of advanced new technology await inside of these cosmic anomalies for those brave enough to explore them. This infusion of technology enables production of the most dynamic vessels ever — Tech 3 modular ships with an astounding amount of customizability that can fill any role from skirmish muscle to industrial support.

These branching, far-reaching mission strings are full of meaningful stories and more intelligent and deadly adversaries. Zombies are invading your home, and the only defense is your arsenal of plants! Armed with an alien nursery-worth of zombie-zapping plants like peashooters and cherry bombs, you'll need to think fast and plant faster to stop dozens of types of zombies dead in their tracks.

Obstacles like a setting sun, creeping fog and a swimming pool add to the challenge, and with five game modes to dig into, the fun never dies! Improved Match Engine - improved AI, over new animations in 3D mode, new stadiums and crowds, improved pitch degradations and better lighting make for the most immersive pitch-side experience ever.

Match Analysis - a match analysis tool that shows you where shots, passes, crosses, headers, tackles, fouls and interceptions have been made on the field for both teams. See this analysis both live in game, and post match, allowing you to pinpoint the weaknesses and strengths of both your team and your opponents. New User Interface - a completely new vibrant look and feel to the game, plus a navigational overhaul. The side menu is replaced by an intuitive tab system, based on extensive consumer feedback and usability studies, which allows you to access all areas of FM quickly and easily.

Tactical Overhaul - a new tactics module makes it much easier to make your team play as you want them to. There are thousands of possible pre-set options and touchline "shout" instructions for making instant changes to your teams playing style. Don't worry; the old system is still there for people who love their sliders. News Center - a subscription based newspaper. Get the news about the football world around you that you want, and not the news you don't want.

New Data Editor - including a brand new Competition Editor allowing you to add competitions and extra levels for leagues currently in the game, and add completely new competitions and leagues all via a very simple to use editor. Plus, the new editor allows you to keep your game up to date more easily than ever before. Burnout Paradise The Ultimate Box is a special edition release that includes the award-winning Burnout Paradise game, the previously-released Cagney and Bikes downloadable content updates, plus the brand new Burnout Paradise Party pack.

The Party pack brings the social fun of Burnout Paradise into an offline multiplayer mode where players compete in different stunt, speed and skill events.

The Party pack also includes a host of new features including a restart option added for racing and easier control of the early vehicles. Burnout Paradise proves that crashing is awesome! Now the development team can realize their original vision for the Burnout franchise: an open world environment where you can do anything, anywhere, anytime. Feel the adrenaline course through your veins as you take to the road for the first time in Paradise City, where the action is all around you.

Explore the city, discover events, and look for the best opportunities to crash, jump and pull signature takedowns. In Burnout Paradise you're given the keys to the city, but it's up to you to earn the keys to the meanest and most dangerous cars on the street, and earn your Burnout license.

In Resident Evil 5, returning hero Chris Redfield is sent to Africa to investigate a biological weapon that is transforming the populace into aggressive and disturbing creatures. Joined by another local BSAA agent, Sheva Alomar, the two must work together to solve the truth behind the frightening turn of events.

Featuring a revolutionary new co-op mode of gameplay, Resident Evil 5 will let players experience fear together as terror moves out of the shadows and into the light of day. Create lifelike Sims with a unique personality and take them anywhere in the neighborhood. The powerful Create-a-Sim tool allows you to create Sims that are more realistic than ever.

Select from dozens of personality traits such as brave, artistic, kleptomaniac, clumsy, paranoid and romantic. With Create-a-Sim, you can create a limitless number of truly unique Sims. Enjoy the challenge of short and long-term goals and then reap the rewards! Based on personality traits, skills and career choices, your Sims have Wishes that provide constant fun challenges and so many things to do and achieve. You have the ultimate freedom to choose whether to fulfill their destiny, giving them lifetime happiness and rewards or not!

Visit The Store each month for new, never-seen-before themed items. These easily accessible tools inspire creativity and allow you to share your masterpieces with your friends and other players on The Sims 3 official website, personal blogs, or any social media network.

See what you can create with The Sims 3. Modern Warfare 2 continues the gripping and heart-racing action as players face off against a new threat dedicated to bringing the world to the brink of collapse. An entirely new gameplay mode which supports 2-player co-operative play online that is unique from the single player story campaign. Special Ops pits players into a gauntlet of time-trial and objective-based missions.

Rank-up as players unlock new Special Ops missions, each more difficult. Missions include highlights from the single player campaign, fan favorites from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and all new, exclusive missions. Setting a new bar for online multiplayer, Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer delivers new capabilities, customization, gamestates and modes, including: Create-a-Class Evolved. Riot Shields. Perk Upgrades. Bling Dual Attachments. Accolades Post match reports.

User Score: 4. As ye venture out onto the docks of Melee Island, there'll be a shock to yer system the likes of which you've never seen. The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition gives you the world you remember, yet it be shown to ya like only yer imagination could.

It seems Guybrush Threepwood, a young lad wantin' to be a bloodthirsty pirate is back to relive his hunt fo the fabled riches of Monkey Island. Hilarious swashbuckling misadventures: Embark on a bumbling misadventure in an attempt to become the most infamous pirate in the Caribbean, win the heart of the beautiful governor, Elaine Marley, and confront the evil ghost pirate, LeChuck!

High-definition graphics: The game is all-new and re-imagined with a contemporary art style, hand-drawn and presented in p. Complete voice over using original Monkey Island franchise cast members brings the story and characters to life like never before.

Renewed music score: Enjoy the re-mastered and re-recorded musical score using live instruments. Special Edition and Classic modes: Scene-for-scene hot swap lets you seamlessly transition between Special Edition and Classic modes at anytime during gameplay. Enhanced gameplay: The all-new intuitive game interface and controls provide a more interactive gameplay experience.

Hint system: Not sure what to do next? The in-game puzzle hint system keeps the puzzles fresh and fun. Dawn of War II ushers in a new chapter in the RTS series, as ancient races — including the dauntless Space Marines and savage Orks - clash across ruined worlds on a mission to claim the galaxy and preserve their own existence. Powered by the re-vamped Essence Engine 2. The game immerses players in an in-depth non-linear single-player campaign and a fully-co-operative multiplayer mode. This update includes Book 9 and the Epilogue to the sweeping epic tale begun with the award-winning Mines of Moria expansion.

Increased Level Cap - Players are able advance their characters up to level 65, gaining access to new traits, virtues, skills and class quests. Answer the Call of War! Skirmishes offer endless action in repeatable, randomized instances where players can create and lead customizable soldiers into battle, training them to greater skill as they earn victories against the forces of shadow.

Answer the call of war wherever violence erupts with the new "World Join" function that lets players and their fellowships band together to fight in various locations throughout Middle-earth. Take up Arms! Players will experience improved responsiveness when in the heat of battle. Achieve new Legacies, new titles, and a fourth Runic slot that will make Legendary Items even more unique and powerful.

Out of the Park Baseball 10 "OOTP 10" , the latest in the award-winning series, is the most immersive, realistic, and customizable baseball management simulation game on the market today. OOTP 10 provides what fantasy baseballers truly desire - the ability to control every aspect of a baseball team.

With online or solo play, real Major League rosters, historical simulations, and purely fictional leagues, OOTP 10 has all of the bases covered! Players are thrust into the loud, intense, and athletic experience of racing a car from the driver's perspective through the combination of perception based G-forces, the hyper reality of the cockpit view, and the all-new brutally disorienting crash dynamic.

Need for Speed SHIFT features an accurate, accessible physics-based driving model that allows you to feel every impact, every change of track surface and every last bit of grip as you push yourself to the edge.

User Score: 5. Ember is the essence of magic and the keystone of alchemy; it lures the restless with promises of power and riches. Miners burrowed deep beneath the dirt streets of Torchlight, discovering veins of the ore richer than any found in living memory- but they were not the first to covet these mines.

The miners from Torchlight broke through into the buried past, a dangerous labyrinth of caverns and ruined civilizations, twisted creatures and the bones of those who came before. Evil bubbles up from the depths and threatens to overrun Torchlight as it has so many others. The heart of a villain has infused the Ember, and his darkness seeps through the veins.

Red Faction: Guerrilla is a 3rd person, open-world action shooter set on Mars, 50 years after the events of the original Red Faction. Players assume the role of an insurgent fighter with the newly re-established Red Faction movement as they battle for liberation from the oppressive Earth Defense Force. Throughout their fight for freedom, players carve their own path, wreaking havoc across the vast, open-world environment of Mars, from the desolate mining outpost of Parker to the gleaming EDF capital city of Eos.

Utilizing improvised weapons, explosives and re-purposed mining equipment and vehicles, Red Faction: Guerrilla allows players to tear through fully destructible environments in an unforgiving Martian landscape swarming with EDF forces, Red Faction resistance fighters, and the downtrodden settlers caught in the cross-fire. Red Faction: Guerrilla also features a robust multiplayer component, including several modes focused on destruction-based gameplay.

Also known as "Anno Dawn of Discovery" Dawn of Discovery takes place in the year , when King George's land is suffering from severe droughts and brutal famine. Whereas Edward suggests aggressive means to collect the precious resources, his brother William offers a peaceful solution, proposing to explore new and unsettled lands in the south of the kingdom. But there are still many unmet needs within the king's empire, and players are tasked with the mission of fulfilling those needs while both expanding and sustaining the vast society.

Build and sustain your own expansive empire. Explore the beautifully detailed world and discover new places to create your civilization. Set up trade posts in the spice mines of the Orient and explore new trade routes to keep your nation growing.

Learn from other nearby cultures to expand your horizons and master the challenges of establishing a prosperous society. In the third Tales of Monkey Island chapter, Guybrush gets in deep literally! Trapped in the belly of the beast, our hero encounters a surprising band of castaways, including the long-lost and obsessive-compulsive explorer Coronado De Cava. Can the Mighty Pirate win the suspicious De Cava's trust? Will sexy pirate hunter Morgan LeFlay prove to be a ruthless enemy, or an unlikely ally?

And will the world be crushed by the gnashing teeth of a certain demonic skull? Tales of Monkey Island's moist and absorbing third episode, Lair of the Leviathan, will answer some of these urgent questions -- and raise still more -- as the five month adventure builds to its epic climax. Football Manager Live is a brand new game from Sports Interactive, the creators of the popular Football Manager series.

Buy now for these great benefits Choose your own dream team - Take your pick from Sports Interactive's world famous database of over , footballers, tailored to your part of the globe. Show the world how good you are - Play against your mates or other managers from around the globe in a gameworld that's LIVE and online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Choose from over 10 official associations - Choose the league that suits both your play time and style and work your way to the top. Develop your club - Use the innovative skill system to develop and improve your managerial style; unlock bonuses that will give you the edge. Exchange banter with other managers via the in-game chat facility - Will their mind games affect you? Wheel and deal on the transfer market - Buy, sell, loan and exchange players in the lively transfer market, or snap up some talent with the exciting new auction system.

Create and run your own mini-leagues and cup competitions - Take on the best or compete for bragging rights against your mates. Balance the books - YOU have control over the financial running of your club.

Will you sign your favourite superstar footballer or invest in a youth system for long term stability? Manage matches live - If a game's not going your way, change tactics on-the-fly from the virtual dugout. Will YOU take the glory? User Score: 3. DCS: Black Shark will offer an unprecedented level of realism in regards to flight dynamics, instruments modeling, avionics systems, and weapon systems.

The artificial Intelligence of ground vehicles and helicopters has been improved dramatically as well as weapon modeling. A new Mission Editor includes a powerful electronic mapping system that allows user to easily create missions and campaigns. A new campaign system allows the front line of the battlefield to move back and fourth according to your mission success or failure. Players take on the role of Princess Amelie who travels around the world of Teana and searches for the renowned knight, and her mentor, Bill Gilbert.

This new world of King's Bounty: Armored Princess is full of mysteries and dangers. The new character, the Princess, will encounter horrible creatures, huge monstrous bosses and a new race, the bloodthirsty Lizards. As in the multi-award winning game on which this sequel is based, the player has many options to resist these new enemies.

Various new skills and characteristics of Amelie as well as her chance to fly will help her overcome the hordes attacking the kingdom. The Princess is also accompanied by a Domestic Dragon, at the very beginning small and amusing, but its abilities develop steadily until it becomes an incredible ally.

He will do his best to protect the Princess during the battles, starting with easy blows and treasure hunting and finishing with battle rage and volcano summoning.

Players can take their Sims on new journeys to famous real-world inspired destinations around the globe for the first time ever and seek out new adventures. While exploring the landmarks of an exotic city, there is no telling what the Sims will find. Players can accept challenges to search for secret treasures, learn new skills and chase down new personal opportunities, meet new Sims with unique personalities, share their culture and bring them home, discover new styles on their travels, and share everything they encounter on their adventures with the world through personal photographs, movies, and stories.

Our piratey heroes meet their ultimate match with the Rise of the Pirate God. Can the world of Monkey Island be saved? Find out as the Tales of Monkey Island saga comes to its thrilling conclusion.

As the first title in an all-new sci-fi action franchise, Borderlands combines the best elements of Gearbox Software's first-person action titles with player customization and vehicular combat. Borderlands features a unique content generation system allowing for near-endless variety in missions, environments, enemies, weapons, item drops and character customization. Borderlands is a cooperative experience, allowing for multiple players to share the same game experience simultaneously online.

Borderlands features life-like character animations, impressive real-time physics, and customizable vehicles. More details to follow. Downloadable Content Continue your existing Fallout 3 game and finish the fight against the Enclave remnants alongside Liberty Prime.

Broken Steel moves the level cap for your character from 20 to 30, allowing you to experience even more of the game, including new perks and achievements. Story: You may have dealt the Enclave a serious blow at Project Purity, but their forces are still out there, and still pose a grave threat to the people and security of the Capital Wasteland.

Also, on the world map, no more running around and blindly smashing into previously invisible monsters. If you were going to encounter a Gigantoad, you could finally see its obese, scaly frame lumbering across the landscape, which added a whole new level of depth to the experience. Jason Killingsworth. From the very first scene, you feel caught up in an epic medieval adventure that engages both your brain and adrenal glands in equal measure.

God of War draws its inspiration from ancient Greek mythology, letting characters wreak havoc as the character Kratos, a former Spartan army captain who has a score to settle with Ares, the god of war. BioWare has carved out a towering reputation for its ability to use the videogame medium as a vehicle for delivering top-flight stories to its audience.

GameStop bought out and rebranded the app in , shuttering it a few years later. The next launcher to arrive would be Uplay's primordial form in early I'll never forget the first time a launcher launched a launcher. So, in there was roughly one major launcher. Compare that today's plus. Games for Windows Live made our lives miserable, though it wasn't exactly a launcher, more of an arbitrary overlay and DRM hybrid that forced you into the Xbox Live ecosystem.

I'll never forget the day it was patched out of Dark Souls. Praise the sun, etc. Piracy was definitely a hotter topic in this period. SecuROM was pushing online authentication checks and limiting how many times we could use a CD key to install a game, which sounds like a nightmare from here.

Spore required online authentication, initially limited to three total activations. Mass Effect was even worse : SecuROM required online activation every 10 days when it first launched on PC, though the three-activation limit wasn't a better solution.

I'll admit, as a poor college student, I was totally immersed in the world of ISOs and virtual disc drives, especially those lovely no-CD fixes to bypass disc checks. Being a pirate was easy. The virus-ridden horrors of early P2P programs like Limewire and Kazaa were buried by popular torrent sites, where downloads were faster and content was cleaner or at least easier to verify as such.

But was also the year that the founders of The Pirate Bay, one of the most popular torrent warehouses, were found guilty of assisting copyright infringement and sentenced to prison. Around then you'd read the occasional horror story about some kid getting sued for millions of bucks because he downloaded an MP3.

Do we prefer the old problems or the new problems? The Sims 3 Electronic Arts 2. World of Warcraft Blizzard, Activision 7. Spore Maxis, Electronic Arts 9. With Steam as the earliest source of daily gaming stats we can get a look at what people were still playing near the end of , just keep in mind Steam's library and audiences weren't representative of the entire industry.

Here's a peek at the top games on Steam on December 26, , as preserved by the Internet Archive. This snapshot certainly sends the message that multiplayer first-person shooters were still super popular.

Audiosurf, Torchlight, and Killing Floor stand out as prominent indies. Today's Steam charts don't look terribly different except for a massive growth in players across all games and genres, with some good diversity and new genres peppered in: car soccer, survival games, MOBAs, farming sims, and a bit of battle royale.

Most accolades went to big budget projects from established studios and series. This run of Metacritic's highest-rated PC games for would be the middle of the pack in recent years, with a few exceptions. The PC has always been the best place for indie games, but it wasn't until the last decade that we saw those games catch fire in a big way. Steam and XBLA brought smaller developers to a bigger stage, giving cerebral side-scrollers like Braid a place to thrive.

Today, the PC is flooded with games of a similar calibur. I doubt a Terraria or Stardew Valley would stand out in the indie game market of today, where excellent games like Wargroove and Lost Ember show up and seemingly disappear in the same week.

PC gaming was 'dying' in Widespread digital distribution felt like a distant dream for some, and rightfully so. High-speed internet access was spreading, sure, but most Americans were still without. The Pew Research Center points to the higher adoption rate of smartphones to a stagnation of growth in home high-speed internet services. Attention had shifted from PCs to consoles and the doe-eyed dreams of smartphone-driven lives. We were so naive.

In the looming shadow of mobile technologies, expensive gaming PCs didn't quite fit.