shooters

We first got a taste of the XCOM shooter back in 2010 and even got to see it in action at E3 2011. Unfortunately, the game got delayed numerous times and eventually went dark. In fact, it got lapped by XCOM: Enemy Unknown -- its turn-based-strategy counterpart -- which turned out to be one of 2012's best titles of the year.

2K Games is ready to lift the curtain on XCOM once again, complete with a live-action trailer, a trio of screenshots, and best of all a release date. Newly titled and packaged, The Bureau: XCOM Declassified is set … Read more

Block Fortress is a great mix of tower defense and first-person shooter that lets you build a home base with turrets and other defenses, then play in first person while you help defend your blocky base. It's an incredibly deep game, but the way the developers named the game types is a bit confusing on first play.

The graphics in the game are almost exactly like those in the hit game Minecraft, with tons of different block types to unlock and use to defend your fortress. Fans of Minecraft will feel right at home during the building phase of … Read more

The App Store has tens of thousands of games - some of them incredible and industry-changing and others simply trying to capitalize on the surging interest in the iPhone and iPad devices. Smell Shooter is somewhere in between. It offers some interesting ideas, but the majority of the game is derivative of other better established brands. The actual gameplay is at times frustrating, and at best boring when played for more than a handful of minutes.

The mechanics are simple in theory but fail in execution for a number of reasons. You are supposed to aim the iPhone to move … Read more

How much do I love Cheapskate readers? So much that even when I'm a little under the weather (cough), I can't help serving up five sweet deals (sneeze) to carry you into the weekend (moan). That's love, people.

1. Storage to go Oh, flash drives, you so crazy. Crazy-cheap, that is. Today only, and while supplies last (not long, I'm guessing), Best Buy has the Kingston DataTraveler Special Edition 16GB USB 2.0 flash drive for $7.99 shipped, plus sales tax. This tiny drive includes Kingston's urDrive software, which helps manage, organize, and back … Read more

Avid gamers will recall that EA's Battlefield 1942 was one of the most popular titles...of 2002. It was the game that kicked off the entire Battlefield series, which, in the past decade, has produced some monster hits.

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, EA's Origin store is offering Battlefield 1942 (PC) free of charge. Don't worry that it appears on Origin's Demos page; it's definitely the full game.

To get it, you'll need an Origin account and the Origin download client, both free, both akin to Steam (but solely for EA games, natch). With … Read more

It might not offer the mental challenges of some games, but Bubble Shooter is a fun, even addictive game that anyone can play.

The basic objective of Bubble Shooter is simple. At the main menu of the app, you are given two main game options. The first one is the puzzle mode. In this mode, you have to complete the level by using the fewest bubbles possible. Don't worry, there are no specific time or bubble limits, but your score or evaluation can be greatly reduced as you use more bubbles. The arcade mode features larger, more general sets … Read more

Whether you're an old-school gamer or a recent fan of Valve's Steam games, don't miss the chance to play (or replay) the critically acclaimed classic first-person shooter Half-Life in its latest re-imagining for free with the total conversion mod Black Mesa (download, 4GB).

After eight years of development, the Black Mesa Modification Team has finally released a remake of the award-winning FPS Half-Life. Utilizing more than 40 developers and headed by project leader Carlos Montero, the team has reconstructed the fan favorite into a polished Source Engine version complete with new models, maps, textures, voice acting, and … Read more

You say the word "pop." A piece of popcorn comes flying directly at your mouth, as if by magic. You catch it and eat it. You are truly a god among men.

This isn't just a lazy football weekend snack fantasy. The Popinator is a project/publicity stunt from bagged popcorn maker Popcorn, Indiana. … Read more

After last year's ho-hum (but nevertheless profitable) Modern Warfare 3 release, it honestly takes a healthy dose of caffeine to get excited about Call of Duty these days. However, Crave can't deny the cool factor in these Black Ops 2 collector's editions, available for pre-order before the game arrives November 13 for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 platforms.

Developer Treyarch put together two configurations -- a Hardened Edition and a Care Package ($79 and $179, respectively) -- that should mostly satisfy the Call of Duty junkies who love to incessantly purchase every iteration of the game. … Read more