What is interesting and unique about STO is that you have two separate stages of gameplay: the space stage - where you command your own starship and use it to fight your way through and investigate various situations, but also to move from one sector of the galaxy to another of course; and the ground stage - where your away team teleports to a planet, station or boards a ship and tries to solve problems more delicately, although most missions still result in firefights to be honest, because well... that's so exciting.

I've only had the opportunity of testing a pre-release beta version of Cliff "Cliffski" Harris' Gratuitous Space Battles, but I can tell you I've had great fun with it. The game is developed for braniacs and lets your imagination thrive, even if it's a top-down, 2D strategy. Looking forward to check out multiplayer and the final version.

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm promises to be one of the turning points for the Warcraft universe, not only advancing the story and lore, but also offering a new and more beginner friendly experience to new players who are just starting up on the game. That said, it is obvious veteran players haven't been forgotten, and as I've seen from this year's Blizzcon, everyone will be happy to know development work looks quite advanced, and we can probably expect this pack to arrive probably sooner than later.

Champions Online is not the only MMO to be released this year, but it is definitely one of the most anticipated ones, following the considerable success of its predecessor: City of Heroes. This latest release from Cryptic Studios will face a fierce competition, but those who are willing to trade a fantasy universe with a more gritty one, without forsaking a quality MMO may find a great alternative in it.

This Spring is definitely Tom Clancy's Spring. With two games hitting the stores almost simultaneously, Tom Clancy's End War and Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X, each game featuring his name, it is obvious that the American author, co-founder of Red Storm Entertainment, has become a brand. Although both games cover different genres, there are somehow linked together forming a single universe along with Ghost Recon series.  After testing and reviewing the End War RTS, it was time to throw a critical look to the aerial warfare in HAWX.

Halo Wars is a prequel and takes place in 2531, 20 years before the first game in the shooter trilogy. The human UNSC forces fight the Covenant once again, and you play the role of a commander instructing your forces what to build and who to attack. The game, while cool and based on the innovative Halo universe, takes a lot of elements from other successful RTS games and simplifies the gameplay and interface quite a bit to make it a suitable experience for the Xbox 360.

Two levels of demo on Xbox 360 aren't usually sufficient to help one express an exhaustive opinion about a highly anticipated title such as Resident Evil 5, but in this case it's just enough to convince the gamer that another gem is about to be uncovered. This latest addition to the acclaimed franchise stays true to the survival-horror genre, retaining that sinister atmosphere from the previous titles and while further increasing it, by carrying the creepiness into broad daylight.

MotorStorm was one of the few exclusive PS3 games, that had a really big success at the official launch of PS3 in US and Europe. Later sold also as a bonus product for the bundle PS3 packages, MotorStorm succeeded in creating a big fan-base especially after Sony introduced downloadable content in the first version of Playstation Network. MotorStorm: Pacific Rift is the sequel to this successful franchise considered by many as MotorStorm 2. Still developed by Evolution Studios and using a modified version of the first Motorstorm graphical engine, Pacific Rift is scheduled to be released on 28 October 2008 in North America, and later for the rest of the world.

Developed by former guys from Illusion Softworks (known for Mafia), MOTORM4X is a mixture of 1NSANE and Screamer 4x4. Keeping in mind these were off-road racing games, MOTORM4X follows the same idea, featuring non-linear events (similar to GTA concept) and a physics engine that might excel even Baja: Edge of Control.

I was among the lucky few who got the chance of playing the demo version of the highly anticipated title from Akella: "PT Boats: Knights of the Sea", and I must say this naval combat simulator has all the assets needed to become the next big thing in the genre industry. The dazzling graphics, complex yet accessible gameplay, real life inspired scenarios and the unique flavor of a maritime confrontation all in the background of the ever intriguing World War 2 concur in creating a game of huge potential.