Sims 3

Sims 3 = more crack for the masses.

One of those games where you glance at the watch and go "ok, a little more", then notice two hours later that you should already be asleep in your (real life) bed...

Horse warfare: Mount & Blade

Finally release last autumn, after a years long beta period, Horse & Blade is good game by itself in the area that it tries to cover: realistic medieval combat.

But with mods like Graphic Enchantment; which will bring you clearer, high-res textures and HDR graphics, Hundred Years War; which covers the english vs french war on continental Europe and Lords and Realms; that brings you more realistic damage, faster combat, etc improvements - the game and it's replay value reaches incredible heights.

Especialy if you consider that the game costs a whopping £7.5 pounds now (at thehut.com, for example) or is available for around ten USD as digital download.

I can also recommend the Panoramic Sky mod that allows for a much nicer looking sky (textures and a new "skybox").

MTW2: Third Age - first impressions

I never knew The Witch King had it so hard, budget wise! I'm churning out orcs and trying to build improvements so I can churn out more orcs, and I'll tell you it is hard work. I'm constantly out of money and the armies running amok around Gondor do not help. ;)

All in all, the mod looks extremely good. Aside from a few spelling mistake niggles, it's top notch quality.

Recommended.