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Shank
Games like Shank don't come around often enough. Sometimes, violence for the pure sake of violence makes a great way to pass an afternoon, and Klei Entertainment's Shank will easily burn a few hours off an idle day. As a pure hack-and-slash experience, this game offers exactly what it promises, and although it suffers from some irritating design flaws, you can't really argue with a game that lets you run a chainsaw through an evil pro wrestler's sternum.
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Valkyria Chronicles 2
It's hard enough for sequels to live up to their predecessors, but Valkyria Chronicles 2 faces the extra responsibility of introducing the franchise to a new platform. The combination strategy/role-playing game attempts to repackage its unique blend of stylised artwork and gameplay complexity for PlayStation Portable, while adding new elements to the formula its PlayStation 3 parent made famous.
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Metroid: Other M
If you are intending to play Metroid: Other M, do not make the mistake of expecting it to recapture the 2D glory days of the original Metroid and, the title that I consider to be the series' high point, Super Metroid. You will walk away disappointed because Other M doesn't hew to the classic formula as closely as you might want. But go in with an open mind and you'll be rewarded with a worthwhile action experience that smoothly incorporates the 2D platforming of the previously mentioned classics with the 3D, first-person shooter elements featured in the Prime series. Team Ninja and Nintendo's internal design team, Project M, did a great job of giving Other M its own sense of personality and it results is an action oriented title that helps, rather than hurts, the franchise's mostly sterling reputation.
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Monday Night Combat
Sure, Monday Night Combat rips a lot of ideas straight out of Team Fortress 2's playbook -- incredibly varied classes, frantic multiplayer action, and addictive team based tactical skirmishes -- but that's not really a problem when the resulting chaos is just so damn fun.
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Castlevania: Harmony of Despair
Looking back, I'm not really sure what I expected from Castlevania: Harmony of Despair. Online multiplayer has been uncharted territory for the series so far, especially since the "Metroidvania" gameplay is so well ingrained as a single-player device. However, if there is a magic formula for integrating online play into the classic Konami series, Harmony of Despair isn't it.
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Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
Way back in 1996, sometime between mourning Tupac and being subjected to Space Jam, the world was introduced to Lara Croft, a little lady with a big chest. The unlikely videogame protagonist, whose credit in the original Tomb Raider was reduced to a "Featuring Lara Croft" at the bottom of the box, proved videogame stars didn't need bulging muscles and frat boy attitudes to get things done.
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Ivy the Kiwi?
Most gamers will recognise Yuji Naka for his role in creating the iconic character Sonic the Hedgehog, whose many adventures were instrumental in keeping Sega competitive with Nintendo and its plump plumber.
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Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Cast as an old-school beat-em-up in the mould of side-scrolling staples Double Dragon, Final Fight, and River City Ransom, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is, at its core, a love story. A love story between the eponymous Scott and pink-haired delivery girl Ramona Flowers, yes, but more a love story between a bygone era in gaming and the developers and artists that have so thoroughly and thoughtfully crafted this title in its stead.
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Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days
For the sake of full disclosure, I'm going to own up to two things right off the bat: I didn't play much of the first Kane & Lynch and, due to a variety of factors, I ended up beating Dog Days over a long weekend.
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Mafia 2
Mafia II hits all the bullet points you'd expect from a modern action escapade. It's set in a fantastic city called Empire Bay, a lively metropolis influenced by New York City and San Francisco; it features some of the best cinematography I've seen in a game; it perfectly captures the spirit of its era--the 1940s and 50s--through smart use of imagery and music; and it has more than its fair share of violence and about as much salty language as you can reasonably fit within a twelve hour campaign.
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Ys Seven
I'll admit, I'm happy for Ys fans. After years of missing out on even remakes like Ys I & II Eternal for the PS2, XSeed's decision to localise not one but three Ys games must seem like mana from heaven. Even better, the latest game in the series is a solid RPG in its own right, and certainly a worthy entrant in the long-running series.
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Origin EON15 gaming notebook
The Origin EON15 is a high-end, 15.6in notebook aimed squarely at the hardcore gaming fraternity. It can be viewed as a portable sibling to the Origin EON18, with many of the same configuration options.
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Sapphire Radeon HD 5850 graphics card
The Radeon HD 5870 first showed us the joys of ATI's DirectX 11.0 technology, but it was the 5850 that shoe-horned it into a package that offered real value for the fervent gamer.
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Demon's Souls
After a short tutorial, a giant demon smashed my hero to pieces. He was then kinda-sorta revived in a ghost form, and I started Demon's Souls proper. I wandered up the steps to a mammoth Gothic castle, knocked off a few zombie-things, and was generally feeling pretty good about myself.
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Arc Rise Fantasia
Arc Rise Fantasia is probably the best Wii-exclusive RPG to date. This isn't as big a compliment as it might seem though, as it wins that honour by default due to lack of serious competition.
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Hydro Thunder Hurricane
Hydro Thunder Hurricane is a perfect throwback to the "high production" arcade games of yesteryear: the expensive looking, incredibly noisy machines that cost upwards of a dollar to play. Back then, expensive arcade system boards could produce slick graphics and fast action that could rarely be replicated on home consoles. Sure, these games weren't deep, but they were equal parts roller coaster and sensory overload.
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Clash of the Titans
Months after slaying the Kraken on the silver screen, Perseus finally lands on consoles to hack harpies and slash scorpions in Clash of the Titans' game adaptation. Despite being yet another film-tied title, I had high hopes for this very videogame-y property. After all, I sat through the recently rebooted film thinking it'd actually be served better by an Xbox than the box office. Hell, the original film was, for all intents and purposes, God of War long before Kratos was even a stain in Zeus' robe. So why did this one leave me as stone-faced as Medusa's enemies?
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Young Thor
Frima Studio's development experience has revolved around a lot of kid-friendly titles (think Nickelodeon), and Young Thor definitely feels like one.
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FrontierVille
To many people -- including reviews editor Tae Kim whom I had to cajole into allowing this review -- FrontierVille and any other product from developer Zynga aren't real games. Rather, they are a shameless microtransaction racket designed to confuse bored non-gamers into buying virtual pets and decorations with real money for no better reason than showing off to other Facebook friends. Zynga profits immensely from this model in a way that raises eyebrows both inside the video games industry and out. It's newsworthy, sure -- but review-worthy? Why review a microtransaction system, especially when the only people likely to find it helpful are non-gamers?
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Blacklight: Tango Down
Some pretty divisive reviews about Blacklight: Tango Down have been posted since its release. Some gaming critics think it's a great effort from Zombie Studios, while others are calling it "frustrating" and "pretty damn miserable." I've been fluctuating between the two extremes during this time, and finally, I've decided which side I'm on: neither. I'm going straight down the middle here: Blacklight isn't as terrible as some critics have said, but it isn't without its faults. Still, I think the game has some merit.
