ZacOfTheZombies

Dark Souls 2 is a return to form a la Demon's Souls. DS2 combines many aspects of both of the Souls games into one strangely unique experience. As for the pro, the typical list can be read off of the other Souls games but this one comes with it's fair share of faults. The grafics that were shown in the beta and demos are FAR from the finished product and the net code is degrading at an impressive pace. Given time, the later can be mended but the grafical decrease can not. Other than that, still a very fun ride.

Not one to simply ignore the conclusion to a series I enjoy, I sat down with low expectations for Dead Space 3. I saw the trailers, played the demo, and all I saw was an action game. I wasn't far off. DS3 in single player retains only the barest of horror elements from the first game. In there place is action sequences straight out of Gears of War. Gone are the days of paranoia and supply famine as the game literally throws ammo, now a single type used by all guns, and enemies die so easily to automatic fire that there is little to no chance of death. The most I saw my heath go down was during pre-programed sections. Co-Op brings in the worst of this as enemies simply can;t keep up with you and your partner and make you feel untouchable. All in all, I can;t say the game is a failure. Action fans will find a good fill of gore and excitment as Isaac, once scared engineer has become a one-liner spitting badass in Furcoat lined Space Armor. With zombies, human cultists, giant montrosities and chest high walls aplenty make Co-Op fun and rewarding for a sit down with buddies, offering plenty of oportunities to bro it up, but there in lies the problem. The whole game, from the guns to the atmosphere is not Dead Space. There's no horror, there's no fear, there's no soul of the once vibrant survival game. The world sorely need another space marine shooter yet an up and coming horror game was sacrificed for just that. To put it shortly: Dead Space=Alien, where you are alone, weak and a hair's width from death with every corner turned. Dead Space 2=Aliens, where you're armed, you're knowledgable about the threat, you have the can do spirit, and it's all meaningless as you look death in the face. Dead Space 3=Alien3, where every element that made the last two unique has been traded off in an attempt to out do them with a different audience. Time to let Isaac fall into the molten iron and lay it to rest. God help us if they make Dead Space: Resurrection.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

When I purchased the Xbox Version of Minecraft, I thought I knew what to expect. Surely I will be receiving nothing less than the PC version, seeing as Minecraft's engine is easy to adapt. But I was wrong. Map's are now 1000x1000, which isn't so much bad, but disappointing. The real problems begin when I realized there was no Creation Mode for the game, and the Adventure Mode of the game was running on a version from the beta, leaving many, many of the new advancements absent. Mojang assures us that the other content will be released in updates, but the presence of a "Download Content" button on the main screen makes me uneasy, as it seems like Notch will attempt to sell the remanding content as DLC. The final dissapointment; mandatory use of an HD-TV to enjoy the games biggest selling point, 4 player Split-screen Co-Op. All in all, Minecraft: Xbox Edition is the very name of "Wait and See". The game could, at a later point, be worth 20 dollars, but for the moment, absolutely not.

Let me make this clear; I loved the story of this game. Everything about it spot on to what I expected and more. every piece of detail oozes with fanfare, with call backs to the movies scattered in every corner of the game. This game is truly as close as a fan can get to Ghostbusters 3. However, as a game, Ghostbusters gets old very quickly. Every encounter shortly becomes copy and pasted form the tutorials for every weapon, and players will find themselves jsut wanting fights to end so they can get more story. Don;t get me wrong, every Ghostbuster should get this game, but they should aim for the bargain bin.

Silent Hill HD Collection is the perfect example of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." The Updaters for the games show clear lack of understanding of what makes the games fan-favorites. Things like removing the fog that the series is known for, remastering the music to be electric, and outright removing scenes. SH2 survives this treatment relatively intact. While there are new voices for the cast, there is an option to use the original cast. The game however does suffer from the loss of the fog which reveals many graphical short comings. SH3 was not as lucky, being butchered without remorse, mandatory voice changes, graphics worse than the PS2 version, removial of the darkness and rust that the "Otherworld" is known for remove all traces of Silent Hill from this game. All in all, a waste of money and it would be easier to pick the originals online.

I score this game 0 because it is simply not a Duke Nukem game. I like so many other people have waited 12+ years for the return of the king, what we got was another Call of Duty clone. Take away everything that makes Duke Nukem special, and you get this. Being a varitable waling armory of special gun? Nope. Fight hoards of enemies around every corner? Nope, 3 at tops on screen. The only surviving element of the King is his personality. Duke spouts one liners like the King he is, but they ruined him. Duke drunk on one beer? Duke letting some kid push him around? Duke making fun of brown and bloom shooters while being in one himself? All of it adds up to a generic game, and a insult to the King. We waited a long time.... it wasn't worth it.

A wonderfully whimsical game in a market dominated by grit. Rayman: Origin's shows of a beautiful world of color that offsets the sea of brown and bloom that most are accompanied to. Rayman;s classic level design returns to show memorable locals, catchy music and challenging gameplay. Players will find themselves continuing to play into the wee hours of the morning just to see what could possibly in the next level. I feel it must also be said that Rayman: Origins has what has to be the first underwater levels that aren't a loveless experience and are actually some of my favorite ones to play. Co-Oping is fun but seems lacking, they could have done more to make it feel liek playing with friends was a new experience. Overall, a perfect game to own if not for the 60 dollar pricetag, luckily prices have dropped to a better zone.

Mass Effect 3 presents a text book example of "Just finish it so we can sell it." The game is riddled with cut corners; Be it sprites in the game, stock photos, plot holes deep enough to fit the Reaper Armada in, and content cut from the finished product, everything combines to paint ME3 as a sloppy, unfinished product. The gamplay is the average coverbased shooter that ME is known for. The RPG elements for the game are surprisingly better since ME2, more reminiscent of those found in ME1. The writing in the game is, like I said earlier, riddled with plotholes but still offers fleeting moments of genuine goodness which makes me wonder if someone else was in charge of them. And of course, there's the ending. Pre-release comments stated that ME3's ending wouldn't be just "an A, B, or C choice" and that "player choices would really matter", these statements are completely false. The game ends based on a final A, B, or C choice resulting in virtually identical endings, differing only in color. Mass Effect 3 dies not with a bang but a slow whimper that begs to just be forgotten.

Arguably one of my favorite games of 2011 and definitely one of my favorite RPG's. Dark Souls combines frantic combat with brutal difficulty to produce a game that rewards foresight and adaptability. Enemies form the starting areas can still kill you even at the end of the game if you rush mindlessly, so the game as a whole punishes you for playing it like a hack and slash. Armors and Weapons offer each player a chance to make a entirely unique build to bring to the world through mixing and matching any of the hundreds of items. The game's hidden gem is it's story. One of betrayal and lies, the game give the player only the thinnest glimpses into the story and for anyone who wishes to know what is really going on in this world must dig and discover it for themselves. The other shining point of the game is it's Multiplayer, which is seamlessly integrated into the singleplayer experience. The drawbacks to Dark souls also sadly reside in Multiplayer. Certain items are horrendously game breaking, a bad netcode results in frustrating hours of trying to connect to players and also the wondrous world of lag deaths. Net code aside, Dark Souls is something that every RPG fan should play and any gamer should challenge.

Dragon Age: Origins presents fast paced RPG battles with wide cast of lovable, and loathable, companions. Gameplay is built on automated attacks while you the player stratagizes and make use of you and your companions many unique abilities. DA:O offers a nice selection of races and upbringing for your character, combined with the possible skill trees makes each character special. The gameplay can be tedious and sometimes even difficult to pick up. People who play for a long time will find a solid battle engine that rewards strategy and quick thinking. Other than that, the story is gripping and presents a wonderful fantasy story that is filled to the brim with fantasy worthy of any epic.

A frightful experience on par with the 1980's The Thing movie. Every corner that must be turned is a potential death or waiting horror. Everything from enemy design to music adds to a atmosphere that keeps you holding your breath for safety, something you may never find. The only bad part, something that happens to plague many horror games, is that subsequent playthroughs loose their fear as enemy placement and spawns are set and easily remembered. Despite that, it seems that any time Dead Space is mentioned , someone, somewhere will have the urge to sit down and fight for survival.

One the most spectacular games I had the good fortune of playing. Every aspect of the game oozes with love. The graphical style is vibrant beautiful in motion. The character design is wide and very varies from each of the world's areas, resulting in very few occasions where you see the exact same enemy. The best part of the game however, for me, is that the story just keeps giving. No more than 4 times, I was certain I was about to beat the game, only to be shown that the latest challenge that threatened the world was nowhere near your final test. Overall, an experience that every gamer should have.

The DMC HD Collection offers a Neopolitan-esq experience, all the flavors of Devil May Cry presented in a nice little box. There are no real changes to the games save for the graphics. The games got smoothed **** not entirely, which keeps this collection from being a perfect 10. Some cutscenes have been untouched which makes for a strange experience when you go from the newer graphics back to the PS2 ones.

The game promises revolutionary gameplay the likes of which would change the gaming world. What FEZ presents is a watered down experience from an indie blender. The art style of Cave story, mixed with the gameplay mechanics of Paper Mario and Monolith. All in all, the game leaves much to be desired, especially when you can get better for free.