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

If you are a PC gamer and are looking to get all the games that are hot for the month of October, get ready to get a second mortgage or a second job, because there are an insane amount of great games coming out this month. It is the obvious start to the publishers winter season where dozens upon dozens of games come out in a three month span, with rarely enough shelf space for all of them. Inevitably, some will be forgotten on the shelves, which is unfortunate, because all of these games in this column look fantastic and should offer the PC gamer a ton of play value.

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars – Taking the original concept that started with Return to Castle Wolfenstein Enemy Territory, the property has now spread to the Quake franchise and has been turned into a tactical online shooter. The game focuses on the fight between the Strogg and the Humans in their battle to eliminate one or the other from the universe. Players are given objectives that will change as they are completed across the battlefield. The graphics in this one look solid, and the little time I have spent with the beta just shows the amount of detail and time that went into this game. One might look at it as another Quake game, but it is a good game. Look for it on October 2nd.

Race 07 – The WTCC Game – While you may not know of SimBin, you should be aware of the great Touring games that the company releases on a regular basis. The SimBin games are all about immersion and Race 07 gets all of this right. There are 32 tracks to race through, while racing through different car classes as well. It offers a great simulated driving experience that has a great feel to it. You never feel like you are gliding or floating. About the only downside to this is that after last year’s release, you would hope for a bit more, but what is here is more than A grade material. Look for it Oct. 2nd.

Spider-Man: Friend or Foe – This new entry in the Spider-Man universe takes a sort of Lego Star Wars route with the characters. It is a little more fun and geared for everyone from 5-80 and is meant to be picked up and played with relative ease. Many of the characters from the movies and the comic books will show up like Nick Fury, Green Goblin and Venom to name a few. The game also features two characters to play in every mission so someone else can jump in and play or one person can switch between the two characters on the fly. The game will feel a little like it is geared to a general audience, but it could be a sleeper hit like the Lego games. Look for it Oct. 2nd.

Sega Rally Revo – Rally racing has been a niche marketplace on the PC with a few rally games returning every year. Sega is bringing their Rally entry to the PC and it has some new features that could change Rally games in the future. The big change in this title is terrain deformities, meaning that the track remembers every groove and tire track that is made each lap, which in turn will make each lap drive differently. This looks like a great feature and just adds to what looks like a great title. The specs could be a concern depending on the optimization however, so you may want to look for a demo first if you are borderline. Look for it Oct. 9th.

FIFA 08 – The latest entry in EA’s long line of soccer games (or football if you are outside of the states), incorporates updated rosters, a spruced up graphics engine, and a refined trick system. The graphics do look a lot better over last year’s effort and it seems to have a smoother play engine this time around. The real issue is whether you go with the authentic rosters for the major leagues that are in FIFA or the more pure football experience in Pro Evolution Soccer. Look for it Oct. 9th.

Half-Life 2: The Orange Box – After a long delay, Half Life 2 : Episode 2 comes to the PC in the form of the Orange Box, which is kind of a mega collection of Half Life 2 games. The Orange Box comes with Half Life 2, Half Life 2: Episode 1, Team Fortress 2, Portal and the aforementioned Half Life 2: Episode 2. While all the games are sold separately, you can buy them individually on Steam instead of in this package if you already own some of the other games. Team Fortress 2 looks to be a great game and should fuel some new life into online gaming, while people have been chomping at the bit to get the next bit of info on the Half Life story. The only real downside is that it will probably be cheaper to get the Orange Box than trying to buy just the new titles separately. Coming on Oct. 9th.

Fury – For those that hate level grinding and gathering, Auran Games gives you Fury which is basically all about kicking ass and taking names. You can play as much or as little as you want, but the level grind is not there. There is leveling, but it does not take weeks to get to another level. The more you fight, the quicker you will get there. You can get fairly high in levels in a day or so of work. And the fact that there is a free and a paid membership option should help get people into the game. Look for it Oct. 16th.

Tabula Rasa – The newest entry from NCSoft is another MMORPG. But this one is a little different as it comes from one of the founding fathers of the MMORPG genre in Richard Garriott. Tabula Rasa is changing some of the characterizations of the MMORPG genre, but not making you choose a class right off the bat. You just play through the first few levels before picking a class. It is also a gorgeous looking game. The visuals are stunning when you consider it is an online only game. But I have not seen the subscription costs and there is still the fact of serious competition in this arena, but it still looks good enough to try out for a free month.

Clive Barker: Jericho – For those that like a little of the supernatural mixed in with their gaming. Jericho should provide PC gamers some serious thrills as it presents an action strategy thriller. Your team (the game is squad based), needs ot fight an evil nemesis through several time zones. The game would normally be considered a standard fare FPS, except that it is squad based and that all of your squad has paranormal abilities. One can conjuer ammo out of the very fabric of reality, where one can control the flight of ammo in mid-air. This title has been flying under the radar, but it should be an interesting title if it plays out as well as it looks on paper. Look for it on Oct. 23rd.

Hellgate: London – From the minds of the development team behind Diablo, we are given Hellgate:London. The game takes place in the future where gates to Hell have been opening up around London and you and your group of ragtag adventurers need to close the gates and stem the tide of evil. The game offers fast gameplay, although not as fast as it was in Diablo. It also offers a solid multiplayer core that comes in a free package or a subscription fee service that give the player some extra options. The graphics have improved over the last few months and for those looking for a solid action/rpg should look no further. Releases on Oct. 31st.

Universe at War: Earth Assault – There is nothing better than beating up aliens, and Universe at War offers tons of alien destruction goodness. The game is an RTS game that focuses on the combat aspect of the RTS genre. The difference in this game vs. others of its time is the fact that there are three different alien races that are fighting each other as well as the humans. The game takes place in 2012, which was used to link it to the ending of the Mayan calendar. This gives the game a sense of doom, and puts the humans in a win or die mode. The game is coming on the heels of World In Conflict which offers a similar style of fast and furious RTS gameplay so will it be able to compete in that marketplace is a big question. Coming Oct. 30th.

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock – While this series has been going strong on the consoles, it has finally come to the PC side of the fence for both Windows and Mac users. There is a controller that is offered for the PC players, or you can use the 360 controller that came with Guitar Hero 2 if you own it already. One of the reasons that this game is very intriguing on the PC side of the fence is how downloadable content will be issued as well as what happens to user contributed content. Frets on Fire was a huge hit on the PC because of all the user generated songs, so one has to wonder if this will continue in the PC version of Guitar Hero III. If it does, it could have a decent showing on the PC. If you have to pay for any of the content, people will stay away or go to the console versions. Coming Oct. 29th.

So there you have it, a crowded month of great PC releases. And trust me, it just gets crazier next month with another slew of PC gamers. I really wish that companies would start to stagger releases, but it has fallen upon deaf ears so far. Have fun, and make sure to tape up the piggy bank after you break it.