Music is great for dancing to, but did you know that it's also makes the perfect accompaniment to chopping wood, playing tennis and making sandwiches? Install Jaybot's Catchy Cadence on your device and you'll find out why.

Catchy Cadence is a free game where you must test your rhythmic abilities by tapping the screen to the beat of a song. It includes more than a dozen games each with its own song and unique storyline and graphics.

What I loved about Catchy Cadence is the sheer diversity of the gameplay. One minute you find yourself hopping on pipes as a robot in a futuristic world to techno music, while the next you're entering a latin dancing competition in a Simple Simon-style beat-matching game. The graphics in Catchy Cadence are colorful and well rendered and all the scenarios are wonderfully presented.

In terms of the music, Catchy Cadence doesn't contain any licensed tracks, so you won't recognize any of the tunes. Nevertheless, the original songs are very catchy and you'll find yourself humming many of them for some time after you've finished playing.

The control system is ultra-simple and you just need to tap the screen in the right place at the right time. Mastering the games in Catchy Cadence is not so straightforward though, as they move at a very fast pace most of the time. Because you can't progress to the next game until you've completed the previous game, this can become frustrating.

Although there's no two-player mode to speak of, Catchy Cadence still has enough to keep you coming back for more, and the novel Extras menu, where you can unlock songs and other goodies provides a good incentive to stay glued to your screen.

If you're a fan of games like Guitar Hero, Rockband or Frets on Fire, then you'll love playing Jaybot's Catchy Cadence.

Download Catchy Cadence 1.0 in Softonic

If you've ever played the guitar classic Guitar Hero then you'll see immediately that this game is a tame imitation both in name, graphics and just about everything else.

The game employs the same scoring meters and song listings right down to the font and layout. At the moment, the game only supports a guitar controller so you'll need a PS2 to USB adapter to play it which is a major downside for most people for a start. It's also very similar to Frets on Fire but the music is nowhere near as good or original. That said, despite the distinct lack of originality, this is one of the few Guitar Hero style games available on PC and has a definite appeal for those that have never played Guitar Hero or Frets on Fire. For those users, the game will seem like a revelation and once you've got your USB adaptor, you should have hours of fun on it.

For prospective Van Halens or those that really love to rock out but can't play the guitar, this is a great if heavily copied Guitar Game.

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The game presents the hard battle between the forces of evil and a powerful hero – the character we control. This time it's not just Dante (the original protagonist), but two people instead: the aforementioned Dante and also Nero, who appears in this demo and has nothing to do with the CD burning tool.

The game's objectives involve completing several missions, gathering objects and of course, killing all the evil creatures you'll find on your way to the final boss. And the best part in the game is precisely these fights against demons, monsters and other strange living beings. Being a hack and slash adventure, Devil May Cry 4 focuses on close combats and enables you to perform extraordinary movements and incredible combos with your sword and a new powerful weapon, the Devil Bringer. Plus, battles feature a hard-beating background music that reminds me of the Blade original soundtrack and which only make them more exciting.

The graphics in Devil May Cry are impressive. I tested the game on a Vista machine with DirectX 10, and I can tell the game makes the most of the computer's resources, rendering beautiful landscapes, realistic light effects and smooth movements.

On the downside we find game's controls. You can really tell this game was originally developed for consoles, because it's really hard to control it with a keyboard. If you have a gamepad you can plug into your PC, I'd recommend using it even if it's only to test the demo.

Devil May Cry 4 presents us with a new episode in the war between Nero and Dante against the forces of evil. Great graphics and brilliant battles make of this game a worthy action adventure, despite its difficult keyboard controls.

Download Devil May Cry 4 Trial Edition in Softonic

The Sam and Max series is one of the most entertaining game series out there and this latest installment featuring Father Christmas might be a bit out of season but still delivers some fun.

The game description goes thus: "He's the most ancient and powerful opponent they've ever faced, a hairy, bloated, pagan God - Santa Claus! With Christmas presents on the attack and carols of gunshots drowning out the bells, Sam & Max must storm the North Pole to bring down a less-than-jolly foe. Can the Freelance Police make sense of this Christmas conundrum in time to save the world's children from a holiday tainted by tears, turmoil, and Torture-Me-Elmer?" You basically have to get the two intrepid heroes to the North Pole to stop a crazed Santa from destroying everything with his explosive presents. The graphics are first rate as you expect from this series although the gameplay is a little stunted - it seems the developers have spent more time making it look good than making the game really challenging and playable. However, it is a lot of fun trying to get to the North Pole with all the obstacles the bearded one has left in your way and the sound effects are also excellent with realistic cartoon style voices and sounds.

Another great installment of the Sam and Max series although it could have done with a bit more focus in the playability department.

Download Sam & Max (201) Ice Station Santa in Softonic

He may be about 87 years old now but Indiana Jones still knows how to bust in a move in his quest for archaeological glory.

In his latest adventure our intrepid hero must recover a precious crystal skull. This official wallpaper of the movie proves that Harrison Ford has still got it, and looking at him standing ready for action in his classic get-up you wouldn't realize it's been more than 20 years since his last outing.

This hand-drawn image is classic Indy, and with the official logo of the film stamped on the picture you'll be the envy of all your friends. This 1024x768 pixel version is of good quality and the only thing I wasn't really keen on was the way he's been cut out and stuck onto the background looks a little crude.

Nevertheless, this is still a must-have download for all Indy fans.

Download Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Wallpaper in Softonic

Despite not being born with any special powers to speak of, Iron Man has still managed to make the jump from comic book hero to big screen star thanks to his bravery and ingenuity.

This desktop wallpaper pays homage to the human trashcan with an impressive image to adorn your PC. At 1680x1050, this is a high resolution shot of the Iron Man in an agressive pose, in front of a smokey backdrop. There's also a small logo advertizing the film.

A must-have for any Iron Man fanatic.

Download Iron Man Wallpaper in Softonic

Jane's hotel is in big trouble and your job is to save her chain going out of business - before the customers start jumping ship!

The only way for you to do this is provide a better service to your increasingly demanding customers who feel like your business is turning into Faulty Towers. You have to think of new and innovative ways to make money from your customers whether it's selling more newspapers or charging more money on the sunbeds. The key is turnover - you have to try and maintain a high turnover of customers but not decrease the quality of service you are offering. The graphics and sounds are pretty kitsch but there does seem to be rather a worrying lack of hotels so it does get a bit repetitive. In addition, some users may find it too similar to Cake Mania and Flo on the Go although with better graphics, though arguably, it's nowhere near as challenging. Even at expert level, it seems rather easy although kids will find more appeal here than adults.

A fun game based on an original premise although it could do with a few improvements in terms of gameplay.

Download Jane's Hotel: Family Hero in Softonic

I'm I big football fan so naturally I'm starting to get excited about the forthcoming European Championships in Switzerland and Austria.

As always with big tournaments like this, I'm warming up for the big event by playing soccer sims. As always, it's EA who have the official licence for the tournament. And, as always, I came away from the game feeling a little disappointed that the developer still has the freedom to release yet another slightly-tweaked clone if its long-running FIFA game, knowing that punters will snap it up in the hoards amid the excitement of another major championships.

Essentially, it plays virtually the same as FIFA 08 (and, no doubt, very similar to the next version of the series) aside from a few tweaks. For instance, there's a new 'flick' mode for free kicks (and penalties), where you control the power and swerve of the shot using your right-analog stick. It's a novel idea and one that attempts to address one of the few areas that no football sim has yet to do perfectly. It's certainly an improvement, but is for me, too fiddly and difficult to get master.

Other new additions are in-game player ratings which update in real-time depending how each individual is performing, and improved collisions, trapping and goalkeeper AI. You even get to see the managers' reactions to goals, free kicks and near-misses, which I thought was quite neat.

Aside from the gameplay changes, there are a couple of new game modes. Captain Your Country sees you take the role of your team's skipper and influence the other players while you're out on the pitch, and there's a new online mode called Battle of the Nations.

Of course, all the official stadiums, real players, kits, balls, haircuts, etc. are there and the game features 52 European teams. "But there are only going to be 16 teams at the Euro Championships" I hear you scream. Well, EA has decided to allow you to go through the rigours of a qualifying campaign instead of just competiting in the final tournament. I guess it helps to add more depth and longevity to this title, but the qualification is finished now so it's not that realistic. Why couldn't we have had this game two years ago, when qualifying got underway in real life? Not in keeping with the Electronic Arts marketing plan, I imagine.

UEFA 2008 provides a great way to warm up for the European Championships. However, if you already have FIFA 08 I wouldn't bother buying this one as well. It offers little more in terms of gameplay and will be out of date by August.

Download UEFA Euro 2008 Demo in Softonic

If you were a fan of Dragon Ball Z then Dragon Ball Z Budokai takes it to a new level with added acrobatic 3D action.

Dragon Ball Z Budokai features over 100 DBZ heroes and villains and an added story mode for extra depth. The games allows you to recreate classic scenes from the TV show in story mode with some lightning-fast fighting moves and the ability to engage in titanic battles. There are around 15 3D scenarios and much improved graphics, levels and special moves. The game uses a "behind-the-back" camera perspective and features all the regular Dragon Ball Z power ups and bonuses.

Players can build up their "Ki" bar to execute various techniques such as the Power Guard, which reduces the damage characters take by 1/4. The Ki bar can also be used to use moves referred to as Blast 2s plus many more death defying moves which can snap your opponents neck in the blink of an eye.

For those that enjoy a good old punch-up, this is a great game although it could do with a few more characters and moves.

Download Dragon Ball Z Budokai X 2.0 in Softonic

A very long time ago a dragon named Bolgrot arrived in the eternal Province of Amakna. The young Rykke Errel was the only one with sufficient courage to face the terrible creature. Instead of reducing him to dust as he could easily have done, the dragon prostrated himself before the young paladin and swore allegiance to him.

Rykke met Helséphine, a young enchantress, and fell madly in love with her. When he introduced Helséphine to Bolgrot, Rykke could not have imagined what would happen.
The dragon, mad with rage, slew the sweet Helséphine and flew far away, ravaging everything in his path. Rykke threw himself into the pursuit of the dragon. When he found him, the two former friends clashed in a titanic struggle. Using his weapons and his magic, Rykke managed to strike down the dragon; however, mortally wounded, the young hero died soon afterwards.

Seeking an explanation for the sudden violence shown by Bolgrot, the sages of Amakna discovered in the dragon’s entrails 6 strangely coloured eggs that they called DOFUS. Consequently, it was discovered that when these eggs were reunited their power was absolute. Absolute, but also unstable. The sages took the wise decision to keep these terrible relics a closely guarded secret.

During the centuries that followed the secret of the existence of the DOFUS was so well guarded that it was eventually forgotten altogether. But one accursed day, the guardians of the secret discovered that the DOFUS had disappeared. The news was not slow to spread, arousing terror and covetousness.

It was not long before numerous adventurers arrived in Amakna, attracted by the prospect of glory or plunder. The destiny of Amakna from the on became uncertain, and the appearance of many unknown and terrifying creatures added to the confusion.

Download Dofus 1.22 in Softonic

If you like horror movies and you love PC games then Penumbra: Black Plague will probably be right up your street.

You take the role of Phillip, who must find out what happened to his father, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances. You are trapped in a shadowy, underground complex where threats, ghouls and ghosts are waiting to pounce. To prevent succumbing to their clutches, you must collect clues and solve puzzles while dealing with psychological traumas that prevent you in your quest.

Indeed, it seems the main aim of this game, apart from finding your father, is maintaining your hero's sanity. The eerie mood is bolstered by a creepy soundtrack and sound effects that crank up the tension as you struggle with your puzzles. The game uses some terrific 3D graphics and what the developers call "real-time lightning" that give the game a high degree of depth and realism. The game's plot links together very well with successive puzzles that you solve and I like the way that the game imposes few limits on what you can and can't do in the game. You can for example pick up more or less anything you see and move them around by dragging and dropping them with your mouse.

For atmosphere, this game wins full marks although it's very slow moving and if you're not the puzzle solving type, you'll probably lose interest very quickly.

Download Penumbra: Black Plague in Softonic

Assault Heroes is an old fashioned vertical scrolling shooter loaded with frantic action and many exciting power-ups.

Now, don't get me wrong here: when I say old fashioned, I mean Assault Heroes follows a traditional arcade style both in story and gameplay. You're a member of an elite army team, entrusted with a very simple mission: wipe out the enemy. Just like those good ol' arcade games, you control a small vehicle from a top view perspective and move in vertical scroll while shooting just about anything that appears on the screen.

Being more of a casual game, the enemies in Assault Heroes don't have a very well developed AI and will attack you in uncontrolled waves rather than strategic ambushes. Also, the vehicle itself is a bit difficult to control during the first minutes of playtime, as it involves a strange combination of keyboard and mouse. On the upside, the wide variety of power-ups and a high level of detail make the game really attractive. Pity the demo only lets you test for half an hour.

Assault Game is an old-style shooter with vertical scroll, loads of power-ups, highly detailed graphics and unfortunately, a extremely short trial period.

Download Assault Heroes Demo in Softonic

Synthesia is the new title of a game previously known as Piano Hero… until Activision told its developer it was not a good idea.

Naming anecdotes aside, the game is described as a fun method to learn to play the piano but honestly, I have to disagree on that. Synthesia is by no means an easy method to learn the piano: I have some very basic piano notions myself and I found it extremely difficult. It could be because I was using a standard computer keyboard to test the game, and not a real music keyboard as recommended by the developer.

On the upside, I especially liked the default song selection the program includes to get you started (they're all popular theme songs from very well-known videogames). Also, note that you can use just about any MID file with Synthesia, which turns it into pretty much a never-ending musical entertainment.

With Synthesia you can practice your piano skills on the computer, but forget about learning how to play it: you'll need some prior basic knowledge.

Download Synthesia 0.6.3 in Softonic

Synaesthete is a highly original game that mixes music and arcade action in the style of Dance Revolution.

The objective of the game is to basically eliminate all enemies in each room - or phase. To do so you must move your character around by hitting a sequence of musical notes whilst lasers fire at them. Therefore, the movements of your character are also dictated by the musical rhythm of the soundtrack. If you've played Dance Revolution or Guitar Hero, you'll know what I mean. If you haven't, then it works by making you push one of three keys in the right order to keep pace with the tracks. The better you do, the more your character avoids being struck down by a shot or laser beam. The graphics are 3D vector style and you have to guide your tiny character around the grids and across bridges which does get a bit boring. The 3D images are not exactly well crafted and in this respect, the developers could have done a much better job. However, for pure originality and pumping soundtracks, it's guaranteed to keep you buzzing for a while.

Synaesthete gets full marks for originality and if you're a Dance Revolution or Guitar Hero fan, you'll probably enjoy this a lot.

Download Synaesthete 1.0.1 in Softonic

Comic Life is a really fun application with which you can create comics out of your photos and images.

What I enjoyed most from the application is how easy it is to work with. With this type of program, you're looking to play around and Comic Life feels just like that. You can quickly drag and drop your images onto the interface, arrange them in order onto a page, drag bubbles and then enter your text.

Comic Life offers many shapes, forms and text lettering with styles reminiscent of the best cartoons and comics. All can be extensively customized to your taste from the style attributes tab on the right. I also quite liked the choice of filters, with which you can give a different aspect to your photos, like turning them into a scene from Sin City. If you don't want to get carried away into editing, Comic Life also features loads of page templates and themes that you can start off with.

Importing pictures onto the screen is easy, as you'll only need to drag and drop them from your desktop or pick straight from the preview pane in the application. Even more, you can use your webcam or DV camera to take snaps and post them immediately into your comic strip.

The only little downside to this app is that it sometimes uses up a little too much RAM.

Very intuitive and loaded with features, Comic Life is a great way to have fun with your pictures. It has all the bubbles, styles and fonts you'd expect to make good looking comics. Highly recommended.

Download Comic Life 1.3.4 in Softonic

Some videogame genres are more likely to be set in certain environments or historical periods, such as RPG and fantasy, FPS and World War II and real-time strategy and medieval times. However, sometimes you find exceptions to the rule like Company of Heroes, an adventure set during the Second World War which all strategy lovers are going to enjoy.

The game enables you to play as the British army or the German Panzer Elite squad, in two of the most important battles in World War II. In spite of being a real-time strategy game, you're soon immersed into action-packed skirmishes and you really need to be quick if you want to beat your enemy. This is why we strongly recommend following the tutorial level instead plunging headlong into the campaign.

Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts features extraordinary graphics, plus the ability to pan and zoom the camera with total freedom. I specially enjoyed the possibility to set the camera at ground's level and see action as if you were right in the middle of the squadron.

Get ready for some strategy and lots of action in this epic adventure.

Download Company of Heroes Oppossing Fronts Demo in Softonic

The thrill of being left with a cliff-hanger at the end of a show and having to wait a week to find out what happens in the next episode, is something that's disappearing from modern TV culture. There are plenty of people these days who boast entire collections of series on DVD or in digital format on their computer who never have such problems.

If you're one of these people who likes to hoard dozens of episodes of Lost, House, 24, Heroes, Nip/Tuck, Desperate Housewives, etc. then it might be worth checking out TV Series Manager to help you stay on top of your viewing. The database app can add the series you want, including which seasons and chapters you have, along with a raft of other data such as gender, date of first broadcast, actors, crew, etc.

One neat feature is that if you have a particular episode on your computer, you can set up a link to it in the program information section, which when clicked, will launch the video in your default media player.

Unfortunately the app isn't particularly well designed and it'll take you a bit of time to work your way around the interface. The omission of a right-click menu is a cardinal sin in programs like this and means you need to waste time wading through options in the main menu at the top.

However, if you're the sort of person who can't function without your favourite TV show then TV Series Manager can help you keep on top of your viewing schedule.

Download TV Series Manager 0.9.1 in Softonic

Digiband is a Guitar Hero clone for the PC which enables you to emulate the greatest drum and guitar players of all times just with your keyboard.

First of all, bear in mind that Digiband is not as easy as it seems. It takes lots of time and practice to obtain good results, especially if you're using a keyboard. Fortunately the game supports both the Xbox360 and PS2 guitar-shaped controller, so if you have one, plug it to your PC because it will make things much easier.

Digiband includes one song which is perfect to start practicing, but you soon end up tired of it. In that case, you can download new songs from many sites around the Web, including the one recommended by Digiband's developer (Gdamania) for which you'll have to register.

The game is a bit difficult to configure because it doesn't support mouse controlling. Apparently, you can only take the drum if you play solo, making guitars available only if there is more than one player. As for gameplay itself, it works in the same way as Guitar Hero, with notes coming down the screen which you have to press in the right moment in order to score points and eventually become the greatest rock star of all times!

Digiband is a great guitar and drum simulator that can take some time to master.

Download DigiBand 1.0.1 in Softonic

Age of Empires III strikes back with a new expansion pack and takes you to the Ancient Eastern empires. As with any other Age of Empires adventure, The Asian Dynasties is designed with an incredible level of detail, creating an involving atmosphere that makes the game really enjoyable.

In this sense, every single element in this demo is designed according to Asian stereotypes, from player menus to background music and including, of course, buildings, cities and military units. Also, if you have played any of the previous Age of Empires, you'll master the controls in no time, as they remain just the same; if not, don't worry because they're easy to learn.

Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties is pure strategy: you'll have to gather resources, build your town, create and army and battle against the enemy. This demo only allows you to get a sneak peek of the whole game but the overall impression was good... at least for an Age of Empires fan like me.

Age of Empires strikes back with more nations, more units, more challenges and more fun for you.

Download Age of Empires III Demo in Softonic

The first part of Sacred was one of best selling games of the decade and this trailer for the second part carries on the fine tradition that saw the first do so well. In the first part of this game, you are confronted with spectacular images and will discover some of the most exciting features of this sequel - new characters, new scenarios and two completely new campaigns.

There have been significant graphical advances in this sequel with new detailed surroundings and some stunning 3D visual effects that will test your graphics card to the max. One striking component of the graphics is what the developers call the unique "Gore Feedback", which displays the strength and power of the player's own game character. In addition to this, the missions are much more challenging and the virtual world's twice as big.

Sacred 2 is an excellent follow up to Sacred and will delight most fans of the original with increased action, monsters, scenarios, weapons and overall fun.

Download Sacred 2: Fallen Angel Trailer in Softonic