inFAMOUS 2 isn't perfect, but it has fewer rough edges than the original. The camera is this game's only serious problem, and it's never enough of one to drive you away from the game. The new UGC system has the potential to be tremendous, even if player-created mission selection is a bit sparse now. The game controls like a dream, has some impressive visuals and voice work, and some intense music. If you loved the first game, snatch this up ASAP. If you're like me and liked it, but didn't love it, still give this one a shot because the sequel fixed the original's problems.

In Fable III you can purchase houses, buy businesses, get married, and have kids. Like B&W you have a pet, a dog in this case, but he's more useful and less idiosyncratic, and you can train him to help you in combat and he sniffs out treasure for you. By and large good stuff. Those things work. And in general dealing with the leaders of the various towns to get them to ally with you is good RPG fodder (and deciding later whether or not to keep the promises you make is an interesting wrinkle). But the dreary nature of performing menial tasks repeatedly with individual people to scrape experience? Not so much. In fact as an activity it likely ranks down there with gold farming. And while it was ludicrous as a god to be expected to find every lost child, as a prince trying to stabilize an entire kingdom it's only slightly less asinine. And in Fable III it's all been linked together, inextricably.

Hunted could really have used another couple of passes just to tighten things up, but what's here is perfectly playable. There are a lot of puzzles and secrets, multiple endings, a design-your-own-dungeon mode, and two different playable characters who fight in entirely different ways. This isn't a bad game, but it's one that could be vastly improved.

Hunted could really have used another couple of passes just to tighten things up, but what's here is perfectly playable. There are a lot of puzzles and secrets, multiple endings, a design-your-own-dungeon mode, and two different playable characters who fight in entirely different ways. This isn't a bad game, but it's one that could be vastly improved.

Daggerdale, as these things go, isn't bad, and you do get a lot of game for your money here, particularly if you go through it cooperatively. There are never quite enough co-op dungeon crawlers on the market, and while this isn't a particularly pretty or intuitive one, it allows you to kill a whole boatload of monsters while stealing all their money to spend on ways to improve your ability to kill entire boatloads of slightly tougher monsters, and that's pretty much all you need out of this kind of game.

Daggerdale, as these things go, isn't bad, and you do get a lot of game for your money here, particularly if you go through it cooperatively. There are never quite enough co-op dungeon crawlers on the market, and while this isn't a particularly pretty or intuitive one, it allows you to kill a whole boatload of monsters while stealing all their money to spend on ways to improve your ability to kill entire boatloads of slightly tougher monsters, and that's pretty much all you need out of this kind of game.

So, overall, Battle Slots might be a useful diversion for you, depending perhaps on how much you like slot machines.

All in all, an absolute treat for the eyes and the ears... that is if you can stomach the content. Anyone interested in L.A. Noire must understand that this is a game for an adult audience. The grisly crime scenes can be very off-putting to some, and considering the subject matter of the game is to solve serial killings and clean up a town notorious for being the Sodom & Gomorrah of the era, players should know what they are getting into beforehand. The dialogue is also quite strong and this title may actually be the first video game title to use a specific acronym for "see you next Tuesday" so liberally (or at all).

All in all, an absolute treat for the eyes and the ears... that is if you can stomach the content. Anyone interested in L.A. Noire must understand that this is a game for an adult audience. The grisly crime scenes can be very off-putting to some, and considering the subject matter of the game is to solve serial killings and clean up a town notorious for being the Sodom & Gomorrah of the era, players should know what they are getting into beforehand. The dialogue is also quite strong and this title may actually be the first video game title to use a specific acronym for "see you next Tuesday" so liberally (or at all).

DOA Dimensions is a fantastic entry in the series and a must-have for someone craving a portable fighting game.

DiRT 3 has some rough edges but remains a worthwhile purchase for longtime fans who crave more of the racing action that has made the DiRT series the premiere rally series on the market, but newcomers should go with one of the prior games. Partly because rally racing isn't for everyone, so if you're new, go with a prior game, preferably DiRT 2 and see if the series is for you. Multi-platform owners should get the 360 version. Its controller feels better for racing games, and you can use your Avatar as a prop hanging off of your in-car mirror, which may not make for impressive ad copy, but sure is amusing to see and will get a few laughs out of you.

DiRT 3 has some rough edges but remains a worthwhile purchase for longtime fans who crave more of the racing action that has made the DiRT series the premiere rally series on the market, but newcomers should go with one of the prior games. Partly because rally racing isn't for everyone, so if you're new, go with a prior game, preferably DiRT 2 and see if the series is for you. Multi-platform owners should get the 360 version. Its controller feels better for racing games, and you can use your Avatar as a prop hanging off of your in-car mirror, which may not make for impressive ad copy, but sure is amusing to see and will get a few laughs out of you.

Questionable design decisions and technical issues aside, I love the LEGO games and LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean is no different. These are still some of the best family friendly titles available. Having said that, I can't escape the feeling that this tried and true formula is beginning to get a little stale. But if, like me, you're okay with that, then LEGO Pirates is another swashbuckling romp along a familiar theme.

Questionable design decisions and technical issues aside, I love the LEGO games and LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean is no different. These are still some of the best family friendly titles available. Having said that, I can't escape the feeling that this tried and true formula is beginning to get a little stale. But if, like me, you're okay with that, then LEGO Pirates is another swashbuckling romp along a familiar theme.

Moon Diver feels like the kind of game that was released near the end of the Dreamcast's life cycle. It's aimed directly at people who grew up playing this kind of game, with very few token nods to the fact that time has passed between now and 1999. You can usefully compare it to most if not all of the good 2D games of the last ten years.

Moon Diver feels like the kind of game that was released near the end of the Dreamcast's life cycle. It's aimed directly at people who grew up playing this kind of game, with very few token nods to the fact that time has passed between now and 1999. You can usefully compare it to most if not all of the good 2D games of the last ten years.

Both Top Spin 4 and Virtua Tennis 4 are good games that have a lot to offer tennis fans. Part of me wishes there could be an amalgamation of the two, but as it stands I'll end with this: Top Spin 4 is a better game overall, but Virtua Tennis 4 would definitely be more fun to play for the casual fan. It's almost as if it's striving not to be taken seriously, what with the over-the-top mini-games and fancy dress events. Is that necessarily a bad thing? Absolutely not. Depending on what sort of experience you want, the choice is really up to you.

Both Top Spin 4 and Virtua Tennis 4 are good games that have a lot to offer tennis fans. Part of me wishes there could be an amalgamation of the two, but as it stands I'll end with this: Top Spin 4 is a better game overall, but Virtua Tennis 4 would definitely be more fun to play for the casual fan. It's almost as if it's striving not to be taken seriously, what with the over-the-top mini-games and fancy dress events. Is that necessarily a bad thing? Absolutely not. Depending on what sort of experience you want, the choice is really up to you.

I come away from this game with nothing but mixed feelings. Pretty much every aspect starts by exciting you, giving you hope that an RPG is finally going to be all the things you want it to be. But at every turn, it mocks you with "Just kidding!", ripping the rug out from under your feet and making you taste cold reality again. This back and forth relationship makes playing The Witcher 2 tiring. Everything is a battle against good intentions turned sour by fatal design flaws. It's one of those games that I don't regret having played, but I also wouldn't recommend it to a friend, either. And since that's exactly where the first game left me, I have little hope that the Witcher universe will ever be a place I feel at home.

Sega Rally Online Arcade offers up a streamlined version of what made Sega Rally Revo great, while also providing the same addictive gameplay that's made the series so revered for a decade and a half.

Despite some frustrating gameplay quirks, Motorstorm Apocalypse is a must-buy for series fanatics, and a must-play for newcomers because of its fast action, sharp controls, and incredible sound design.

In the end, Brink is another of those games that we see every so often; the games that have incredible potential and truly unique ideas but fail in their implementation. This could have been a great game, it could've been a hit and it could've given shooter fans a reason to return to a genre that has lost much of its originality over the last handful of years. Unfortunately for us and for its developer, the keyword here is "could've", because there's little here that makes Brink the genre redefining game some of us hoped it would be.

In the end, Brink is another of those games that we see every so often; the games that have incredible potential and truly unique ideas but fail in their implementation. This could have been a great game, it could've been a hit and it could've given shooter fans a reason to return to a genre that has lost much of its originality over the last handful of years. Unfortunately for us and for its developer, the keyword here is "could've", because there's little here that makes Brink the genre redefining game some of us hoped it would be.

In the end, Brink is another of those games that we see every so often; the games that have incredible potential and truly unique ideas but fail in their implementation. This could have been a great game, it could've been a hit and it could've given shooter fans a reason to return to a genre that has lost much of its originality over the last handful of years. Unfortunately for us and for its developer, the keyword here is "could've", because there's little here that makes Brink the genre redefining game some of us hoped it would be.

Rush'N Attack: Ex-Patriot is pretty short and sits on a weird transition point between a side-scroller and an exploration-based adventure game. It takes a little bit of getting used to, since some of the stealth elements are counterproductive (i.e. if you whistle to lure an enemy over to your hiding place, it also alerts them to your presence, thus ensuring your discovery). It's not a bad use of ten bucks, as it gives you a pretty decent weekend's worth of entertainment.

Rush'N Attack: Ex-Patriot is pretty short and sits on a weird transition point between a side-scroller and an exploration-based adventure game. It takes a little bit of getting used to, since some of the stealth elements are counterproductive (i.e. if you whistle to lure an enemy over to your hiding place, it also alerts them to your presence, thus ensuring your discovery). It's not a bad use of ten bucks, as it gives you a pretty decent weekend's worth of entertainment.

And so, obviously, I wouldn't recommend Hector: Episode 1. It's short and it's sloppy, and other than its tone, it doesn't have a whole lot going for it. It's also the first offering from Telltale Games that I didn't really like. The second and third episodes of the Hector season aren't coming out for a few months, so possibly Straandlooper could figure a few things out and create something worthwhile, but I'm not optimistic, and I'd give this new franchise a pass.

Five maps for 1200 MPS is not a very good deal, especially when you can buy many enjoyable arcade games for the same price. The new zombie map -"Call of the Dead"- is, however, enjoyable and the best Call of Duty zombie map so far.