Warriors Orochi 2

Developed by High Voltage Software and licensed by Warner Bros., Charlie and the Chocolate Factory puts players right into the world of the film. You'll find the factory rampaged by the other children, who are running amok with greed and impishness. Use your special candy powers and the assistance of the Oompa-Loompas to restore order to Willy Wonka's sugary establishment. Beyond this, Charlie will have to use a variety of candy to overcome obstacles and potential enemies. Everlasting Gobstoppers, for instance, are basically rocks that Charlie can throw around. The game features celebrity voice talent and the likeness of Johnny Depp as Wonka.

Combine the Unreal Tournament 3-D engine with hard-nosed Viking melee combat and what do you get? Rune, an epic third-person action game from Human Head Studios. You take on the role of Ragnar, a young warrior spared from death by Odin but who must fight his own way up from the underworld to defend his village and exact revenge upon the dark Vikings who killed his father.

Set in grim, exceptionally well-designed environments ranging from ancient crypts full of undead warriors to a towering mechanical Dwarven city, Rune mixes typical first-person shooter gameplay with the rigors of close-quarter melee combat. Instead of the shotguns and rocket launchers you've mastered in other games, you will find yourself armed only with an array of swords, hammers, and axes. Combat with these weapons is very different--and very challenging, particularly in the game's latter levels and against multiple opponents.

The graphics in Rune are excellent, with an exceptional attention to detail on just about every level. The lighting is very well done and so are the sound effects used throughout the game. The music is suitably heroic, though it plays too infrequently and loops too quickly. Overall, the game does a marvelous job of setting the mood for head-smashing Viking combat. There are even some nifty gameplay twists that keep you in the proper frame of mind. When you're wounded, for example, you can drink mead, scarf down a leg of mutton, or grab and eat a lizard off any nearby wall to gain some health back. And when Ragnar is done drinking his mead, he smashes the cup on the floor. He deals with crates, barrels, and many doors in his path the same way.

While the single-player game is outstanding--and features one of the flat-out coolest game-won reward sequences ever--the multiplayer action is where you can really test your sword-fighting skills. Although the game includes 43 single- player levels and only seven multiplayer maps, Rune has proved to be quite popular online, with up to 16 players going at it in wild melee combat.

The only disappointment in Rune may be the fact that it does not offer any computer-controlled bots for solo deathmatch play. Even without the bots, Rune is easily one of the year's top games in any genre and an intense epic that no action fan should be without.

If you built it they will succumbProduct InformationCreate the most wicked loathsome underworld imaginable. Dig out yourunderground kingdom. Populate your dungeon with a variety of beasts suchas the Skeletons Dark Elves Trolls and evil Warlocks. Prepare them forbattle with training rooms workshops and magical libraries. With the helpof the dreaded reaper conquer your enemies and expand your empire in your questto defeat the King and invade the land heroic good.Product Features Build the Dungeons of Your Darkest Dreams First construct a nightmarish floor plan. then direct your Imps to dig out the tunnels rooms and chambers for your new home. Slap them around if they are not working fast enough. Infest Your Dungeon with Vile Beasts Discover a portal so evil creatures can find their way into your domain. Mine gold to pay their wages build places for them to rest in and a hatchery where they can feed. Put Your Minions To Work For You Construct training rooms to improve the fighting skills of your dungeon dwellers a library where they can research and learn devious new magic spells and a workshop to create new traps to thwart encroaching do-gooders. Battle the Forces of Good Fulfill your strategic role as the evil overlord leading your wicked hoards in combat against those righteous heroes. Cast devastating spells to crush your enemies and support your minions. Or join the action at dungeon level by possessing your creatures and battling from a first person perspective using special spells and abilities. Entertain the Creatures of Your Dungeon Keep your minions happy by creating casinos where they can drink and gamble. Or build a pit arena where they can gain combat experience or sit back and enjoy the fights from a ringside seat. Torture Chambers are popular attractions for those who like it rough.Windows Requirements

Alpha Black Zero: Intrepid Protocol is squad-based tactical gaming combined with stealth and shooter action -- all wrapped up in a great sci-fi storyline. In the year 2366, soldier Kyle Hardlaw stands accused of betraying his government & assassinating key figures across the solar system. Behind this odd courtroom drama lies a winding maze of political intrigue and counter-espionage. Hardlaw escapes custody and must navigate his way through an unthinkable conspiracy.