I have to admit that back in 2005, I laughed at the idea of "Lego Star Wars." The whole concept seemed too kid-friendly and too corporate at the same time. But I was quickly swept up in the game's quirky sense of humor, refreshingly tight game play and surprising depth. I enthusiastically embraced all the "Lego" games that followed ("Lego Batman" still gets plenty of mileage, and the new "Lego Rock Band" is amazing if only for the presence of Lego David Bowie). But I was disappointed with "Lego Indiana Jones," which felt too loose and not as sharply whimsical as the other games in the series.
Now comes "Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues," which incorporates elements from the first three "Indiana Jones" movies and augments it with a healthy dose of 2008's middling "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."
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There's no denying that the original "Left 4 Dead" hit the nail on the head with its fantastic blend of action, suspense, and co-operative play. And here we are just one short year later with a follow-up that Valve promises delivers much, much more: more locations, more weapons, more infected, and more variety is the name of the game in "Left 4 Dead 2." So does the core gameplay still shine with all the extra trimmings there hiding it from view?
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When Ubisoft dropped "Assassin's Creed" in late 2007, people were confused. On the one hand, here was this stunningly gorgeous open world with nooks and crannies galore, a cast of thousands and simple controls that made both exploration and combat a joy to experience. On the other hand, you had to deal with a fundamentally flawed progression through the story built upon a series of repetitive acts. What's more, the story itself wasn't related particularly well. As enjoyable as it was to free-run your way through the Crusades-era Holy Lands, much of what was built around the core gameplay mechanics flat-out didn't work.
Enter "Assassin's Creed 2."
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With the "God of War Collection," Sony unleashes Kratos on the Playstation 3 with a double-feature of "God of War" and "God of War II" on a single Blu-Ray disc, remastered for high-definition video and accompanied by an array of PSN trophies and various other next-gen features. Oh, and it comes with a "God of War III" demo, too.
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While other franchises boldly venture into the future, with fully 3D worlds, procedural gameplay and killstreak unlocks, "New Super Mario Bros. Wii" takes a look back. But can this retro reboot stand the test of time?
The Basics
Imagine the classic "Super Mario Bros." gameplay. Now add four people, all playing at once, jumping off one another, throwing each other into pits, stealing mushrooms. Suddenly it's a whole new experience. Well, that's the idea behind "New Super Mario Bros. Wii," a multiplayer-centric Mario game.
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After two years, Infinity Ward has returned to the first person shooter genre with a follow-up that has easily trumped the hype of any other title this year. But, hype aside, does "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" live up to the massively high standards set by "Call of Duty 4"?
The Basics
A direct sequel to "Call of Duty 4," "Modern Warfare 2" includes a highly scripted, extremely cinematic campaign, an upgraded adversarial multiplayer mode (the most popular element of the first game) and a brand new, cooperative mode known as Spec Ops.
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Fans of fighting games tend to have their loyalties divided between the "Tekken" and "Soul Calibur" franchises these days, with each side arguing the merits of their respective title and its various iterations over the last decade or so. The recently released "Tekken 6" raises that bar yet again, giving fighter fans a lot to be happy about and redefining the scope of the genre.
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"Eliminate," from "Rolando" iPhone developer ng:moco, is definitely blazing some new ground on the platform, offering up a free-to-play 3D FPS in a market that's over-saturated with simple match-3 puzzle games.
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In a place ruled by magic and feudal lords, an ancient evil stirs every few hundred years to cast a Blight across the land. The continued survival of these people is ensured by a small group of heroic individuals, warriors of peace charged with uniting the disparate factions into a single force capable of repelling the forces of the underworld. Is it Dungeons & Dragons? The Lord of the Rings? No. The land is called Ferelden, its peacekeepers are the Grey Wardens and the creator of it all is BioWare. Welcome to "Dragon Age: Origins."
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If you have 15 minutes to kill today, and you enjoy the thrill of exploration without the threat of death, check out "Small Worlds." The platforming adventure game features an extremely unique, quasi-throwback presentation style and a peaceful, stress-free gaming experience for the price of free.
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