Why hello there. Fancy bumping into you here. I’m Norman, Maximum PC’s newly minted Online Editor, though you might remember me from such roles as Norm the Intern at PC Gamer magazine. Along with our esteemed Editor-In-Chief Will Smith, I’d like to welcome you to the new Maximum PC website. We’ve been working on the website re-launch for the past few months, and we’re thrilled to finally be able to share it with you.

But before you jump in, I want to take this opportunity to spotlight some of the fancy new features of the site, including a few that you’ve been requesting for a long time. Read on for more!

As much as we would love for our computers to work perfectly, the fact is that PCs and gadgets are complex devices that often fall short of exactly what we want. When confronted with this fact, we’re reminded of the old saw that says if you want something done right, it’s best to do it yourself. And who are we to doubt that kind of wisdom? As power users, we’re not content with hardware the way it comes out of the box; we have an insatiable need to hack our electronics in ways that will improve performance, functionality, and ease of use. And there’s no doubt about it, modifying your hardware will increase your productivity and make your life that much simpler.

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The death-defying urban acrobatics of free running—seen recently on the big screen in the Casino Royale remake, The Bourne Ultimatum, and Live Free or Die Hard—are replicated to great effect in Assassin’s Creed, an action-adventure console port that puts you in the nimble shoes of a 12th-century assassin. Light feet and tremendous upper-body strength, rather than overwhelming firepower, are your greatest assets as you scale walls and barrel across rooftops in one of the most refreshing games we’ve played.

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With the price of oil surpassing $100 a barrel, the apocalypse imagined in Frontlines: Fuel of War may not be so far away. In this vision of the future, the world’s remaining superpowers—split between two factions—clash in a winner-take-all war for Earth’s last oil reserves. Lucky for us, this makes a great backdrop for some intense multiplayer skirmishes.

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4X (explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate) strategy games rarely gain widespread popularity. They’re like the mathletes club in high school—a haven for only the most hardcore of geeks. Sins of a Solar Empire vitalizes the genre by automating most of the micromanagement and replacing monotonous turn-based drudgery with faster-paced real-time gameplay.

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Since the last Unreal Tournament game was released four years ago, no worthy contender has managed to dethrone the now-classic shooter as the best game for online deathmatches. With the much-delayed Unreal Tournament 3, we get the uneasy feeling that Epic Games has grown a bit complacent with its multiplayer crown. The game’s brand-new graphics engine and glut of maps mask some very familiar weapons and gameplay mechanics. And while we appreciate that the developers haven’t broken from a proven design formula, we’re disappointed by the lack of innovation in this long-awaited sequel.

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Nothing flexes our imagination like alternate history scenarios, and World in Conflict delivers one that has us on the edge of our seat. It’s the late 1980s, and the Cold War is far from over. The commies have already made a push to invade Western Europe, and in a desperate move, have decided to mount a sneak attack on American shores. It’s your mission to contain the Soviet invasion and retake Seattle before the invaders paint the country red.

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When we think of Quake games, we think of fast-paced deathmatches in their purest no-nonsense form. In Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, the latest iteration of the shooter franchise, that visceral run-and-gun experience still makes up the foundation of gameplay, but the integration of deep teamplay tactics and mission objectives makes this a whole new multiplayer animal. The meld of cooperative squadplay and frenzied firefighting makes for compelling matches, but both deathmatch and tactical purists may find themselves in slightly unfamiliar territory.

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Dear Mom and Dad,

I signed on with the 82nd Airborne because it promised that its new approach to fighting the war would be the best way to serve my country in this terrible crisis. It’s been a tough three years over here in Europe, but the Airborne has proved that it can take the good fight for freedom to new heights. Over the last six operations in my tour, I’ve really done my part to stop Jerry!

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“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” Grin, the developer of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, took this adage to heart after the original GRAW’s abysmally poor squad AI and mediocre missions failed to woo PC gamers. Thankfully, the developer’s efforts are clearly noticeable in the sequel, which impresses with both its improved AI pathfinding and new tactically sound team controls.

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As devoted PC gamers, we’re usually not very prone to console envy, but there are a few reasons to be jealous of our closed-platform counterparts. Chief among them are the exclusives games that Microsoft and Sony hook up with their fanboys. Gears of War made its debut a year ago to widespread acclaim, and we finally have the PC version of Epic’s gritty masterpiece. Five exclusive new single-player levels, new multiplayer maps, and high resolution visuals help the game stand the test of time and make the PC port the definitive version.

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Just call it the anti-Crysis. If Crytek’s immersive next-gen messiah is suppose to usher in a revolutionary era of open-ended shooters, Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty 4 shows us why linear missions and wholly scripted gameplay aren’t ready to be replaced yet. The shift in this series’ setting to modern day brings more high-tension gunplay and explosive ambiance than any game in recent memory. From furious firefights in Arab towns to nail-biting infiltration missions under the dark of Russian night, we were absorbed in more grandiose military heroics than any Michael Bay blockbuster. And since the game’s goal is to take you along for an unabashed joy ride, that’s actually a good thing.

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If you’ve ever had that dream where all the awesome things you love are in one place, but everything is a little hazy and it all ends too soon when you wake up, you’ll have a good idea what playing Lost Planet is like. This ported Xbox 360 game is packed to the brim with enough giant insects, killer worms, armored mechs, and glorious explosions to enthrall any science-fiction geek. Its only major shortcoming is that all of this awesomeness is crammed into a package that’s all too brief—we completed the fantastic single-player campaign in just over six hours.

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We were skeptical when Microsoft announced that Shadowrun would be the first game to support full cross-platform multiplay between PCs and Xbox 360s. Being staunch advocates of the keyboard and mouse in first-person shooters, we were worried that the developers at FASA would dumb down Shadowrun to even the playing field for our gamepad-wielding counterparts. Luckily, after several weeks of playing the game, we can report that it is not only fair and balanced for all players but also a truly innovative multiplayer experience that’s loads of fun.

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