PC

Rainbow Six Vegas raised the bar so high that all subsequent FPS titles have looked pathetic in comparison. The only thing the developers needed to do to ensure that the sequel was a success was design a few new levels, add a few new guns, and wait for the dollars to start rolling in. What makes Rainbow Six Vegas 2 such a special title is just how far above and beyond the developers went, turning in a game that improves on the first in nearly every respect.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood, Intense Violence, Strong Language

Game Description: The sequel to the award-winning next-generation first-person shooter—returns to Sin City. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is your last chance to rescue America's sexiest city from an escalating terrorist siege that will force you into heart-pounding action from beginning to end. The best are back and this time winner takes all.

I’ve always thought that George Lucas’s archeology professor turned whip-smackin’ adventurer would be an excellent videogame hero. Unfortunately, most makers of movie-based games that I’ve played assume that I want to “relive” the movie in the most literal way. Running from one cut-scene to another—all of which I’ve seen already in the theater—doesn’t appeal to me, especially when all I’m doing is hacking monsters up and pushing boxes. What I want is to play Indiana Jones the man, not Indiana Jones the franchise.  Thankfully, Lego Indiana Jones The Original Adventures lets me do just that.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Cartoon Violence

Game Description: LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures takes the fun and creative construction of LEGO and combines it with the wits, daring and non-stop action from the original cinematic adventures that enthralled audiences everywhere (Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade). With a unique tongue-in-cheek take on the original adventures, LEGO Indiana Jones follows Dr. Jones escapades through the jungles of South America to the mountaintops of India. Fans can build, battle and brawl their way through their favorite cinematic moments, from Indy’s entanglements with snakes to his dashing boulder run.

After picking up a favorable critical reception at the International Games Festival, Audiosurf has been the indie flavor of the month on Steam, and rightly so. Ostensibly it is about veering a hovercraft left and right along a race track that undulates to the beat of your chosen song and collecting colored blocks for points, but the grid that those color blocks fall into turns the game into a kind of two-tiered puzzler. Keen racing reactions are needed to collect and correctly position high-scoring blocks of the same color into groups of 3 or more (after which, as you may have guessed, they will disappear).

Experiments are a necessary part of the development of game design. If some industrious soul hadn't invented the life bar and health pack, we'd be stuck with one-hit death. And if another, even more industrious soul hadn't invented progressive health, we'd still be stuck with the life bar and health pack. Of course, not every experiment is a positive one, and not every change is for the better. The Club is a perfect demonstration of that concept.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood, Strong Language, Violence

Game Description: The Club, created by critically acclaimed developer Bizarre Creations, is a new breed of third-person shooter, combining fast-paced run and gun gameplay, destructive environments, and lethal weapons. You will fight to survive in a shadowy underground blood-sport controlled by a faceless, obscenely wealthy and influential elite who place their bets on who will survive as the blood-bath ensues before them. Take control of up to eight uniquely trained killers motivated by greed, driven by pure insane bloodlust, and hell bent on earning respect on a global level.