The Political Machine 2008Publisher:Stardock
Platform: PC
UK Price (as reviewed): TBC
US Price (as reviewed):$9.99 (inc. Delivery)

It’s that time of the decade, again. The time when the political machine starts moving into full spin, the gloves come off and the adverts start going on for twice as long because of sponsored political messages... assuming you’re an American anyway.

If not, then all that happens is that you have to cope with a bunch of extra reports on the news about something that will both have no affect on you at all and simultaneously have the potential to change everything in your tiny little microcosm. And people ask me why I don’t vote!

Civilization RevolutionPublisher:2K Games
Platforms:Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, DS
UK Price (as reviewed):£29.99 (inc. Delivery)
US Price (as reviewed):$58.99 (inc. Delivery)

I’ve made no secret in the past of the fact that I’m not really a huge fan of strategy games, so it may come as a bit of a shock for me to reveal that there are actually a few brands that do interest me. Command and Conquer, obviously.

Alone in the DarkPlatform:PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Publisher:Atari
UK Price (as reviewed):£23.99 (inc. Delivery)
US Price (as reviewed):$38.99 (inc. Delivery)

Alone in the Dark is, to put it simply, one of the most important franchises in PC gaming. It was one of the first truly 3D games and set the tone for survival horror long before Resident Evil was even a glimmer in Capcom’s eyes.

ForewordBy Joe Martin

Here we are again, with the latest installment of our guide on how to start your own games studio, as written by one of the lead designers at the independent developer Introversion - perhaps the last in the long British tradition of bedroom-coders-done-good.

Mark has done a lot to share the knowledge he and the rest of the Introversion team have gathered over the last few years, which can't have been easy since experience is, as has often been said, one of those things you always need until you finally have it.

Kane's Wrath Producer InterviewCommand and Conquer is one of the holy grails of the computer game industry and there probably isn’t a geek alive who isn’t familiar with the game or the looming face of Joe Kucan.

Now, as Command and Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath prepares to launch on the Xbox 360, we chat to executive producer Jim Vesella about the future of the Command and Conquer series, the difference between the PC and Xbox 360 versions of the game and how

RooGooPublisher:SouthPeak Interactive
Platform:PC, Xbox 360
UK Price (as reviewed):£9.99 (inc. Delivery)
US Price (as reviewed):$19.99 (ex. Tax)

Games journalism is an strange old business, if I’m honest. Going into it there are things you think you are going to love and never get tired of – like actually being able to play games for a living.

At the same time though, there are things you accept and now that you have to do no matter how much you may dislike them – like being obligated to review games you wouldn’t otherwise let your most hated younger sibling be seen dead with just in case the crappiness turned out to be contagious.

Tom Clancy's Endwar Voice-on PreviewPlatform:Xbox 360, PC, PS3
Publisher:Ubisoft
Release Date: Q4 2008

Immersion is a wonderful thing. It’s so good in fact that it’s probably the entire reason that a lot of people play games – to go somewhere else without going anywhere at all, to get away from it all. Immersion can make a good game into a truly defining experience; to take a bunch of shadows and hotspots and make them into a game so terrifying that you might never recover.

ForewordBy Joe Martin
One of the interesting things about being a journalist in any specialist field is that every now and then you get a chance to speak to someone who is a hero of yours, or someone who helped shape the person you’ve become.

It’s happened to me a few times. I’ve shaken hands with the writers who first got me interested in journalism, had emails and interviews with game designers who helped define my childhood and I’ve almost spilt beer over Mark Rein.

ForewordBy Joe Martin
Publishers are one of the most misunderstood and reviled parts of the games industry and there are corners of this planet where even muttering the name of a game publisher will see you being stoned to death with mice trackballs.

Yet, for many developers, publishers are an important side of the industry and are able to bring financial support and considerable resources to a project. With the right backer and marketing campaign behind it a game can go from zero to hero in a very short time indeed.

The Incredible Hulk: The Official VideogamePublisher:Sega
Platform:Xbox 360, Wii, PS3, PC, PS2
UK Price (as reviewed):£31.99 (inc. Delivery)
US Price (as reviewed):$57.99 (inc. Delivery)

The Incredible Hulk: The Official Videogame. I’ll be honest, this is exactly the type of game that I love to review with a furious, two-handed type of passion. I lie awake at night, lusting over the chance to review a game like this for reasons that are almost entirely selfish.

Lego Indiana Jones: The Original AdventuresPublisher:Lucasarts
PlatformsPC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
UK Price:£24.99 (inc. Delivery)
US Price:$47.99 (inc. Delivery)

I have a love-hate relationship with the Lego videogame franchise – by which I mean the recent run of Star Wars titles mainly and not the ever-so-awesome Lego Racers games. My relationship with Lego Racers is more love-love than love-hate.

Prince of Persia PreviewPublisher:Ubisoft
Platforms: PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Release Date: Q4 2008

There are few titles in the gaming industry that are as consistently revered as the Prince of Persia games. There are games we think are as constantly held aloft, definitely, but in reality most titles haven’t been around long enough to claim the kind of respect that games like Sonic, Mario and

Wii FitPublisher:Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo Wii
UK Price (as reviewed):£69.99 (inc. Delivery)
US Price (as reviewed):$89.00 (excl. Tax)

The Wii is everywhere – everyone and their mother have got one and there are dozens of complete and utter gaming n00bs out there, cashing in their paycheques for the hundreds of frankly mostly mediocre at best games.

The Wii may be the cheapest and most accessible of all the consoles on the market, but it’s no secret that the trade off for it is that most of the games are absolute crap.

Left4Dead hands-on previewPlatform: PC, Xbox 360
Release Date: Q3 2008

I’m running through a forest, eyes darting left and right looking for both zombies and clichéd, predictable introductions to game reviews where I describe a part of the game in the first person. There’s none of the former and at least one of the latter until – there! A shotgun blast from my left puts the zombie down in one.

The guy sitting next to me laughs and high-fives a guy on his left. Behind me Chet Faliszeck sighs. I grit my teeth, ready for the surge of zombies who heard the gunshot and swarmed us last time I played this level just ten minutes ago.

Grand Theft Auto IVPublisher:Rockstar
Platform:Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
UK Price (as reviewed):£37.99 (inc. Delivery)
US Price (as reviewed):$58.95 (ex. Tax)

Grand Theft Auto is, as a franchise, about as big and noticeable as they come.

Unlike some gaming franchises like Mario, who slowly worked his way into our hearts, or Half-Life, which came out of nowhere and eloquently slotted into place as if it had always been the best game ever,

Iron ManPublisher:Sega
Platform:Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PC
UK Price (as reviewed):£32.95 (inc. Delivery)
US Price (as reviewed):$53.95 (ex. Tax)

I never really used to be into comics all that much, but since University the obsession has taken off for me in a big way. I’ve gone from idly leafing through old copies of The Incredible X-Men, to actively reading all the comics from the Civil War and

Race Driver GRIDPublisher:Codemasters
Platform:PC, Xbox 360, PS3
UK Price:£24.99 (inc. VAT)
US Price:$37.90 (ex. Tax)

Recently, it seems that PC racing games always seem to fall into one of two camps - that of a highly accurate simulation like the excellent Colin McRae DIRT, or a mushroom-trip induced crazy arcade experience, like the equally fabulous Trackmania Nations Forever.

Any attempt at finding a happy medium between the accuracy and depth of a full on sim and the fun and playability of an arcade experience has resulted in frustrating mediocrity, and even I have started to wonder if the increasingly polarised sides of driving games could ever meet again.

Sins of a Solar Empire InterviewSins of a Solar Empire was one of the sleeper hits of last year, sneaking up on PC gamers and slowly pulling them in - trapping them within the 4XRTS universe. Part of this was down to the fantastic game design and awesome interface which allowed easy scaling of battlefields.

The rest though may have been down to the utter lack of DRM - the game has become infamously popular among anti-DRM types (damn hippies!) for it's lack of copy protection and effective online distribution model.

Mass Effect PCPlatform: PC, also on Xbox 360
Publisher:Electronic Arts
UK Price:£26.99 (inc. Delivery)
US Price:$39.99 (ex. Tax)

Dear God, I have been waiting for this for so long that, in the interim between the Xbox 360 version of Mass Effect and the Version For The PC Gaming Master Race being released, I’ve actually managed to go back and play through all of BioWare’s recent back catalogue.

And now, it is finally here for the PC – where it arguably should have been all along.

Overclocked: A History of ViolencePublisher:Lighthouse Interactive
Platform: PC
UK Price (as reviewed):£14.99 (inc. Delivery)
US Price (as reviewed):$27.99 (ex. Tax)

I’ve found myself getting back into adventure games recently. I’m not quite sure why, but after burning my way through some of the more action-packed releases lately, I’ve had a hankering for something a little more cerebral.

This sudden urge, brought on no doubt by too much

Age of Conan: Hyborian AdventuresPublisher:Eidos
Platform: PC (online only)
UK Price:£24.99 (game, plus 30 days subscription)
US Price:$49.99 (game, plus 30 days subscription)

Age of Conan has finally landed and the internets (both of ‘em) are already filled with the fanboys warring over exactly how awesome the game is.

And now it’s time for us to throw our opinion in amongst the cacophony of other voices and tell you what we think about the much anticipated MMORPG, which is based on the

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars PS3Platform:Playstation 3, PC, Xbox 360
Publisher:Activision
UK Price (as reviewed):£38.99 (inc. VAT)
US Price (as reviewed):$58.99 (inc. Delivery)

Computer gaming is often like Hollywood: it prefers to deal with shallow issues rather than tackling weighty subjects, but above all, both industries love sequels. Quite often it seems that the sole business rule for both is that if a game or movie sells well, create a sequel.

Assassin’s Creed: Director’s CutPublisher:Ubisoft
Platform: PC
UK Price (as reviewed):£24.99 (inc. Delivery)
US Price (as reviewed):$41.99 (ex. Tax)

Well, I suppose we may as well come out and admit it before we go any further – this review really was a long time coming. Yes, we know, we’re a little bit behind here. Fortunately though, it doesn’t matter all that much since Assassin’s Creed: Director’s Cut

The World Ends With YouPublisherSquare Enix
Platform: Nintendo DS
UK Price (as reviewed):£24.99 (inc. VAT)
US Price (as reviewed):$35.99 (ex. Tax)

I have to admit that when The World Ends With You was first announced, I was just a little bit sceptical. Spiky haired kids? An inventory based system themed around fashion and graffiti? An RPG that isn’t all swords, sorcery and mana counts?

Good God, I thought – this is the Japanese casual version of

HazePlatform: PlayStation 3
Publisher:Ubisoft
UK Price (as reviewed):£38.99 (inc. Delivery)
US Price (as reviewed):$58.99 (inc. Delivery)

Both marketing and PR are big money, especially in the games industry. They exist to create hype for upcoming games and as gamers we are bombarded on an almost daily basis by videos, images and promises of "the next best game since the last one."

The problem is that such a deluge of information often leads to information overload and gamers will start to ignore or even ridicule new information about a game –

Battlefield Heroes Interview: Ben CousinsBattlefield Heroes is a rather radical step for DICE, developers and creators of the Battlefield franchise. Eschewing the traditional retail model and the usual expectations for a realistic shooter like Battlefield 2, the company has taken the game into a whole new format. It is cartoony. It is web-based. It is fun and it is completely free to play, with no hidden costs for weapons and bullets.

Boom BloxPlatform: Wii
Publisher:Electronic Arts
UK Price (as reviewed):£29.99 (inc. Delivery)
US Price (as reviewed):$45.99 (ex. Delivery)

Boom Blox isn’t the type of game I think we’d usually review on bit-tech, mainly because it sits very comfortably in the casual market and that’s something that hardcore gamers usually treat with sheer contempt.

It isn’t just any old casual game though. It actually breaches the chains of its target market and, like

Fallout 3 PreviewPlatform: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC
Release Date: Autumn 2008

In this line of work, it's very easy to start taking things for granted. Every day it seems like you're being shown another exclusive game or you’re meeting your heroes. Free games come through the post regularly and your workmates practically sit on thrones carved from super-expensive graphics cards. Every day is another battle in the war to keep a sense of proportion.

Far Cry 2 Hands-on PreviewPublisher:Ubisoft
Platforms:PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360

We have to confess that we weren’t at out best when we were attending the recent Ubidays 2008 in Paris. Our usual spunk and vigor was almost completely absent and replacing it instead was a meek, doe-eyed sensation of bewilderment.

Normally such cowardly shyness could be easily attributed to bad canapés or too much garlic, but this time that wasn’t the problem. In fact, the food was top-notch and Ubisoft had even laid on a stand with a chocolate painter. Instead, the cause of all this awful awkwardness was much simpler; choice.

N+Publisher:MetaNet Software
Platform: Xbox 360
Price: 800 points (£6.85/$10.00) – Xbox Live download only

Think of Flash games, and you probably think of web-based games for casual gamers – escape the room kind of stuff and digital jigsaws. Certainly nothing we'd be reviewing here at bit-tech. You're only interested in hardcore gaming, right?

Well, in amongst the masses of mediocre Flash games, there are actually a few gems that even hardcore gamers such as you would enjoy – and we’re not just talking about

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of DarknessPlatforms: PC, Mac, Linux, Xbox 360
Publisher:Hothead Games
Price:$19.99 Online Purchase

When I first booted up the Xbox 360 version of Penny Arcade Adventures: On The Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness, I have to admit that I did it warily and with a fair bit of caution.

Part of me, I think, was preparing itself for disappointment. After all, this could be one of the best little games of the year in me eyes – it’s designed by a small independent development team, distributed online via a new digital platform focused at providing an outlet for indie games, it’s written by Tycho and Gabe from Penny Arcade and then to cap it all off it’s been co-designed with Ron ‘