Since the dawn of time, mankind fought against something. First, it was a fight for survival, in a world where dinosaurs ruled the earth, water and sky, but as nature was slowly being brought down to its knees, man started to fight against himself. Empires started to appear and the crumble, alliances were forged and then vanished into the wind, people died without knowing what they were fighting for...and this still goes on as we speak.

Anyway, I don't want to get into a discussion about today's empires and wars - it's enough to wage a virtual war, because there won't be a single victim, except for those ours spent in front of our computers, playing Imperial Ages, the game I want to tell you about today!I know Imperial Ages may sound like something new to you, because it doesn't have years of existence left behind, but you shouldn't be afraid of the system requirements - this is not Age of Conan or Crysis, this is simply a browser-based game, so all you need is a computer connected to the Internet, capable of running a Web browser(unfortunately, you won't be able to play Imperial Ages in Links or another text browser...).

If you want to play the game, first step to take is to visit the Imperial Ages site, and create an account. Multiple accounts are not allowed, but I guess one should be enough. If you feel like having multiple personalities, you could always play some MMORPG game and create an entire gang of characters...as long as you have enough time to play with all of them! Anyway, back to our (future) empire now...

Once you are inside your account, you get to see your village. Around it, you have resources that need to be harvested - gold to the North, iron to the West, stone to the East, and wood, to the South. Each of these areas can be improved to increase production, and various buildings can be built with the same purpose(Deep Shaft and Gold Purifier in North, Iron Lore to the West, Stone Cutter in the East, and a Sawmill in the Southern region).All construction is made in real time, and so you may end up waking up in the middle of the night, just to click for a new building upgrade, but the idea is that, contrary to what happens with MMORPGs, you don't have to spend countless hours inside Imperial Ages.

Inside your village, the new building types available are the Warehouse, the Camping Ground, Consulate, Treasury, Castle and Fortress, and once you have built them, you can upgrade each of them. For example, you need a level 1 Consulate to join alliances, and a level 2 one to create your own alliance. Once you have created an alliance, the maximum number of members will be limited by the level of your Consulate, and you'll need to bring it up to level 5 to have up to 25 members in your alliance.

Oh, no, I forgot something! Anyway, if you created your account already, I am sure you noticed it - there are 4 nations available - Papal State, Hanseatic League, Mongols and Valachia, which can train and use 120 types of military units, but I won't say more.

From my point of view, things look good, and if you have a few free minutes to spare each day to build an empire, look no further - Imperial Ages is exactly what you were looking for!

When talking about photorealistic racing games, Burnout Paradise is another title in my long list of "games to play when I'm dead" (there are simply too many to enjoy in a normal life, really, so don't get me wrong with that!). Unfortunately, it's only available for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, so I guess a few gamers will run from the PC to the console again due to this title, but let's see what makes Burnout Paradise so special, shall we?

Started back in 2001, the Burnout game series was developed by Criterion Games, and published by Acclaim in first place, and later by EA Games. Formerly known as Burnout 5, Burnout Paradise was released back in January, and its open world is set in the fictional "Paradise City," while the game's title track, also featured on the in-game soundtrack is - obviously - Guns N' Roses' "Paradise City." I don't know about you, but I can't go wrong with that one in my car. Some songs are made for driving, and most of those in this game match the theme perfectly!

To race, simply drive around in Paradise City, stop at any of the 120 traffic lights to be found in the game, and then apply the accelerator and brake at the same time. Pretty easy, don't you think? As you race and earn experience, you are going to earn higher and higher licenses, moving up from the Learners Permit (E-Class), all the way up to the Criterion Elite, also known as the SSS-class.

Do I really have to tell you about the online racing mode? I guess not, because that's something you have to enjoy, not read about it!

All in all, Burnout Paradise is one more reason for those passionate racers still hanging on to their PCs to move on and get a console, and a great racing game that may soon get new paid downloadable content available, but we'll talk about that one when we know something for sure. Until then, you could also spend some time comparing what reviewers think, and create a more accurate opinion about this game, but I am sure you won't be disappointed.

Discovering Nature is not one of the hardcore gaming enterprises which we’re usually reviewing. It won’t charge an arm and a leg for you to play and doesn’t even require you spending long vicious hours on a daily basis to provide a sense of achievement. In fact Discovering Nature is the kind of game you pass on to your kids when they are young, in the hope that they’ll learn something when the day is done. Maybe the girlfriend or wife will enjoy it, and rest assured, when you have a break at the office you’ll enjoy its catchy casual scent just the same, dear reader.

Discovering Nature has been released by the independent Croatian game developer Ocean Media on October 24th, 2007. Since we’re talking about discovering nature, expect the game to have a strong educational value coming from the myriads of creatures and plants from all over the world. As the story goes, blonde Professor Jane Pinckleport needs to follow the leads and get samples needed to cure a deadly virus. Players are going to be of assistance by helping her in specific locations all over the world. Jane meets about 60 animal species to save from mortal danger by pairing and moving them to the lab. As you might have guessed by now, Discovering Nature is a puzzle game where wits gain you more points and a quick solution to reach the next level.

Each encounter faces you with the challenge of pairing up a certain number of creatures belonging to three different types. The simple drag and drop process allows you link them together according to the current level rules. This is to say, it’s ok to group three little squirrels together and take them out of harm’s way if we’re on a matching trip. But if we’re in the predator game, your advancement relies on triplets like snake – guinea pig – grass, like a food chain condition. All in all you can link as many creatures as the setup allows you to, start the chain wherever you like, and end it as shown in the screenshots.

There are even great bonuses if you manage to link every creature belonging to the current selection in the entire level. The intriguing part is that huge chains will grant you more points but won’t get you closer to the final goal. The yellow box is your trap and it can only be activated when two creatures of the same type share its bonds. Thus the Tetris-like movement of your puzzle pieces needs to clear the way for such pairing.

What starts off as a relatively easy task turns into a real challenge later on. Animals begin to get stuck in spider webs which need to be cleared by collecting and using water buckets, only to see trappers showing up and stealing your prize. It’s a real jungle out there and only the smartest assistants can survive. Should you get stuck in one of your attempts, you can reverse the latest move or even roll the dice once more at a hefty score penalty. You start off in the Amazon and quickly make your way into similar natural habitats. Professor Jane’s friends eventually show up and guide your progress as the virus gets treated in the end.

Discovering Nature is addictive and a great time killer should you need a pause from normal and slightly boring activities. Your kids can delve into a pleasant, mind stimulating, activity and learn a thing or two about ecosystems at the same time, food chains and native animals from all over the planet. There’s a demo available for you to try out and who knows, maybe you’ll even make someone happy with this present. A little bit of casual gaming never hurt anyone.