Games of September 2011

Moving away from its RTS (Real Time Strategy) roots for the first time, Space Marine is a brand new third person action game from the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Using both ranged and melee weapons, players dole out pain on the entire Orc race as the Titus, Space Marine extraordinaire.  Gears of War 3 (Xbox360)

Marcus Fenix and his hyper violent gang of dudebros are back for the final fight against the blood thirsty Locusts; only this time, they face a new enemy in the form of the Lambent. While most of the game will be spent taking cover, chainsawing and shooting Locusts in the face, a significant amount of time will also be spent in the game’s new revamped Horde mode.God of War Origins (PS3)

Not to be limited by handheld consoles, Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta turned out to be two of the most badass games from the God of War universe. Now with the move to HD, players can expect upscaled visuals in 1080P, 3D and trophy support and most importantly, better controls thanks to the DualShock controller.Dead Island (Xbox360 PS3 PC)

Much like the Left 4 Dead series, Dead Island is all about slaughtering hordes of the undead with up to four of your friends in co-op. This game branches out from L4D, with its open world structure and RPG (Role Playing Game) mechanics, where one can upgrade their skills and weapons, as well as the ability to craft your very own weapons of death and destruction. Driver: Driver: San Francisco (Xbox360 PS3 PC)

With Driver: SF, Ubisoft have decided to axe the on-foot mechanic from previous Driver games to concentrate wholly on driving around San Francisco. The series’ recurring protagonist, Tanner is now in a coma and the entire game takes place in his dream world of sorts where players will be able to hijack cars using their mind. ICO Collection (PS3)

An HD remake of two of the most arty PlayStation 2 games ever made, the ICO Collection will offer players both ICO, and Shadow of the Colossus on one single Blu-Ray. While gameplay stays unchanged in both games, players can expect upscaled 1080P visuals, as well as 3D and trophy support. I can’t vouch for ICO, since I haven’t played it, but SoTC is worth the price of admission alone. F1 2011 (Xbox360 PS3 PC)

While co-operative gameplay is largely restricted to action games, F1 2011 is jumping on the bandwagon this year with a co-op championship that allows you and a friend to play through a full season together as teammates. The game also boasts of a more personal career mode that emphasizes on putting you in the shoes of an F1 driver with a more cinematic presentation. FIFA 12 (Xbox360 PS3 PC)

Normally, yearly iterations of games like FIFA tend to dole out pretty much the same game with shinier visuals but this year EA plan on revamping FIFA 12 big time with a new player impact engine that'll deliver realistic, bone-crunching player collisions. Besides that, you also have a new dribbling feature that now allows better close control in tight situations.Rise of Nightmares (Xbox360)

The first M rated game to hit Microsoft’s Kinect, Rise of Nightmares is a first person survival horror where players are forced to explore the demented domain of a sadistic scientist to save their wife. Like the Condemned series, players bring the pain with some devastating melee weapons like chainsaws, axes and lots more.