William Usher: 6

Story-driven shooters aren’t a dime a dozen trend. Heck, mainstream shooters are over-hyped when they contain a few lines of dialogue that actually make sense. So when Sanctuary came along with a story that definitely didn’t disappoint, I was a little irked to find that the controls were far less esteeming. A cool weapon selection, a nifty melee feature and an easy point and shoot scheme seemed like it should work, right? But there were times when the action became overwrought with too many buttons and an over-clunky layout. It didn’t stop the game from being playable. But it did cramp the cool factor when it was time to switch weapons or stop and reload every few seconds.

Russ Carroll: 7

The real winner here is the quirky story that has cut scenes that I really enjoyed. For whatever reason the story was reminiscent of Final Fantasy games of years past. The in game action takes some getting used to with guns that rarely hit their target forcing me to do hand to hand combat most of the time. The good news is that the hand to hand combat is pretty rewarding even though the repetitive level design (kill several waves of bad guys so the door will open) left me somewhat dis-interested. Still, I had a hard time putting it down because I enjoyed the cut scenes and story so much. A couple of the weapons, like the Gavine and Telekinesis Glove were also cool. Think NES Metal Gear mixed with Final Fantasy and you've pinned the game pretty well.

William Usher: 5

Maybe it’s just me, but I found this game to be way too easy to be as hard as it was. At first I died a lot because seemed that the game had some hidden complexity; I thought maybe the game’s concept wasn’t really that simplistic. Moving the line around like a classic Snake game could have been fun, but there was something terribly annoying about the difficulty of the stages. Maybe it was the fact that it was a simple gameplay concept with very hard stages. While that works well for some games, it just didn’t come off as well with Tilelander.

Russ Carroll: 7

A game that is unique and different, which may unfortunately mean it is overlooked. The game plays a bit like Qix, but instead of carefully timing when to create a horizontal or vertical line, players can move their bit any direction they want, crossing over their own lines, as they try to encircle enemies and clear the board. The biggest failing of the game certainly isn't the inventive levels, they're a joy to look at. Unfortunately, they aren't all a joy to play, and the game's difficulty ramps up at a very steep rate that will keep those casually interested in the game from playing very far in.

William Usher: 7

Now here’s a game that sounds different from what it actually is. Lots of gib and tons of gunfire didn’t quite pan out the way I thought it would. Don’t get me wrong, the multiplayer action is fast, fun and sometimes a little overwhelming. But none of it really had me going “Wow”. It was more like Quake meets the older, tired cousin of Alien Shooter. Bigger stages with more depth and maybe a few extra corridors would have evened out the gameplay. Still, the game had a nice visual appeal, innovative weapons and a solid multiplayer experience that kept this title a little above par.

Russ Carroll: 7

Take a game like RIP, tear out the vehicles, make it free and online only and you have Bloodmasters. I really enjoyed the variety of weapons in the game, but the feeling of playing as a team in team games was really weak due to the weapons wiping out players too quickly. The everyone against everyone mode was certainly a bit more fun, though again there are some balancing issues that keep the game from really working for me. It's a blast-a-thon bloodbath that is certainly worth its price (a lengthy download or two) and will probably appeal to anyone looking for good cheap fun, but it doesn't really get past that.

Brian Clair: 6

In Galcon players are pitted against one or more AI opponents to determine control of the map. The game is presented in retro 2D graphics, so there’s no blood or gore here, just triangular ship sprites that you use to conquer other planets. Essentially GalCon is a numbers game. Each planet can produce ships at a specific rate of speed. You then take those ships and launch them against your opponent’s worlds to conquer them. For every one of your ships that hits a world, one of their ships is destroyed and vice versa. When all the enemy ships are gone, the planet is yours. Even though there are many difficulty levels and map types, I found that most of the challenge comes from the fact that the computer can react far, far faster than you can.

William Usher: 7

For some reason I kept thinking that Bizarre Creation’s Geometry Wars and Introversion’s Defcon got together and made an offspring in the form of Phil Hassey’s Galcon. Simple graphics and a single audio track made this a bare-bones aesthetic experience. However, the gameplay and fast-paced clicking action kept me totally engrossed while playing. The gameplay is completely solid and offers players a right mix of frantic strategy and a sort of tic-tac-toe nostalgia. My only real complaint about this game is the lack of a real campaign mode. But it least redeemed itself with a simple multiplayer mode.

Russ Carroll: 7

I really struggled to score Galcon. The game has a very attractive nature to it in the way its simplicity allows for a tremendous amount of complexity. Initially, I was scoring it in the 8-9 range. However, after several hours, I came to the conclusion that while simplicity is a good thing, lack of depth isn't. There isn't much to the play experience beyond trying to pass the same 15 missions at different difficulty levels (levels which just become increasingly frustrating). There's a god 3-5 hours of play here and more if you can get into some network games (which I suppose puts the game on par with Gears of War), but it felt like a piece of a game than it did a full game. However, that piece is definitely one of those simple concepts that I can see many people getting addicted to for hours on end.

Brian Clair: 8

Wu-Hing is a computerized adaptation of a Chinese tile game which portrays the creation and destruction of the ancient elements. By placing various tiles adjacent to one another on the playing board, you’re able to gain points by creating new elements or destroying your opponent’s elements. Wu-Hing’s presentation is very nice and polished, with decent special effects for when you create or destroy an element. If you’re into more cerebral puzzle games, give this one a try.

William Usher: 7

I think this was the first game I’ve played that took more than an hour to catch onto the learning curve. But at the same time Wu Hing had my attention the entire time. It’s not an easy game to understand, but it has a certain quality appeal about it that makes it so darn fun to play. Even when I didn’t understand what I was doing. It was like Reversi on steroids and dipped in ancient Chinese themes. It’s as cool as it is hard, and for that I can’t say it’s the best game on this list, but it’s definitely not the worse.

Russ Carroll: 7

A nice strategy game that reminds be just a touch of Samurai (must be the theme). The game has a bit too much luck involved for my tastes. Certainly it isn't all just 'luck of the draw,' but I prefer games that have a bit more focus on how I play. The Solitaire included in the game I think exemplifies the problem. Clearing the board has much more to do with your random layout and the cards available than it does your actual strategy. Playing a player who may beat you only because they got cards that you couldn't possible beat isn't fun in any game and it happened a bit too often in this one for me to really get into it. However, for the strategy fan looking for a game that has decidedly distinct rules and a unique flavor, it is worth checking out the demo.

John Bardinelli: 7

A balanced and surprisingly interesting shooter with lots of RPG and adventure elements. RIP 3 takes place in a series of rounds where your goal is, of course, to kill everything in sight. Gaining experience points and upgrading skills kept me interested a lot longer than I expected, but most of the rounds went on too long for my own comfort. The number of weapons and strategies at your disposal is good, though, and the game progresses nicely if you stick with it.

William Usher: 7

Rest in Peace 3 is very much like its first two predecessors. The only difference is that there’s three new characters; the level-up system has more branching options; and the most important new feature is the hotseat mode for two-players. New characters, skills and weapons give the game some extra beef to its content, as well. But the new additions aren’t really a huge leap from its last iteration. Thankfully the action is still solid and there’s actually a progressive story that aims to go somewhere. That’s not to mention that the multiplayer cooperative mode adds extra fun-factors to an otherwise generic top-down shooter

Russ Carroll: 8

The RIP series is getting better with every game in my personal estimation. The wide variety of characters with vehicles and weapons that get cooler with each new game should not be missed. Though I thought it would be hard to beat the double Uzi bearing death of the last game, but the first tank you reach in this game tops it. The addition of Hot Seat is a nice little add-on, but most players won't spend much time outside the core of the game. RIP 3 is as good an overhead blast-a-thon with vehicles as I've played.

John Bardinelli: 9

Talk about addictive! I was really surprised how good this game turned out to be. It works a lot like your typical word game but with an adventure-like quest tacked on. You play the pudgy green worm Lex who must defeat foe after foe to rescue a princess trapped inside a book. Use letter tiles to spell words and attack enemies, the longer the word the more damage you do. As the game progresses (expect 6 to 8 hours in all) more features are added, such as potions, gems, artifacts and word categories, all of which force you to dig deep into your brain for words you never thought you knew. Everything is added at a nice pace that never overwhelms you, it just makes you want to keep playing. And playing. And playing. The visuals look a little dated in some places, but honestly I was having way too much fun to care.

William Usher: 7

Hesiod, Homer and Thales have nothing on Lex, the protagonist of Bookworm Adventures. This surprisingly addictive spelling-RPG sets a new tone for edutainment word games. Some of the words, though, were a little too base and there weren’t enough incentives for combos and rarely used words. Bookworm Adventures at least followed through with a lot of entertaining presentation qualities. Young kids and parents trying to teach kids how to spell, will definitely get a kick out of this title. However, even with the mini-games, there just wasn’t enough to appeal to anyone over the age of 6 or 7.

Russ Carroll: 8

Clearly one of the best word-games ever made. The mix with RPG (ala Dungeon Scroll, but without the ability to type on the keyboard) makes the game appeal to a wide range of fans, and the game's tremendous sense of humor will keep players in stitches. It is as well a polished a game as PopCap ever did make, but something I couldn't quite put my finger on was lacking for me. While the game has beautiful graphics and well-thought out game play, it isn't quite as compelling as it should be. I would personally place it below the afore mentioned Dungeon Scroll as well as my personal favorite word game Thomas and the Magical Words. Still, one of the best word-games ever is a good place to be and Bookworm Adventures is a memorable game that every gamer should definitely check out.

William Usher: 10

The slogan “Welcome to minin’ country...you’ll never want to leave” is all too true in Blast Miner. The beta, the demo and the full version were a blast to play – pun intended. A versus mode, an arcade mode and the puzzle mode proved to be just enough to effortlessly zap away hours in a day. The puzzle mode was especially fun and even became a bit of a hotseat party game. There isn’t much I could find wrong with this game, and the physics puzzles made everything entirely replayable. I’m thinking this game deserves a perfect score. Heck, I’m giving it a perfect score

Russ Carroll: 8

Blast Miner is an interesting mix of two game modes, one of which is pretty 'meh' and another that is an absolute blast to play. The first mode, a single/multiplayer arcade puzzle game along the lines of Tetris, but with physics and explosions requires too much careful effort in playing for it to be an exciting and fun game. The other mode, which plays more like the hit Bridge Construction Set than a casual game, is so much fun it makes you wonder why there are two game modes. The later mode involves carefully using resources to cause explosions that carry gold pieces through a specified exit area. Placing gas and TNT in the right spots to create chain reaction explosions all over the board is really too much fun to be missed. As much fun as Armadillo Run and BCS are, they have nothing over making big physics-based explosions to accomplish your goal.

William Usher: 8

When you think of a great game, farm animals and Breakout gameplay probably aren’t the first thing that come to mind. But FizzBall is a unique blend of everything that makes video game paddle ball a fun, invigorating experience. The cartoon visuals and family-friendly soundtrack aren’t bad either. I admit it gets boring after 20 or so stages, but it was a fun ride that’s slightly better than some other games in its category.

Russ Carroll: 9

You know what most people get really tired of in brick-breaking games? Bricks. Seriously! How many bricks do you need to break before they are all broken for good? FizzBall solves the problem by not requiring players to break any bricks, while paying obvious homage to Katamari Damacy. Players capture animals in their 'ball,' and clear the level when all the animals are 'saved.' Achievements are unlocked for a variety of things, giving the game all kinds of challenge for more hardcore players. The ability for the game to challenge different kinds of players from 2 year-olds to 80 year-olds is very commendable, and only adds to what will likely be looked on as a hallmark game for years to come.