The most recent Software Reviews from Computeractive

Anno 1404

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 09:00:00 GMT

Jonathan Parkyn, Computeractive, Saturday 4 July 2009 at 09:00:00

A strategy game full of eastern promise

Many historical strategy games take the historical part extremely seriously, trying their hardest to maintain a high level of accuracy at all times – occasionally to the detriment of the...

Berlitz Mandarin and Japanese Premier

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:22:00 GMT

Tom Royal, Computeractive, Tuesday 30 June 2009 at 17:22:00

Learn a new language - or two

Learning a language can be rewarding, but it also tends to be expensive. Even if you don’t fork out for a tutor, the textbooks and software on offer are often...

Anno: Create a New World Nintendo DS game

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 10:00:00 GMT

Tom Royal, Computeractive, Saturday 27 June 2009 at 10:00:00

Create a colonial empire in this pocket strategy game

The Nintendo DS's touch screen is ideal for strategy games and, in particular, 'God games' in which the player uses a bird's-eye view to build a miniature civilisation....

Fuel game

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 16:15:00 GMT

Jonathan Parkyn, Computeractive, Sunday 21 June 2009 at 16:15:00

Let’s off-road

The idea of an open-world racer is not a new one. Several recent games, including the excellent Burnout Paradise, have offered similar worlds with no set routes, in which players...

Plants vs Zombies

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 16:15:00 GMT

Anthony Dhanendran, Computeractive, Saturday 20 June 2009 at 16:15:00

Good games don’t have to be complex

Plants vs Zombies is a ‘casual game’ that bucks the trend towards ever-more-complex games with harder-to-fathom controls, featuring incredibly simple gameplay and lots of fun....

Myfax online fax service

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:00:00 GMT

Paul Lester, Computeractive, Friday 19 June 2009 at 16:00:00

Send and receive faxes from an email account

Despite being overtaken by faster, more efficient and more environmentally friendly methods, fax machines still exist in some homes and offices....

Avanquest Will Maker Deluxe 2009

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:00:00 GMT

Cliff Joseph, Computeractive, Friday 19 June 2009 at 16:00:00

Create a will without resorting to a solicitor

It’s important to have a will but people are often deterred from making one by the cost of hiring a solicitor....

Vufone online storage service

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:02:00 GMT

Laurence Gunn, Computeractive, Thursday 18 June 2009 at 16:02:00

Synchronise your phone and your computer automatically

Mobile phones may not quite be disposable yet, but they do have to be replaced now and again. Vufone, which promises to store and synchronise your phone data online, therefore...

The Sims 3

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:07:00 GMT

Jonathan Parkyn, Computeractive, Friday 12 June 2009 at 16:07:00

Simple, silly and seriously addictive – it’s Sims time again

With more than 100 million copies sold worldwide, The Sims is by some way the best-selling computer game series of all time....

Prototype

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 11:42:00 GMT

Harry Burrows, Computeractive, Friday 12 June 2009 at 11:42:00

Your chance to save New York from disaster

Prototype is set in New York during the outbreak of a mysterious virus. As a ‘sandbox’ game without a fixed structure to follow, players are given freedom to throw themselves,...

Apple iWork '09

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 10:41:00 GMT

Cliff Joseph, Computeractive, Friday 12 June 2009 at 10:41:00

Apple manages to make spreadsheets interesting

Apple is well-known for the stylish design of its Mac computers, but it also brings a strong visual flair to its software....

The Path (PC game)

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:38:00 GMT

Jonathan Parkyn, Computeractive, Monday 1 June 2009 at 17:38:00

This unusual indie game will take you off the beaten track

Can computer games be art? It’s a question that has cropped up again and again ever since games were first invented....

Cyberlink PowerDVD 9 Ultra

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:37:00 GMT

Anthony Dhanendran, Computeractive, Monday 1 June 2009 at 17:37:00

Play Blu-ray discs on your computer

While all modern computers can play both DVD and Blu-ray movies, given a suitable disc drive, it’s necessary to have some software to make it work....

Battlestations Pacific

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:36:00 GMT

Jonathan Parkyn, Computeractive, Monday 1 June 2009 at 17:36:00

Take to the skies – or the high seas – in this WWII combat sim

Battlestations Pacific is a sequel (of sorts) to 2007’s Battlestations Midway and continues its forerunner’s fusion of strategy and action, both in the air and on the water....

Bionic Commando Xbox 360/PS3/PC game

Sat, 23 May 2009 10:45:00 GMT

Harry Burrows, Computeractive, Saturday 23 May 2009 at 10:45:00

Get into the swing

Bionic Commando is a franchise that wears its heart on its sleeve, or up it, in the form of a clever bionic arm attached to a soldier....

Apple iLife ‘09

Wed, 20 May 2009 16:56:00 GMT

Cliff Joseph, Computeractive, Wednesday 20 May 2009 at 16:56:00

A strong upgrade for Apple’s ‘digital lifestyle’ software

Apple is getting ready for the launch of ‘Snow Leopard’, the latest big update to its OS X operating system (the Mac alternative to Microsoft Windows), but it has also...

Sunbelt Vipre

Wed, 20 May 2009 14:30:00 GMT

Cliff Joseph, Computeractive, Wednesday 20 May 2009 at 14:30:00

An affordable anti-virus that won't slow down your PC

To fully protect your PC, anti-virus programs need to run all the time no matter what the computer is doing, but leaving a program running constantly can slow the computer...

Zonealarm Extreme Security

Fri, 15 May 2009 16:46:00 GMT

Paul Lester, Computeractive, Friday 15 May 2009 at 16:46:00

Zonealarm gets in on the ‘enhanced-security’ game

There's an increasing demand for ‘all-in-one’ security programs that combine clean-up and backup tools with standard anti-virus protection and security firm Checkpoint – known for the Zonealarm firewall software –...

Braid

Wed, 13 May 2009 17:03:00 GMT

Anthony Dhanendran, Computeractive, Wednesday 13 May 2009 at 17:03:00

Take a trip back in time with this retro-referencing indie game

Braid first appeared on Microsoft's online store for the Xbox 360 last year, before making its way to PCs. You won't find a physical CD version on the shelves of...

Velvet Assassin

Wed, 13 May 2009 16:56:00 GMT

Jonathan Parkyn, Computeractive, Wednesday 13 May 2009 at 16:56:00

A slinky spin on Second World War shooting games

Anyone with an interest in war history may be acquainted with the name of Violette Szabo, a female British secret agent who was captured and executed by the Nazis just...

Corel Painter 11

Wed, 13 May 2009 13:18:00 GMT

Simon Williams, Computeractive, Wednesday 13 May 2009 at 13:18:00

As close as it gets to painting on screen

Corel’s Painter has for some years been the best-known computer painting program, which means that it’s designed for creating original artwork rather than touching up digital photographs....

Avanquest Transfer My Video

Tue, 12 May 2009 14:44:00 GMT

Paul Lester, Computeractive, Tuesday 12 May 2009 at 14:44:00

Convert video for playback on portable devices

There are plenty of devices that can play both music and video files, but while music is easy to copy to a portable player, video files usually need to be...

G Data Totalcare 2009

Tue, 12 May 2009 14:44:00 GMT

Cliff Joseph, Computeractive, Tuesday 12 May 2009 at 14:44:00

A comprehensive online security suite

Computer users are spoilt for choice these days when it comes to choosing a collection of security software that can protect their computers from viruses and other online threats....

Xara Web Designer

Mon, 11 May 2009 17:57:00 GMT

Simon Williams, Computeractive, Monday 11 May 2009 at 17:57:00

Create a simple website with a minimum of effort

Xara is a name from the graphics software business, so as you might expect, although it’s a web page editor, Web Designer’s strong suit is in graphics and page layout....

Autosave Encrypt

Wed, 06 May 2009 16:34:00 GMT

Paul Lester, Computeractive, Wednesday 6 May 2009 at 16:34:00

Make sure your sensitive data is safe from prying eyes

What with the amount of important information about ourselves we keep on our computers, it’s worth considering protection so that should it be lost or stolen the thief can’t access...