Five minutes into our multiplayer hands-on demo of Order of War, a real-time strategy published by Square Enix, and there’s not a spiky-haired hero in sight. Partnering up with Wargaming.net, an up and coming western developer focused on strategy games, is part of the Square’s grand plan to branch out from the console role-playing franchises it’s currently most famous for. ...

Incomparable game-making legend Jeff Minter popped into the office the other day to show us his latest game, Gridrunner Revolution. We like Jeff Minter. He's been making games since the early 80s. That's a long time. His games have always been different. This is a good thing given that so many games try their hardest to be exactly the same as other games. Which isn't very imaginative when you stop and think about it.

Thankfully, Jeff ...

Part hack ‘n’ slash brawler, part platformer, Fairytale Fights is an ultra bright, cutesy game with a ton of blood, gore and dismemberment (think Itchy and Scratchy or Happy Tree Friends). We recently got some hands-on time with the story mode, which can be played co-op with up to four players and supports drop-in/drop-out either online or off ...

First there was Demigod, and now we’ve got two more DotA-alikes (Defense of the Ancients) running neck-and-neck for the attention of DotA players everywhere. ...

IO's shift has to be one of the oddest in recent memory. From Hitman's brutality and Kane & Lynch's sweary language to a cel-shaded ninja jaunt? Our hero, er, Hiro, can even turn into a cute panda. If Kane and Lynch ever met a panda they'd blow it up with a bazooka...  ...

First things first: there’s a lake-load of blood in the game proper, but certainly there’s nothing to rival a limb-lopping fest like Dead Space. And, as far as sexy times go, think God of War II pre-watershed tame. ...

The term reactivity crops up a lot as we sit down to play Alpha Protocol: the rep from developer Obsidian is obsessed with the word and all it means. This is because beneath the third-person gunplay everything you do in the game affects the overall outcome, as well as how your character develops. ...

Last year's Championship Manager was a big step forward as the series makes a determined effort to reclaim its pre-Football Manager glory days. While many aspects were improved, it was still a tad cumbersome, which is why the aim this year has been to improve information flow and make it more engaging for the user. ...

The voice of Gearbox’s founder Randy Pitchford cuts through the air: “These players were coming up to the crest of a hill and this wall of flame shot up. Some dude emerged and had an Alien-style flamethrower under his arm, and I was like: ‘What the f**k’s that?’” ...