Patrician IV

In the Middle Ages, the worldly merchants of the Hanseatic League rejected both the drudgery of serfdom and the solitude of the cloister, instead embracing an enterprising life of supplying foreigners with cheap mead, dominating city politics, and, on occasion, hunting pirates. Somewhat independent from their nominal lords, the cities of the League and their merchants enriched themselves by ferrying cargo across the frigid waters of northern Europe. Hypothetically, the hijinks of a resourceful League merchant could inspire a game filled with high adventure

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Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Latter-day sequels to Alone in the Dark have nothing on Amnesia: The Dark Descent. This first-person adventure from the creepmeisters at Frictional Games who gave us the unsettling Penumbra trilogy is the true follow-up to the original escapades of sleuth Edward Carnby. The game oozes Lovecraftian menace as it strands its protagonist alone in the insanity-inducing darkness of a haunted ruin where spooks lurk around every other corner. In some ways, the game is actually superior to its legendary inspiration, with no cheesy action sequences separating

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Darksiders

If Darksiders is to be believed, the end of the world is signaled not by a blinding and burning flash of nuclear energy, but rather by the arrival of furious winged angels and heavily armored arbiters of doom. In this unoriginal but uproarious amalgam of borrowed game mechanics, you play as War, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. War is not the most engaging hero, but that's of little consequence in a game more concerned with brutal and flashy combat than zesty storytelling. You ride an otherworldly steed while fighting off a ravenous worm, carve up colorful demons with

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medal of honor

There was a specific point in Medal of Honor where my hopes for the game were at their highest. Tasked with a special operations group in the Shahikot mountains - a real place that saw some of the most savage fighting of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and the American ground war in the country in 2002 - we have orders to eradicate several Taliban positions. As I make my way through the wreckage of a small outpost destroyed by our AC-130 support, the smoke clears and I see the sun rising over the ridgeline, filling the sky with red and blue light. This was one of those moments

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Sid Meier's Civilization

 
Strategy fanatics have lost hundreds of hours of their lives to Sid Meier's beguiling creations over the years, and they should prepare to lose hundreds more. Civilization V is yet another glistening example of turn-based bliss that will keep you up long past your bedtime. It exercises its power over your mind using many of the tricks the series has long been known for: varied ways of accomplishing your goal of world domination, the thrill of expanding a paltry city into a bustling empire, and the suspense of venturing into unknown territory.

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R.U.S.E

R.U.S.E. is a fun and fascinating real-time strategy game, as long as you know which parts of it to invest in and which to skip entirely. In spite of some difficulties finding an online opponent, it prospers in the competitive arena, putting an intriguing use of bluffs and reconnaissance to good use on expansive maps that will test your ability to control the battlefield. Offline, you get some mileage out of its single-player skirmishes, but where R.U.S.E. falters is in its plodding, poorly paced campaign. Bizarre character models and bad writing prove distracting, while too-frequent story intrusions

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Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light

In Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, you see the titular leading lady from a whole new perspective. While the isometric camera angle shows off less of the iconic character than you may be used to, the game boasts the same engaging mix of exploration and combat that has long been the hallmark of the best games in the series. Punctuated by clever puzzles and lush visuals, each level begs to be replayed thanks to the varied and enticing challenges that promise substantial rewards. Guardian of Light is addictively fun, and it gets even better

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