3D Dot Game Heroes review (PS3)
Reviewed on May 31, 2010
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time did many things well and earned itself a gold star in the gaming annals, but it made some changes that moved its franchise away from some of its core values and started it down what I would call "the wrong road." The move into the third dimension definitely could have gone a lot of differently than it did. What I like about 3D Dot Game Heroes is that it fearlessly explores one of those other directions. What I adore about the game is that it actually makes that revised direction work!
Sam & Max: The Tomb of Sammun-Mak review (PC)
Forget about this shaping up to be the best Sam & Max season yet: this is shaping up to be the best thing Telltale have produces thus far.
Wings of Prey review (PC)
It's not an easy task to please everyone, but Wings of Prey tries to do just that and, in a lot of ways, actually manages to succeed.
Batman: Arkham Asylum review (X360)
I don't know how this game turned out the way it did. It shouldn't exist. It's a glitch. An anomaly. In all the best possible ways.
Lost Planet 2 review (PS3)
Lost Planet 2 is Capcom's fond revisit of the original Lost Planet. But the sequel is focused on co-op action rather than single player. It is marred by some (presumably patchable) weaknesses. And put together with how the game screams out for a few add-on episodes to go with one of the playable character sets, this makes the game feels somewhat incomplete. But what is there - if you can get past the online hurdle, the initial difficulty, and the somewhat mysterious interfaces - is epic on the l...
Red Dead Redemption review (PS3)
Vengeance.
Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation review (X360)
Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation doesn't strive to be anything new or refreshing, instead choosing to expand on features that were implemented in previous installments. Its biggest influence, though, is Ace Combat 4, right down to the very fact that each games' wars were both affected by the Ulysses asteroid incident that was first mentioned at the beginning of AC4. This means you'll experience long missions that last up to 30 or 40 minutes, which require a return to base for reload at s...
This Pegasus is darker. Completely black except for fiery wings, it's quite capable of defending itself with Kratos on its back. At a command, it'll ram hostile griffins in the side or execute a forward dash to catch them off guard. These attacks are often more effective than using any of Kratos' slashes, as his range is limited. At the same time, you must dodge energy blasts and charges from other aerial enemies, especially since the latter can send you into a spinning nosedive.
Pokémon SoulSilver Version review (DS)
I ran out and bought Pokémon SoulSilver on launch day, and it sucks that I have to describe this course of action as having "caved." I liked it when I was able to purchase these games without feeling ashamed of myself.
Modern Warfare 2 review (PS3)
The designers succeeded in creating a strong sense of chaos throughout the campaign where it seemed that calamity was waiting around every corner. Maybe I was skulking through the back alleys of a South American city to capture someone with information I needed while fighting off that guy's personal militia. Or storming a governmental building in order to retake it from enemy forces. Or defending my position inside a house from wave after wave of soldiers. It seemed like I was nearly always under siege from multiple angles.
Alan Wake review (X360)
While it doesn't boast the same degree of maddening obscurity as Twin Peaks or the seriously refined scripts of The X-Files, it's up there as far as games go. Wake's increasingly loose grip on reality makes for a satisfyingly confusing plot, though a few more risks with the presentation and pacing could really have made his journey as screwed up as the one that Dale Cooper undertook in Twin Peaks.
Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie review (X360)
There's brilliance included, and stand-out moments litter the game like pinpricks of inspiration, but they tend to get lost in the bog of over-championed ideas best explored in moderation but dished out mercilessly in servings of pure overkill.
Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City review (PS3)
Combining two substantial pieces of downloadable content into one retail package, Episodes from Liberty City adds a tremendous amount of depth and life to Liberty City, last visited in 2008's Grand Theft Auto IV. The two episodes, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony present two radically different characters both struggling to stay alive. Though time has passed in our reality, the two episodes weave their stories through the same timeline that G...
Valkyria Chronicles review (PS3)
In retrospect, I suppose it's obvious how much SEGA was making a effort to flirt with the foreign markets, when they released the strategic, turn-based, adventure game Valkyria Chronicles. The lead cast's name is Welkin Gunther ("Wuerrrkin-saaan!", if you choose the Japanese over the English voice-track), who has normal hair. A class-based selective upgrade system where you choose and manage weapon kits and personnel neatly replaced magic as well as the rotating numbers for stats and...
Monster Hunter Tri review (WII)
The gorgeous visuals aren't just window dressing, either. They lend a distinct vibe to each environment and they remind you where you are at all times. That's important when your continued survival often requires that you don't let yourself forget. A pool of stagnant water could mean that a monster is lying beneath its surface, after all. Bubbles rising from a suspicious plant along the floor of a tranquil pool of water could mean that a monster lurks just below the muck. The level of immersion is breathtaking at times.
Iron Man 2 review (PS3)
It's difficult to feel the rush of adrenaline that should come from flight when you're cruising down bland, confined corridors with junk that probably is supposed to look like something futuristic but really just looks like a bunch of blobs and squares. Even the outdoor environments lack that certain something special. They're not quite draped in fog, yet somehow the effect is the same. There are no beautiful vistas and there's no polish. Every surface is dull and lifeless. The most a person could maybe say in the game's defense is that some of the machines are pretty big, but there's not much to them.
Get to tha Choppa!!1 review (X360)
Get to tha Choppa is a shallow point-rush game with the depth and cosmetic values of a simple flash game.
Trauma Team review (WII)
Know this: saving lives will never feel the same. Previous games in the Trauma Center series focused solely on the quick thinking and precision reflexes required to perform miraculous surgeries. For better and worse, those days are over. Trauma Team retools surgery to make it more accessible, then folds it together with five other disciplines, promising an unprecedented amount of variety. The eruption of ideas is almost too much for one title to contain.
Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams review (TGCD)
When I think of "terror", I don't think of dirty hallways in need of a janitor. I think of grim forests populated by child-eating trees. I think of dungeons adorned with living statues that exist solely to murder little girls. Cotton weaves through obstacles in all of these areas, accompanied only by the nearly-naked fairy Silk (don't call Silk an "option"; she hates that). Everything else is trying to kill Cotton.
BloodRayne review (GCN)
... "Half human. Half vampire. All woman."