Pirates walk with the dead

COMING only weeks after we bemoaned a lack of pirate games, tomorrow sees the release of Port Royale 3 (12+, PC, PS3, Xbox360, £34.99).

The single player campaign consists of two different paths for the young protagonist to follow: adventurer and trader. Don’t be fooled though, this is no narrative-led rpg but an economic simulation game. This means that the majority of your play will be taken up with tactics and trading in the 17th century Caribbean. There will be plenty to do, but it might not be terribly exciting.

Conversely, tower defence games are ten-a-penny these days but Shad’O (N/A, PC, £9.99) emerged on Steam this week and has definitely brought excitement back to the genre. Nine-year-old William is lost in his own mind, and you must use light to fight terrifying shadow creatures and drive the ‘fog of forgetfulness’ away. The procedural fog is gorgeously animated, and along with boss battles provides an addictive and stern test.

Sony have been taking stick from European gamers this week for dragging their heels over localising two hotly anticipated titles. Both Counter Strike: Global Offensive and Walking Dead Episode 3 have been released on the American PlayStation store but the European PS3 owners are left waiting while both have been released on other platforms. Multiplayer first person shooter Counter Strike: Global Offensive (18+, PC, Mac, Xbox360, PS3, £11.99) is a team game based on counter terrorism. High octane stuff, but be warned: the Counter Strike games have a loyal fanbase that have been playing it for 12 years, so expect tough opposition online.

The Walking Dead Episode 3: Long Road Ahead (18+, PC, Mac, iOS, Xbox360, PS3, £3.99 or subscription) takes this phenomenal reinvention of the point-and-click genre to a new level of immersion. The story is paced brilliantly. Episode 3 sees convicted felon Lee face even harder moral quandaries as the world goes to pieces around him. By the time this story concludes in episode 5, expect The Walking Dead to be listed among the game of the year awards.

Finally, Scottish company Two Monocle Games have released Cult Leader (N/A, Facebook, free), a hilarious satirical strategy game in which you have power over an ever increasing number of brainwashed followers. The game reflects current affairs such as the Olympics, and is at open beta stage, so give them feedback via their facebook page.

Sign up for Edinburgh’s charity gaming marathon at www.sickkidssavepoint.org