New Year Bundle Games

Nuclear Dawn
Metacritic Score: 71 | Metacritic User Score: 8.0 | GameRankings Score: 69.69%
Nuclear Dawn is an interesting mix of real-time strategy and first-person shooter.  You take control of a soldier in, as you might expect, a post-apocalyptic post-nuclear war world.  Instead of being an 'on-rails' FPS like many big-name titles are accused of nowadays, Nuclear Dawn instead takes a strategic approach, making you think about your weaponry and ally units, and how to use everyone's strengths to your advantage.  It get relatively mixed reviews by critics, but the general crowd seemed to think more positively about it, so it is a game probably based on taste.

Max & The Magic Marker
Metacritic Score: 71 |  Metacritic User Score: N/A | GameRankings Score: N/A
In Max & The Magic Marker, our hero Max decides to draw some pictures with a marker he has found... and his pictures then come to life!  Unfortunately, the monster Max has drawn is wrecking havoc, and it's up to him with his newfound power to stop the menace.  This is a platforming title, with the twist of being able to draw platforms and other objects with your marker, sort of like Drawn to Life, but... better implemented and more limited in what you can draw.  While this has been released on a bunch of consoles already, it's likely best to play with the accuracy of a mouse.

Fractal
Metacritic Score: N/A | Metacritic User Score: N/A | GameRankings Score: 77.50%
Fractal is a musical/puzzler hybrid, with an slick and clean artstyle.  The game itself looks a bit like Hexic, but don't mistake it for a clone, because it plays very differently.  The goal is to turn pieces on the board into same-colored 'blooms' (which usually consists of one piece in the middle with pieces surrounding it on all sides, though you can add pieces too) by pushing your own pieces onto the board.  This leads into a strategic aspect, as you push pieces in and out of the board, and then power-ups are thrown in to complicate matters.  It certainly seems to be an interesting puzzle game, and the music reacts in nice ways to the way you play.

Super Crossfire
Metacritic Score: N/A | Metacritic User Score: N/A | GameRankings Score: N/A
Super Crossfire is Indie Royale's exclusive game for the New Year Bundle:  The game was only released on iOS before this point, so owning the game on PC, Mac, or Desura is a good temptation to buy the bundle.  Super Crossfire is a shooter with a cool twist; you can change your ship from the bottom to the top of the screen at any time, and vice versa.  This gives you an interesting perspective in the game, and allows to you tackle enemies in a whole new way.  You can also upgrade your ship to help survive the five-chapter long story with new weaponry and better ship specs.  It seems like a meaty game, and might possibly be the New Year Bundle's star of the show.