Strategy

Project X Zone should perhaps win the award for the most exciting game with the least descriptive, least exciting name. It sounds like a fantasy extreme sports simulator, like Dead Ball Zone or something of that kin. And yet, behind the name there lies not only a cross-over project perhaps unrivalled in gaming - only beat perhaps by The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen elsewhere - but a decent tactical RPG that will suck you into the genre whether you have prior experience.

The king has been murdered by his three children, but not without siring a illegitimate heir. After having an affair with a dragon (who we're assured was in female human form at the time), a child is born. You're that child. The future of the kingdom is in your hands, Dragon Commander.

For anyone on the outside looking in, the MOBA genre can look like a scary one. There are too many numbers, too much clutter on the screen, too many characters, abilities, items and you have to work as a team! I have a confession: I used to think that too, and as I dipped my toe into the deep blue ocean of MOBAs I was still thinking it. Now, some lost hours later, I have emerged a fan. I say emerged, I can't quite tear myself away.

Europa Universalis is a franchise where you don't just control a country or play a king, you are the ruler of your very own nation. That comes with all of the good and all of the bad. The power to do whatever you want, but the responsibility to not always do it. The need to protect and expand your nation whilst all others do the same.

Only Shigeru Miyamoto could have come up with Pikmin, an often difficult real-time strategy game starring cute, altruistic plant creatures that are willing to do anything for strangers, no questions asked. The first two titles were big hits for the Gamecube, and for eight years fans have been waiting for Pikmin 3. Well, the wait is over and, at the very least, longtime fans and newcomers have another excuse to boot-up their Wii U.

Defense Grid has been around for a few years now, but many gamers have discovered it because it's one of the free games that came with a Gold subscription to Xbox Live. Those who missed their chance to grab it for free should still take look at this old gem because, much like its main character, it withstands the test of time rather well.

Shadowrun's last appearance in video game form wasn't that pretty, leaving fans disappointed that Microsoft decided to turn their cyberpunk, urban fantasy pulp RPG into a multiplayer shooter. Thankfully, the mastermind behind the franchise, Jordan Weisman, headed to Kickstarter in order to fund a project designed to take the series back to its roots: Shadowrun Returns.

The most common complaint leveled against mobile gaming is the seeming lack of "console-quality experiences" - which, despite being a bit of a moot point (it's a tablet, not a console, correct?), is grounded in some real complaints. There are too many money-hungry free-to-play games, and way too many physics puzzlers and endless runners in the App Store - so when Firaxis and 2K announced a fully-featured handheld port of the award-winning XCOM: Enemy Unknown, it presented an opportunity for the platform to show off its skills beyond forgettable $1 titles.

How can God be omnipotent and benevolent yet the world be filled with constant war and unending suffering? Perhaps there is a greater god out there who wants nothing more than to sit back and watch as humanity wages meaningless conflict just for the amusement of a callous divine being! That's basically the premise behind Skyward Collapse, a new turn-based strategy game from Arcen Games in which players control both sides in a battle where the hapless combatants waste their lives in perpetual war.

NarcoGuerra is the latest in a series of 'Game the News' games. The idea is to take a real world issue, in this case the ongoing battle between Mexican police forces and drug cartels, and make it a little easier to understand how complicated the situation truly is. But is NarcoGuerra a good game, or just a fancy news piece?