I have the feeling that DeathSpank is going to appeal to a lot of old-school gamers. Too many modern-era games try to deliver a serious, intense, epic, and dramatic story with multitudes of plot twists, betrayals, and the like. DeathSpank goes the complete opposite direction. Full of crisp visuals and irreverent humor, the latest from Ron Gilbert and Hothead Games delivers what many gamers want, but not necessarily what they might expect.

The title draws directly from the hero himself, the somewhat appropriately-named DeathSpank. A self-proclaimed Hero to the downtrodden, DeathSpank will perform any good deed for those who ask. And there are many who ask. The core mechanic of the title involves the player wandering in search of quests. NPCs fill the rather large world of the game, and each character offers at least one (and oftentimes several) new quests.

The most basic aspect of DeathSpank is its action-based fight mechanic. Some might call this game a hack-and-slash, and that would be a just approximation. Each of the face buttons on the controller can be tied to a different weapon. Throughout his journeys, DeathSpank acquires a variety of crossbows, swords, blunt weapons, hammers, power-ups, and numerous expendable items. Each of these work the same way: to be used, the player just presses the corresponding button.

Attacks slowly fill up the hero’s Justice meter, which is used for the aforementioned powerful attacks. To speed up the filling of the Justice meter, players can alternate which weapon they are attacking with to build up combo attacks. Though they won’t do more damage, the combo attacks fill the Justice meter up rapidly, and can easily allow the protagonist to use multiple powered-up specials in just a short time frame.

DeathSpank himself also acquires experience by defeating foes, finding outhouses (which altogether work as the game’s quick-travel system), and by completing quests. With each level obtained, the player can choose between different upgrades. It isn’t possible to miss any particular upgrades, as the game has a level cap set at 20, so every single upgrade can be acquired – the order in which they are chosen really just depends on what the player finds most convenient early in the game.

Even though there is a decent variety of weapons to acquire, they all work essentially the same way. Five minutes in or five hours in, the combat will be the same. It gets a bit repetitive. Unfortunately, the exact same can be said about the quests. Some characters task the hero with tracking down elusive items, and most of the time these can be found where enemies are to be found. Other characters might need DeathSpank to collect items from those enemies themselves. If one of these isn’t the case, there is a good chance that the NPC needs the player to just kill a bunch of enemies for his or her peace of mind.

Rarely does the game deviate from this course. Be them plot quests or one of the many side quests, the player will essentially be acting as an errand boy, running around and finding items for others. It can get pretty tiresome. Luckily, DeathSpank has plenty of charm to keep the player’s attention. Every NPC seems to have a little story of his or her own, and most have at least one humorous line to throw out. As is often the case, the very existence of the character is a joke in itself. Aside from the silly designs and voice acting, the characters make plenty of off-the-wall jokes about modern gaming, previous adventure games, and nerd culture. From Bittorrents to Bonnie Tyler, gamers of any background will find something to laugh about.

The plot of the game definitely follows suit. DeathSpank is on his quest to recover a mysterious, ancient artifact called The Artifact when he stumbles into a land controlled by the tyrannical Lord Von Prong. Von Prong has been kidnapping orphans for some odd reason, and from here the purple-thonged protagonist starts seeking out the ultra-obvious evil overlord.

Key in making sure this world was fully-realized was a particularly imaginative creative team. Each of the enemies has a unique design, be them the bear- and antelope-crossed Bearalopes, Swamp Donkeys, Minor Miner Demons, or even the elusive two-eyed cyclops called the Biclops. In addition, all of the game’s weapons, items, and pieces of armor have hilarious looks and descriptions. Anything and everything in the game has a well-rounded appeal that was both well thought-out and inspired (but why what, I don’t want to guess.)

With all of these things said, I would have to describe the experience as short and sweet. Assuming the player doesn’t have any qualms about completing mostly-menial sidequests, the game will offer about 7 or 8 hours of game time. If one were to go straight through the plot missions, though, it could possibly be between three and five. I was eight minutes shy of having played seven hours when I beat the game, 100 percent quest completion, and about one-third of the way to reaching level 20.

If quantity is favored over quality, this isn’t the ideal game. Hothead Studios put a lot of love into this title, and every bit of it shows. Even though the experience is over quickly and the quests might become a bit repetitive, the overall experience of DeathSpank is undoubtedly positive. With references to pop culture, past gaming experiences, and modern-day video game cliches, this title offers more than many comparatively-priced games for the sole reason that they aren’t trying to fit in with the norm. For that, they should be applauded.

DeathSpank
Playstation 3 (reviewed), Xbox 360
	Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: Hothead Games Genre: Action RPG Release Date: July 13, 2010 MSRP: $14.99 ESRB Rating: T for Teen

Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition is an Xbox Live Arcade re-release of the PC game Zeno Clash. Playing as a strange young man named Ghat, you will engage in a completely bizarre world full of monsters and bi-pedal mutants that all want to kill you. Your main weapons throughout the game are your fists, though other weapons such as… fish guns and other fine projectile weapons appear frequently.

First, the story: Ghat is part of a large family of mutants. His “father-mother” is a rooster, his siblings are human/animal hybrids and his girlfriend has a really large afro with horns sticking out of it. Confused? Then welcome to Zeno Clash. For a large majority of the tale, you’ll probably find yourself scratching your head and admitting to yourself that you’re playing a game unlike any other, but of course isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The game is primarily a first-person brawler, where you’ll be throwing punches and kicks at your enemies. The right and left trigger will throw punches, while the other buttons can help you block against an opponent or pick up items needed to regain health. Overall, it’s a pretty satisfying experience especially when you send a rooster-man flying across the screen to his death. You’ll be doing more than just punching and kicking, however. You can throw grenades and shoot enemies with various guns, such as with my personal favorite, the fish guns. The ranged weapons feel unnatural and tacked on, and I had some trouble switching between my gun and my fists. If I had a choice, I would have just stuck to my fists and said screw it to all the other weapons available to me – they just didn’t feel right.

While you can most certainly learn different combinations and deflect attacks, I pretty much just button mashed my way through a great portion of the game with a great deal of success. There were some frustrating moments while playing the single-player mode, one of which was when I attempted to land a punch and realized I was still several feet away from my enemy.  This was a frequent and annoying problem. Just like with your enemies, you can be thrown through the air to land on your face on the ground. This is all done in first-person, so it can be frustrating especially during a tricky fight as the camera swirls around.

For an arcade game, Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition definitely looks great. The dream world atmosphere is perfect, though the voice acting could seriously use some work (especially Ghat’s). The music, while completely weird, fits the game’s atmosphere perfectly. As far as the co-op arenas go, they are fairly barebones in terms of content. In the Pit Challenge, you and a friend can descend into the depths of a large — you guessed it — pit to duke it out level by level with a variety of hybrid creatures. Dropping down the pit incorrectly can easily lead to your death if you aren’t careful, and sometimes grenades are required in order to continue the journey, as they are used to blow up parts of the flooring.

My partner and I found more enjoyment in the tower challenges, where instead of descending into a pit you ascend some sort of non-descript building. The formula was simple: beat up your opponents and go up a level. Each level presents a new challenge to overcome. One level in the tower may have you using only your fists to survive against one or two enemies, another level may have you using grenades to take out your opponents. Another level offered projectiles, and so forth. Honestly, there was really nothing special about the co-op portion of the game and I was a little disappointed that you couldn’t play through the storyline with a friend, which would have been much more fun than beating people up in a tower or a pit.

Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition is a decent offering on the Xbox Live Arcade, and one that I enjoyed playing even if the fun was short-lived. The graphics are great and the story is completely off the wall. While there were a few irritations regarding the controls, overall Zeno Clash is a decent experience worth playing through at least once. If you don’t have an Xbox 360, you can also purchase the PC version of the game, Zeno Clash, on Steam.

Zeno Clash Ultimate Edition
Xbox Live Arcade
	Publisher: Atlus Developer: ACE Team Genre: Action / First-person brawler Release Date: May 5, 2010 MSRP: 1200 MSP ESRB Rating: T for Teen

As far as I can tell, there isn’t a cooperative experience similar to Lost Planet 2 anywhere out in the game market today. The action is tremendous, the foes numerous and oftentimes humongous, and the entire package is wrapped up in a world and visual aesthetic all its own. One of the pervading elements of Lost Planet 2 is scale, and while it can sometimes be harrowing, the feel of the gameplay is that of something that is just barely inside the realm of possibility.

Before I get into what makes me enjoy this game so much, I’d like to state my initial impressions. The control scheme is very complex. It borders on complicated. By default, the context-sensitive button used to activate just about everything in each level is also both a melee attack button and a run button. The button that allows the player to throw a grappling hook is in a location that nullifies the ability to aim a weapon or position the camera. These options were not working for me. I went through the menu to find a more suitable controller layout, and I believe I went through seven totally different layouts until I found one that worked for me (B-4, for those interested).

Even then, the controls are a bit of a speed bump. Zooming is accomplished by pressing in the right control stick, which seems intuitive, but pressing in the control stick in any position other than dead center acts as a quick turn. Pressing the left stick in makes the player crouch, and only while crouched can a dodge be performed (by pressing the jump button). These are things I found out roughly halfway into the game – they are not noted on the in-game controller layout screen.

Needless to say, I was frustrated. Beyond the controller itself, each character moves in a very tight fashion. By tight, I don’t necessarily mean responsive – turning is slow, running is slow, reloading is slow, and it really seems like the whole process could be loosened and sped up. The animations roughly follow suit. Holding the run button results in a comically slow sprint that can barely be maneuvered, jumps cover more vertical distance than horizontal, and every button-mashing activation for Data Posts or environmental objects can be excruciating.

These seem to be things that could be game breakers because they are. Players like myself are used to something a lot quicker, simpler, and more responsive. With expectations set aside, though, it’s very easy to get over the control issues. While the animations are slow, their generous exaggeration is polished and cinematic. Again, the movements are slow, but with practice can be extremely precise. And with what Lost Planet 2 tasks the player in doing, I can appreciate that.

The majority of the missions in the game kind of toss the player into a stage with some sort of minimal goal. A few of the missions have cutscenes beforehand that play part into the theme for each episode, and to some extent the cutscenes do a basic job of setting up the very next series of tasks. However, for the most part, each mission will start the player out with activating a few Data Posts before they know what they are actually doing. As soon as the posts are up, the player might find themselves surrounded by a swarm of beasts, or trying to sneak into an industrial complex of sorts, or in the Lost Planet 2 fashion, being challenged by an Akrid several stories tall.

There really isn’t much telling sometimes. The plot… the plot really makes no difference. It may be a good plot, but I couldn’t tell you. I have literally no idea what went on. I know the setting, I know the importance of thermal energy (or T-ENG), and the effect of destroying Akrid to harvest that energy, but never once could I actually figure out what the hell was happening. The first mission has players romping through a jungle, destroying swarms of aliens, and the next has them attacking a base of rogues and destroying a drill. After that, I was sneaking into some place, taking down the mech-like VSs, stealing a submarine, et cetera. I could make no sense of it.

When the action is as intense as it is, though, there’s not much of a need for story. Lost Planet 2 just delivers. There are many different kinds of beasts both small and large. Some enemies fly, some burrow, some bust through walls at inopportune times. The human enemies can oftentimes be just as terrifying, with their seemingly-limitless supply of gigantic rocket-spewing Vital Suits, hidden snipers, shotgun runners, and more. Still, the real stars of the show are the gigantic Category G Akrids with whom battles can be upwards of twenty minutes. Each one of them has several different attacks or abilities that keep the fights interesting. One in particular can create walls of ice, while another can jump clear across the level. With enemies of this size, it would take a single player several lives and tons of firepower to become victorious. Of course, playing solo with the AI allies leaves a bit to be desired, but they do a good enough task taking care of stray enemies and providing cover or distractions for some of the larger fiends. Still, the core of this game is co-op, and that is where the game shines.

One particular mission is set on a moving train running parallel to another train carrying a huge T-ENG-powered weapon. The player is supposed to take control of it, and after battling over and through train cars, activating data posts and taking down turrets, the group is faced with a gigantic Cat-G Akrid. This fiend is dozens of times the size of the train, and only the massive weapon they’ve just commandeered can take it down. In this particular instance, there are several tasks that must be accomplished just to fire a round off. One player can use a device to aim the weapon 90 degrees in a given direction, another uses a crane to load ammunition, another charges the ammo, another can strengthen the ammo with pulse charges, yet another slowly aims and fires the weapon, and lastly, a player can take out Akrid flying projectiles, making sure the train doesn’t overheat, and/or keep the cannon from being damaged.

Needless to say, there are a lot of things going on, and even though in this case the AI knew exactly what to do, the real fun of that mission was getting four people together and working as a team – sometimes to figure out what needs to be done, other times just for the firepower. Though that is the most obvious example of the necessity of teamwork, there are plenty of scenarios that let group strategies shine. In general, players can take on many kinds of roles. T-ENG can be shot to teammates to allow them to heal, shields can cover massive fire from one or more of the many VS machines, shotguns for close range and snipers for long; you name it, the scenario and best strategy for it is present.

Unfortunately, the co-op doesn’t allow the player to just drop it at any convenient time. A player coming into the middle of a campaign has to wait for that one to end and the next one to start. It isn’t exactly ideal for people like myself who don’t have three friends with the game, but given that situation, I imagine getting into a lobby and going about business would be butter smooth (as was the case when the Spawn Kill crew got together to check out the multiplayer and co-op demos).

Capcom did include several multiplayer modes for those who are so inclined. From what I have experienced, most of the modes have been seen before. The competitive gameplay is much more difficult than the campaign modes, basically because of the level of familiarity newcomers like myself will lack, but I can see it being a fun diversion for a little while. Hardcore fans will surely keep with it, though, for all of the unlockable elements that were included. Character avatars can be customized through various armor/clothes, setting color schemes, choosing weapon loadouts, nicknames, and more. Oh, and the multiplayer trophies/achievements, of course.

The feeling I get from Lost Planet 2 is very much like feelings I got from games 5 or 10 years ago. There is a lot to learn, a lot to see, a lot to do, and even after going through the massive manual included with the game I had to figure out a lot of things for myself. In a cutscene, I saw a character use a grapple to attach themselves to an enemy, holding onto the anchor in one hand and firing their rifle with the other. This is something that can actually be done. The limiting factor really seems to be what the players see themselves as being able to do, which is a very impressive notion.

Lost Planet 2 has a lot of faults, and will immediately turn many game fans away right from the start. This is a real shame. This title has some of the most intense moments I have been part of lately, and in my opinion manages to pull through despite some of its more prevalent issues. In short, this is a game everyone ought to play. It won’t suit everyone’s tastes and I’m not quite sure it’s even supposed to. Like many good things, the more time players put into this game, the more rewarding the experience will be.

Lost Planet 2
Playstation 3 (Reviewed), Xbox 360
	Publisher: Capcom Developer: Capcom Genre: Third-person Action Release Date: May 11, 2010 MSRP: $59.99 ESRB Rating: T for Teen

Doin’ It RIGHT: - Awesome visuals and cinematic style. - Nonstop action. - Extremely rewarding cooperative play.	Doin’ It RONG: - Controls take some getting used to, and even then aren’t exactly ideal. - Plot and plot presentation are flawed. - Some game mechanics are convoluted.
FINAL SCORE: 7.5 / 10

Ripper

It was with morbid curiosity that I checked into Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper, a game I had hoped could stand up to the former, even just a smidgeon. Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed. While this title aims to deliver a more historically accurate (read: stuffy) account of the infamous disemboweling harlot-killer, it succeeds only in being completely and utterly dull. Yes, it manages to turn gruesome murders into a subject that can’t even trump homework as a viable entertainment option. That, my friends, is a travesty.

It may not be completely obvious, but I do enjoy a good smattering of adventure titles, stemming from my childhood playing things like The Island of Dr. Quandary, Myst, and what-have-you, so I was drawn to this one like a moth to the flame. Its descriptions hinted at being able to investigate the crime scenes where each woman had been murdered, which flashed in my mind as gigantic buzz words: gory, creepy, disgusting, awesome. “Garish” and “cartoony” never sought to step into my line of thinking. Yet, as I played through Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper’s Xbox 360 port (previously a PC title), they quickly replaced the adjectives I had previously envisioned describing the game. And just as swiftly my enjoyment factor declined.

If it hadn’t been made painfully obvious already, you’re taking on the role of one Sherlock Holmes, the world’s finest detective, if you don’t count little Conan. Along with his sidekick and colleague Dr. Watson, he tackles a myriad of seemingly unsolvable crimes, or perhaps just the cases the police are too dim to work out (read: all of them.) This particular case is of course focused on “Jack,” dropping hookers left and right. Based on the historically accurate locations and victims throughout London, namely those concentrated around the Whitechapel area, this adventure is about as stuffy and archaic as games can get. Yeah, yeah, real sleuthing likely is never “exciting,” but is it ever this dull?

Fortunately, the mechanics aren’t too difficult. Let’s start with the basics. At any given time you may be in charge of either Holmes or Watson, who are controlled via the analog sticks in either first-person or third-person view. You may look around in first-person simply to pick out clues (marked as green magnifying glasses) or to make life a bit easier for yourself since apparently in 1800s London it was a travesty to move quicker than a snail when out an about on the trail of a killer. Yes, Holmes nor Watson ever break larghissimo for vivace or anything remotely resembling lively or quick. In the field, around London, and throughout the entire game walking is absolutely required. A good portion of the game’s location can be quickly accessed via map, but for those spots yet to be found? You’re on the Biped Express.

It seemed to me that switching to a first-person view may have sped up my walking speed a bit, but I couldn’t be certain. Because of this odd quirk, what could easily be a moderate-paced adventure unfolding at just the right length turns into a slow and torturous dredge that I could not bring myself to finish even for the sake of this review. No, I punched my time card at the three-quarters mark and threw that disc so far underneath my bed it may say hello to Dante in the near future.

Aside from the hellish amount of walking you’ll be doing, the only other bits of gameplay are lengthy conversations, clue/item gathering, awkward crime scene investigations complete with “re-enactments,” and puzzles that provide little or no explanation to solve. Conversations are simple enough. Often, you’ll speak with the citizens of various fine establishments to glean information or items to further your cause. Unfortunately, the content of said conversations are plagued with horrid faux-English and Cockney accents that smack of insincerity, not to mention bloated dialogue “options” that exist solely to advance the plot. It’s no picnic to sit and listen to characters yammer on and on, so being able to skip through with B and consult your journal later is a helpful time-saver. Holmes himself grates on the nerves like none other — Robert Downey, Jr. he’s not. And may Kratos have mercy on your soul should you venture toward a meandering Londonite. A “conversation” with those wandering AI characters yields little more than nonsensical statements that have nothing to do with the mission at hand. For instance, a simple “Pardon me, Miss,” might result in a heifer shouting “BUT NOT YET!” in your face. Or something to that effect. It’s a waste of time.

Gathering clues is as simple as holding down the left trigger and investigating the myriad magnifying glasses that pop up. Holmes will make an asinine investigation most of the time, such as the name of a street or what kind of footprints have been left in the dirt. Key clues are marked with green of course, and finding these should advance your plot whenever you’re in a pinch. Selecting a magnifying glass out of the several that appear onscreen is also quite awkward, and something that doesn’t work well with the Xbox 360 controller — much better suited to a mouse. Quite often you’ll select the wrong one (one you’ve already seen) and will have to listen to Holmes’ tired old spiel yet again. Not fun, nor practical.

After you complete enough walking back and forth between locations, gathering clues, squeezing blood out of a turnip by speaking to AI characters, and finding random items to aid you in discerning the killer’s identity, you’ll oft be “treated” to a puzzle or a crime scene investigation scene. Checking out the scene of the crime is relatively painless. A cartoonish, lame portrait of the victim appears and you’ll rely on the magnifying glasses yet again to pick out details to add to a “deduction board.” Several times over you’ll need to attempt to recreate the manner in which good ol’ Jack carved up the women of the night. As interesting as that sounds, guess what? It’s not. It’s like poorly written Holmes/Watson smut acted out via automatons. And about as fun.

It doesn’t help that most of the puzzles you’re forced to solve throughout are absolute trainwrecks. I understand that adventure gamers want a challenge with their adventure titles, especially with a detective of this caliber. But if there are going to be difficult puzzles, at the very least give us a hint or a nudge in the right direction rather than poor directions or comments from smug Holmes. Perhaps I am not intellectual enough to appreciate the intricacies of moving a lockpick every which way but the correct way without any sort of guidance. Yes. That must be it. Granted, most of the puzzles can most certainly be solved with a fair amount of guesswork, but to have a difficult puzzle impeding your progress is often one of the most annoying parts of a game you haven’t conquered yet. Would a hint system be so terrible, or at the very least a more detailed description of what in the name of Polly Nichols you’re supposed to be doing?

Fortunately, logic puzzles that appear in the form of the deduction board and the system Holmes and Watson use to determine the killer’s modus operandi offer some more challenging and easy to understand fun. They are the most interesting parts of the adventure in that you feel quite accomplished having deducted the “correct” answers via notes in your journal and previous conversations, and a part of the game that’s done well.

Do know, though, that the majority of your “adventure” is spent going back and forth from venues you’ve visited far too many times before and have little desire to actually return to. The incessant backtracking effortlessly rears its ugly head to further mangle this adventure. As previously stated you may travel from one area to another via map, but some require a bit of wandering to uncover, or unclear directions given to you from characters you’ve spoken to. And you already know how useful those street urchins are.

It also seems as though everyone in Whitechapel has a “mystery” of their own that needs solving, whether it be missing cat food, mysterious boarding house tenants, or what perfumes in a gift box are actually perfumes rather than evil, potent poisons. It’s incessant with those people. In order to make any progress you must ALWAYS backtrack, solve a miniature mystery for every bloody citizen in the town, and then, maybe, you might actually get on track with the investigation. I find it hard to believe that when such grisly mutilations are going on, Holmes needs to have an army of cats attack a portly prostitute in order to obtain a clue. Really?

Failing the game’s unfortunate terrible and boring gameplay, the graphics and sound aren’t up to snuff, either. I can get by with the stiff voice acting and the obnoxious ambient music, but hit detection misses the mark entirely. You may have Holmes walk up to a door, and ask him to open it up. Simple stuff, yes? How the game manages to have Holmes walk at least two feet away, AROUND the door and to the left, and then make a doorknob-opening motion is beyond me. I just can’t fathom how this is good game design. Not to mention the fact the characters move like robots when completing any task. It’s actually hilarious. I couldn’t for one moment take the game seriously, and you know what? You shouldn’t either.

I can’t speak for the PC edition of this title, but the Xbox 360 port is a complete bust. It has its shining moments in the logic puzzles that you must rely on your own wits to solve, and the historically accurate information, but the rest of the game is so dull and without personality that I have to wonder why you would pick it up over something with more meat and a little more gusto. I’m sure you’d have much more fun simply reading up on Jack the Ripper lore or LARPing with your friends. This is about as dull as it gets, and that’s a shame. I was hoping for something much more, especially from a man of Holmes’ caliber.

Perhaps he’s getting a little absent-minded in his spiritual old age. He has to be. The doorknob is over there. On the door.

Pass on this one, folks.

Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper
Xbox 360
	Publisher: The Adventure Company Developer: Frogwares Genre: Adventure/Puzzle Release Date: April 30, 2010 MSRP: $29.99 ESRB Rating: Teen

Doin’ It RIGHT: - Logic puzzles are interesting and make you feel accomplished. - Historically accurate murders/locations/victims.	Doin’ It RONG: - Stuffy as all get-out — homework is more entertaining. - Poor voice acting, collision detection. - Puzzles are extremely difficult 90% of the time. - Too much backtracking. - Needy citizens — feed your own cats.
FINAL SCORE: 4 / 10

Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love can be likened to a delicious caramel frappe: it’s a perfectly blended concoction that showcases the highlights of all of the flavors involved. Take two cups of dating sim, one cup strategy RPG, a sprinkle of sentai idealism, and shake thoroughly. Your end result is a decadent yet quirky treat that’s not for everyone, yet completely accessible to anyone. Unfortunately, it’s a contributing factor as to why the history of Sakura Wars in the West has been a tumultuous one. In fact, it’s quite the pleasant surprise that So Long, My Love, the fifth game in the series, got a release at all. Thankfully, NIS America saw fit to bring this unique mix of strategic elements and dating simulation to the West, where people like me can eagerly devour it. It may not live up to the standards set by the first four games (according to series vets), but it’s a delightful beginning and a great example to follow.

The Sakura Wars series has pulled a Metal Gear Solid moment and has ushered in the nephew of the star of the previous titles rather than allowing gamers to bask in Ichiro Ogami’s light. Of course, this is all of no consequence to those who would pick this entry up, as we have no reason to expect anything otherwise. In fact, only after research into the Sakura Wars franchise (beyond the anime features I’ve seen) did I establish the fact that these weren’t the standard cast members. The New York Combat Revue team of Shinjiro Taiga, Gemini Sunrise, Rosarita Aries, Cheiron Archer, Diana Caprice, Subaru Kujo, and Ratchet Altair are enthusiastic and effervescent characters that invite you to explore every nook and cranny of their being. It’s a good thing, as the game revolves around who you know, how you treat them, and the manner of relationships you form. It’s almost like real life — except earning someone’s trust back is only a reset away. Each and every member of the Star Division are riveting character studies and it was a treat getting to know their inner workings. And the supporting players were no different: Michael Sunnyside, the eccentric New York playboy and commander proved to be a laugh a minute, spouting every thought with brazen wit (buying up land in a certain neighborhood to thwart a major corporation’s plans was a bold move, indeed!)

With a backdrop of a highly-modernized steampunk 1920s New York, it’s hard not to fall hopelessly in love with the narrative and its cast of colorful yet flawed characters. The country-fied cowgirl Gemini (pronounced rather strangely, “gem-uh-knee”) and tight-laced Cheiron supplied me with more than just a chuckle here and there, and Subaru’s androgynous looks and character had me guessing much longer than it should have. Of course, getting in with the exclusive New York Combat Revue isn’t the piece of cake I thought it would be initially. Since the clique-like NYCR was expecting Shinjiro Taiga’s uncle rather than him to lead them into victory over the demons plaguing New York, they treat him like an outcast initially — a reject, an unwanted newbie who simply gets in everyone’s way. Because of this behavior toward Taiga, the game forces you to play the part of an earnest combat virgin who must prove himself before being accepted as one of the pack, even though that was his official assignment in the first place. It’s refreshing to see that your choices do so impact the characters surrounding you in such a way and acceptance is not immediate, just like in real-life interaction. In the first stages of the game and throughout until the end, Taiga’s yearning to be “one of them” and to do all he can for this foreign American state are absolutely endearing and inspiring, and I found such pride in making this sniveling young boy into a real captain.

Of course, it’s up to you to play the role the game seems to want you to play. It’s up to you to mold Shinjiro into a man worth respecting, or one without a shred of it. You do this via different modes of play. Rather than levels, the game is divided up into eight chapters that are accompanied by their own “episode title” and preview of the next scenario, ripped straight from an anime series. It’s an interesting touch to be sure, and a way to gauge whether or not you want to tackle the next segment just yet. In each segment, there are three different game modes. The largely predominant mode sees you interacting via text and dialogue options akin to traditional visual novel-styled dating sims. These sections are expository chunks of plot and as such, you’ll play very little of what you might consider a real game. You may be introduced to a new character, explore the back story of an established cast member, or engage in official Star business.

I found these segments the most enjoyable, as the several different conversations I had over the course of the game were simultaneously touching and hilarious. And unlike games that present a clear-cut dialogue option to advance the conversation, it was more difficult to gauge each character’s reaction. Plus, you’re on a time limit — a steampunk-inspired gauge appears with fluid running out at a brisk pace while you’re presented with three options. Each is accompanied by an image of Shinjiro in an attempt to aid you in choosing what to say. “Fresh” options will see Taiga blushing, aggressive statements will feature an assertive image of him, and so on. Even with these portraits it can be difficult to guess how people will respond, which is the beauty of the system. It’s more about figuring out each unique personality and how to appeal to them, as a universal approach will not always work. The tact required here to ensure you don’t annoy those you interact with on a daily basis is more true to life than I have experienced previously. The game will attempt to guide you on the “correct” pathway to success with a positive-sounding or negative “chime” after every key decision point, but it’s really up to the player to make that choice.

And while the conversations are entertaining, you’ll need to stop pressing “A” mindlessly long enough to take part in the sort of quick-time events that require you to input a string of buttons, match a sequence, or perform a control-related task that will either see you performing excellently or poorly. Unfortunately, the Wii remote isn’t well-suited to many of these events. You’ll often be required to alternate between up and down on both the Nunchuk and the Wii remote, or in half-circles. The d-pad on the Wii remote is nowhere near responsive enough to do this quickly and efficiently, so often you’ll find yourself with a negative outcome when the action required of you couldn’t have been easier. It’s frustrating, to say the least, and from my experience worked much more smoothly on the PlayStation 2 edition. You shouldn’t be punished for the console’s shortcomings, and I am frankly shocked that waggle wasn’t implemented, not in the least.

Fortunately, I didn’t take any issue with the game’s intensity meter: put simply, a vertical bar is displayed that you must (before the timer runs out) raise or lower depending on the events at hand. This was especially difficult to master. For example, it’s often used in situations that require more or less assertiveness and tact. I was asked by one of the Star ladies to hoist her up to change out a lightbulb, but slowly, she cautioned, so she would not fall. At that point I hadn’t yet worked out how the system should have been used, so I went full speed ahead and kept the bar in the red zone, jumping up as fast as I could and knocking the poor girl to the floor. As you can imagine, that didn’t go over well. It’s an interesting mechanic, to be sure, and one I haven’t seen before.

Each conversation is slotted to take around five minutes, as you are given an “hour” in-game before descending upon the meat of each stage. This usually involves building toward the climax of every episode, such as Cheiron’s mock trial or the ascent of Pneuma-powered robots who are simply carrying out the order of turning New York into their own “new world.” It’s important to take this part seriously, as it will have an adverse effect on the battles that unfold at the end of each chapter. Rather than a traditional level grind, interaction is integral to success. Every so often you’ll get a break in the action to access a menu that will allow you to save, check the condition of your party members, and the bonds you’re building between them. Important stats such as attack, special attack bonuses, speed, and similar aspects are built upon how you treat your comrades. If you treat them well and build trust, they’ll grow into powerful allies. Ignore them, let them down, or anger them and you can be sure they’ll be the first to fall when it comes time to hop into a STAR.

Spliced in between traditional conversational scenes and the final segment of each episode are chunks of “free time” that you can spend exploring each area, gleaning information from inhabitants of the city, or speaking with members of your team. This is conducted in a manner similar to how one explored town in La Pucelle Tactics, only with 3D mechanics rather than flat 2D. While I can understand the need for “actual” playtime, however, this often felt like more of a chore than interactive entertainment, and I often left the area early rather than staying the full amount of time allotted after exhausting my conversational options and “hidden” sections where I would interact with one of the girls via “magnifying glass,” observing their outfit, looks, personality, etc. This was definitely the weakest part of the game.

If the game’s “meat” is the lengthy chunks of conversation and plot, then the “potatoes” are certainly the strat-RPG battles encountered at the end of each segment. As I commented before during a chat about the game, this structure is as close as a game has ever shown me to be to an actual anime episode. You get the plot buildup, the events leading up to battle, and then a battle and resolution of conflict in each episode. So Long, My Love is no different, and I appreciated that. Each battle features different demons and their handlers who require specific strategies to take down effectively. If you’ve been paying attention to the specific needs of your comrades, then you should find yourself in tiptop shape when heading into a fight. And if not, you might be looking into restarting the battle.

This is your traditional SRPG, as far as the actual fighting goes. However, while you might be thinking Fire Emblem, it plays out much more like Valkyria Chronicles or even Eternal Sonata. You directly control each member of your party for a set period of time measured in how far you move on the battlefield. Stratagems can be implemented and changed once each time the tides of battle turn back to Shinjiro, and you can choose from playing offensively, defensively, or flexibly. Combined with the ability to play as you would a traditional strategy RPG, there are plenty of ways to solve a pesky demon problem. Each battle is challenging in that you’ll need to figure out each enemy’s weakness and exactly how to tackle it. STARs may fight on the ground and in the air, and you may team up with another member of the division to perform a  joint power move that will work as well as your bond with the teammate in question. Each character also has a “Super Move” in place to unleash when things get rough, and they’re prefaced with a flashy animation sequence to up the gloss factor. They’re versatile and interactive, with Subaru’s moveset consistently coming out as my favorite.

Still, there are some problems to be had even with classic mechanics such as these. It can get downright annoying to lock onto enemy targets, especially in the air. During the first battle, especially, I had such a rough time navigating in the airborne bots and trying to distinguish exactly where my opponent’s weak spot was that I almost gave up and considered the battle to be too buggy to continue. When centered directly over the enemy’s head where I knew a target should appear, I found nothing, and thus could not attack. It happened many more times throughout the game and it was no less frustrating in any subsequent occurrence. It could have been approached in a much less awkward manner, but at least the game is nowhere near unplayable even with these discrepancies intact. I haven’t enjoyed the previous games in the series, but I do hope these issues can be fixed in future releases.

Fortunately, what the game lacks in technical prowess it more than makes up for its shortcomings with buckets of charm. From the crisp anime cut scenes to the fluid character portraits, jazzy and upbeat score, and enjoyable English dub (except for Gemini’s cries of “SHINY!”), the game practically bleeds style, and it’s obvious a fair amount of polish went into making it the best experience it could be. And with multiple branching paths to the end and the choice to cozy up to one of the Star Division girls, there’s loads of replay value. In fact, I’m contemplating another playthrough now that I’m more familiar with the inner workings and exactly how to calculate the trust each event gained me.

This game is not for everyone. Don’t expect to instantly enjoy it if you’re not at all a fan of character interaction or slow buildups, as you will be sorely disappointed. Keep in mind as well that saving is limited to a few times per chapter, so if you’re one who has little time to sit and invest in a game, you may want to make time or reconsider the purchase, as there are long chunks of plot revelations and decisions before you may save. While there are plenty mainstream elements peppered within, this is very much a niche game and one that you may have trouble getting into. But if you decide to take the plunge and dive into a colorful anime world bursting with personality, then I can’t think of too many games that do a better job than this save for the venerable Persona series. If you’ve ever wanted to “live” through episodes of your favorite anime, this would be a great place to start. Hop to it, Shiny!

Title: Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love Publisher: Nippon Ichi Software Developer: Idea Factory Platform(s): Wii (reviewed), PlayStation 2 Genre: Strategy role-playing game/dating sim Release Date: 03/30/2010 MSRP: $39.99 ESRB Rating: Teen

Doin’ It RIGHT: - Engaging and unique character interaction that keeps you coming back for more. - Crisp anime scenes enhance the dated visuals of battle and enliven gameplay. - Challenging strategy RPG elements blend together seamlessly with a dating sim to create a delectable treat.	Doin’ It RONG: - Targeting can be cumbersome, especially in the air. - Poor Wii controls hinder interaction points via LIPS. - Saving can be few and far between and increases difficulty.
FINAL SCORE: 8.5 / 10

On one hand, there’s nothing entirely new about SSFIV, but that’s not to say it’s unwelcome.  The addition of ten new characters, new stages, new bonus stages, new online modes, new achievements and more make it more than just a light upgrade.  Yet, on the other hand, it’s still Street Fighter IV.  It’s familiar, but new.  It’s literally a $40 shot of steroids into a video game that was still in its prime.

Out of the ten new characters, two are completely new to the series.  Juri is a petite seductress, who plays aggressively and fast.  Hakan is an oiled up technical grappler, a sort of cross between Zangief and Abel.  The other 8 newcomers have seen a Street Fighter game before, but bring with them skill sets and tactics that will definitely change up how you’ve been playing SFIV.  Fighters like Adon and Makoto, for example, bring an extremely technical approach to the game.  Their move set requires an opponent to be somewhere very specific, so your random button mashing or turtling might not be your best strategy anymore.  Super Street Fighter IV requires you to continue to adapt to these new opponents and learn how to best play against them.  It’s a game that keeps you thinking and learning, even after years of iterations.

The returning 25 characters (this game’s roster is huge!) stay true to form, but all have added Ultra Combos.  Each fighter has two Ultras to choose from, furthering the new strategies and tactics one can dish out.  Also, damage output has been lowered a bit across the board, resulting in longer matches, and chances to catch up if you’ve taken a beating early on.  No longer are you doomed after one mistake and taking a multiple hit combo to the chest.

The Bonus Stages from yesteryear are back, and while not incredibly deep, do provide a brief moment of nostalgic bliss.  But once you’ve beaten a car to pulp, and smashed some falling barrels a few times, the novelty wears off.  If you’re really tired of it, there is an option to turn it off in Arcade Mode.

Online play is totally revamped.  All character selects are now blind, meaning your opponent won’t wait to see who you choose, and then counter.  Your choice of Ultra is blind as well.  Ranked Matches pit you against a random opponent and earn you newly defined points.  There’s an overall Player Point system, which represents your history of online wins and losses, as well as Battle Points specific to each character.  So if you’ve racked thousands thousands of Player Points as Akuma, then start to play Chun Li, her BP rating is going to be zero.  This doesn’t mean you’re not good with her, it just means you’ve never played as her online before.  It makes much more sense than SFIV point distribution.

The biggest changes to online play are the Endless and Team Battles.  Endless is sort of a round-robin.  X amount of players in a lobby take turns fighting each other, the victor continuing his streak.  This is great in theory, or if you have a group of friends you can chat with while waiting, but for the solo player joining a random lobby, there’s a lot of waiting going on, and you risk being kicked by the host for no good reason after spectating several matches.

Same goes for Team Battle.  I’ve been randomly assigned into a 3 on 3 Battle, with me being the third entry on my team.  The first fighter on my team won all 3 matches, and the Team Battle ended.  So I sat and watched him fight 3 rounds, and that was it.  I never touched my controller or had any input.  Like I said, the new online modes are much more fun if you’re in there with friends and headsets.  If you’re setting out on your own, stick to Ranked Matches.

Those are the big changes, but there are a few tiny pet peeves I have.  The announcer, while having the same dialogue, is a bit more aggressive and toned down than in SFIV.  I miss the enthusiasm of the original voice work.  The car and barrel bonus stages aren’t equal substitutes of the Time Attack and Survival Modes of the first game.  And truth be told, I kind of miss that annoying “Indestructible” song.

Super Street Fighter IV is exactly what you though it’d be.  A great upgrade to the original SFIV.  Not a new style, not a complete revamp, but there are great changes where needed.  The amount of characters available, and the online matching make this a game you’ll keep playing for years.  Do you need this game if you already Street Fighter IV?  Depends.  If you’re content with SFIV, by all means keep playing it.  But if you love SFIV and can’t get enough, definitely invest in this upgrade as you also cannot play Super Street Fighter IV with people playing online in the previous game.  There’s no real reason to have both, but SSFIV is the one to have.  When Capcom continues to release fantastic 2D fighters, made with love and the hardcore fans in mind, the consumer consistently wins.

Doin’ It RIGHT: - Same great 2D fighting, more bells and whistles. - Total overhaul of online system, fairer matching. - Lots of new content for budget price.	Doin’ It RONG: - Online modes work better for playing with friends, not alone. -Minor changes might bother diehards.
FINAL SCORE: 9 / 10

Cyd “Codex” Sherman is an awkward  redhead who’s ready for an IRL reboot. She’s weathering a depression that just won’t let up, and happiness always seems just out of reach. Her life seems to be crumbling apart, one small piece at a time. As we are introduced to the sprightly young girl via her inner monologue and accompanying imagery, we discover how lost and alone she really feels underneath her sunny and bright exterior.

Her self-deprecating humor as showcased in the live-action series is ever-present here, shining through even in one of the very first panels in the comic. Cyd, lamenting on the task her therapist has assigned her (keeping a video diary) notes that the webcam is “almost like an arranged marriage,” with the camera a possible “prince.” Except Cyd is no longer (ahem) innocent, so she couldn’t become a princess anyway. “Stupid hymen,” she sighs.

We’re led to assume that honor was bestowed upon her loser of a  boyfriend, who previously worked alongside her in an unnamed orchestra. But what with his new “band” and all, he hardly has time for little people like Cyd. Once he “broke out” from classical music to delve into the new, “hip” world of rock and roll, it grew more and more apparent who he was really in love with, and it’s obvious that person could be found looking right back at him from the confines of a mirror.

Cyd and Trevor’s romance is tumultuously depicted in the pages of the first issue, tugging at our heartstrings and filling us with hatred for this loser who can’t see what a truly amazing girl he has waiting for him at home. He’s filled with such overly romantic notions such as the fact that Cyd must be jealous of his newfound notoriety as a rock star after she overheard comments that could be detrimental to Trevor’s confidence and kept them to himself. Truly. And his latest gig wouldn’t be complete without his “little bird” there, because someone has to take the tickets.

Trevor may play the part of the stereotypically dull and misogynistic boyfriend, but his ignorance resonates with readers in a way that reminds them of the own dead weights in their lives, pulling them down with every reminder of codependency. As I have only seen a few episodes of The Guild, I can’t imagine what becomes of this schmuck, but I hope his fate is an eventual and appropriate one. And Cyd’s incessant fawning over this selfish manchild doesn’t make matters any better.

Since therapy isn’t making any discernible changes and the medication her therapist prescribed has side effects that are worse than the symptoms, Cyd has reached a bit of a dead-end. While perusing the local game shop and posting up fliers for deadbeat Trevor’s gig (and having a brush-in with future fellow guild member Tinkerballa) she happens upon “The Game,” fascinated by the advertisement in the window. The clerk’s mention that she can choose to be anyone she wants to be in-game is the clincher, and Cyd realizes that this may well be the escape she needs to reinvent herself (and her life) the way that she’s always dreamt of.

After creating a healer character named after a comic book hero she adores (Codex), Cyd is thrust into the world of “The Game.” Though she innocently believes the game to be full of serene landscaping and peaceful wandering, she soon runs into Bladezz, who shows her the real way to play, and that means killing. Killing everything. In this she finds comfort, and real companionship, especially when faced with a monster she can’t quite take down by her lonesome. Luckily, a majestic soul known as Vork comes to her aid. Cyd’s first few hours in-game reveal only those two established characters, but lay a solid foundation for the rest of this origin study, and when it comes to an end shortly after meeting Vork, you’re left reeling and hungry for more.

Now, while the story is fantastically written by Day, the artwork could use a little tightening. Real-world scenes are appropriately abysmal and gritty compared to the fanciful world of The Game, though it’s clear Jim Rugg has his lapses in detail with some of the panels. It’s also strange that the characters are not seen wearing the familiar costumes we know and love, the ones depicted on the cover of the comic (a stunning piece done by Matthew Stawicki). The in-game panels are not as ethereal as one would hope, but do provide a nice juxtaposition against Cyd’s real life and the downtrodden events that riddle it. Smart, witty dialogue is embedded in every page, and you can tell Day has a knack for finding each character’s voice.

It’s a trip to be sure, and one that fans of The Guild should enjoy taking, if not to experience the very beginning and to see how Cyd reached the point in her life that she’s at in the infancy of the sitcom. As an unfamiliar viewer myself, completing this three-volume series will prove to be rather eye-opening, and I plan on going into the show and watching it in its entirety armed with a better knowledge of its backstory and what it’s all about. The Guild’s comic series is an enjoyable romp indeed. I may have been late to the party, but now I’m ravenous for more. Expect a review of issues two and three soon.

You can find issue #1 of The Guild here for purchase, and issue #2 has just gone on sale as well.

FINAL SCORE: 8.5 / 10

Four years have indeed been kind to Rico Rodriguez, and it’s evident as soon as you jump straight into the action. Panau, a southeast Asian island, has fallen under the iron fist of devious dictator “Baby” Panay, and while tailing  his ex-boss who he has reason to believe has gone rogue. Rico joins up with several of the gangs inhabiting gorgeous Panau in order to take the traitor down, all the while clearing up problems exclusive to the citizens under Panay’s tyranny. The plot’s a bit scattershot, true. And it’s difficult to ensure that you remember why you’re traversing the 400 square mile in-game map in the first place. In any other genre, I would find this to be a strong demerit — giving me so much to work with that I forget my main goal.

Luckily, there’s more to keep you playing that I can hardly fault the game for presenting the player with so many options and so much mileage to explore. That’s no exaggeration. Stop to think about it for a moment: Just Cause 2 offers a staggering amount of ground to cover. Of course, it’s up to you to decide whether or not to travel everywhere on your itenerary, but if you take the time to run around every single area on Panau you’ll be acquainted with one of the lushest, vibrant locations in the gaming world. It’s literally as if you’ve packed up and moved to a beautiful island continent that’s your own personal playground. Across seven campaign missions, checkpoint challenges, and nearly fifty faction missions, if you can see it, you can travel there. What’s more, the beautiful scenery, the rolling hills, the monuments to dictator Panay? It’s all yours to destroy.

Much like with Red Faction: Guerrilla, the main draw to this title is the copious amounts of destruction it offers, coupled with the beautiful freedom given to the player to get things done on their own terms. In fact, you’re encouraged to cause a little chaos. Chain up destruction bonuses via “Sabotage,” a.k.a. destroying anything remotely related to Panay’s dictatorship. Cause a few fires. Overturn a few hundred oil tankers. Anything goes, and that’s what makes Just Cause 2 so ridiculously fun. You could literally spend hours simply traipsing throughout Panau doing nothing but wreaking havoc upon the countryside, and come out feeling as though you’ve accomplished more than in a solid session of completing story missions. Never before have I found this kind of exploration so invigorating or so freeing.

Getting from point A to point B may be accomplished via several different vehicles found throughout the island, or you can simply rely on Rico’s grappling hook. If you’re familiar with the first game then you might find that it’s been ramped up considerably, and depending on whether or not you find it feasible that Rico can grapple straight to the zenith of most heights simply through grappling you’ll come to enjoy it more than any weapon or mode of transportation in the game.

It’s far more than a simply way to ascend impossible heights, though. Sure, all of Panau is ripe for the taking…if you make sure to mow down the enemies standing in your way. That’s where the grapple hook shines. You can make A.I. characters’ lives a living hell if you so choose to via some decadently devious methods that involve quite a bit of tethering. Aim and fire at enemies to force them to you, riddle them with bullets, and juggle them in the air to initiate a combat bonus. Hitch a ride in a stolen vehicle and drag that poor sap along the entire way to your destination. Or just pull them off of a ledge straight into a ravine. Lovely stuff, really. You’ll forget all about the collection of arms at your disposal once you’ve painted the pavement with the blood of a Panay soldier. Hey, they’d do that stuff to you! Don’t feel bad for a second…unless it’s to lament on how terrible most of the vehicles handle, which is not pretty. It’s a good thing that Rico’s such an athletic cat, right?

And the grapple works much better, in fact, than guns do. I found the targeting system and the subsequent bullet spray more than a little finicky, which got a little old upon encountering wave after wave of some truly dull enemies. It shouldn’t take one whole clip to down one simple baddie. Really, that’s fundamental stuff. The lackluster cover/crouch system detracts in a major way from gunplay that’s been done far better in similar games. In fact, if Rico were without his grapple, even the most hectic of brawls would prove yawn-inducing. It’s quite disappointing, too, when offing guys are such an integral part of the story. While the game overall is a huge step forward for the blossoming series, gunplay took a little samba in the wrong direction. Oops!

To perhaps somewhat make up for where it falters, the game looks fantastic. With every setting sun over a sparkling blue ocean, journeys through lush greenery, and trips you’ll make hanging from a chopper, you’ll be reminded exactly why that HD television is nestled comfortably in your living room. The voice acting falls victim to a few pitfalls here and there, but overall the satisfying screams of soldiers and Rico’s sarcastic quips are appreciably in-character.

Despite the detours it takes from being a nearly-impeccable and almost neverending romp through a tropical paradise going to ruin, Just Cause 2 is most certainly worthy of your time and attention. If you’re a fan at all of games such as Grand Theft Auto, The Saboteur, or Red Faction: Guerilla, you’ll no doubt feel at home here. There’s plenty to do and even more to see, so if you’re ready to take that long-awaited trip to an island getaway, don’t let money be an obstacle — you can travel on the cheap with Just Cause 2, if you’re willing to excuse a few bumps along the way.

Doin’ It RIGHT: - Huge, expansive in-game world. - Gorgeous visuals. - Plenty to keep you busy with!	Doin’ It RONG: - Gunplay isn’t so awe-inspiring. - Enemy A.I. is a bunch of dullards.
FINAL SCORE: 8 / 10

BioWare has offered downloadable content before in the form of new characters, armor and new places to explore, but nothing quite like this.  When you first set out on your journey as the new Commander, you are given a choice: either import an existing character from Origins, or create a new Orlesian Warden.  If your Warden from Origins is unable to continue on with their journey, don’t worry – you’ll be able to import them no matter what.  While the story itself is interesting, the characters lack a certain amount of depth that was present in Origins.

Awakening offers players the chance to unlock new roles, such as the Battlemage and Keeper.  The new specialties are a lot of fun to unlock and experiment with as you progress through the story.  The story itself adds a level of intrigue when you meet up with a strange character called The Architect.  The Architect is a Darkspawn, but is unlike anything anyone has ever encountered before.  For one thing, he has the ability of speech and also appears to want to form some sort of relationship with the Warden Commander.

The Darkspawn appear to be organized and intelligent, which causes concern and alarm for the residents of Amaranthine.  This is where the Commander of the Grey Wardens comes in.  It’s your job to figure out what the Darkspawn are up to, and exterminate them.  Unfortunately you aren’t able to romance your companions this time around, even though BioWare made a point of giving you attractive and intriguing new companions.  In fact, you aren’t even able to strike up a conversation with them whenever you fancy which led to some mildly disappointing moments.

Though they make brief cameos, your old companions may pop up depending on what choices you made in Origins.  While the new companions are intriguing and even amusing at times, they lack the qualities that made the original cast so special.  The companions definitely have the potential to shine, but due to the length of the expansion they are never really given the chance to fully blossom.   They have their own sets of problems, and if they trust you enough they’ll open up and confide in you their inner-most feelings.  While all of this makes for some excellent story-telling, I never once actually cared whether they liked me much or not.  I rarely checked their approval meters and found myself shrugging it off several times when I would say the wrong thing to a companion.

Occasionally you’ll encounter a tree or a statue that will prompt you to click on it.  This will trigger a small cut scene where you’ll be able to speak to one of the members of your party and even have the chance to gain or lose their approval.  The banter amongst companions is once again brilliantly written and is laughter-inducing depending on who you take along with you.  It is definitely worth switching out your companions often, if only to listen to them bicker with one another.

Not being able to chat it up or fall in love with your new found Warden recruits seems to be the least of Awakening’s problems, however.  Frustrating bugs crop up one too many times and cheapen an otherwise pretty enjoyable experience.  At one point in the game two of the same character popped up on the screen which caused an uncomfortable graphical glitch.  The NPC in question was trying to tell me something important, but all I could focus on was that there was two of her and she was blinking around the screen.

Other bugs are not so harmless.  One in particular caused my character to get stuck in the middle of a wall, forcing me to switch to another character to dislodge her.  Epic moments of intense violence become awkward when the enemies lock up and don’t move while you swing your axe at them.  The game has its rough moments, though it does see its fair share of bright spots as well.

The side quests are plentiful and though I took my time completing as many as I could, I know I missed a few.  Game completionists will have plenty to do in Awakening, from potion-making to helping out with an Apostate problem in the city of Denerim.  As far as the sound goes, BioWare once again provides great voice acting and a decent soundtrack.  The music isn’t anything that hasn’t been heard before, but still sets a fantastic backdrop.

Die-hard fans of Dragon Age will either be repulsed or impressed, but for $40 I felt as though I didn’t quite get my money’s worth.  The story is over much too quickly and the glitches were frustrating to have to deal with.  For an expansion it passes but is marred with flaws, and I can’t help but think that it could have been so much more and of better value.  With a patch and a discount, Awakening could be an excellent expansion to an incredible game.

Title: Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: BioWare Platform(s):Xbox 360 (reviewed), PS3, PC Release Date: March 16, 2010

Doin It RIGHT: - New specializations to unlock - Interesting story line - It’s more Dragon Age	Doin It RONG: - Too short, leaves you wishing there was more - Too many bugs - New companions lack depth
FINAL SCORE: 7 / 10

Now, I’m no multimedia wizard. I’ve got a long way to go before I can catch up to some of you editing geniuses out there. But I do hope that you all enjoy my first attempt at a video review. I’m open to suggestions and constructive criticism so I can make the next one even better. Let me know what you think, and if you’ve got some ideas that can improve the format then feel free to say so!

Is this a format you’d like to see more of in the future?

Title: Lunar: Silver Star Harmony Publisher: Xseed Games Developer: GameArts/Studio Alex Platform(s):PSP Release Date: March 02, 2010

Doin It RIGHT: - The definitive Lunar remake. - Lush new visuals and interesting new additions. - Improved menus/navigation.	Doin It RONG: - New English song translation doesn’t flow well. - Brand new dub could have been better.
FINAL SCORE: 9 / 10

Those of you familiar with the series will immediately feel right at home, but for those of you who have never played a Diner Dash title before, I’ll explain the basic premise of the franchise.  Basically you take control of Flo, a waitress, who you must manage skillfully in order to seat customers, take their orders, fill them, and clear dishes, all while keeping everyone as happy as possible in order to earn the most tips.  You can earn bonuses by color matching (seating patrons in chairs that match their outfits) and by doing the same action several times in a row for a multiplier.  Also, the happier you keep your customers (determined by a number of hearts), the better your tip will be at the end of the day.  Each level has a set goal you need to meet in order to pass to the next stage, as well as an expert goal to keep you coming back to beat your best score.  Usually, earning the expert score gives you some bonus or nets you another option for decorating your restaurant in addition to the self satisfaction you get from finally achieving what may have eluded you for so long.

I know that description may not sound exciting, but when Diner Dash is at its best, it is incredibly addictive and fun.  Unfortunately, Diner Dash 5 is far from the best in the series, largely due to gameplay imbalance and related design flaws.  For one thing, Diner Dash 5 will feel, overall, far too easy for series vets, especially if you’re coming off of the last game, Hometown Hero, which, at least in my opinion, was by far the most challenging of the series.

It’s funny, because somehow PlayFirst managed to make Diner Dash 5 busier, yet rather than making it more frantic (and fun), they’ve managed instead to bog down the experience to the point at which (and I never thought I’d say this) the game is actually boring.  Whereas in previous games adding new tasks (such as snacks and deserts) or various customers with different quirks (such as families with children), the additions (such as weather effects and repairs) in this game make for a “crowded” feel that slows the pace of the game.  The pace further suffers from the fact that often times the only way to get the Expert score is by precisely matching colors for every single patron without fail.  This problem is especially bad early in the game, as you will often find yourself missing the Expert goal by only a few points because you missed one single color match (and I mean one person, not one group)!  This translates into making the previously sought-after higher ranking a chore rather than an achievement, worsened by the fact that about 50% (perhaps even more) of the time, you aren’t rewarded with much for your troubles  (As a side note, achieving expert in earlier games was more about skill in ranking up combos while mastering color whenever possible, rather than focused primarily on color combos.)

Perhaps I am being nit-picky, but this soured the game experience for me.  It just wasn’t as intense or entertaining as it could have been, and I perhaps it was just my latent Diner Dash skill returning to me, or perhaps it was my imagination, but I definitely felt the last two levels were far easier than the first few, as I racked up the Expert score every time on the first try without breaking a sweat.

“But, Rebecca,” you ask, “isn’t this game aimed at casual gamers?   Aren’t you being overly critical of its difficulty level?”  True, this game is aimed at a more casual audience; however, the problem with Diner Dash 5 isn’t just that it’s “too easy” but that the feel, the frantic fun, of what makes Diner Dash so enjoyable is sucked away.  Most likely PlayFirst was trying to make up for the high challenge level of Hometown Hero with this iteration, but, unfortunately, they’ve sucked the life out of it in the process.  You’ll find far less tables until the very last level in this game than you would have experienced in the previous titles, for example.  For the most part, color groups stay true throughout, so you never have to compromise by putting an off-color in a seat the way you would have in previous games.  You can hire help for nearly every round, whether its someone to entertain the folks in line to an extra set of hands (at least you can elect not to hire this help to increase the challenge a bit).  Plus, you never seem to have the overwhelming stack of people arriving in line that you did in other Diner Dash games.

But it isn’t just the challenge or pacing that drags Diner Dash 5 down.  Whereas in other games you got a chance to decorate your individual restaurant and earn power-ups after each level, in Diner Dash 5, the “rewards” seem few and far between, and when they do appear, to me felt far less fulfilling than in past games.  Even decorating the diner (which is being rebuilt through most of the game), seemed unexciting.  Combine that with a lack of an “endless shift” mode, and many die-hard fans might find themselves disappointed.

However, this isn’t to say that Diner Dash 5 is a complete waste of time.  For example, some elements are improved from previous games, and some of the additions are interesting.  For example, you can no longer accidentally grab a snack, and if you grab one but the customer changes their mind before you deliver it, it automatically disappears (you no longer have to take it to the bus station).  The sound effects work really well in helping you rack up combos, and some of the new customer types (including the townie concept) are fun.  I also really like the idea of buying your upgrades.  Plus, the last level finally feels more like the Diner Dash we all love.  After each main stage, you earn an upgrade that you can send to a friend, and you can link the game to your facebook account so your friends can track your progress. They also have a medal system (think trophies), which can give you something to strive for beyond earning expert on each level, which is a nice touch.  This is also the first in the series to use fully voiced cutscenes in between levels, which is a nice touch.  Besides, you can’t beat the $6.99 price tag, making it (at least in my experience) the cheapest of the series at launch.

Overall, while Diner Dash 5 delivers, I miss the frenetic pace of earlier titles in the franchise.  Diner Dash 5 is too plodding and too limiting.  Earning the “expert” scores seem to be less due to the skills of a fast clicking finger and more to the slow, strategic racking up of color combos.  The game is extremely busy and yet, at the same time, very slow in many ways.  Fans of the series will still enjoy the game, no doubt, but it certainly isn’t the best in the franchise, and in many ways feels more like a step backward than one forward for Flo and company.  If you’ve never played a Diner Dash game before, I personally recommend trying Diner Dash: Flo on the Go first, as it is my personal favorite in the series.

Title: Diner Dash 5: Boom! Publisher: PlayFirst Developer: PlayFirst Platform(s): PC Release Date: February 16, 2010

Doin It RIGHT: - Inexpensive. - Easier than Hometown Hero. - Can link to your Facebook account.	Doin It RONG: - Too easy. - Pace isn’t as frantic as previous games. - Earning expert scores is a bit limiting, no “endless shift” mode.
FINAL SCORE: 6.0 / 10

Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver have few differences, except that just like in the previous games, which version you pick up determines some of the Pokémon you will encounter in the wild.  For example, if you want to catch a Mankey you’re going to need to either purchase HeartGold or find a friend who would be willing to trade with you.  Other than that the experiences are very much the same.  HeartGold and SoulSilver are remakes of two previous Pokemon games – Pokémon Gold and Silver – which were released for the Game Boy Color in 1999.

While they are remakes, they are very polished and well worth the price.   Something you will notice right away when you purchase the game is that each version comes bundled with a cute little gadget called the PokéWalker.  The PokéWalker is kind of like a cross between a pedometer and a Tamagotchi from the late 90s, displaying the Pokémon of your choice on a little LCD screen that keeps track of your footsteps.  It’s not exactly the most amazing piece of technology available but it does add an extra layer of fun to the latest Pokémon adventure.

With the PokéWalker you are given the ability to take one of your Pokémon with you for a walk, which can enable them to level up, battle wild Pokémon, or find items.  You’ll also be able to capture some wild Pokémon, which will be sent via infrared ports to your Nintendo DS and appear in one of your PC storage boxes.  The PokéWalker doesn’t offer anything especially deep or rewarding and your Pokémon will only level up once per every walk you take them on, so it isn’t a good way of level up your team when they aren’t being used.  The items that you find on the PokéWalker can be used in the game, such as energy powders that can heal a Pokémon in battle.

The story isn’t at all important, and this can either be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it.  On one hand, you won’t need to pay attention to what little story there is in order to understand what needs to be done.  On the contrary, not having an interesting story can potentially leave some people feeling bored and exhausted from all the training you will undoubtedly be doing as you attempt to form the ultimate Pokémon team.  The regions of Johto and Kanto should be familiar to those who have played Pokémon LeafGreen and FireRed, and you will be visiting them yet again in HeartGold and SoulSilver.

Forming a great team is important and something you will be spending quite a bit of your time in the game doing, much like in every other Pokémon game.  With that said, there is some grinding that will sometimes be necessary in order to beat a boss or a gym leader in order to progress.  I’m not particularly fond of grinding in any RPG but I realize that this is an element that doesn’t seem likely to be going away any time soon.  Fortunately I didn’t experience too much of a grind until much later on in the game.

The combat system hasn’t been updated so you’ll be fighting the same way you always have been, and you will once again be able to give your Pokemon items and berries to hold onto to give them an edge in battle.  Just like in the original Gold and Silver games, you will be able to find Apricorns while on your journey.  Apricorns grow on trees that are scattered across the region and can be made into specialty Poké Balls, such as the net ball (which works particularly well on bug and water Poké mon) and fast ball (a Poké Ball that works well on fast Pokemon).  Unlike the original Gold and Silver Game Boy games, you won’t be able to grow your own Apricorn trees this time around but they do show up often, negating any need to grow them anyway.  What is different in this Pokémon remake is the interface.  On the bottom part of the screen is where you will find your interface, which is separated into the following categories: Pokédex, Pokémon, Bag, Pokégear, Name, Save and Options.

With the PokéGear you’ll be able to receive and make phone calls as well as have your Pokédex evaluated by Professor Oak.  You can also check out your trainer card with the bottom interface and see how many gym badges you have acquired so far, which is a whopping 16 in total.  While some people may not like the new interface, I personally enjoyed it.  It is a little bit of a pain to have to constantly dig through your bag to be able to use the fishing pole, but overall it is easy to use and organized.

HeartGold and SoulSilver still suffer from the same banal sound effects its predecessors have had since 1998.  The midi bleeps and bloops that the Pokémon make at the start of a battle or encounter left me scratching my head a few times, wondering why they were never updated over the years.  It seems odd to still be playing what feels like the same exact game from 11 years ago, with the unanimated sprites and terrible sound effects.  The music is cute and endearing, offering little upbeat tempos and fortunately, do not suffer the same fate as the sound effects themselves.  Visually the game looks nice, though you’re still wandering around as a sprite and enduring Pokemon battles where no one actually moves.

While much of the game is still very much the same, there are some new elements of the game that added some much-needed depth.  The Pokéathlon is a series of mini-games that you can play by yourself or with a friend via Wi-fi connection.  These games are played using the stylus and offer something extra to do with your Pokémon besides battling them.  The games that you play can be played with whatever Pokémon that you want, as long as they are in your team.  When creating your Pokéathlon team, you’ll need to keep their stats in mind if you want to finish in first place.  For example, if you are entering any of the speed races, having fast Pokémon compete (such as Pidgey and Rattata) will be your best bet.

Nothing revolutionary or groundbreaking is happening here, but it’s still a fun journey regardless.  If you add in the new PokéWalker and the fact that there are 16 badges now instead of 8, you have some pretty good value on your hands for forty bucks.  It isn’t a perfect game but it’s probably the best in the series so far, and if you’re a Pokémon fan you will definitely want to grab this one even if you think you’ve done it all before (which you have).  Even if you aren’t a huge fan of the games, I still recommend giving this one a try.  You may just be in for a pleasant surprise.

Title: Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Game Freak Platform(s): Nintendo DS Release Date: March 14th, 2010

Doin It RIGHT: - Highly addictive game play. - Quite possibly the longest Pokémon adventure yet, so you’re getting a lot of bang for your buck. - The PokéWalker is an enjoyable addition.	Doin It RONG: - Can get very repetitive and require quite a bit of grinding. - The sound effects are still the same midi files you heard back in 1998. - Not much new was added.
FINAL SCORE: 9 / 10

Familiar and intuitive controls, superb production values (for back then), and excellent sound direction flirted shamelessly to create the perfect Alien shooter, and to date I still revisit it as often as my personal favorite System Shock 2. Upon the announcement of 2010’s Aliens vs Predator, I was hoping to be greeted with something much more akin to this lost gem instead of a rail-shooter or uninspired shooter a la Star Trek: Elite Force. Unfortunately, this year’s Aliens vs Predator is quite broken. In moments where all the pieces come together, it can be an awesome experience, but it just can’t measure up to the hits ofthe past.

The game’s been marketed as a must-play for any fan of the storied franchise, and die-hards will find plenty to enjoy about what Aliens vs Predator aspires to do. Split into three separate campaigns, you can assume the role of an alien, a marine, or one of the vicious predators. Each campaign is tailored to the specific strengths of each archetype, so you’ll be exploring locations and taking on enemies that will change according to whose side you’re on.

For instance, should you choose to complete the game as a lowly marine, you’ll find yourself smack dab in the middle of a wholly creepy and unsettling exercise in survival horror akin to the early days of Alien on consoles. Fumbling around in the dark as you attempt to escape your almost certain death is deliciously terrifying. The faint blips of your motion tracker act as a chilling mantra to keep moving lest your spine be ripped out right through your neck. And it will happen, time and time again, if you’re not careful. That’s what makes playing as an alien so engrossing. Taking a chunk out of a marine’s head never ceases to satisfy, though crawling around through various vents and tangling hallways can become downright disorienting. Still, there’s plenty of fun to be found in the fact that you can traipse along each and every wall and ceiling in your immediate surroundings — freedom that you don’t often get. Similarly, the Predator’s campaign offers its own quirks to liven up an otherwise mundane first-person shooter. Performing death-defying leaps and acrobatics all the while stalking your prey is exceedingly engrossing, and serves as a personal favorite aspect of the game. Nothing beats going in for the kill, and the Predator has several tricks up his sleeve to make it all the more savory, especially if you like gratuitous violence.

Unfortunately, even with all the frills such as fantastically gritty kills via the Predator or an appropriately atmospheric marine campaign, Aliens vs Predator somehow manages to hit quite a few sour notes. What it gets right in terms of thrilling implements ripped straight from the blockbuster movies, it gets horribly wrong in terms of standard shooter game design. The levels suffer from poor layouts, and the jump from the darker more atmospheric levels to nondescript jungles and similar locations is a bit of a shock to the system. I’ve seen enough jungles in my gaming history to know that it doesn’t make the game any more exotic. It just adds an element of “been-there-done-that” that you shouldn’t be getting when exploring the Alien universe.

Combat easily becomes cheap and forgettable despite the admirable attempts at keeping it afloat. Much like BioShock’s Winter Blast! plasmid technique, you can follow a simple set of maneuevers with every enemy to ensure certain death awaits. That kind of predictability doesn’t keep gameplay very fresh, and when you know exactly how to tackle every baddie who wants you for lunch (or a trophy) it takes much of the urgency out of the situations you’re placed in. There are exceptions to the rule, of course, but a good portion of the enemies can easily be thwarted in this way. At least in the grand scheme of things the marine campaign is the most playable, devoid of the problems that plague the Alien and Predator.

If you choose to tackle the Alien story, you’ll be granted the ability to slither onto, well, just about anything, which gives you the fleeting sense of freedom of going anywhere and everywhere, except when it’s all said and done you can’t help but liken the experience to assuming the role of a Monitor in Halo 3’s Forge, flying around the map as a spectator rather than a xenomorph. The Alien’s wall-walking is finicky as well, requiring a little getting used to, but even when you have conquered it, the fact remains that you feel less like one of the snarling beasts and more like you’ve just enabled a cheat to allow you free reign of the environment. As a character who relies on precision and exact movement to enact one of its wonderously violent kills, you’ll find that the clunkiness of the Alien is what ultimately holds it back.

The Predator relies on stealth much like the Alien in order to carry out gruesome kills, and possesses the most satisfying slaughter animation in the entire game, iconic of the creature’s bloody film history. It is not to be missed and remains the reason I particularly enjoy playing as the Predator. An obstacle to the required stealth elements for the Alien and Predator is unfortunately the linearity and downright broken feel to each of the levels. There may be an object in your path that might call out for you to bound over it, but the game has other ideas. It’s so disappointing considering the supposed freedom you should have as a xenomorph, able to go anywhere and everywhere. But in reality, you can’t go anywhere you want because the game wags a shameful finger in your face and says “NO!”

Coupled with some truly insipid AI who you might see simply turning their backs to you after they see you approaching, or the befuddled citizens who do little more than run away screaming pitiably, you have an experience that while workable is wholly disappointing. And it’s a shame that the most cohesive part of the campaign is the marine option, which still succeeds on its own two legs mainly as yet another cookie-cutter FPS that makes sure to hit all the high notes of all the shooters of the past, right down to your role as a rookie. Still, choosing to traverse the Alien universe is much tidier if you take the human path, but I suppose that was to be expected.

For some truly uninspiring gameplay, there are some equally boring visuals to match. Plenty of muted grays, jungle greens, and landscaping typical of shooters abound. Fortunately, even within this exercise in the mundane, there’s some enjoyment to be had with the gruesome deaths you’re able to enact as your choice of “protagonist.” Nothing beats ripping an entire spinal column out of a man, and you know it. Sadly, the audio doesn’t quite stack up to the level of giddiness achieved by slaughtering countless enemies in the way that only Aliens vs Predator can. Really, not much does, unless you count the fun to be had in the game’s multiplayer modes.

You’re still confined to the same issues that plague the mediocre single-player campaign, but taking the action online is where most of the fun lies. Team Deathmatches serve up a melting pot of Predators, marines, and Aliens in a free-for-all where you’re free to explore each character’s skill set. It becomes easier to overlook the game’s flaws when chomping on the head of the kid in England who continually drags out the “burger-guzzling American” guns while he’s on the losing team. The online modes are just as clumsy as playing the regular game, but without the confines of a mission to annoy you, it’s possible you’ll have much more fun hanging out with buddies in the various gametypes. There are quite a few different ones to explore, one of my favorites being Predator Tag, so if you have a few friends and you just happen to be an Alien fan, you’ll enjoy hopping online for a few rounds.

Aliens vs Predator certainly isn’t perfect, and even as far as the license goes, you can do much better. It’s a shame to see so much wasted potential here, as the components are present to craft a much more engrossing game. Unfortunately, what’s done is done, and this entry is really carved out of mediocrity. There are a few shining moments of greatness, but once you’ve eviscerated a few hundred poor saps, the magic fades fairly quickly. Alien fans will want to give this a rental, but I can’t imagine that buying the game is the best idea.

For those unfamiliar with the God of War series, first of all shame on you, and second, basically all you need to know is that it’s about a guy who goes around killing Greek mythology.  There’s a story buried there, and actually an interesting one full of death and revenge, but honestly it’s about killing gorgons and minotaurs and anything else you may have encountered in your first year of college during one elective or another.  Oh, and gods.  Kratos kills gods.  In fact, this third entry in the series sees him seeking out the death of every last one of them (with an exception or two).  He’s not happy with Zeus, and unfortunately for the pantheon, Zeus uses them all as body shields.  The end of God of War 2 found Kratos scaling Mount Olympus on the back of the Titan mother Gaia, along with a dozen or so of the other titans, all hell bent on refreshing an age old war.  Naturally in the third game, this alliance with the titans doesn’t last, and Kratos quickly finds himself where he has so often before:  alone and in hell.

His vengeance unsatiated, Kratos begins his ascent, and one of the beautiful things about God of War III, and a trait that past games have shared but never to quite the extent of this one, is the level design.  As Kratos is jumping and scaling and roaming all over Greek myth, he is doing so within a specific chronology and within certain boundaries.  The levels are massive and encompassing, but they’re all connected to Mount Olympus and the raging conflict upon its flanks in some way.  Kratos will find himself in Hades or Tartarus, and then we’ll see him emerge somewhere else on the mountain to kill another boss.  Then he’ll descend, then he’ll wander a palace, and so on.  Levels are revisited often, but never in the same manner or from the same angle.  The titans themselves also serve as levels in a few cases, and the design around these occurrences is nothing short of genius.  These beings are so large that a simple arm turn for them means a shift in gravity for Kratos, and the game reflects this as he’ll go from standing on a flat surface to hanging by his blades from that same surface.  It takes a convention invented by Shadow of the Colossus and makes it bloody.

Much of the game will be familiar to fans of the series.  The twin blades are back, though they get a new appearance and name.  The same green and blue orb chests denote the same resource renewal.  Gorgon Eyes and Phoenix Feathers still mean increases in health and mana.  There’s a sex minigame.  But there are some welcome new additions.  The item bar for instance, is a depleting bar that is used not for magic or life, but for the use of things like his Bow or the Head of Helios.  It adds another dynamic to skill usage that I personally felt was more than needed.  The bar empties fast, but also constantly refills itself without the need for regenerative orbs.  The Rage of the Gods ability also returns, though instead of Kratos just running around on fire, he pulls out the famed Blade of Olympus and wreaks havoc on foes.  This seems odd to those of us who used the Blade as a standard weapon in the second game, and indeed it doesn’t feel quite as satisfying as this powers’ former incarnation, but at the very least it’s nice to see the Blade’s reappearance.  The new weapons are also a massive improvement over previous games.  For one, two of the three are simply different versions of Kratos’ standard blade-chains.  They acquire different movesets as they’re leveled, have different magic associated with them, and handle slightly different in certain ways, but by and large are just re-skinned.  This makes them sound cheap and simple but by no means is that true.  Their use is actually surprisingly different and I found myself not only leveling them, but switching between each quite often.  The same can be said for the new Cestus Gauntlets, which are so much better than any of Kratos’ prior “power” weapons that I want to take them and force them into the previous games.  They saw a fore-running in Chains of Olympus, but even that sole gauntlet wasn’t a tenth as satisfying as these dual mitts.

Also returning are the kind of boss fights most players only dream of experiencing.  This third installment easily sees the best of the entire series, both in scale and in difficulty.  Kratos is fighting gods, titans, and anything else that stands in his way.  The fights are multi-staged in many cases, and will often even range across levels.  They feel epic in a way that few other games can even attempt to match, and they always end in ways that will leave a jaw dropped and a mind partially blown.  And as a potential forewarning, those who can’t stomach a little bloodshed or gore should avoid this game.  In fact, in many instances it requires either a sick frame of mind or just a high tolerance for the nasty to watch demise of some of the creatures that our protagonist ends.  Kratos is one mean hombre.

Visually, God of War III is one of the best looking titles to date on any platform.  Kratos in particular looks, for lack of a better word, real.  His visuals are far and away the best in the game and it’s obvious how much care and attention was paid to making him look right.  The designers had an advantage with him as he has no pesky hair to deal with, and his ashen skin and tattoo make him not quite normal looking to begin with.  Regardless, every scene that focuses on his face or anywhere around him is very gritty and very realistic.  The vistas and levels also look impressive.  The titans in particular are eye-popping, both in their size and in the way that they manage to convey that size while still looking graphically precise.  The only areas where the game loses some of its visual beauty is, ironically enough, when naked women are present.  There are a few scenes involving nudity that make me wonder if the developers had ever seen an unclothed female.  And aside from their anatomical oddities, they just don’t look as good graphically.  Maybe that was intentional?  Maybe having nudity that looks as detailed as some of the other areas in the game would feel weird to them.  I don’t know.  I do know that it does take one out of the experience somewhat seeing the meticulously detailed Kratos standing next to a woman who probably could have walked out of the PS2 era.

There are, of course, negative things to say about God of War III.  There are glitches, for one.  During one boss fight, I had the quick time event associated with it fail to trigger, leaving a twitching foe on the ground, able to be hit, but never finished off.  This worked to my favor in the end as it allowed for an easy 1000 hit combo trophy, but it was still frustrating having to restart a seriously difficult fight (and one of the game’s few bad boss fights at that).  Rumors of similar glitches elsewhere in the game, as well as even more game-breaking issues, are also troubling.  There have been complaints about the game’s length as well, though personally I have nothing but praise for an 8-10 hour romp through Greece.  The prior games weren’t really any longer, and the replayability of this series is quite high.

Anyone who has loved or even enjoyed the first two God of War games will flat out love this title.  Anyone who enjoys good platforming action/adventure will like this game, assuming they can handle the gore.  These are not definitive statements.  It is this writer’s opinion that this is one of the best games, not only of this year, but probably in gaming history.  It does almost everything right, and its few flaws are completely overshadowed by just how epic the entire experience is.  In fact, the the majority of my “doin it rongs” aren’t even critiques of the game but rather warnings.  Truthfully there’s very little not to love about God of War III.  Not everyone may feel the need to kill a god, but watching one fall to the twin blades of Kratos nearly made me feel like one.

Title: God of War III Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Developer: SCE Studios Santa Monica Platform(s): PlayStation 3 Release Date: March 16, 2010

Doin It RIGHT: - Killing EVERYTHING. - One of the best looking games on any platform. - Never lets up on the action throttle. - Closes out one of gaming’s premiere series in a premiere way.	Doin It RONG: - Potentially serious glitches. - Bad nudity! - Not for the faint of heart. - The higher difficulties make for some very imbalanced fights.
FINAL SCORE: 9.5 / 10

MLB 2K9

The presentation this year is a step up from last year.  The amount of stats they throw up on the screen is insane and that’s what baseball fans want to see when they watch a game or play the video game. The camera angles before or after innings and plays are very realistic but what isn’t so realistic are the player animations and the audio. The sound of the bat sounds much more like a recording off a television rather than an actual recording off a bat. Animation wise it looks great on a simple groundout or fly ball. When turning two or reacting to a bunt the players don’t look so natural and often times look very “cartoony”. Just watching their legs when players run remind me more of the Road Runner than of an MLB player.

Some players look like the real life counterparts but most of them don’t and even the ones that do, you’ll have to get up close to realize who you are looking at. Pitchers also have an issue with their hands; so on close ups you’ll see your pitcher walking around as if they have a pirate hook for a hand. Other things like players running the wrong way after the play or even into walls after a fly ball make the game unrealistic. Even in the MLB Today mode which allows you to play out every game being played in real time with up to date stats and ratings, suffers from presentation issues. Things like inaccurate and repetitive commentary or meaningless stat pop ups made me feel like there was no reason to play that mode.  It’s really unfortunate that there are these small bugs since the game does look much better this year but the small issues become more and more apparent as you continue to play.

2K9’s biggest issue was gameplay and I can tell you that in 2K10 framerate isn’t an issue. There will be some hitches here and there but it’s basically gone. The game runs smoothly say or the animation issues I spoke about and that’s a good thing since the pitching mechanic is very good. 2K uses the right stick approach to pitching. You have to move the right stick in a certain way for each pitch. For instance a fastball is a simple down and up movement and for a pitch like a slider you move the stick to the right then perform a  half circle. This mechanic is very engaging and does give you the feel of throwing a pitch even though the ball animation isn’t that great.  Batting is something that doesn’t change too much from year to year. You still use the right stick to swing the bat, a simple flick forward for contact swing or back and forward for a power swing but this year they added the Batter’s Eye. A text above the batter’s box will flash up letting you know what pitch type it’s going to be. To help you see the pitch they lowered the camera but I think it makes it harder to recognize pitches simply because of the poor animation of the ball. It works most of the time but I feel it’s not very realistic since batters in real life tend to look for a pitch and react to another one. Adding to the lack of realism is the fact that a lot of balls hit seem to have no power behind them, even the ones up the middle seem to always be caught or run down.

Fielding isn’t as big of an issue this year compared to previous years but it still has issues. Players at times players don’t react correctly to ground balls especially those hit to the outfield. Almost every outfielder has a cannon for an arm allowing you to throw out even the fastest runners. I guess to combat that the AI is pretty dumb. Your opponent will always throw to the cutoff man which means anyone with even a little speed can easily go from first to third. Then there’s the issue of tagging, the issue being that they don’t know how to. The animation is too slow and the AI just can’t apply the tag down fast enough to get runners out. So I guess that’s just two issues canceling each other out. These issues make the game very frustrating even if I benefit from it because it’s not realistic at all. It also makes other modes like the My Player mode not as enjoyable.

Making its debut in their MLB franchise is the My Player mode. This is a mode in which you can create a player and bring him up from the minor leagues to the big leagues. The road to the big leagues can vary based on your skill because you will get skill points for doing everything in the game. The skill points allow you to upgrade your player’s stats or attributes. I played through many seasons in My Player, one as a hitter and one as a closer. As a hitter it’s pretty simple and you will get your chance to get to the majors if you are good. If you struggle at the plate it will take a long time for you to get the call. But if you are good enough you can make it to the majors in the minimum time of 15 games. I found that to be very unrealistic but some might enjoy moving up quickly. Playing any position but infield and pitcher is not advised. The outfield is very disorienting and I have no idea why someone would start with a noodle arm, even being a minor leaguer.

As the closer I was called up for the last couple of months of the season and quickly became the middle reliever.  I found myself pitching more than 1 inning a game sometimes even 3 or 4. I was even batting in tie games. I thought it was just a Manager AI bug in My Player but its present in the entire game. There will be times where I will be facing a pitcher who has thrown over 100 pitches in a tie game. It was very clear to me that the manager wasn’t present at all. Even simple things like infield position isn’t your control and the manager doesn’t change those either.  You can move to any team at any point of the season and you never do you have any interaction with the GM. Your only interaction is with the 2K Insider guy at the end of a game that tells you the same thing over and over. Adding to the feeling of not being a part of a team is the fact that most presentations are taken out in My Player. Things like celebrating after a walk off home run or striking out the batter to clinch the World Series isn’t there. This makes this mode feel more formatted and like a series of events rather than playing through a season with a club. There are other things that are missing but what really hurts the mode are the AI issues, especially as a pitcher.

Other modes such as Franchise and Online also suffer from the AI/animation issues but to a lesser extent. In franchise you’ll get the all the managerial options you would want but the AI issues did frustrate me enough to not want to play through an entire season. Especially since the fact that almost every pitcher CPU controlled or not can pitch the entire game. This leads to unrealistic stats at the end of the season. Still you can get more in-depth with the franchise mode than ever before so those who always wished they were GM’s can live out their fantasy here. I’d love to tell you how online play works but I can’t because it doesn’t. I was unable to access online ranked games, even till this point but I was able to get into a few unranked games. During the online match the delay between my actions on the controller and what was happening on screen was so long that I had to settle for bunt hits, which work a lot, to score runs. I’m not surprised by this fact since 2K Sports struggle with online all the time but that being said it’s still disappointing. Seeing as they are the only baseball option for 360 owners having a game that doesn’t work online is inexcusable.

In the end there are many signs of improvement here but with all the new features added things like the presentation, AI, and the animation all suffered. If they had an extra year to work on this title I can see it contending for the baseball market. The problem they face is that they are playing catch up and this year’s title is simply setting the ground work for what is to come. You can get some enjoyment out of this game but it’s not perfect, it is more of an arcade game than a simulation, it’s not realistic and until a patch comes out you can’t play online; and that’s assuming you will be able to after the patch. MLB 2K10 is much improved from last year and fans of the franchise will enjoy this title but with issues still plaguing this game who knows how many people will be waiting around to see what the next title can offer.

Title: MLB 2K10 Publisher: Take Two Interactive Developer: Visual Concepts Platform(s): Xbox 360, PC, PlayStation 3 (reviewed) Release Date: March 2, 2010

Doin It RIGHT: - Good presentation. - Great pitching mechanic. - Good start to the My Player mode.	Doin It RONG: - Too many animation issues. - AI is not smart at all. - Online play doesn’t work. - Not Realistic.
FINAL SCORE: 6.5 / 10