STARCRAFT II : WINGS OF LIBERTY

PLATFORMS: PC AND MACINTOSH

GENRE: REAL-TIME STRATEGY

PC Recommended Specifications:

• Windows Vista®/Windows® 7
• Dual Core 2.4Ghz Processor
• 2 GB RAM
• 512 MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8800 GTX or ATI Radeon® HD 3870 or better .

Mac Recommended Specifications:

• Intel® Core 2 Duo processor
• 4 GB system RAM
• NVIDIA® GeForce® 9600M GT or ATI Radeon® HD 4670 or better

In StarCraft II, it's still the Terrans, Zerg, and Protoss clashing against each other, and you're still mining minerals with SCVs, Drones, and Probes and pulling Vespene Gas from the ground to fuel production. It's a classic style of real-time strategy play, one old-school RTS gamers should be very familiar with. Compared to the changes Blizzard made between the traditional gameplay of Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness and the hero-based leveling elements of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, StarCraft II feels like a relatively safe play; a game designed to slide in and discreetly supplant its predecessor instead of ruffle the feathers of longtime StarCraft devotees and risk rejection. While it's not a revolutionary game, it is one of the most fully featured, expertly designed, and impressively refined real-time strategy experiences on the market. Having units that can move between different levels of terrain adds a ton of tactical options that make multiplayer games more dramatic. This can be especially brutal in a skilled Terran player's hand that manages to get a group of Reapers together and uses their jump jets to vault past an opponent's defenses and directly assault their resource gatherers to disrupt economic production. If the player's micromanagement skills are good enough, it's then possible to direct the fast-moving Reapers away from defenders, then hold off just long enough to fire a volley of shots, pecking away at pursuers as they themselves stay out of harm's way. For those playing against Protoss, there's perhaps no feeling more disheartening than establishing a huge army and setting up elaborate defenses only to have a giant group of Colossi waltz up a cliff at the unprotected back of your base and incinerate all that's been built with their devastating twin lasers. For whichever strategy you come to think is best in StarCraft II, there's a counter. It's just a matter of who can scout and react the fastest to changing conditions. Blizzard wasn't trying to do anything drastically different with StarCraft II. Much of the core gameplay of the original has been preserved, yet with plenty of tweaks, additional units and new abilities for veteran players to toy with and devise new approaches to competitive battles. Anyone intimidated by the notion of playing against live opponents will find a lot to enjoy, with a fantastically presented single-player campaign featuring impressively varied mission design supported by a memorable, though often cheesy, cast of characters. Then, if you're feeling courageous, the notion of venturing online is made more appealing by battle.net's automated ranking system that frequently matches you up with opponents of similar skill level. It's not a step forward for the genre, exactly, but StarCraft II is still one of the most polished, finely crafted and well presented real-time strategy games available.

RED DEAD REDEMPTION

PLATFORMS: PS3 AND XBOX360

GENRE: ACTION ADVENTURE

EVEN AN OL' SCHOOL CAN BE A NEW KIND OF EXPERIENCE... RED DEAD REDEMPTION HAD REALLY DONE A GOD JOB ON ECSTACY-ING MOST HARDCORE GAMERS... COWBOYS AND MAGNUMS... NEVER BEEN BETTER..

The storyline of Red Dead Redemption will take you all over a vast swath of countryside that straddles the border between the U.S. and Mexico. Along the way you'll meet, assist, and spill blood with a fantastic cast of supporting characters as Marston attempts to set things straight. The characters are wonderful with top notch dialogue and voice acting -- all good enough to make you feel a part of the world. The world feels alive with something happening everywhere you turn. Birds come screaming out of the bushes as your horse thunders by. Trains whistle while storms come blowing in to fill low-lying areas with fresh puddles. Around the next bend might be a carriage being robbed by bandits, its poor inhabitants crying out for help, or there might be a cougar or bear ready to tear down your horse and bring Marston to his knees. What is most impressive about this sandbox is how fun it is to simply hop on a horse and take off across the prairie. Red Dead Redemption is a gorgeous game with an incredible attention to detail. The art direction, particularly the careful consideration paid to the color palette and geology of the land, is superb. Exactly the right amount of red is used to make the dusty hills and plateaus come to life, the sunsets look breathtaking, and the purple mountains call out with the majesty they're known for. The area you can explore is immense and dotted with towns, ruins, and different environments that all feel hand crafted and unique. Just ride out towards the sunset and listen to the exceptional soundtrack and you'll feel teleported to a whole new world. Red Dead Redemption is a must-play game. Rockstar has taken the Western to new heights and created one of the deepest, most fun, and most gorgeous games around. You can expect the occasional bug or visual hiccup, but you can also expect a fantastic game that offers the Western experience we've all been waiting for. Red Dead Redemption is a complete game in every sense -- both the single player and multiplayer modes are excellent -- and still manages to offer an attention to detail you rarely see from a game of this scope.