Arkham City is a sequel to Arkham Asylum, which was based on the DC Comics superhero Batman. It does everything that Asylum did right, and then some. Gotham City is back, but with richer detail than ever. It’s not huge, but it more than makes up for that with its superb atmosphere. You play as Batman, who works to bring order to this crime-ridden neighborhood called Arkham City. This area of north Gortham is a super-prison for the city’s worst criminals. An all-star cast of villains make an appearance in this game. The chaos that they create is your problem, or your delight, rather.

It’s a blast to play as Batman. The combat is genuinely satisfying. Players are rewarded for good timing and use of the appropriate items (AKA actual skill). Speaking of items, new gadgets make Arkham City even more fun than its predecessor. Toss a smoke pellet to confuse enemies while you make an escape using your grapnel gun, or use the Disruptor to stealthily jam an opponent’s gun. Enjoy a laugh as you approach and he tries to shoot you, with no result. If all the gizmos are too sophisticated for your gaming style, you can stick with just your fists to get most jobs done.

Arkham City has an endless amount of content. You’ll continue upgrading long after you have completed the main game. There are 440 Riddler challenges to keep a player busy. Outside of the main campaign and side missions (which is estimated to account for about 40 hours of gameplay), you can actually have quite a bit of fun just traversing the city. Soar, glide, dive bomb, and use many other moves to travel from building to building by air. And if you’re bored of playing Batman (unlikely), you can also take a break and play as Catwoman instead! (This feature is accessed with a code that comes with a newly purchased game, though it can be separately obtained from the game’s online store). Her combat capabilities are close enough to Batman’s to allow you to feel instantly comfortable with the switch, yet different enough to make the transition well worth it.

Well done, Rocksteady Studios.

Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster. This Sesame Street game for Xbox 360 Kinect requires no controllers, and it allows kids to play the game by jumping, dancing, running, and being active in front of the television. The game allows children ages four to six to interact with the Sesame Street characters to learn about making friends, sharing, teamwork, and problem solving.

Monkey Quest. This computer game from Nickelodeon has exploded in popularity this past year for children ages eight to fourteen. Found online for both Windows and Mac, Monkey Quests connects players from all over the Internet. The child plays a monkey who goes on adventures to save the world of the game, which is brilliantly displayed in 3D. The missions are funny and engaging, and they are conducive to learning for the whole family, as there is an option for the whole family to play on screen.

The Magic School Bus: Oceans. This Scholastic game is best for ages five to nine, and is available for the Nintendo DS. The favorite show of many children, the game players join the zany Ms. Frizzle on an adventure under the ocean. The players interact with several species of underwater sea life, and learn about the creatures of the deep. The Magic School Bus always has plenty of energy and fun, and combines games and missions to keep the attention of elementary aged children.

Lego Harry Potter. This Warner Brothers game is the children’s version of the multitude of other Lego Harry Potter games available with each movie. For Harry Potter fans ages five to seven, the game is a recount of all of the major events in the last four films. Along with Harry’s intense missions, there are plenty of collectibles and even stimulating puzzle play. It is available for all gaming systems, and it is best suited for children in upper elementary school.

Super Mario 3D Land. For the Nintendo 3DS comes yet another game in the classis Mario Brothers series of racing and strategy games. In this edition, Princess Peach has been kidnapped from the evil Bowser. The player must use puzzles, logic, and strategy to free the princess from her captor; moreover, the game is completely in 3D, leading to extremely engaging game play for children eight and up. This edition of the ever-popular game will not disappoint.

Fiona Finch and the Finest Flowers

What really makes this particular game different from other flower growing games is that you can actually combine seeds and create new species. This twist brings a fresh approach and provides an additional challenge to your goals.

You start with some basic seeds and a plot of land. Where you want to plant the flowers is up to you. Once the flowers are planted, ensure they are watered. When the time is right, either prune your flowers for bigger and more expensive ones, or harvest them to sale. Don’t forget to save at least one plant so you can try different combinations of seeds to grow new plants. The ultimate goal is to win the flower contest.

Graphically, this game looks like spring. The colorful flowers all look different. The combination of seeds works rather well, but it is a little hard to tell which plants have actually sold and which ones haven’t without going into the barn.

The biggest complaint is that this game only has five areas, so it is a bit too small for the price. It would have been a winner if it had at least a few more complimentary areas.

The game is a good one for kids of all ages. The basic game play is easy for young kids to handle. Although, if they are going to play, it is probably better for them to play in the free play mode rather than the story line. This gives them the freedom to create their own gardens without the time pressure of meeting the demands of the judges.

Pick up this game for a discounted price for a real value. Unfortunately, because of its limited areas, it isn’t worth paying full price for.

Fable III

The storyline for Fable III happens approximately fifty years after Fable II. Choose between becoming a Prince or Princess. Either way, your evil sibling is in control of the kingdom and bent on keeping it all for themselves. It is your classic story of repression. As the Hero, you have to lead the revolution to reclaim the throne.

You have three weapons at your disposal – magic, a melee weapon, and a long range weapon. Each weapon is controlled by a different button on the controller. The first quest is basically used to learn how the weapons work and how to control which enemy you want to destroy. Along the way are treasure chests to open and spots to dig up as signaled by your faithful companion.

The additional challenge to this game is the social interaction. Fable III allows its Heroes to marry, produce children, buy houses and shops, and rent out houses to produce income. You can make villagers hate you or love you depending on your mood. It is this particular aspect that rounds out the experience of the game.

While the basic game is good, there are still a few details in it that tend to bring it down a little. First, the graphics tend to make the characters appear bigger than an average hero, and you can actually get fat in this game despite all of the combat action. The moral to eat your vegetables is a turn-off.

It takes awhile to learn how to direct your magic, and upgrades are earned through chests rather than experience points. The weapons themselves also develop on their own and have no real customization options. This does detract from the combat system since you are limited by what you can do.

But my biggest complaint is that there is no easy access to the inventory. You have to keep popping back into your guild room to get the necessary items and to change clothes.

The biggest advantage of this game is the travel system. It is based on a map and portals. This makes it super easy to travel between spots and find your quest targets.

Overall, if you like combat with a socialization factor, than you will like Fable III. While it isn’t the best of the series, it still has plenty to offer. Pick this game up as used or rent it.

To the dismay of many gamers, the video games to be released in 2012 appear to be no different. Released earlier this week was “Amy,” which revolves around escorting an autistic 8 year-old girl out of a town overrun with disease and monsters. Sound familiar? Unigine Corporation is also set to release their long-awaited game, Oil Rush, whose story is a little more interesting and unexpectedly more political than fleeing a town full of zombies.

Originally planned to be released near the end of 2010, the release of Oil Rush was pushed all the way through 2011, with a final release date of January 25, 2012. The publisher expects such a huge demand, as Oil Rush has been on pre-order since March of 2011.

With all of the extra time, the developer apparently took care in adding a single-player mode, as well as a version of the game for Mac OS X. With versions for Microsoft Windows, Linux, and PlayStation 3, Oil Rush will soon have a presence in every sphere of the gaming world.

The storyline is on par with many of the other apocalyptic games I mentioned. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, the game involves a similar mission to the other games; however, Unigine brought in a whole other dimension to game play: one of politics.

The player’s job is to defend the last resource in a flooded world. The resource happens to be oil, and the players must use strategy to protect the oil wells and natural reserves through a “tower defense” strategy. Many, especially residents of the American Gulf Coast, have viewed this theme as highly controversial. Oil Rush is to be released less than two years after the devastating Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill that decimated the ecological systems and economy along the Gulf Coast.

In response, Unigine’s CEO commented that the game will actually send a message of environmental warning, saying, “Fuel devouring armies that fight over the last drops of oil and pollute already trashed world is nothing but doublethink. That is a warning environmental message we’d like to deliver.” Even with this being said, it is still quite a political statement to have players trying to protect a substance that is so controversial.

With all of this being said, many in the gaming world are excited for a storyline that is slightly more original than average. Pre-sales have been solid, and the graphics and soundtrack are receiving slightly above average reviews. If you are shopping around for a game this winter with an interesting storyline and active game play, pick up Oil Rush, but only if you can look past the politics of it. This naval strategy game can be found for approximately $20.00.

You have a ship with two grappling hooks. Lower the hooks to grab the trash and waste that is floating on the bottom of the river. Coordinate the grappling hooks with the ship’s movements to capture big items. Meet the monetary goals and secondary goals to complete the level. The money allows you to purchase temporary upgrades and additional tools for your ship.

While there were a few harder levels, most of the game was very easy to play. Meeting the secondary goals wasn’t that challenging. It appears that they made the game play for younger players; however, this game requires too much coordination for younger players, as you must manipulate both the mouse and the arrow keys. So, if your child isn’t a two-handed player quite yet, they won’t have a lot of luck with this game.

The graphics for the bottom of the rivers are decent, but all of the rivers look the same. All that seems to be done is the occasional addition of wildlife in an effort to make a distinction between the world rivers. But really, all of the levels are the same basic river with just a few minor changes.

The music really could use some work. It would have been nice had they matched the music to the area you were fishing in. It would have brought a sense of the region. Sadly, you get the same generic rendering of classical music that is more annoying than enhancing.

The big problem with this game is that it fails to achieve the balance between kid appeal and expectations for an adult challenge. It errs on the kid side, but it is too hard for some younger players.

Don’t buy this game unless it is part of a bundle. For the price, there really isn’t enough game play or challenge to keep interest. With all of the same backgrounds, you just don’t get that around the world appeal that should be there.

Tropical Farm

Planting is easy. Just click on the seeds and the open spot. Then make sure to water. After a certain time, the plants are ready for harvest. If you have animals, feed them to get their products. Just keep in mind that you may need more than one animal in order to reach the gold time, and you should sell one if you need more money.

The game limits you from the beginning to the number of spaces you can actually grow plants. Even as you progress in levels, you get a few more spaces, but those are predetermined and added at certain points in the game. It is this distinct lack of flexibility that turns many people off. You really can’t customize anything in this game.

The lack of customization isn’t the only problem. There are no side quests or building up your farm. That means that all those gold stars don’t really mean anything or allow you to purchase any cool things. After a while, this game turns into a repetitive collection game, even though you occasionally have to put products in production.

The challenge is also taken away when all of the plants are collected to meet the level goals. You no longer have to look after your crops. Instead they grow into fruit which can be sold for quick cash. This means that reaching the goals quickly is fairly easy.

The game is fine for kids, but they will likely be bored by it. It just doesn’t have enough freedom of choice to allow them to make the game theirs.

Don’t buy this game even if you can get it in a bundle. The game is far too simplistic and repetitive for any real challenge. It is more of a time waster than any real fun.

The Halo franchise began with the release of the first Halo game in 2001, and has since evolved into a multi-billion dollar franchise that spans the Xbox world, and attracts fans of all ages. For those not already familiar with story line, the series focuses on an interstellar war between humanity and an alien alliance, The Covenant. The series is constantly praised for being one of the best first-person shooter video games. Following the debut of the first game, the developers set out on a massive marketing campaign from Microsoft. This success allowed Halo 3 to sell over $170 million worth of copies in the first 24 hours. Halo 4 is expected to shatter these records.

Bungie, the original developers of the Halo franchises jumped ship from Microsoft leaving a new branch, 343 Industries, in sole control of the game. Martin O’Donnell composed the music for the first three installments in the series; however, he will not return to compose for Halo 4. The trailer for Halo 4, which can be found online, reveals the new music to be “futuristic and suspenseful, with cheesy undertones.” The scenes shown reveal the outstanding concept art, although the developers have kept much of it secret. In fact, the developers are not even yet guaranteeing that the concept art will make it into the final product.

As for the story, the short trailer reveals that the main character, Master Chief, is coming out from where he was at the end of Halo 3. Halo 4 will begin right where the third ended, allowing players to continue similar missions from earlier games. Before the fall 2012 release, 343 Industries is working on another game, Halo: Anniversary, which is rumored to be the first game in a second Halo trilogy.

Halo fans cannot be happier at the release of the continuation of the saga. Microsoft, along with 343 Industries, is crafting the release to be nothing short of epic, and is already planning to break the worldwide sales of Halo 3. Be on the lookout for more trailers and previews of Halo 4, and for the confirmation of its fall of 2012 release.

Mah Jong Quest includes an additional element to the classic game, a story line. Play and win the boards to improve the villages that have been destroyed by evil. Each board gets you closer to saving the entire kingdom. The story is okay, but it is nothing that hasn’t been seen before.

The backgrounds are skillfully done and set off the game boards nicely. The between story boards are a little more cartoon-based and contrast with the backgrounds. The tiles are what you would expect from a Mah Jong game – if a little less detailed than the real tiles.

The game does changes by the different formatting of the tiles. You never really see the same pattern twice. There are also a few unexpected tile pairings that you won’t find in the classic game. Things such as dynamite and keys add fun twists to lighten the game. Some of the games are extremely challenging, while others are very easy to solve. There is a nice mix between the hard and easy, so the game doesn’t become too boring.

The only major problem with this game is that you must like Mah Jong a lot. That is really all there is to it. There aren’t any cute little side quests or any real character interaction.

So, if you are a Mah Jong fan and like playing a decent game with decent patterns, then this is the game for you. If you are a casual player, then you might look for the cheaper or free versions. For Mah Jong fans, Mah Jong Quest is almost as good as actually playing the real game.

The film noir style that the game is modeled after also takes it to new frontier. This style harkens back to the days of back and white films, and follows dark themes such as crime, sex, gambling, and moral ambiguity. L.A. Noire is set in post-WWII Los Angeles in the year 1947. The main character is a detective for the Los Angeles Police Department, and is in charge of solving a series of murders. It is the job of the player to find clues at crime scenes, follow leads, and even interrogate the suspects. What makes L.A. Noire even more unique – the success of the player’s crime investigation will determine how much of the story is revealed.

The story begins a short time before the infamous Black Dahlia murder that shocked Los Angeles. The player follows all of the steps in solving a real crime, including the examination of dead bodies, including those of dead children, and other gruesome tasks. After the Black Dahlia murder, the main character, Cole Phelps, must investigate several other similarly gruesome murders. Phelps must complete 21 cases that should each take around 90 minutes to complete. In any of these investigations, if the player misses a single clue, it means that the entire story will unfold differently. This is not an action-packed game, but is emotionally powerful due to its gritty and real dialogue. In fact, 322 separate actors voiced the many characters in the game, and they are extremely convincing in their performances.

The role of WWII is also prevalent in the story. The difficulties soldiers face in adjusting to civilian life after seeing such tragedies in the war are brilliantly and meticulously described in the story. Also, Phelps’ own war story is revealed through a series of intense flashbacks. There are a few villains that need to be taken out, but overall, the game is all about the story and finding the truth. The intense style and game play of L.A. Noire is strikingly similar to that of Heavy Rain, which I wrote a review for in the summer of 2011.

Not surprisingly, the graphics of L.A. Noire are superb and as lifelike as any video game out there today. The soundtrack in its own right is a masterpiece, and features original scores by Andrew Hale and Simon Hale, as well as several original songs composed in the style of the 1940s by The Real Tuesday Weld, and sung by the fabulous Claudia Brucken. Overall, L.A. Noire is meant for those gamers who want to experience a story that is as close to reality as a video game can be. The era of reality video games is here, and few gamers are complaining.