Tiny Diggers – An iPad Construction Truck Game for Kids Age 2-5

Here we are, just entering the month of July. And while I really like writing this column on a monthly basis, it is tough during these summer months. See, most game developers start holding on to releases until the fall season. It is far more profitable for them to release the big guns during the fall months, because they become prime fodder for Christmas shopping. So this month, we do have a few notable exceptions, but they are just far and few between.

Marvel Trading Card Game hits on July 3rd and will take the Upper Deck-produced card game into the digital world. Lately, card games have gotten a lot better on the PC. This game does look interesting as it incorporates Marvel Comics, geek point number one, and it sucks in the Yu-Gi-Oh! crowd with a relatively unsaturated card game. This is probably the only big release for the first week on the PC side of the equation.

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 finally makes it over to the PC after all these months spent on the 360. I used to be a big fan of the series when it first debuted on the PC. The planning that would go into this game was huge. Now it is a bit watered down, but the story keeps you sucked in. Expect a new stalwart in the way of multiplayer as the game is a lot of fun on a network. Look for this game on store shelves approximately July 17th.

Enemy Engaged 2 is a sequel to a game that was released in mid-2000 that was considered by many mags and websites to be the simulation game of the year. High praise for a girl indeed, but one has to wonder if the magic will translate this year. I played the first game when it came out and it was a fun game to play. One has to wonder if this sequel will match up to the expectations from the first game. I would wait for the reviews on this one before making a definite purchase. This one also comes out on July 17th.

Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword now sports the Games for Windows logo and is huge in regards to what it adds to gameplay. Ten new civilizations have been added, each with new skills and the like. It also adds several new maps for customized play. Another great add on pack is made by Fireaxis and will be available on July 23rd. And yes, you do need the first game to play this expansion pack.

Two Worlds comes in on the last day of the month and while it no longer allows cross platform multiplayer, it will provide an engrossing RPG experience, reminiscent of any of the Elder Scrolls games. The developers of this game have mapped just over 50 square miles of terrain. It is an open ended game, but the main quest line will take anywhere between 30-40 hours to complete. The game sports sharp graphics and insanely fast load times. One has to wonder how they were able to get the load times down to such a minimum. The multiplayer component has not been demoed much in public yet. Check this game out when it hits the shelves on July 31st.