Puzzle games and 3-hour adventure games are fun enough while you wait for a friend to show up, but if you want to sit down on your next month of subway rides with a nice, long RPG, Gamevil’s Zenonia 3: The Midguard Story has you covered on your iPhone or Android phone.

Way back in the early days of 2007, there was a PlayStation 3 game that showed great promise, showing effectively what the system was built for and what the future held in store. That game was MotorStorm, an arcade racer that was a bit Twisted Metal, a tiny amount of Road Rash, and some Colin McRae Racing thrown in. MotorStorm was a dirt-drenched, mud-soaked racer built around high speed, sharp turns, and car combat. In essence, it was a fun racer that introduced the power of the PlayStation 3 to the world and provided a good time too.

Some games just aren’t long enough for their own reviews, but are still important enough to deserve some attention. With that in mind we present the first of our Indy Shorts reviews. This week I turn my attention to two recently released titles on Steam: Terraria and Universe Sandbox.

Terraria:

Galaga is a game that gives a smile to anyone who grew up visiting arcades, but unfortunately Galaga 30th Collection for the iPhone isn’t diverse enough in gameplay from game to game to warrant the cost, especially with the sometimes frustrating control scheme.

What does it take for a game to stick in a player's memory? For RPGs, it could be the writing of story and characters. For an action game, it might be the flexibility of movement and fluidity of combat. For a shooter, the graphics could be the centerpiece. For Hunted: The Demon Forge, it's none of the above. Perhaps that's why every time I exit the game, I remember little of what I just played through, and the only feeling that does remain is a compulsion to uninstall it.

Ed Note: This review contains spoilers for the first inFAMOUS.

One month after the events of the first game, inFAMOUS 2 puts you back in Cole’s shoes as he seeks to become stronger, leaving you to decide whether he saves the world or destroys it.

If you play The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, you will die…a lot.

As Fable 2 skipped an appearance on PC, the last time I was thrust into the world of Albion was many years ago. I remember it as quant little "My first RPG", a sort of primer for kids that introduced them to basic concepts of leveling up, action-RPG combat, and the hero archetype including quests and a morality scale. It was shallow as all hell, but so unassuming that you had to appreciate the cuteness of it, even as you looked forward to much better RPGs on the horizon.

After playing around with it for a while I’ve come to the conclusion that whoever the target audience is for Fate of the World, I’m sure not one of them.  The sequel to BBC Climate Challenge, Fate of the World is essentially a global climate change simulator.  Though what it feels like is a video game version of a board game designed by Al Gore.

"A city on the verge of greatness. A new type of city, based not on the man but on the automobile....Where every man can own his own home, and have room to breathe and not be overlooked by his neighbors....The city of dreams where Hollywood will shape the thoughts and desires of the entire planet....A city of undercurrents, where not everything is as it seems." -L.A. Noire, Opening Narration