Developed by: Arrowhead Game Studios
Published by: Paradox Interactive
Platforms: PC
Players: 1-4

Magicka has come a long way with all of the new updates and DLCs, but aside from the Magicka: Vietnam DLC, they’ve only been robes, items, and levels for the arena and versus modes.  Now finally a true addition to the Adventure mode has been released.  This isn’t a quick, challenging little map like Magicka: Vietnam either.  There are three full chapters with checkpoints, bosses, and cutscenes.

Developed by: Ubisoft Montreal
Published by: Ubisoft
Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, PC (reviewed)
Players: 1 offline with 8 player multiplayer

It’s that time again, where we sharpen our hidden blades and get ready to brutally assassinate hundreds of inept guards in our quest for the truth.

You once again take up the mantle of Ezio Auditore da Firenze, now an old man, but still every bit as capable as in his previous outings.  The formula still holds true, and most of the features from Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood have returned.  Main story missions are in Sequences, or chapters, and most of them have bonus objectives to complete for full synchronization (a better score).

88 miles per hour, a DeLoreon, stolen plutonium, 1.21 gigawatts, and a Flux Capacitor.  Those are the things it takes for time travel to be possible.  Thanks to Doc Brown we know this and understand it.  Sort of.  I mean, what the hell is a gigawatt anyway.  I guess for the purposes of this review that’s neither here nor there.    Just know this going in, Doc is in trouble and it’s up to you to control Marty and figure out what’s going on and save Doc.

The game starts in a very familiar way, but with some subtle differences.  Einstein is loaded in to the DeLoreon and sent 1 minute in to the future.  This is where things that you thought you knew, go off the rails.  Once you take control of Marty you are put in Doc’s lab to get a feel for how things will play.  The controls handle well for an adventure game.  Using the left control stick you will guide Marty around in the lab and run in to a few familiar characters.  You’ll also recognize quite a few of Doc’s inventions and items from the movies around his lab.

As you search for clues to determine Doc’s whereabouts, you will use some simple dialogue trees to talk with familiar and new faces around Hill Valley.  Combine the bits of dialogue with different environmental elements and you get the main portion of the gameplay.  These play out like puzzles.  Taking the cues from the conversations and actions that characters take, you use different things in the area to solve these puzzles.  It really does make for a good combination and you rarely feel stuck, which is big in a game like this.  Controls are a bit hit and miss here.  They work well enough but a get awkward every once in a while with certain camera angles and environmental elements getting in the way.  It’s not a game breaker but a little more refinement would have been good.

Graphically the game looks good.  All the characters are easily identifiable from a glance and they really fit in with the overall aesthetic of the game.  It’s when the characters start to talk that the game really shines.  The voice acting is truly top notch.  Bringing in Christopher Lloyd was the greatest idea and A.J. LoCascio does an amazing job as Marty.  There are times that even the biggest fan of Back to the Future would be hard pressed to identify whether it was really Michael J. Fox or A.J.

The game is broken in to 5 episodes and as you play through they get progressively better.  The game stays very true to the series and is a very welcome addition for fans.  The disc based version of the games on PS3 are the exact same as the PSN versions (All the episodes are available on PS3, PSN, PC, and iOS devices.) and that’s really my only major problem with the games.  It would have been really nice to get a few extras on the disc.  Maybe a version with commentary by the voice actors and designers or even have Bob Gale come in for commentary.  Small quibbles aside, any fan of Back to the Future should pick up every episode and play through them and relish every moment of the continued story.  So, don’t be a slacker like the McFly’s and go pick this up.

Publisher:  Telltale Games

Designer:   Graham Annable

Platform:  Windows, Mac Os X, PSN, iPhone, iPad

Genre:  Puzzle/Adventure

Release Date:  June 30, 2011

Price:  $2.99 -iPad, $.99 -iPhone, and $9.99 -PC

The one man puzzle solving machine of the FBI Nelson Tethers, is back on the case solving puzzle-esqe crimes in the followup to 2010′s Nelson Tethers: Puzzle Agent, Puzzle Agent 2.  In this sequel, Nelson is still bothered about the unresolved case from the town of Scoggins including the still missing Isaac Davner.  Nelson is determined to put all of pieces of the puzzle together and figure out what really is going on in the tiny town of Scoggins.  Do you have the wits to help Nelson finally say “case closed” on Scoggins or will you start this adventure only to never finish it?  Let’s find out in our review of Telltale Game’s, Puzzle Agent 2.

While the three in the title might lead some to believe this is the third game in the Bejeweled series, it is actually the fifth and the only direct sequel to Bejeweled 2.This fantasy themed variation on the same is a far cry from the original Bejeweled released ten years ago with only two modes of play.  Bejeweled 3 provides players with 8 modes of play and 8 types of gems to swap.

Bejeweled 3 brings back 4 traditional modes of play, as seen in Bejeweled 2, and adds 4 new modes. Returning on the platform are Classic mode, Zen mode, Lightning mode, and Quest mode. Classic mode is the basic Bejeweled game at its core. Players continuously swap gems until there are no more moves to make.  Zen mode is an endless mode designed to help relax the player with soothing ambient sounds and breath modulation while they swap gems continuously. Lightning mode is the classic time trial mode where players attempt to get the highest score possible within a 60 second window. Quest mode provides 40 unique puzzles each containing mini games with tailored objectives different from the standard game.

In addition to these staple modes, Bejeweled 3 brings these unlockable modes; Diamond Mine, Poker, Ice Storm, and Butterflies. Diamond Mine allows players to “dig” for gold and treasure by swapping gems next to the dirt to expose the collectables. In Poker players must create the best hand by swapping gems on the main game board to have that gem appear in their hand of cards. Using the special gems in a swap will increase the total score for that hand. Ice Storm brings rising columns of ice that must be pushed back before they reach the top of the screen. Creating matches above or below the ice will decrease the column’s height. Making a vertical match within an ice column will shatter it completely. In Butterflies, players must release the butterflies by using them in a chain before they reach the top where a spider is waiting.

While game play at the core remains the same; swap one gem with an adjacent gem to create vertical or horizontal chains containing, at minimum, 3 matching gems; Bejeweled 3’s game play gets a boost from the various types of gems the player can match. Apart from the normal gem, Bejeweled 3 also has Flames gems, Star Gems, Hypercubes, Supernova Gems, Time Gems, Bomb Gems, and Butterfly Gems. Flame, Star, Hypercube and Supernova Gems are all created under specific circumstances within the game play and throughout all the modes. Time Gems only appear in Lightning Mode and add time to the clock when used in a chain. Bomb Gems are only found in the Time Bomb mini game within Quest mode. These must be exploded before their timer reaches zero. Butterfly Gems are only found in Butterfly mode and the Butterflies mini game in Quest mode.

Overall, Bejeweled 3 is a fresh take on a familiar favorite. The unlockable, or secret modes, bring new challenging twists to the gem swapping classic. It doesn’t take long to open them up, but you might find yourself swapping gems for hours trying to create that elusive flush hand in Poker or valiantly struggling against the rising tides of ice in Ice Storm. The dynamic backgrounds are beautiful to look at and lend a sense of story to a simplistic game. Eight modes of play provide hours of addictive fun. And, achievement hounds will be happy to know that in addition to the traditional 12 Xbox achievements for XBLA games, players can strive for badges of increasing difficulty in bronze, silver, gold and platinum.

Developer:  Ninja Bee

Publisher:  Microsoft Game Studios

Platform:  Xbox Live Arcade

Release Date:  Wednesday October 26, 2011

Genre:  City Building

Players:  Single Player, Local Multiplayer

Rating: ESRB E for Everyone

Price:  320 Microsoft Points

Distribution:  Xbox Live Marketplace

Little blue aliens are landing and invading your world in Ninja Bee’s 2010 followup to A Kingdom of Keflings, A World of Keflings.  These friendly, tiny,  and so humorous bundles of joy are looking for you to help build them an alien friendly kingdom.  Do you have what it takes to build a kingdom for aliens?  Let’s fire up that Xbox, hit play on A World of Keflings, and find out in our review of A World of Keflings: It Came From Outer Space DLC.