Review: Civilization V (PC)

The Civilization franchise has always excelled due to the fact that, in addition to being well designed, it has that unquantifiable aspect of soul. Civilization V is not an exception to this, bringing the trademark feel to substantially improved content and visuals.

Boom

Review: Bubble Trolls (iPhone)

Who'd have thought that pushing a bubble with a troll in it down a river with a tap of your finger could make for an interesting game? Certainly not me. As such, I was pleasantly surprised to find this perpetual-motion physics-based side-scroller both enjoyable in its simplicity while providing a challenge for experienced gamers.

This looks painful...

Poker meets Magic The Gathering on Steam in Runespell: Overture

RPG hybrids are all the rage right now - just look at the success of Puzzle Quest, and the number of games that has led to. The newest developer to try and take advantage of that is Mystic Box with its upcoming Runespell: Overture.

Review: TacOps 4; the most hardcore strategy game of all time? (PC Download)

We’ve reviewed a couple of very challenging and deep strategic experiences at Digitally Downloaded. From the board game style of Advanced Tactics: Gold, through to deep-but-attractive Darkest Hour: A Hears of Iron Game there are legions of lesser known titles out there that give people looking for a little more depth than what a Civilization or Total War game can.

None of these hold a candle to the strategic depth of TacOps 4, and with good reason. Unlike the other games, TacOps is first and foremost a military application that has been commercialised. The only other game we know that really compares to it is the classic, Harpoon, and like that game, TacOps 4 tries in every way possible to recreate the strategic conditions of a warzone, and playing this is almost more of a learning experience than piece of entertainment.

Might not look like much, but this game will get you thinking

Review: Vampire Rush (iPad, iPhone)

 It’s good to see that, even after being acquired by EA, Chillingo has not dropped a beat. It continues to work hard at providing interesting and entertaining iPhone and iPad games, and supporting the ‘little guy’ developers.

It doesn’t always work (we weren’t a big fan of Etolis Arena, though Chillingo did do the right thing and provide a massive update that vastly improved the experience), but it still has more hits than misses. The newest hit? Developer A-Steroid’s tower defence Gothic epic, Vampire Rush.

Them gates are the ones you'll be defendin' this time

Yars' Revenge; then, and now.

The original Yars' Revenge is an Atari classic. A single screen shooter with a unique 'neutral' zone for dodging attacks, it's a game that has endured in popularity through the years - most old school gamers would have fond memories of it.

And it bears virtually no resemblence to the new Yars' Revenge, now available on the Xbox, and (shortly, we hope), on the PSN and PC in the future.

Final Fantasy XI ultimate edition to be made available for download

It's nine years old now, but MMO, Final Fantasy XI, remains a popular game. From May 16, players will be able to download the Final Fantasy XI Ultimate Collection from Steam, Nexway and Metaboli.

This edition will include all four expansions to the game, as well as all add-on scenarios - so basically it is indeed an ultimate edition.

Batheo comes to YooGames

Every so often one of those browser-based MMOs will catch our attention as having some potential. Batheo is one example, and the Greek-themed game will soon launch on the YooGames Portal.

Wicked Witch offers sneak peak of El Mariachi on Xbox 360

Australian independent developers, Wicked Witch, has released a trailer for its upcoming Xbox 360 title, El Mariachi.

10 PSOne Classics we’d love to see on PSN

There is still a huge number of PlayStation games that we’ve not seen made available for download on the PSN. The reasons might be varied – licenses expired, companies gone, newer games available, but that doesn’t change the fact that we’d like to go back and replay through some old classics. Here are 10, perhaps less well-known, PSOne Classics we’d love to see revived on the PSN.

(This list is based on the Australian PSN. I realise that some lucky folks have access to some of the games on their local services - I'm jealous!)

Angry Games announces ToeTicTak on Xbox Live Indie Games

You wouldn't expect to get much out of a Tic Tac Toe game, but newly-formed developer, Angry Games, is hoping to change your mind about that with its upcoming Xbox Live Indie Games release, ToeTicTak.

Angry Games is promising plenty of customisation options built into the game, and a number of scenarios to play through, as well as a wide range of environments - everything from Volcano through to Pirate Ship. It'll set you back just 80 Microsoft Points.

We don't have a whole lot more information to go on - if you're keen to follow ToeTicTak and Angry Games, its blog can be found here.

Review: Squidge Rush (iPhone)

Squidge Rush, the new iPhone/iPad game from RX Games, combines classic tower defence strategy with an addictive puzzle component that will keep both your mind and your fingers constantly active. Enter the Squidge World where you take control of an array of cute characters and lead them to victory over the forces of evil who are out to control the elements.

Evil tree things must die!

Matrix Games announces Team Assault: Baptism of Fire

Matrix Games, in collaboration with Slitherine and developers, Zeal, has announced a 3D turn-based strategy game, set during World War 2 - Team Assault: Baptism of Fire.

Yars' Revenge re-imagining hits XBLA (with trailer)

One of Atari's classic games, Yars' Revenge, has had an anime make over and is invading Microsoft's XBLA in a big way.

Opinion: Forget the NGP, the Sony Tablet S2 is our next Sony handheld

So, today was pretty exciting news for Sony fans: two Sony tablets were announced, and one of them is a dual screen little beast that will bear the PlayStation brand.

(For a short video of the hardware in action, click over here)

Sony's new tablet is PlayStation ready!

Sony has just shown off some of its newest and coolest looking hardware, including a dual touch screen PC with PlayStation integration.

History Great Battles Medieval now available on Android

We were big fans of History Great Battles Medieval, and Android owners should be excited to hear that the game is now available for their devices.

It's a game that Nvidia has been showing off as a showcase for its mobile graphics compatibility - so, if you own a TegraT-based Android device, you're in for a visual treat.

In this game you'll be participating in the 100 Years War. Full History Channel partnership means you'll get an accurate background to the battles, and the melding of RPG and RTS elements won us over - we rated the game 4/5.

So really, what are you waiting for?

Editorial: Lessons for Sony to learn from PSN outage

As the entire gaming world is aware by now, the PlayStation Network is down as Sony rebuilds and strengthens it in response to an attack.

There are lessons Sony will learn from this event - both in terms of securing down its network (an issue beyond the scope of this piece); but also in terms of dealing with its community.

Review: Touch Soccer 3D (iPad)

I am a big fan of SD Games’ little racing title, Nano Rally. It is cheap and disposable, yes, but it’s also good fun, and the perfect remedy to some downtime. And that’s why I am so disappointed with Touch Soccer 3D. It’s a reasonable game, but it lacks the instant accessibility of Nano Rally.

Fancy footwork completely confused this guy

Review: Clash of Thrones (iPad)

Clash of Thrones has an impressive name, and promises a new board game with depth to enjoy. Unfortunately it’s neither new, nor especially deep. It’s a Risk clone with a couple of optional rule variants, none of which make the game any more strategic, or intelligent.

We like Risk, but it's an old formula that really needs an upda