DeVuego ES_COR

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate couldn’t have many more subtitles attached to it. It also couldn’t be a much better game than it is. Outside of a couple of control issues, there isn’t a lot to not like, and I love that the developers chose to tailor-make an experience for the 3DS that was clearly made with the hardware in mind. Instead of trying to make a dumbed-down game in the vein of its console cousin, they crafted something that stands apart from it while also paying homage to many of the franchise’s best games over the past 15 years. Mirror of Fate manages to make the once well-worn Metroidvania formula new again by using this reboot-based version of the franchise, and is a must-play for any fans of the series.

Overall, Yesterday is a fine adventure with a unique look, competent puzzles, and a compelling story. The only downside is that it's relatively short. It only took me a little more than five hours to complete the game, and so Pendulo definitely had some room to add in an extra chapter or two. But otherwise, as long as you don't mind some disturbing content, Yesterday is well worth its $30 price tag.

Overall, The Next BIG Thing is humorous, well-acted and well-presented, and it might take you around 10 hours to complete. The game's puzzles are a little bit on the easy side, which isn't necessarily bad, and because of that, and also because of the difficulty settings, The Next BIG Thing might work better as an introduction to adventure games rather than as a challenge for veteran players. But I enjoyed my time with the game (with the caveat that I got to play it for free), and I'd give it a modest recommendation.

And so I have mixed feelings about Runaway, despite the high score I’m giving it. The score reflects more the quality of the engine rather than the gameplay, but I liked the game well enough, and there is such a dearth of other adventures out there, that it’s a game worth owning if you enjoy the genre. I also suspect that people will like the game more than I did, but that’s always difficult to gauge.

And so overall I liked The Sexy Brutale. It has a unique look and premise, and while some of its gameplay mechanics are a little shallow, everything works well enough together to make it a worthwhile purchase, especially at its $20 price tag. So put on a mask and prepare to go gambling, but beware of talking fish. They have evil hearts

Could it possibly be more impressive than Commandos 2? The answer is no, and I don’t think developer Pyro Studios even really tried.

In other words, Revistronic missed all sorts of opportunities for humor in the game, and so Wanted ends up being pleasant and occasionally funny, but it’s hardly a knee-slapper. That description isn’t exactly a death sentence for a game, but when you combine it with the easy puzzles, a certain lack of polish, and several minor issues (like Revistronic’s decision to force you to feed Fillmore’s horse over and over again throughout the game), Wanted misses the mark just enough that it’s a little iffy for me to recommend.

Like the movie, Wanted: Weapons of Fate is more style than substance. The game is at its best when Wesley is quick chaining cover with his ability to slow down time and curve bullets in the midst of overwhelming odds. The story is brief but I’m not sure it could have been much longer without the stylized action wearing a little thin (it starts to feel that way towards the end). Gamers with a passing interest in the title will likely get their fill of the experience in a weekend rental, but fans of the movie and graphic novel will be quite happy joining the Fraternity on a more permanent basis.

Dream of the Turtle is like a lot of adventure games. It does some things well and some things badly, and overall it lands somewhere around average. Fans of the first game will no doubt like the sequel, but for everybody else it’s likely to be an iffy proposition.

As The Darkness is abolished and you’re given a hero’s welcome, I liken Blade of Darkness to a popcorn flick. Check your brain at the door, this one’s all about the special effects and boisterous fighting scenes. Gamers that prefer a little rhyme or reason to their slaying will certainly be disappointed not only by the lack of an engaging storyline, but also by the half-witted puzzles. With that said, there are enough exciting moments in Blade of Darkness to marginally recommend it to those in the mood for a little mindless hack ‘n slash action. Just don’t expect much in terms of role-playing, this is an action game through and through.

There is no denying the overt level of difficulty that Commandos 2 boasts but thankfully, it isn’t completely unforgiving; you’ll have the option to save your game anywhere in a mission so that you don’t have to restart each time you bite the dust.

A fun, but yet challenging RTS. It all depends on your liking. If you're a strategic fan, you will probably find this a good game. If not, its fun for awhile... probably won't stay on your hard drive for very long.

Murder in the Abbey (or just The Abbey, as it is known in Europe) is an adventure game to skip. The cartoon style it uses for its look is effective, but too much of the game feels like a cartoon, with over-the-top voice acting and silly situations, and that forms a disturbing dichotomy with how seriously the game takes itself. Plus, the puzzles are awful and the story is worse, and so there isn’t anything in the game to recommend. Pass this adventure by, even if you see it sitting invitingly in a bargain bin.

I think perhaps if the designers spent another month tweaking the gameplay and interface, we could've had another nice title to play over the holidays. However, another rushed released results in another poor game. I think the developers tried to focus too much on the destruction of the cars while driving rather than on non-fluff features like... STEERING. Even with gamepad, mouse, and steering wheel support, the control suffers painfully. And I apologize for the lack of screen shots, but the game just doesn't operate properly. When you alt+tab out of it, it either crashes, or you can't get back into it to continue playing. On a final note: stay away.

I'm really not going to go on much further about Beachhead 2000, it's really not worth the time and effort let alone your gaming dollar. It's a remake and it's a budget title so it doesn't come as a surprise how poorly it turned out. For every decent budget release (New York Times Crossword Puzzle, Dirt Track Racing), there are usually a handful of bombs (Innova Disc Golf, Emergency Rescue Firefighters, Swamp Buggy, Harley Davidson) and unfortunately Beachhead 2000 falls into the later category. D-Day is putting it lightly.