The games of April 2013

April  23 (Cont'd)

Dead Island Riptide

Platform: PS3, Xbox 360, PC
EU: April 26

Think you've had the vacation from hell? Try washing up on Palanai, the new tropical setting for this Dead Island sequel. Picking up after the events of the first Dead Island, Riptide finds the original characters pulled back to the Banoi archipelago and forced to contend with new horrors and undead nightmares.

This time around, Techland promises a more refined zombie-killing experience. This includes upgrades to the game's physics and countless tweaks to its combat, visuals, and overall performance. New horde mode scenarios have also been jammed into the mix to further make Riptide feel like a standalone Dead Island entry, rather than a beefy expansion. Brush up on your Banoi zombie lore in .

Don't Starve

Platform: PC

Aside from being great life advice, Don't Starve is also the name of Klei Entertainment's (Eets, Mark of the Ninja) latest offering for PC adventurers. In it, players will assume the role of Wilson, an “intrepid gentleman scientist” who is tricked by a demon into entering a savage land full of strange monsters and dark characters. Here, Wilson will have to utilize everything he can find, grow, make, or kill to survive his new environment while also searching for a route back home.

Don't Starve has already been in beta for some time, where its received a ton of updates and add-ons. Look for it to finally release in its completed form this month.

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen

Platform: PS3, Xbox 360
EU: April 26

Relive Capcom's fantasy actioner in this extended edition of 2012's Dragon's Dogma. Dark Arisen is slated to ship with the original game and a whole new chapter taking place on Bitterblack Island. Here, players can explore a mysterious new land teeming with never-before-seen enemies, treasures, augments, and loads of useful gear.

Already own Dragon's Dogma? No sweat. Capcom is sweetening the deal by offering the entirety of the Gransys Armour Pack, unlimited Ferrystones, and 100,000 Rift Crystals for free to owners the original. Read our Dragon's Dogma review to see why the world of Dragon's Dogma is worth a return visit.

Star Trek: The Video Game

Platform: PS3, Xbox 360
EU: April 26

Boldly go where no Star Trek game has gone before in this action-adventure based on the rebooted film franchise. Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto reprise their roles as the new Captain Kirk and Spock in a standalone story that sees the enterprising duo fighting the Gorn alien race after Vulcan scientists tear a hole in space during an attempting to rebuild their homeworld. Silly Vulcans, won't you ever learn?

The game will emphasize co-op gameplay, with both Spock and Kirk employing different combat styles. Spock will employ stealthier techniques and his patented Vulcan mind meld and nerve pinch, which Kirk will play his typical "blast first, ask questions later" role. Other characters from the J.J. Abrams-led franchise will also be showing up, and the story will tie into the movie sequel, Star Trek: Into Darkness. Set your phasers to “cautiously optimistic” in our Star Trek: The Video Game preview - Set to stun?

April  30

Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut

Platform: PS3
EU: Out now

Things are about to get a whole lot weirder in Greenvale with the re-release of Access Games' psychological horror game. Newly arriving on the PS3, Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut will give fans off the offbeat title a whole new storyline from creator Hidetaka "Swery” Suehiro; as well as updated graphics, better controls, and a litany of minor (yet noticeable) improvements.

For the uninitiated, Deadly Premonitions tells the tale of FBI Special Agent Francis York Morgan who arrives in Greenvale to investigate a murder and winds up embroiled in a conspiracy of mind-bending proportions. The original indie title flew largely under the public radar, but was later elevated to cult status after mainstream fans caught on to its open-world innovations, oddball storytelling, and ability to creep players out at every turn. Learn what's in store for the enhanced version in Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut preview and why you may go mental for it in Love GTA, Heavy Rain, and Resident Evil? Well Deadly Premonition is better than all of them. Here's why.

Soul Sacrifice

Platform: PS Vita
EU: May 1

Hunt monsters, wield magic, and swap body parts for abilities in this fantasy action game from Marvelous AQL and SCE Japan Studio. Created by rockstar designer Keiji Inafune, Soul Sacrifice will let players adopt a sorcerer persona and dive in the chapters of a demonic book to relive epic battles between their character and some of their greatest fiends. Players can upgrade their abilities by trading parts of their bodies, with the drawback being that... well ...they'll be trading parts of their bodies.

The first big game for Sony's handheld in some time, Soul Sacrifice will also make use of the PS Vita's multiplayer functionality, letting sorcerers group up in gangs of four and sacrifice members to take down tough enemies. Because that's what friends do. Right?

Zombie Tycoon 2: Brainhov's Revenge

Platform: PS3, PS Vita

Wage war against the undead in this rotting RTS for PS3 and PS Vita. A sequel to Frima Studio's Playstation Mini, Zombie Tycoon 2: Brainhov's Revenge will be a meatier horde-lording experience, complete with larger armies, new boss monsters, added abilities, and more ways in which to reign zombie hell onto opponents. The single player mode will consist of objective-based missions, whereas multiplayer will see players picking sides between Orville Tycoon and his demented mentor Professor Brainhov. In both cases, players will need to lurch their zombie armies forward onto to victory by taking over key buildings and protecting their mobile zombie lab.

Zombie Tycoon 2 will be a "Cross Buy, Cross Play" title, meaning owners will need only pay one price to enjoy the game on either their PS3 or PS Vita handheld.