I was beginning to think that the rail shooter genre was a lost cause for anything more than lame arcade ports. Then Umbrella Chronicles comes along and changes everything. It is an extremely well done game that maintains the spirit of the series and has tons of extras that keep you wanting to play.

I just spent all day playing this game. Let’s take a second to reflect on that statement. I sat down in front of my Wii at about 10:00 AM, took a break for lunch around 1:00 PM, and finished up at about 5:30 PM. My save game timer is clocking in at just under seven hours. I haven’t replayed a single level and there are even two more bonus missions I haven’t unlocked yet. This is longer than most other action games and completely unheard of from a rail shooter. Nearly every other game like this is an arcade port that can be completed in under an hour. In most console games, an experienced player will be starting on medium difficulty, but most people will want to start this one on easy. This gives the game a full three levels of difficulty to master since you won’t be skipping one, providing you with that much more play time. Replay value is extended by a rating system for each level that gives you a letter grade based on your performance. Add in the insane amount of hidden items and there is plenty to keep you entertained for a long time to come. You can bring a friend along for some co-op action, but for some reason that isn’t an option for the bonus missions until you complete every one of the main missions and the last two bonus missions in single player.

The game plays just as you would expect. The character moves around the level for you. You do have limited control over where the camera looks, but even that is almost unnecessary. The bulk of your job is aiming and shooting at the various enemies. There were a couple of things about the game that weren’t quite perfect. The targeting reticule is so large that it made it hard to see exactly where I was aiming at an enemy in the distance. The automatic motion of the camera isn’t always convenient, either. It is always moving and sometimes can make it difficult to target. Occasionally, it will decide to turn away from a group of enemies that you are shooting at to look at a random door or wall. Sometimes you will come across an enemy that will hit you before you have a chance to react unless you have played the level a few times and know they are there. Also, the critical hit zone on the zombies’ forehead is a little small and is more difficult to hit than I think it needs to be. Basically, if it is not dead center, it doesn’t count as a critical. The on screen target moves a split second slower than other Wii games, which can be annoying when trying to take down a large group of enemies quickly or aiming for several critical hits in a row, though many people may not even notice. These things did bug me a little, but didn’t detract from the experience too much. The rest of the game has a lot to like. There are a ton of weapons to use, including several different shotguns, machine guns, grenade launchers and the ever trusty unlimited ammo pistol. Weapons are hidden in each level (some are concealed better than others) and ammo is carried over from one mission to the next. If you horde your ammo until the end of the game, the final levels can be a little easy, but that didn’t make them any less enjoyable. All of the bosses are fun, challenging, and memorable. The Nemesis battle is one of the game’s greatest moments. It will be a long time before I get the sound out of my mind of him roaring “STARS!” while stalking me through the level. For those of you that don’t know, STARS is the name of several of the characters’ squad. It stand for Special Tactics And Rescue Service.

The story covers most of the Resident Evil timeline, although it leaves out Resident Evil 2 and 4. I understand leaving out 4 because the full version of that game is available on the Wii. Unless there are plans to also port 2 to this console, I don’t really know why they skipped it. Bonus missions give you insight into what other character were doing during the original storyline. Not only is this a fun way for seasoned RE vets to reminisce over the highlights of the series, it is also a great way for newcomers to get caught up on the history. Many of the rooms are recognizable from the original versions and the cutscenes, while graphically improved, remain basically the same. Anyone who played the first Resident Evil will recall the cutscene that introduces the first zombie. It was awesome to see that scene so faithfully recreated. The main story arc just covers the basics of what happened in each game, but files hidden around each level fill in the gaps. If you manage to find all of the files, you will know just about anything you ever wanted to know about the series.

The graphics are quite impressive for the Wii. They are better than some Xbox 360 or PS3 titles I have seen recently (Soldier of Fortune: Payback comes to mind). The levels look great and really keep the atmosphere creepy and foreboding. The game doesn’t really contain any scenes or events that make you jump. Personally, I preferred this, but horror fans may feel like the game wasn’t truly scary without these moments. Enemies react realistically to bullet hits. Shots to the face will fling their head back. Hits to the shoulder or arms will push that side of their body back. Zombies can be knocked to the ground and slowed down by getting shot in the legs. They flinch at shots to the chest, though these shots are basically absorbed, but that is exactly what to expect from an undead enemy. No matter where you hit them, their reactions are impressive. There is a somewhat low number of character models for the zombies. So much so that in a large group, you will see several of the same ones on screen at once. Aside from zombies, there are other monsters that attack you to help change things up, but not a large number. Even those enemies may start to seem repetitive.

Aside from the mentioned problems, this game does everything right to be a great rail shooter. Long time fans will enjoy the trip down memory lane and newcomers will appreciate the background story. This is the type of game that continues giving you goals to aim for even after every mission is completed. As long as the game keeps throwing zombies at me, I am perfectly content to keep dropping them.

While the Lego games do supply their own unique action, not enough is added to this compilation to warrant a full priced purchase. Add this to the complete lack of challenge and the game is rather disappointing. It never really tests your skill and can get boring because of this.

The game is very basic. The majority can be played by using the joystick and two buttons. The other face buttons are used from time to time, but the shoulder buttons (on Xbox360 and PS3) are never used. It makes the game very easy to pick up and play, but also makes the action repetitive. There were a few platforming puzzles that I had to think about for a second, but most of the game is fairly straight forward. You are also unable to die. If you run out of health, your character respawns in the exact same spot. The only down side is that you lose some of the coins you collected (similar to the old Sonic the Hedgehog games). They aren’t really lost, though. They just fly away from your character and if you move fast enough, you can collect them all back. Even if you don’t get them all back, you don’t lose enough to make a big difference. If you don’t have any coins, you still are respawned, which takes any challenge out of the game. There were segments that I beat just by running in and swinging my lightsaber while respawning a few times. This makes it a great game to kick back, relax, and just play, but player’s wanting a challenge should look elsewhere. The computer controlled character that accompanies you is really no help (not that you will need it). They basically just follow you around and stand still during fights, but no one is going to be playing this game to see amazing AI. They are basically there so you can switch between the two characters on screen. Some of the vehicles segments are fun, but others really just kill the scene. The race through the forest on speeder bikes in Episode VI was really cool but the Pod race from Episode I was lame.

The game is amusing when you come across a stack of Legos that needs to be put together. I always looked forward to what my character was going to build next. All of these things are built automatically, which is a little disappointing. I would have like to have had to put together some of them myself from time to time, but this may have slowed down the action, which is probably why it was left out. It is also cool to see that most of the levels and all of the vehicles or structures are made out of Legos. If you took the time to look around, you could actually figure out how to make all of them if you have the right pieces.

If the repetitive nature of the game doesn’t bore you, then there is a ton of replay value. Each level has several different types of things hidden throughout as well as gives you bonuses for finishing the mission with a preset amount of coins collected. These coins can be used to unlock special items and such in a between level store. It almost feels like there are too many places to search for hidden items. In most levels you will spend easily twice as much time opening compartments or breaking barrels than you will fighting the enemy. Each level also has secret areas that are only accessible by certain characters. For example, some doors need R2-D2 to open while others may need any bounty hunter. Since several different doors can be in one level and you can only take two characters, many levels must be played several times. Speaking of different characters, there is a ridiculous (in a good way) amount to be unlocked. Nearly every character in the movies that had at least one line is available to play. Sure, some aren’t too exciting. The first two you unlock are TC-14 (who?) and Jar Jar Binks (gag). Many characters have different abilities. Jar Jar can jump higher than most others. Droids can open doors. Jedi characters have lightsabers (obviously) while non-Jedi use blasters. A Jedi also has the ability to move certain things around using the force, which sometimes can open paths to secret areas. Once you complete a level with the assigned people in Story Mode, you can play it again with any two of the characters you have unlocked. Another player can jump in and out of the game at any point and take over for the second character.

The graphics are satisfactory. I would have liked them to look a little more like real Legos and less like cartoons. The physics, which really only come into play when things break apart, are pretty good. The enemies fall apart just like a real Lego person would and many of their deaths are fairly humorous. Apparently it is less morbid to cut off someones extremities if they are made out of Legos, although there were times when the game seemed a little brutal. One second something is alive and smiling and the next, their head is rolling across the floor. While the movies were content with only talking about Chewbacca ripping peoples arms off, the game actually allows you to do it to as many enemies as you choose. The cutscenes range from rather boring to pretty funny. Some of the scenes are pulled right from the movies, and aren’t particularly enjoyable in Lego form. Others redo some of the of the scenes and throw in some basic (but very enjoyable) physical comedy that had me laughing out loud a few times.

The biggest problem with the game is that not enough was added to justify a full $49.99 price tag. There are new characters and levels, but not much. Since it is two games in one, it is fairly long. Unfortunately, the original two game are both available for around $19.99, so it would be cheaper to buy them separately; the exact opposite of what a bundle of games is supposed to be.

People new to video games or kids will probably get a kick out of this since the difficulty seems geared toward them. Star Wars fans will enjoy seeing the way many classic scenes were redone. Completionists will like it because there is so much to hunt for and unlock. Most every one else will find some fun here, but it will start to get old. Especially after the first play through. If you have already played the first two games, this is pretty much a complete waste as anything other than a rental.

This game is going to fall victim to bad timing. It is a fun FPS that is going to be overshadowed by the more polished and popular Call of Duty 4. If they had sacrificed their pre-Christmas release date and spent more time touching up the few rough edges, the buzz from COD4 would have died down and this game would have had a shot at being the next big shooter.

This is the sequel to the often overlooked, but still awesome, Area 51 on PS2 (no, not the arcade rail shooter, the FPS). Unfortunately, this game doesn’t have the same level of polish as it’s predecessor. It is a very well done game but could have used some more work. There is no animation for characters exiting a vehicle; they just appear in front of you. Occasionally, you will find a door that is larger than the door frame and the two will overlap. Vehicle controls feel like an afterthought. Even with all of this, the game is a blast from beginning to end.

The gameplay itself doesn’t contain anything you haven’t played before. It follows all of the typical FPS rules. You can zoom in slightly with any weapon for better accuracy. Human (or humanoid) enemies can be taken down more quickly by head shots. Alien enemies have clearly marked weak spots. Most bosses are vulnerable only in one location. Nothing about this game is truly original, but a good FPS doesn’t have to be. The action is intense and never gets old. The levels aren’t too memorable, but do enough to keep you interested. It actually took me until the last level to realize that I had been using the same gun for 95% of the game. Sure, I was disappointed once I caught on to this fact, but the game was still fun the entire time. It says something good about the game that it took me that long to notice. You can issue simple orders to your squad by pressing the assigned button (the right bumper on Xbox 360) while looking at where you want them to go or what you want them to do. It works well and they usually are pretty good at following orders. The game boasts it’s squad morale mechanic. If you perform well, your squad is supposed to perform better. If you do poorly or one of them falls in combat, the squad performs worse. I never really noticed a difference, but I may have just not paid enough attention since I was usually the one doing most of the killing. I do have to say that my squad mates did save my butt a few times when I had to reload and still had enemies coming after me. They aren’t as disappointing as in many other games, but not as good as the guys in Republic Commando.

The boss battles are a little disappointing. Upon coming across a boss, your squad usually tells you exactly how to defeat it and most of the time it can be done in a single try. One boss in particular was extremely frustrating, but only because your squad’s information on defeating it is completely wrong. The boss is a large turtle like alien that is only vulnerable on it’s back. Your squad tells you they should split up and will drawn the enemies attention while you work around behind to shoot at it’s weak spot. If you try this, the boss will never take his attention off of you and defeating him is completely impossible. I died so many times that I actually considered never playing again. After looking it up online, I found out that all you have to do is run to the top of the tallest building and shoot two rockets at the enemy. Now, I can win this battle every time without fail in roughly thirty seconds. The final boss is also disappointing, but for different reasons. He doesn’t fight any differently than other normal enemies. He just can take more hits and has a more powerful gun. The room you fight him in has four pillars. All you have to do to beat him is stand behind one and move slowly to the right until you can hit him but he can’t hit you. Most of the time he will just stand there and take the hits. He does move around some and will probably get some shots of at you, but this strategy will work almost every time.

The story is simply enough to push the game forward, but not much more. If you are expecting a plot about aliens and government conspiracies, be prepared to be disappointed. There are hints of conspiracies, but there is never any indication that aliens are involved in the game in any way. All the strange creatures you fight are just results of scientific experimentation that isn’t explained fully. The characters are likable, but I never really got truly attached to them. Because of this, I didn’t really feel bad when something happened to one of them. I actually sympathised with the main enemy of the game. If I had the choice, I probably would have joined with him. It made it a little difficult for me to really be drawn into the game because I was forced to fight someone I really didn’t want to. On a side note, I have no idea if this supposed to be a continuation of the last Area 51’s story. It seems like it might be, but there is no real connection.

This game continues the streak that all new shooters have had going. It is so short that I actually finished it in one sitting. This is good if you rent it, but paying $60 for one day of fun is ridiculous. Three difficulty levels can extend the game, but nothing new happens once you complete it the first time. It also has hidden packages around the levels that can increase the replay value, but this is almost expected in games these days. It also is another game that has no ending. The story just stops and nothing is really accomplished during the course of the game.

Graphically, it looks very good for the most part. The levels look nice, but can be rather sparse in some areas. The character models aren’t top of the line, but are above average. The weapons look and feel believable. Much of the environment is destructible and will break apart realistically when under fire. If an enemy is hiding behind a concrete barricade and won’t come out, it is awesome to be able to shoot the barricade until it crumbles and reveals the enemy. Just be careful, because the same may apply to anything you hide behind. Several of the bosses kick the game into slow motion momentarily when they enter, which looks really cool. Especially when they bust through a wall or smash into the ground and debris goes flying. Many of your squads animations, like opening doors, look great. Others of their actions look bad or are non-existent. You can almost tell when they started to have to rush the game to have it out by Christmas.

You won’t be blown away by Blacksite. It is fun from beginning to end, but never really takes it to the next level. It is definitely better than games like Soldier of Fortune but doesn’t compete with top tier games like Call of Duty 4. My advice is to take it for what it is and enjoy yourself. If you don’t have too high of expectations, you won’t be disappointed.

I don’t normally like posting reviews for games that aren’t new releases, but I picked this up and figured it would be a good idea as a Christmas present for the Star Wars fan in your family. It contains five of the (arguably) best Star Wars games in the last several years. The price may vary depending on where you buy it. I got it for $39.99, which is an amazing deal considering the content.

1. Empire at War
This game lets you take command of large armies on either side of the conflict. Any real time strategy veteran will instantly feel right at home. It doesn’t really try anything new, but the chance to take charge of the war during the original trilogy cannot be passed up. Battles take place both on ground and in space, making this the most complete Star Wars war game experience. There is some fleet management from a galaxy map between missions that feels a little unnecessary and slows the game down a bit, but the battles are intense and definitely have a Star Wars feel. The did have a cool take on creating units from buildings. When you purchase a unit from a structure, they are air-dropped in instead of simply appearing out of the building like in most other RTS games. I thought this made it seem more realistic than other games where, during the course of a level, you could potentially have hundreds of units walk out of one small building. The graphics are fairly good, even for a game that isn’t brand new. When a lot of units are on screen, the game had a tendency to bog down on my system, even with the graphics turned down. On the whole, though, the game impresses and is a great addition to this collection.

2. Knights of the Old Republic
In my opinion, this is the crown jewel of the collection. Considered by many to be one of the greatest RPG’s, this game offers everything a role player and a Star Wars fan could want. It is made by Bioware, who is the same company behind Mass Effect. The two games play nearly identically. After a cool opening level, the game takes a little while to get going. It is almost necessary for it to have a slow start so that you can get comfortable with the gameplay mechanics. The battles are in real time, but you can pause the action to issue commands to your party. As you progress through the game, not only does your character become a Jedi, but you will come across other Jedi to join your party. After a while, it almost feels like a waste to have non-Force users in the party. The game also give you the opportunity to pursue the Light or Dark side. The story plays out differently based on your choice and both ending are incredibly satisfying. This game also contains my favorite character of all time in any game, HK-47. Think of what C-3PO would be like if he were evil and you basically have this character.

3. Battlefront
I didn’t play this game much. It is primarily an online game, which I am not really into. To the game’s credit, it is a very good online game that many people are still playing. The single player experience is a little shallow, but still fun. It is also a bit on the short side. This is a game that is meant to be played multiple times. Actually, the single player experience is probably meant to only be a warm up for the multiplayer. If you are an online fan, this is one of the best. Otherwise, this one is worth a look but won’t hold your interest too long.

4. Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast
This game is the best way to step into the shoes (boots? sandals?) of a Jedi and really just go kick ass. Forget the fact that in the original Jedi Knight the main character just suddenly became a Jedi with no training. This game has a much better narrative and shouldn’t be faulted because of it’s predecessor. The controls are very intuitive and you will be Force-choking and electrocuting enemies with ease in no time. Well, maybe not no time, since the first few levels don’t allow you to use the force and are a little boring. Once you regain your lightsaber and your powers begin coming back, the game is an awesome experience. Using the Force to pick up enemies and fling them off cliffs will never get old for me. You also have the choice of following the Light or Dark side, although the endings for each aren’t as satisfying as in Knights of the Old Republic. The graphics haven’t held up as well as some of the other games in the collection, but they are still satisfactory. This is the best way (aside from this game’s sequel, Jedi Academy) to really feel the like an all-powerful Jedi.

5. Republic Commando
I had heard several bad things about this game, but I was very impressed by it. The game allows you to play as a Clone Trooper from the moment they entered the battle during Episode II. The action is intense and there is an incredible amount of detail in the game. You truly feel like you are in the middle of a galactic war. The guns aren’t as accurate as many gamers like, but I thought it brought more of a sense of urgency to the battles. Your squad members are far more useful than in many other games. They still have a habit of getting in your line of fire, but you can also rely on them to watch your back when the enemy gets the drop on you. Issuing orders to them is as easy as looking at what you want them to do and pressing one button. It is simple, but allows for many different types of orders. There are a couple of segments that are unnecessarily difficult and rather frustrating, but the bulk of the levels are awesome. The graphics are quite impressive. Explosions look good. The character models look like they were pulled right from the movies. When you kill an enemy at close range, their blood (or oil if they are a droid) sprays onto your visor and a wiper blade automatically sweeps across to clean it. Those types of little details, which there are a countless number of in this game, are missing in many games today and really made me love this one. I also didn’t expect that clones would be the funniest group of violence loving soldiers I have ever come across. They are constantly making remarks about the in game action that you cannot help but smile at. The action takes a little getting used to, but there is a lot to like about this game.

None of these games are too old, and bought separately would cost well over $100 (Empire at War alone is still going for around $35). This bundle is probably the best value in gaming I have come across in a long time. Action junkies will enjoy everything here and it is a must buy for any Star Wars fan that doesn’t already have these games.

This is a difficult game to really review. From a video game standpoint, it is overly basic and repetitive. From an entertainment standpoint, it supplies nearly endless fun.

This is the first Guitar Hero game I have spent an extended amount of time with and I finally have a use for all those years practicing air guitar as a kid. A background playing real guitars may help, but it is certainly not necessary. This game is basically the same as every other timing based music game, only with an awesome peripheral. The guitar controller makes the game. Playing the game with just the regular controller is rather boring. The strum bar on the guitar clicks rather loud and can throw you off when you are trying to listen to a song. This is easily fixed by turning the volume on the television way up, which you are probably going to want to do anyway. The added bonus of being able to play a separate career with a friend in co-op, which is new to the series, really makes this game a blast. The gameplay itself isn’t much different than PaRappa the Rapper (released in 1996) so you are basically paying $80 for the controller and the song list. This is another series that is following EA’s lead in charging us full price for what is basically an expansion of the last version. The gameplay is nearly identical to the previous entries and the only thing really new is the songs. I’m not saying they need to add more; there really isn’t much you can add to a game like this. I just think we should get a lower price.

Unlike most other games, this one gets more fun the more you repeat it’s content. One song in particular, ‘My Name is Jonas’ by Weezer, quickly became my favorite and I can play it over and over without getting bored. While the bulk of the game is awesome, the boss battles (excluding the final one) are completely stupid and frustrating. They have you trying to play what was recorded as a randomly improvised guitar solo that is nearly impossible to keep up with, which leads to many failures until you begin to memorize the song. You are able to earn power downs to use against your opponent in order to make him fail. The problem is that if you don’t make him fail before the end of the song, you lose. It doesn’t matter if you were completely destroying him. You could effectively play like crap, but hit every combo for a power down and beat him quickly. You could also play perfectly, but miss a couple power downs and lose. The rest of the game is about playing each song well, and the boss battles are totally out of place. On the other hand, the final boss battle sticks more to the way the rest of the game is played. You still get power downs, but it is more important to play well. On top of that, the final boss is awesome and the song you play is even better. I don’t want to give it away, but let’s just say that it is unexpected but completely fitting.

The soundtrack is, as expected, great. It includes some of the best rock songs from as far back as the late 60s. The title ‘Legends of Rock’ is a bit misleading. Although they are good, bands like AFI and Tenacious D aren’t exactly legends. There are a couple of songs here and there that I got bored of, but they were few and far between. Many aren’t overly popular. They were chosen because of their awesome guitar parts. While I like the idea of picking songs based on the music itself and not popularity, it is difficult to play some of the songs when I have no idea how they go. In the case of the Xbox 360, the ability to download more songs adds potentially endless appeal to the game. The Foo Fighters and Velvet Revolver already have a few songs available to add to the game’s collection, which was already at about 70 songs. I have also found myself listening to music on the radio in my car more closely and actually turning off popular songs that have lame guitar parts or giving songs that I never would have listened to before a chance. It is impressive when a game can not only be fun, but also give you a greater appreciation for something completely unrelated to gaming.

Although you won’t get much of a chance to look at the graphics while you are playing, I still have to mention that they suck. The character models are very basic and shadows are non existent. Your character’s guitar swings around their body as if it were on a strap, only no strap is visible. The cutscenes are very low quality cartoons and aren’t particularly entertaining. The storyline, while not needed in a game like this, still could have used a little more attention. It just feels slapped together. Also, the number of playable characters is disappointing. You begin with eight and can only unlock a few more. On top of that, there are only a couple of different outfits for each person and no customization. This seems like the type of game that would need detailed character creation, but that is totally non-existent.

While the game could have been available as a downloaded add-on to Guitar Hero 2, it is still blast to play. If you have the extra bucks to get a game that costs a little more than normal (buying the regularly priced one without the guitar controller is a waste unless you already have one) and you want to try something different, this is a must buy. On the other hand, if you played Guitar Hero 1 or 2 and weren’t blown away, you may want to pass this one up.

Almost from the moment I turned the game on, I could see ‘destined for the bargain bin’ written all over this one. It isn’t a bad game, it just isn’t up to par with what gamers have come to expect for fifty bucks.

The game is fairly fun, but also very bland. Just about any theme could have been put into the racing for this game and it would have fit. Nothing, outside of the freestyle events, says ‘monster trucks.’ The action can be addicting, but many of the races are won more by luck than skill. The trucks also feel very light and floaty for what are supposed to be 10,000 pound vehicles (the average weight is one of the interesting facts the game gives you during the loading screens). The trucks have a speed boost that is similar to nitrous and is almost unlimited (you know, just like real monster trucks). Excessive use can over heat the engine, but that won’t slow you down. It only prevents you from using the speed boost for a few seconds. The tracks are littered with objects that are destructible, but most of these things will send you bouncing in random directions. Other times, you can get hit by an opponent and get stuck to the front of their truck resulting in you being dragged around the track for several seconds with no way to get free. Almost everything on a track is destructible, which is a blast to play around with. I found myself aiming for things that aren’t right in front of me just to see what happens. The only problem with this is that the marker for the finish line is also destructible and is usually destroyed in the first couple laps. This makes it difficult to know exactly where the line is at the end of a race. For a while, I actually thought there was no finish line until I learned to look for the broken pieces of the the sign that was above us at the beginning of the race. There also isn’t much variety in the tracks. There are five championships, but each consists of only one track with slight variations.

Progress through the game isn’t based on winning races, but on earning points by destroying objects and performing stunts. Items are unlocked at set amounts of points. At first, only new trucks are unlocked. This becomes fairly pointless once you realize that every truck handles the same and the world’s most popular truck, Gravedigger, is available right off the bat. Much later in the game, movies of monster trucks in action are unlocked. These are cool, but it isn’t anything you can’t find on YouTube. Aside from earning achievement points on the Xbox 360, there isn’t really any reason to actually win races. The next event is unlocked by placing higher than third. In the case of the head to head drag races, losing means second place, which is high enough to unlock the next event.

There are several different race types that try and keep your attention. Of course, there are the basic races with a set number of laps. Eliminator is similar to lap races with last place being eliminated at the end of each lap. I really didn’t see much difference between the Stadium Circuit and Stadium Racing. Both were similar to the real life drag races but are a little longer and have more stunts during the race. The Freestyle are the main draw. Just like the real events, you have a set amount of time to perform as many stunts as possible. The damage modeling during these events is a little more realistic. Pieces of your truck will fly off and if you are too rough, you can actually loose a few wheels. The game says the event will end early if you come to a stop while overturned, but my truck always had the magical ability to somehow always roll back over. Not only are the freestyle events the most fun, they also provide you with the most points to unlock other trucks. The total lack of a replay option is incredibly disappointing, especially in the case of freestyle.

The graphics aren’t particularly good, but they did grow on me after a while. The trucks look pretty good and are fun to watch. They collect mud during the race that looks really cool. Panels fall off and expose the roll bar underneath. During particularly brutal races, all that will be left of the truck is the roll bar with the driver fully exposed. The action moves a little too quickly to really feel realistic. The tracks look alright, but aren’t great. A lot of the objects are repeated over and over. The destruction looks good, but I would have expected more debris effects from a game involving monster trucks.

The game is simply OK. There isn’t very much variety to it (and no variety between the trucks at all) but is still fun to play. It can be frustrating at times and wins can come down to lucky breaks. Monster truck fans will get a kick out of it, but for anyone else, there are too many far better racing games available to warrant a purchase on this one.

After the writing of this review, the PC version came out and is priced at $29.99. The game plays basically the same but the graphics look sharper. This is definitely a budget game and is appropriately priced on the PC. This makes it more ridiculous that the are still charging $49.99 for the console versions.

WARNING: This review contains a spoiler about the game’s ending. I don’t like giving things away, but the ending had a big part of my final opinion of the game. If you don’t want to have the ending spoiled, skip the second to last paragraph of the review.

This game is another example of PS3 trying to have a stand out exclusive title, but still coming up short. It has a lot of great content and has some original ideas, but the bulk of the game play is stale and somewhat boring. It is fun, but with other amazing games like God of War II and Conan available, it just doesn’t stand up.

The basic action has a few cool ideas and there are a good number of combos to unlock, but most fights never really escalate above button mashing. There are three different fighting stances and each has it’s uses. The heavy stance allows the the most powerful but slower moves. The light stance allows the quicker but weaker moves. The ranged stance is similar to God of War where your weapons are attached to chains and can hit enemies from a distance. Simply holding down the appropriate button enables each stance and is easy enough that many combos can actually contain moves from different stances. The problem arises when the realization sets in that many battles can be won simply by pounding the square button. Even when you get to enemies that block, you only need to know one block breaking combo to win those fights. I didn’t use 90% of the combos in the game simply because there was never any reason to change it up. Near the end of the game, there is a level that is very reminiscent of Dynasty Warriors where you are basically attacked by an entire army. You must defeat over 500 enemies but each kill feels like you earned it, which is an awesome feeling.

There is one reason that the game definitely should be played, even if only as a rental. There are several shooting segments that have you firing many different weapons such as arrows, cannonballs, rockets, and more. The action in these segment is rather generic, but what makes them stand out is you ability to control the path of your projectile by tilting the controller. It is incredibly satisfying to guide an arrow over a wall, around a box, and into an enemies heart. Each enemy reacts fairly realistically and their deaths vary depending on where they are struck. I failed one of the segments at the very end and was actually happy because I wanted to play the section again.

The story is moderately entertaining. There are enough twists and turns that aren’t expected and will keep your interest. The good guys are rather boring and generic. There were many times when I saw flashes of Lara Croft in the main character, who isn’t a very interesting character to begin with. There was one humorous good guy. One of your character’s good friends is completely insane and thinks every battle is a game. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have nearly as many scenes as I would have liked. The bad guys, on the other hand, are the funniest cast of enemies to come along in a while. Some may not like (or even get) their off beat humor, but I truly enjoyed every one of their scenes. I actually felt bad every time I defeated one of them because each brought their own brand of laughs to the game.

The graphics look good at some parts, but the game has many of the same pitfalls of most other PS3 exclusives. The near complete lack of particle effects and shadows makes the game look very unrealistic at points. Some of the scenery in the background is a little too blurry to enjoy. The character models look good, but could use some more detail. The main enemy’s facial expressions are some the best around and add a lot to his character. The player character’s hair is modeled horribly. It jerks around in random directions (including straight up) and when it falls on her shoulders, it hovers a few inches above and bounces around until it works it’s way behind her.

SPOILER ALERT: I really hate when a game decides to kill the main character at the end. It sucks spending hours on end becoming a character, only to have them killed. It is even worse when the game tells you they will die at the very beginning but then builds hope that they might not. The sword you get at the beginning is supposed to have heavenly powers that will kill you the more you use it. As the game progresses, you learn that the sword isn’t heavenly and the powers aren’t anything like what everyone thought it was, but it still kills you in the end. Your character even has a conversation with the sword late in the game where she says that she is taking control and the sword won’t kill her. The ending put a very unexpectedly sour note on an otherwise good story arc.

The game does just enough right to get by, but doesn’t keep the action fresh enough to contend with the other games available. The game is fun and fans of the genre will enjoy it. It is fairly short, though, which plants this one firmly in the rental category.

With all of the bad press surrounding Kane & Lynch and Eidos lately, I was completely prepared to hate this game. Imagine my surprise when the game was actually pretty fun. It was definitely rushed out and it shows in several areas, but the basic gameplay is a good shooter.

First off, you play as a bad guy. Not a funny bad guy like in Grand Theft Auto. Not a bad guy with greater cause like in Assassin’s Creed. You are a very bad person that does completely bad things for mostly bad reasons. Everyone you come across hates you. If they don’t at first, they will by the end of the game (well, that or they will be dead). This may turn off many gamers because it is difficult to relate to the characters. The story is good with a few twists and turns that help keep it interesting. There is a scene in the middle that tries to be shocking, but it was a near duplicate of a scene from The Darkness (which is an awesome example of a game where you play a bad guy that you can’t help but like). The ending on the other hand, just sucks. The final cutscene is about ten seconds long and just finishes making you hate your character. The final mission tries to imply that there are two possible endings, but I have played the last level three times and can’t for the life of me figure out if there actually is a second one. It is also fairly short; another game that can be finished in around five hours.

The next person that complains to me about how terrible the guns are in this game, I will personally pay to have them spend the day at a gun range (no, not really). There is a big difference between where you think you are pointing a gun and where the bullets actually go. Gamers have come to expect perfect accuracy and any game that tries to go for a more real life feel gets ridiculed. I loved the game for being realistic and thought it made the gun battles more intense. Pistols aren’t a last resort weapon like in other games. If you need to try and pick a guy off at a distance, they are your best bet.

Another thing the game is wrongfully insulted for is the cover system. Most people have said that it basically doesn’t work at all. With a little practice, I found that it works exactly the way it was supposed to. The problem is that it isn’t explained very well. If you face directly at a wall near a corner and let go of the joystick, your character will automatically snap to the wall. Occasionally, I got stuck to a wall that I didn’t intend to but it never got me into trouble so it wasn’t too frustrating when it happened.

The boss battles are either ridiculously easy or quite difficult. One battle has you fighting a gigantic dump truck. Your character says that you need to shoot the driver who barely exposes himself. After dying numerous times, I found out that you don’t actually have to hit the driver. All you need to do is break the windshield of the truck, which for some reason takes about four complete clips of ammo to shatter and causes the entire truck to shut down. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the final boss fight. I defeated him three different times and twice I was able to win without him firing a shot. Luckily, the sequence leading up to the fight was rather intense. One thing I have to say for the game is that it is constantly building toward the end. Many other games have there best levels very early on, but this one gets better further in.

One thing that really hurts the game is the moronic AI. Quite often, an enemy didn’t react to his ally next to him being shot. Other times, enemies would run in a straight line through a bottle neck while you unload on them with an automatic weapon, killing all of them before one fires a shot. These things didn’t hurt the game too much and they aren’t anything I haven’t seen in a hundred other games (but that doesn’t make them any more forgivable). The AI problems that really hurt the game apply to your teammates. The do actually kill more guys than in other games, but they perform more stupid maneuvers also. The worst was when they run up behind you and start shooting at the same enemy you are, usually killing you. Most of the time, it will be so fast that you won’t have any idea what happened until the camera spins over your dead body and you see your ally standing behind you, still shooting over top of you. They also like to run out in the open an get gunned down. The problem is that you have to run up and save them in a set amount of time or you fail the level. During the more dangerous areas, I usually ordered my group to stay behind while I went ahead and killed everyone. This successfully destroyed the ’squad based’ part of this squad based shooter.

The graphics show, more than any other part, how rushed the game was. The levels are very bland and the textures are not detailed at all. Shadows don’t appear for objects until you are about ten feet away, which gives the game a very cartoony look. Transition animations are terrible. For example, in the second level your character picks up several guns during an in game cutscene. When he touches each gun, it disappears for a second and reappears in his hand. These are the types of problems that are fixed in the last month or so of development, so you can tell the game was rushed. Most of the levels are passable, but one annoyed the hell out of me. It was in a dance club where you start in the owners office and must fight your way out. During your escape, you must fall through a window and end up back in the same office, which leads to you fighting your way back out along an almost identical path. That is just lazy level design. Also, co-op being split screen only with no online option is completely stupid in this day and age.

The game is a fairly well done shooter that is hampered by poor graphics and bad AI. The story is good, but you will be hard pressed to like your own character. If you go in only expecting a fun shooting game and are prepared for the games faults and short length, you will enjoy it.

This is the closest any game has ever come to living up the the hype. No one thing about it makes it great. There are many things that are rather annoying about the game. If you look past the individual problems, the game as a whole is an amazing achievement. This is the first game I have ever played that upon completion, I immediately started my second play through.

Designed by the same people that made Knights of the Old Republic, that game’s influence can be seen everywhere. It plays nearly identically and many of the ideas are the same. Imagine Star Wars without lightsabers and a little better technology and you will basically get the gist of Mass Effect. The battles play similarly to Gears of War. The action is seen from an over the shoulder third person perspective. There is a cover mechanic similar to Gears but a targeting assist makes gun battles a little easier. It needs to be easier to target because, until you get a few levels under your belt, the game is incredibly difficult. There isn’t much of a tutorial to help you out either. Once your abilities get some experience behind them, you really become a force to be reckoned with. You need to be, because your party members are complete idiots in battle and you will find yourself doing almost all of the fighting. You can issue basic orders to them, but much of the time they will just ignore you and end up getting themselves killed. Luckily, they are returned to life as soon as any nearby hostiles are eliminated. The game ends only if you are killed.

The story is everything a scifi epic needs to be. Every life in the galaxy is in danger and you are the only one who can save them. It is nice to see that people actually appreciate what you are doing in the game. You will start to be recognized for your deeds and even get some fans that want your picture or autograph. I was getting tired of games where you are the toughest SOB in the universe and everyone still talks down to you the whole time. Listening to the local news channel put it’s own twist on what they think happened during my last mission always brought a smile to my face. These things don’t have any real bearing on the game play; they just add to the depth. There aren’t as many difficult decisions in the game as the television ads (or even the game’s intro video) would like you to believe. Never will you have to sacrifice one quest to go do another the way the ads imply. Only twice did I have to actually think about which decision was the best one. The main quest was a little shorter than I would have liked. As far as the time to complete is concerned, I had no problem with that. My first play through took just under 25 hours and unlockable difficulty levels make it quite a long game. The problem was that there weren’t enough main story missions to really make you feel the epic scale of the game. Most of your time is spent on side missions, and many of those have mini storylines that are nearly as good as the main one. There were a few times when I didn’t even care about the main story until I found the person I had been tracking down for a side quest. The ending of the game is the first to come along in a long time that really just felt right. I got the closure I like to get from a game but there is enough left open in the event of a sequel. You can even play the game again with your leveled up character once you complete it, but since you can’t change the difficulty without starting a new character, this option felt a little useless to me.

The graphics overall are amazing. The character’s faces portray very real emotion and look more realistic than any other game I have ever seen. The character creator allowed me to make a guy that looked almost exactly like myself. One of the alien races, the Krogan (seen in the above screenshot on the left), actually look like they were taken right out of a movie. Put next to Hollywood’s best CG special effects, they would fit right in. I wish the loading screens were a bit longer because the graphics don’t completely load until after a scene is on the screen. Many times, the game looks terrible for just a couple seconds. There are also a few glitches here and there that bothered me. Occasionally a NPC would walk straight through a crate or box. Many of the enemies will twitch on the ground until the game decides they have settled properly. These are somewhat forgivable problems given the scope of the game, but they are still disappointing to see. Also, the building interior for nearly every side quest is one of two layouts. I find it hard to believe of all the planets in all of the solar systems in all of the star clusters you will visit, that every building used these same two floor plans. Many other games implement some kind of random map generator and I am not sure why it couldn’t have been done here. Two other design decisions that happen quite frequently bothered me a bit. When entering an elevator, no matter where they are, your party member warp to your location instantly. When getting out of your vehicle, the party appears about a foot above the ground and falls into place. Both of these situations could have been fixed by a quick fade to black and back. While these issues do detract from the immersion level of the game, many of the locations look so amazing that you will quickly forget about the games problems. One level in particular takes place along a shallow river valley with waterfalls and scenic views along the entire stretch. You almost forget that you are in the middle of a firefight.

The game features some great music and voice talent. The right type of background music is always playing to fit the scene and the entire soundtrack is awesome. All the voice acting is top notch and features recognizable stars like Keith David (Imam from Pitch Black and Chronicles of Riddick), Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi from Star Trek: Next Generation), Seth Green (Scott Evil from Austin Powers), and several others. Not only does having such talented people add to the believability of the conversations, but it also adds to the epic feel of the game.

It is very easy to tell you about the problems in the game, but I don’t want you to think I didn’t love every second of it. is a little slow at first, but only gets better as time goes on. This is definitely a ’sum of all it’s parts’ type of game. Individually, nothing about it is great. Added together, this is one of the greatest gaming experiences in recent memory.