Prior to the release there was a lot of noise surrounding Bulletstorm. On one side you had the mother grundies saying that this game would turn all our kids into mass-murdering rapists. On the other side were the critics saying that the game just didn’t cut it – even though they admitted that their opinion was based on videos and the demo (which are hardly a basis for this kind of statement.)

Not too long ago, a friend and I were reminiscing about our favorite classics. One of the games that came up was Dungeon Keeper, and we noted that it would be cool to see a sequel. Obviously we weren’t the only ones thinking it… a great many people fondly remember the Dungeon Keeper franchise, and would love to see another game in the series.

Those who played the original Test Drive Unlimited for more than a few hours will remember what made the game awesome. It wasn’t the flurry of DLC car packs, bringing a handful of exotic cars to the game’s virtual dealerships. Nor was it the lifestyle aspect, where you were tasked with chores such as dropping people off, delivering super-cars to new owners. The selection of racing events and challenges were also not what endeared the game to its faithful audience.

2008 saw a bunch of new IPs hitting the market, in terms of video games. These new franchises (or potential franchises, at least) had a tough time of it… the year is still notorious for the number of big name releases that arrived in the last quarter, and new IPs had to contend with not only a massive number of well publicised sequels, but also a looming economic issue on the whole.

When it comes to actual combat simulators, there are very few that get things right in terms of absolute realism. Let’s be honest… war is an unpredictable thing, most of the time, and even the best tactics and strategies can be scuppered by chance and chaos. Still, there are some very good, detailed and realistic simulators out there.