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You can really tell this is an effort from people who were involved with the original Deus Ex and Thief games, and City 17's visual designer. It's the perfect combo; an old school stealth action game with lots of room to explore and get distracted. The universe, characters, environments, and story are all immediately engrossing; one of those rare moments when a new game franchise feels like it's already matured. I won't spoil any more. Give it a whirl.

The first game was a surprisingly entertaining and tactically deep budget title. The sequel retains most of the mechanics, but seems to have taken a few too many cues from Call of Duty when it comes to level design. It's short, very linear, and nowhere near as fun as the first. The kill-cam is pretty spectacular, but the ridiculously stupid AI with occasional superhuman senses never makes the kills really satisfying.

If you liked the first two, you'll love this one. There has been no drop in quality on any front. The gameplay, story, writing, and brilliant set pieces all shine as usual. However, there are 2 major things that bother me on an "ethical" level, if I can be so bold as use the word. Inputing a serial number on a console game is ridiculous, and release-date DLC flies in the face of what DLC is supposed to be (extending the life ****). The former is by far the worse, and signals another step towards an attempt to stamp out used games. Negatives aside, giving this game a 1 or a 0 is completely unfair. I get that it's an act of protest, but give credit where credit is due. This is a beautifully crafted game and a love letter to people who have been hooked by the last 2 games as much as I have. PLAY IT!

The multiplayer may be some of the coolest modern combat you'll experience on a console. It's absolutely glorious, and worth the price for that alone. Unfortunately, the single player campaign is the same heavily scripted Call of Duty-ish trash I've come to loathe from FPS games. In some cases it's even worse, descending into button mashing quicktime events and rail shooters. For a game that proves it has so much versatility and complexity on the multiplayer side, it's a huge disappointment not to have more freedom on the single player end.

Overall, a very good game. The writing and acting is some of the funniest stuff I've encountered anywhere. There are some very clever moments and some of the environments REALLY push this game beyond the confined spaces of the original. The co-op, especially with a friend and voice chat, is also a ton of fun. The only negatives for me were the frequent load screens (really ruins the pace of some scenes), somewhat brief length (3-4ish hours?), and overall easiness of the puzzles (especially the last quarter of the game).

Skyrim may not be a quantum leap forward for Bethesda, but they've mastered their own unique open world rpg formula and this game delivers the best experience yet. The number of locations and variety of interesting things to do in them is truly staggering. Every few minutes you'll find yourself enjoying a new epic vista, each more amazing than the last. It isn't perfect; the hand-to-hand combat still feels a bit unresponsive and the AI pathfinding is still easy to exploit, but these are miniscule issues in the face of how much fun this title is. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some trolls to torch, bandits to decapitate, and... volumes on Dwemer history to read.

I was a huge fan of the original, was hugely disappointed by Invisible War, and have thankfully been hugely impressed by Human Revolution. I don't think it's entirely fair to expect the same level of intricate detail and micro-tuning found in the original (it was a keyboard and mouse exclusive before being ported to PS2), and honestly, I don't really miss improving my swimming skill level anyhow. HR's grid inventory and item crafting really pleased the old PC gamer side of me too (glad to see the universal ammo and item wheel from IW gone). This game is a fantastic balance of complexity and accessibility. Also, some of the most unique art direction in a long time. Don't listen to the graphics nay-sayers. It looks great, and middle-of-the-road graphics with beautiful design work beats out bleeding edge graphics with uninspired art direction any day.

It's hard to slam this game too hard because the beautiful environments, customization, and fun combat really do shine. However, putting a game that screams to be explored under constant time limits seriously reduced my enjoyment. The entire game is one big time limit, but you're also constantly presented with moments where you really want to explore a mall and play with things, but always have to be someplace on time. Also, the horrible save system made for at least a half dozen occasions where I had to repeat an hour of the game. I really should have rented the game first. It isn't worth the price.

As a huge fan of the originals on PC, this was one of the most disappointing sequels I've played (since the dark, sad days of awful sequels like Unreal 2 and Deus Ex Invisible War). They've stripped out everything that made the originals great. You won't participate in frequent large combined arms engagements, you won't find yourself behind the controls of tanks or helicopters (unless you play multiplayer), and you won't have much control over how you approach each mission. This game has a lot more in common with the old Delta Force titles than the grand scale of OFP, Resistance, and the spiritual successors of ARMA and ARMA2. Nearly every mission involves climbing a hill, killing whatever stands on top of it, then getting to an extraction point. Also, no mission editor for consoles. That was half the fun right there. Negatives aside, it isn't all bad. The combat controls are a lot better than the original, it's easier to get your squad-mates to help out, buildings play a larger role (unless your squad mates have to enter them), and the pyrotechnics are a lot more realistic. These positives just don't cut it in the long run. Taken on its own, it's a mediocre realistic shooter, a bit **** Recon 1 meets Delta Force hybrid with boring missions. Placed alongside its predecessors, it is one of the most disappointing games I've ever played. If you have a pc, stick to ARMA. This is Operation Flashpoint in name only.

As a HUGE fan of the first Crysis on PC, I was a bit worried about what direction the sequel would take with a multi-platform release. I game mostly on Xbox now, so picked it up for my console, and have been very pleased overall. It doesn't quite have the jaw-dropping impact of the first's huge environments and stunning visuals, but it still provides and incredibly solid fps experience without deviating too far from the spirit of the original. This time around you'll be fighting in the urban canyons of New York. The city is beautifully rendered and a blast to fight in, but feels a bit more constricted than the jungles of the original. There are plenty of approaches to each mission, but I found it quite a bit more linear than the first. The graphics are nothing to sneeze at, but considering the fact that the original came out 3 1/2 years ago, PC gamers might be a bit disappointed that they aren't going to be getting something a far ahead of its time as the original was. However, I don't blame Crytek from wanting to capitalize on gaming larger console market, and its amazing what they've squeezed out of the xbox 360 in particular. Where this sequel truly shines is it's story. Characters, story scene environments, and dialogue are a lot better, and it feels like a lot more than a wicked-fun tech demo this time around. Make no mistake, it's no Bioware story arc, but there's a lot more stringing the scenes together than in the original Crysis. Also, the powers are a lot easier to use than in the original. Crysis had you awkwardly activating each of the 4 powers individually, a couple of clicks deep in a menu. This made switching from speed to armor, or from cloak to strength, very tedious. This time, all of the powers are still there, but cloak and armor are just single hot keys away, while speed is integrated into a thumb-stick click sprint and strength is context sensitive when close to heavy objects and enemies. This leaves you with nearly all of the options of the original, but in a far more accessible way. Overall Crysis 2 isn't as ground-breaking as the original, but manages to completely outshine the mess of awful CoD clones out there right now. Check it out, you won't regret it.

I've almost arrived at the end of my Dragon Age 2 journey and I feel the need to weigh in a bit early to help boost the game back from its undeservedly low user score. At its core, Dragon Age 2 is yet another finely made Bioware title with all of the great atmosphere, storytelling, and characters that their previous titles have had. This time around, we're getting a far more focussed slice of the world. Your character is important to the city of Kirkwall, but you get the sense that far grander events are playing out elsewhere in the world. I for one like this departure; it made me feel like I had a big role to play in one small region, but wouldn't be shifting the destiny of the continent. The game is also quite a bit more policial in nature. Still, while I love Kirkwall and the new art style throughout the game, there are major downsides. The limitations of staying in one city become apparent long before the end of the game and the environments get terribly repetitive. As far as gameplay is concerned, you'll be diving into a mix of Origins and Mass Effect. I played Origins on PC and enjoyed its more classic top-down rpg controls, but I'm playing DA2 on xbox and I think this new control scheme is excellent as well. If you take the time to dig into it, they haven't left much out from the new controls. The command wheel lets you issue most of the same commands you could in Origins, and then lets you participate a lot more viscerally once you launch the attack. The streamlined inventory works great too, and I can't remember anything from Origins that I find myself missing terribly in DA2. However, it isn't all good news. The exploding gore and corpses get pretty silly, and larger battles can get a bit too hectic for the third person controls. It would also be nice to have more control over outfitting my party. As I write this, the user score sits at 4.3, largely because a vocal minority of fans clearly don't understand how to objectively use a 0-10 scale. This game deserves far better than that. You don't slam something with a 1 or 0 out of 10 because it disappoints you or departs from your expectations, you slam something with a 0 if it's broken, awful to play, or of insultingly poor craftsmanship. This game is NONE of those things. Dragon Age 2 is far from being the best Bioware has done, and their Mass Effect titles pull off action gameplay a lot better, but it still stands above many other releases this year. I just hope they learn a lesson or two and make Dragon Age 3 the best one yet!

I picked it up through Games On Demand to have something to play casually before Dragon Age II, and was really surprised. I have to admit, I expected something God of War-esque, but instead found myself with something more akin to a dark Zelda. The combat is a bit simple, but makes up for it with the sheer number of implements with which you can inflict pain on your foes and scale the environment. The world is very refreshing as well. Many of the other mythologies have been done to death, and getting to romp around inside one of the more lavish and "colorful" Christian mythological tales is a blast. The art direction is top notch as well. Every area is a feast for the eyes, aside from a few dull dungeon crawls. You also get your money's worth. I missed a few nooks and crannies but still clocked in at a respectable 17 hours. Also worth noting is the great voice acting, memorable characters, and excellent sequel-hinting ending. There are a few negatives, however. The game drags on a bit at the end, sending you through the same environments a couple more times on artifact-hunts, but it does give players a chance to find a few more hidden secrets with their new tools. Also, I found the puzzles and combat quite easy, with rare and annoying spikes in difficulty at 2 or 3 points in the game. The camera is also a bit picky. It usually stays at just the right angle, and the cinematic lock-on camera is fantastic, but you'll still find yourself missing the occasional jump or ledge when the camera randomly pivots behind a rock or into a wall. Also, don't even bother with the block and counter-attack moves. All-in-all, it's a very unique game that's worth a purchase or extended-rental. Check it out!