The unique Fallout-Atmosphere has survived the changes in the gameplay without a scratch! Players can easily overlook the shortcomings of the German synchronization – and maybe it is even because the game provides such a high level of quality that it seems as if true highlights are missing. Unrivalled in freedom of choice and complexity it has become a worthy heir to the great line of previous Fallout games. [Issue # 16]

Fable 2 fulfills all promises that the original Fable made, and improves upon it... a bloody lot. Long live Fable 2! Long live the era of heroes!

A remarkable array of physical effects that weren’t just pretty but actually relevant to the gameplay itself, stunning graphics and a story written also by the player instead of the developer alone: Far Cry 2 truly did impress me. Only the constant respawning of outposts had me grinding my teeth.

This game isn’t just for gamers who were (or still are) playing truant – it’s an all-round enjoyable romp through satirical American high school-life, barring the many errors in portation from console to PC. [Issue#17]

Same game, different console – for the most part, anyway. You should definitely give Eternal Sonata a spin, if only to escape the all-too-common bleakness of next-gen titles.

Whoever is not immediately enthralled by the graphic of the game will at latest be as soon as he tried the 6-vs.-6-online- or the “be a pro”-mode. EA never truly manages to release a proper sequel – but NHL09 should be counted among the top-3 sports games. [Issue # 16]

Dead Space feels like an admittedly fetid yet refreshing wind to the old genre of survival horror. I’d certainly not recommend playing it by night or in total darkness unless you are of awesome health and gladly would give Alma a handshake without thinking twice about the consequences. Important advice: Play it to the end! If you dare. [Issue # 16]

FIFA 09 for PC has blown the personal bar I’ve set out of the water – but not in terms of presentation and complexity of the comments thrown about during a game. [Issue # 16]

Delightfully simple, delightfully replayable – the laws of statics have never been this much fun. [Issue#17]

So what is it that makes a great “anti-war-shooter”? Is it its heart? Or its brain? Personally, I think it’s probably both, which is exactly what keeps BiA:HH from being a 90+ title. After all the story and the presentation may be great, but the gameplay itself is still a bit repetitive and doesn’t bring anything entirely new to the series.

Dark Horizon is one of those games that make you mutter, “been there, done that”. One gets reminded of old classic games like Wing Commander, but sadly without any novelty bonus. Be sure to check out the demo before picking up the title from the store.

On one side there are the beautiful graphics and enthralling music and on the other the unbridled hectic. No time to stop and smell the roses, due to economy, politics and family planning being very hard to cover all at once. As an add-on The Guild 2: Venice is somewhat lacking but for newcomers it’s still very recommendable. [Issue # 16]

There is no doubt that the concept of Line Rider is ingenious, but Freestyle doesn't offer much more fun than the charming original Flash-Game.

LEGO Batman is the very opposite to “The Dark Knight” – less psychotic brutality, more kindergarten-flair. Consequent improvements compared to its predecessors are what make this game truly enjoyable – though I’d have liked to see some real innovations this time around. [Issue # 16]

What at first glance seems like a cheap clone of the genre-predecessors turns out to be truly better than the original! The battles are of the highest standard and the well-implented roleplay-system leaves a lot of freedom for character-evolution. King's Bounty: The Legend – the sweetest seduction since round-based strategy has first seen the light of day! [Issue # 16]

To play Colonization once more was like reaching deep into my personal drawer of childhood-memories. My verdict: Colonization is a truly well made portation of the original for the new millennium – but you shouldn’t be expecting and real innovations. [Issue#15]

This game isn’t just for arcade-aficionados, it’s truly enjoyable. [Issue # 16]

WAR pretty much kept all its promises. It’s certainly different from all the other MMORPGs out there – it’s an all-out war in the world of Warhammer.

There is very little PURE actually does wrong. Great handling, graphics, soundtrack and the tricks are far removed from all reality – that’s the way it should be! So if you’re looking for a pretty arcade-game to cover the time till the next “big” one’s released you’ve found your game! [Issue # 16]

The strongest aspects of Crysis Warhead are the same ones we already loved with Crysis itself: The Graphics are stunning, the story is solid and the gameplay’s challenging and fun, but at the same time these pros are the only big contra: there’s nothing really new about this game, which, on the other hand, might again be good news for fans of the first part.

This may be an ambitious project of an even more ambitious programmer couple, but the lack of budget that game suffered is unfortunately very easy to notice. What remains is an average game with awful graphics and buggy controls.

Solid Mech action combined with more technical blabbering than the average gamer is likely to appreciate. For all that, it's still a cool game. Certainly not made for the broad masses, but cool.

Solid Mech action combined with more technical blabbering than the average gamer is likely to appreciate. For all that, it's still a cool game. Certainly not made for the broad masses, but cool.

Clear Sky may not be as action-orientated, polished and visually stunning as Crysis or other “Hollywood-Shooters”, but it definitely has got its very own charm, that it’s easy to fall for. In short: Who liked the original Chernobyl Lost, will love Clear Sky!

Pocket Paradise is truly the Rare-franchise in your pocket. True, it doesn't bring the same graphic quality of the console versions, but it's still pretty playable. Besides that, the control scheme is much beter than that of his counterparts. This is one DS title that can compete with the big boys.

Spore combines an enormous amount of innovation with a pretty much endless replay value and still manages to be accessible. It might not be as much a masterstroke as the Sims was, but it’s still one of the potentially best games of this year.

Everyone who likes to just freely roam about, shoot everything in his way and travel around in different vehicles like cars, boats and choppers is certainly on the right track here. If you are, however, looking for a more “serious” game, you might want to look elsewhere.

Battle March will entertain fans of Mark of Chaos for sure due to the increased difficulty and also many other gameplay improvements. Since many shortcomings of the original remain as well, however, only those fans alone will truly enjoy Battle March. [Issue#14]

Viva Pinata 2 takes all the good stuff from the first part and adds some more pretty thoughtful new features that make it even more fun to play. A very well-made sequel!

It steadily grows harder for me to see the positive sides of a SimBin-Simulation. Thus, GT Legends still takes the cake thanks to a motivating career-mode and nifty cars. At the end of the day, it falls to the racing-game fan himself to tell if the purchase of GTR Revolution is justified. [Issue#15]

Galactic Adventures definitely offers much more then previous addons. If only all of the provided adventures could provide an exciting experience.

A must-buy for fans of Disgaea, even though there's no telling why this was only published on PS3 – the graphics (not the style, mind you) are anything but up-to-date.

The newest instalment in the series has the same simple goal as its predecessors: Entertain the player. And it totally delivers!

In terms of presentation sweet, though story-wise seeming like a meek afterthought. If you’re a die-hard fan of vampires we’d understand if you’d give it a go, but otherwise you’d do well to keep your hands off it. [Issue#15]

Nordic Myth meets Cyberpunk... Too Human has immense potential but unfortunately fails completely when it comes to meeting the high expectations.

Gentlemen, get yourselves Bionic Commando Rearmed. It is well worth every damned electronic cent you spend on it. Shinkiro was (Metal Slug, Dead Rising, King of Fighters) the driving force in BCRs art-design, which makes it all the more a killer retro-portation. [Issue#15]

Action-packed gameplay, a linear plot, controls that need getting used to, an interesting human/machine-system and a single agonizing mistake: No Lootsystem as we know and love it and Item-Drops as well as Levels per se are non-existent. Space Siege isn’t bad, but compared to forthcoming Space-Games, it’s an appetizer at best. [Issue#15]

Thanks to the Devil Bringer, the amount of fun you’ll have with the gameplay skyrockets and the new turbo-mode brings even more twists to the already sublime action. DMC4 may well commit the sin of backtracking through levels, but its barely noteworthy a sacrilege this time around, due to the fact that the gamer then controls a different character. [Issue#15]

Sega brings the genre of sporting games back to the top. A must have for Fans, but newcomers will also have a lot of fun, thanks the adjustable level of difficulty. However, it’s most enjoyable when played with friends.

Supreme Ruler 2020 is definitely one of the most complex games of its kind and due to that bound to repel most of the gaming community. Players who are able to master the complicated gameplay are, however, sure to be rewarded with an amazingly detailed and nerve wracking simulation like no other.

If you're a big fan of the series you should most definitely check out this one. If you, however, are the number one groupie of the band, than go grab the bundle with the Aerosmith faceplate for the Les Gibson controller.

The same procedure as every year – Pro Cycling Manager 2008 offers identical features to last year including only some small changes. Tough managing your own cycling team and win the Tour de France might be fun at first, this changes after having played through one season.

A valiant attempt at elevating Alone in the Dark back into the Pantheon of genre-defining adventure-games – much innovation, and even more atmospheric awesomeness.

Battlefield: Bad Company isn’t a revolution for the genre, for it offers typical Battlefield-Gameplay - and if you already loved its predecessors, you will love this one as well. Initially, what we get is a small evolutional step, and I hope that the competition will follow suit, because the destruction you can cause isn’t just looking great, it adds several new facets to the game.

Everybody who just can’t get enough of Tennis Games, should give this game a shot. Everyone else would be well advised to stick with Virtua Tennis.

Only the lack of the Global Conquest mode makes the PC-Version the better option, but Xbox360 Command & Conquer Fans can’t go wrong with this one.

Considering a game featuring Clank as its main character I had my hopes high for lots of action with even more cool gadgets. We got the gadgets but the action kind of lacks: The sneaking may be fun at the beginning but with time you wished for more direct fights instead of avoiding enemies or killing them from behind (with the the same move) for the hundredth time.

Metal Gear Online is really a damn lot of fun for hours…at least after one has struggled through the rather annoying application process and finally managed to get online. Apart from some minor glitches in some of the context sensitive actions (the very same as in the main game) everything runs smoothly.

Of course, we anticipated for this game to be bad – but honestly, even for a movie tie-in, this is just ridiculous. It deserves to go straight to the wastebasket.

Every “Dragonball Z” fan’s prayer to the gaming gods seems to have been granted at long last. Gone are the days of Budokai Tenkaichi – Burst Limit is here, and it’s here to stay!

Ninja Gaiden II just feels right, never minding the fact that it can be so frustratingly hard at times. It’s simply what we’ve come to expect of the franchise – perfectly well-rounded action-gameplay, but besides a lot of skill, it often requires nothing more than sheer dumb luck.

There can only be one recommendation for car-loving gamers this summer: Get Race Driver GRID! Awesome graphics, a great damage-model and the fantastic driving experience that will satisfy fans of simulation as well as arcade racers should definitely convince any car freak!

There can only be one recommendation for PC-Gamers who love racing games this year: Get Race Driver GRID! Great graphics and the fantastic driving experience that will satisfy fans of simulation as well as arcade racers will convince any car freak. Go already and get it! [Issue#14]

For a movie tie-in, Kung Fu Panda really isn’t bad. Consider me astonished.

LEGO Indiana Jones turned out to be a good game despite the fact that it isn’t as much fun as LEGO Star Wars was. The gameplay with its increased number of puzzles, however, leads to several frustrating moments, especially since you can’t save as often as you might want to. Nevertheless: Fans should definitely give the game a try. [Issue#14]

Anyone who hasn't had the pleasure of playing Everybody's Golf on his PSP yet, hasn’t had any true fun on that particular handheld.

Mass Effect knocked me off my feet: The presentation is fantastic, and many small improvements compared to the Xbox 360 version make the game a great roleplaying experience. Anyone who hasn’t played the title yet should definitely give it a try now! [Issue#14]

Some new content, some general bug-fixes – is that really enough to pay for again or would it have been wiser to provide Colonies as some free content update? One may think about that whichever way one likes to – also about the fact that Colonies players won’t be able to join those only owning the original game playing online. After all the game comes up as a nicely re-worked action shooter that will be fun to play for several hours – especially for those new to the series – but unfortunately that’s about it.

I'm not really happy with Dracula: Origin. At places we get nice old-school gameplay with demanding puzzles. But Origin isn't very extensive, the characters aren't very charming, the story is unspectacular and from time to time the puzzles are extremely hard. Advanced Fans of Adventures will have fun, everybody else will find more accessible alternatives.

Age of Conan might not (yet) be free of bugs but it brings fresh air into the genre. What remains is the question whether you want to try out a game with a new fighting system, a lot of violence and steep hardware requirements or rather stick to more classic MMORPGs. [Issue#14]

Innovative and a lot of fun - just something to get your ass up and do something good for your body. It's a pity that Wii Fit is just an addition to normal exercises. It can't compete with normal jogging or riding a bike but it's a glimpse into our possible future showing us how training may look like in some years where it will be possible to train your body in any area of the world you like just by pressing a button. Wii Fit will however create a new virtual fitness community producing some masters in yoga and other disciplines all around the world.

Compared to the PC-version, the PSP-version seemed to have been worked on a little longer and even though I really missed the be-a-pro mode the instead featured mini-games really made for a good compensation - at least considering it’s a mobile game. So if you really want to win the European Soccer Championship on your way to school or work you won’t make a mistake by getting Euro 2008!

Deca Sports is not even worth your money for a rental. You can play all the sports and grow bored with them within a half hour.

I despair! I despair before the vast amount of things that are simply wrong with this game: Graphics which range from prehistoric to reasonably acceptable, a continuously horrible soundtrack and features that just won’t work properly. For my sanity’s sake, give me a proper movie game, just once!

Echochrome is a complex and fascinating combination of M.C. Escher’s paintings, the Rubik-cube and knot riddles, combined with an elaborate gameplay. All in all, it’s a very felicitous game, simple yet unfathomably deep. This game is a must have for all true puzzle freaks.

As a big fan of the franchise, I had incredibly great expectations. And I haven't been disappointed. All the series' strengths were perfectly brought over to the next generation of gaming consoles, which makes GTAIV a must-have for fans, and probably everybody else as well. But this doesn't mean that GTA IV is without weaknesses. The camera and the auto-aim-system are still giving players a hard time in bigger battles, and the basically great multiplayer-mode isn't perfectly programmed either.

They could’ve made so much more of Turok. Some of the grave minus points were luckily eliminated during the porting from console to PC but the biggest demerits remain: Monotone graphics, linear level-layout, a loose story and an AI which I’d effortlessly be able to convince to jump into the gaping maw of a T-Rex. [Issue#14]

If you liked the Rome version of the Total War series, you will definitely be disappointed here. My advice is to download and test the demo version and afterwards decide, if you want to hurry to the local store to get the full game or not.

As much as I liked the game in single player, I am disappointed by the multiplayer-mode. The lack of a lobby or a feature to select who you want to play with are mayor shortcomings compared to other games of today. What's worse though is the missing damage system and flaws in the way penalties are awarded, and the players who abuse these shortcomings. The penalties may be designed to stop players from sliding against the boards or using shortcuts, but often punish victims of assaults by other players using unfair means.

Rainbow Six Vegas 2 disappoints due to the weak AI, the sterile level designs and its “only ok” graphics. Is it too much to ask for more missions in the dark, a better AI and more innovations in the sequels? [Issue#14]

Assassin's Creed is graphically stunning, acoustically impressive, innovative and brilliantly staged. But one thing's definitely lacking: replay value! And a certain degree of monotony can’t be denied either. Like a colleague of mine once said: "It could have been way better then that!" Personally, I simply keep hoping for a massively improved AC2 and lots of merchandise! May Ubisoft Montreal concentrate on many, many successors and spin-offs. [May 2008]

If you want gory action, then you have found the right game for your collection with Viking: Battle for Asgard. If you want a game with Nordic myth or good gameplay - then buying this game might be not as wise as you think. Personally I love this game and the brutality of it. In a certain morbid way I even had fun with Viking, but that might be because of my personal Hack'n'Slay-preferences. Jerking camera, stupid AI, repetitive gameplay - this game could have turned out really great. What a shame!

Despite the lack of Blood the “Ninja-Gaiden-Feeling” could still be carried over to the first mobile installment of the series which makes Dragon Sword as good an investment for fans, as for all other owners of a Nintendo DS with a liking for action games.

For me Crisis Core was the only reason to get a PSP. And I wasn’t disappointed: Crisis Core is the best followup to Final Fantasy VII yet. Only the sometimes boring side missions and the stubborn camera have to be criticized. Buy and enjoy!

As a story-player I enjoyed Kane’s Wrath mainly because it finally closed some gaps in the storyline. But there is much left for those who enjoy multiplayer more: Be it the new subfractions or the global conquest mode, they all make buying Kane’s Wrath worth your money.

Even though the look of the character might be something that needs some getting used to, Clap Hanz' virtual golf game has complex gameplay and all the ups and downs of the real sport. Most interesting is the online mode, which allows eight gamers at once for the first time; the HD-graphics are nice to look at and excel at exotic locations like a golf course in Africa with complimentary animals of the jungle. What more could a golf-player ask for?

Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is more than an add-on, but doesn't feel like a sequel either. The scenarios are similar, and the gameplay mechanics are practically identical. Enough ranting, though: In this game you can control your Alter Ego perfectly, the team commands work well and the scripting is well written. The difficulty levels are designed to give starters and pros a real challenge and keeps you glued to the screen for hours. Extra praise has to be given to the camera feature that lets you include your face into the game. Those who can live without innovations should make their way to Vegas again. It's worth the way.

Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is more than an add-on, but doesn't feel like a sequel either. The scenarios are similar, and the gameplay mechanics are practically identical. Enough ranting, though: In this game you can control your Alter Ego perfectly, the team commands work well and the scripting is well written. The difficulty levels are designed to give starters and pros a real challenge and keeps you glued to the screen for hours. Extra praise has to be given to the camera feature that lets you include your face into the game. Those who can live without innovations should make their way to Vegas again. It's worth the way.

Whether you like the intense gore-level of Condemned 2: Bloodshot or not, the newest nightmare of alcohol-addict Ethan Thomas is a worthy sequel to its predecessor. Most of those issues which were criticized in Condemned: Criminal Origins were eliminated, for instance the shallow forensic investigations or the unvaried melee-fights. But the improvements have also been creating new problems, such as the gun-fights, which do not deliver as much fun as the rest of the game does.

Everything about his game - just about every little detail there is - fits. Super Smash Bros. Brawl is here to stay – if you’ve waited for a reason to get yourself a Wii, here it is. Easy, fun and rewarding!

With 29 new multiplayer-maps, two new races and an already a bit aged AI Dawn of War: Soulstorm sadly fails to become, what many RTS-fans were hoping for: A great game. Fans of Warhammer 40.000 and the other Dawn of War-Games shouldn't miss this Stand-Alone-Expansion anyway, because it still packs the same great atmosphere, which made its predecessors famous. [May 2008]

The Lost Crown is like watching The Ring, only longer. Technically it's just average, but the atmosphere is dense and haunting. Fans of atmospheric horror games should definitely take a look.

Frontlines managed to meet my expectations pretty well. Despite the fact, that I was hoping for additional graphical brilliance (especially in terms of the range of vision), the boys and girls at Kaos Studios managed to create a game, that nicely satisfies my personal multiplayer-shooter-likings: New ideas, uncountable (and well balanced) possibilities, cool vehicles, nice maps for up to 64 shooter fans and a single-player mode, that deserves its name. [May 2008]

Strategy fans had to wait for a long time but finally there’s a game that might indeed be able to step into the footsteps of Master of Orion: Big galaxies, an addicting multiplayer, nice looks and a lot of freedom make Sins of a Solar Empire one of the best strategy games of the year. Two thumbs up! [Issue#14]

When a sleeper turns out to "only" be recommendable to hardcore fans, something must have gone wrong. In the case of UaW, it's the realization of the sensational ideas and hugely announced features, that, in the end, apparently didn't totally work out. Yet UaW offers RTS-gameplay at a very high level, that may help to overcome the waiting time for "StarCraft 2." [March 2008]

Hired Guns: Jagged Edge is only a copy of Jagged Alliance 2. And not a very good copy. The balancing in the game is awful and the graphics are bad. Fans should play the original and not the poor copy.

The few technical discrepancies within AVS are more than outweighed by the pile of good things there are to say about this game. A Vampyre Story is reminiscent of the glory days of LucasArts and comes equipped with an awesome amount of humour. [Issue#17]

Gobliiins 4 is a nice puzzle adventure that can't catch up to its predecessors because of a weak story and lack of humor, but can entertain for a few hours.