Recently I bought the nifty little arcade title, From Dust. A god-game come puzzle title, Ubisoft and Eric Chahi have produced a finely crafted and enjoyable game that has you lead a group of nomadic peoples through different scenarios by moving from different "totems", which allow you to construct both villages and utilise special abilities that prevent natural disasters (such as tsunamis and volcanic eruptions) from killing your otherwise helpless followers, until you reach the end of each level. Upon writing this blog I find myself about 2/3 of the way through the main campaign, and although there isn't much in the way of a storyline it seems like a thoroughly engaging and enjoyable 1200msp spent.

Other than my escapades in From Dust, I also recently acquired Dragon Age 2. I know it has come under considerable criticism from lovers of Origins, but I did really enjoy the demo and after just starting the campaign, I am enjoying it as much as I thought. I was never a huge fan of the original Dragon Age myself though, it seemed contrived in what was clearly a PC-oriented game. I found the radial menus and hotkeys a bit cumbersome - but it was enjoyable nontetheless. The combat in the second outing from BioWare seems a lot smoother, action-based and generally pleasing to watch. Here's hoping that the rest of the game can live up to the love I seem to be giving it.

Deus Ex is also on the horizon, both in terms of the actual release date and also on my "to buy" radar. I've watched a great many gameplay vids from both E3 and otherwise, and I can officially say that I am suitably impressed. I didn't really play either of the first two games (in fact I only ever got round to playing Invisible War about 3/4 months ago) but the choice between social, stealth and all-out warfare to meet your objectives seems like an interesting concept and one I would love to try out. Clearly if the game doesn't live up to the hype, it will be one of the biggest let downs of 2011.