Quite a few games released this week. Here we go! (Links lead to review, except for Fireburst & Toy Soldiers.)

Noitu Love 2: A fun little game in the vein of Metal Slug & Gunstar Heroes, but with more dashing & slashing than shooting.

Sherlock Holmes and The Hound of the Baskervilles: A hidden object game that's more fun than expected, mainly due to Holmes' straight-faced comments in light of increasingly absurd situations.

Lone Survivor: A 2D psychological survival horror (emphasis on survival: you gotta eat & sleep) that feels like a good spiritual successor to the old Silent Hill games.

Fireburst: ($10, 3/5 stars) Can't post reviews for this game for some reason, so posting it here: it's a racing game where the boost is also your life & weapon. When you boost, you build up heat that causes your car to burst into flame, damaging nearby cars. But if you hold it down too long, you blow up. A decent racing game with good graphics & music, but the controls & physics are too finicky for my tastes, many of the single-player stages have frustrating requirements, and I doubt you'll find anyone to play online.

Analogue: A Hate Story: A dark, unusual plot in a unique setting makes this visual "romance" novel stand out. A bit pricy for my tastes and its length, but if enjoy this genre and plan on completing both paths, it's probably a good investment.

Toy Soldiers: ($10) Xbox port, not bought/reviewed. I figure the 8 reviews already up for the Xbox version cover it enough, assuming the PC port doesn't have any game-breaking issues.

Which game would I keep playing? Lone Survivor. It really struck me as something different than the other indie games I've played. Sure, it cribs heavily from the old Silent Hill games, but a Silent Hill homage that puts its own twist on things for just $10? That's an insane deal.

See you guys next week. Who knows, if I have time, perhaps I'll do something special for the 50th review.

Quite a few games released this week. Here we go! (Links lead to review, except for Fireburst & Toy Soldiers.)

Noitu Love 2: A fun little game in the vein of Metal Slug & Gunstar Heroes, but with more dashing & slashing than shooting.

Sherlock Holmes and The Hound of the Baskervilles: A hidden object game that's more fun than expected, mainly due to Holmes' straight-faced comments in light of increasingly absurd situations.

Lone Survivor: A 2D psychological survival horror (emphasis on survival: you gotta eat & sleep) that feels like a good spiritual successor to the old Silent Hill games.

Fireburst: ($10, 3/5 stars) Can't post reviews for this game for some reason, so posting it here: it's a racing game where the boost is also your life & weapon. When you boost, you build up heat that causes your car to burst into flame, damaging nearby cars. But if you hold it down too long, you blow up. A decent racing game with good graphics & music, but the controls & physics are too finicky for my tastes, many of the single-player stages have frustrating requirements, and I doubt you'll find anyone to play online.

Analogue: A Hate Story: A dark, unusual plot in a unique setting makes this visual "romance" novel stand out. A bit pricy for my tastes and its length, but if enjoy this genre and plan on completing both paths, it's probably a good investment.

Toy Soldiers: ($10) Xbox port, not bought/reviewed. I figure the 8 reviews already up for the Xbox version cover it enough, assuming the PC port doesn't have any game-breaking issues.

Which game would I keep playing? Lone Survivor. It really struck me as something different than the other indie games I've played. Sure, it cribs heavily from the old Silent Hill games, but a Silent Hill homage that puts its own twist on things for just $10? That's an insane deal.

See you guys next week. Who knows, if I have time, perhaps I'll do something special for the 50th review.