Giant Bomb's Scores

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For 1,045 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 28% higher than the average critic
  • 3% same as the average critic
  • 69% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 3.8 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Game review score: 71
Highest review score: 100 Dragon Age: Origins
Lowest review score: 20 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 594 out of 1045
  2. Mixed: 307 out of 1045
  3. Negative: 144 out of 1045
1080 game reviews
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    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
    The story is the main thing that I'll remember about The Force Unleashed--I found it to be more satisfying than the last three movies combined. Though you go in sort of knowing how it has to end, since it has to lead into Star Wars, there are plenty of significant events occurring throughout. It's enjoyable to watch it all unfold. That said, it's unfortunate that the game isn't a bit more even, because the constant flips from too easy to too hard really drag things down and prevent The Force Unleashed from being great.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Crysis Warhead
    One of the best parts about Crysis Warhead is the price. With an expansion-minded retail rate of $29.99, Crysis Warhead is inexpensive enough to make many of its issues feel very minor. Taken with the optimizations that may make it a friendlier game on more hardware configurations and its action-focused pacing, it's also much more approachable than the previous game.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People Episode 2: Strong Badia the Free
    It's a much fuller and funnier experience than the first episode.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People Episode 2: Strong Badia the Free
    It's a much fuller and funnier experience than the first episode.
    • 92 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Rock Band 2
    It's both a must-own for fans of the genre and a great place for new players to get started.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Samurai Shodown II
    Samurai Shodown is a great series, and as far as I'm concerned, SS2 is the best installment of the bunch. Between that and the game's online support, I'm well satisfied with this release. If you have fond memories of '90s arcades, I'd guess that you'll be satisfied, as well.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    TNA iMPACT!
    It's a solid first step. With some iteration, more content, and more vocal contributions from more members of the TNA roster, a sequel could be just as viable of an alternative to the SmackDown! series as TNA's brand of wrestling is to WWE's.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Spore
    Spore's most positive traits are so uniquely satisfying that it's disappointing the gameplay which underpins them isn't more engrossing.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise
    Trouble in Paradise offers everything the first game did--literally--with a heap of new content and enough streamlined gameplay mechanics to get even an experienced gardener's green thumb back into action. And if you never tried the original game, first of all, shame on you. Second, go play this one.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
    That Mercenaries 2: World in Flames isn't better seriously bums me out. Even in its current state you can see so much potential for breakneck, anarchic fun, which makes its laundry list of problems that much more frustrating.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Last Guy
    While you could say that there's nothing quite like The Last Guy--well, beyond the Work Time Fun minigame that the whole thing was based on--its unique feel doesn't make it a great purchase at $9.99.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Castle Crashers
    The only things really holding Castle Crashers back are some unfortunate technical problems, but they're not enough to entirely suppress the game's gleeful abandon for both hacking and slashing.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Mario Super Sluggers
    As a Mario game, Mario Super Sluggers feels kind of cheap; as a baseball game, it fails to capture the finer points that make the sport interesting in the first place. Its accessibility is probably Mario Super Sluggers' most well-realized characteristic, but what you're getting access to simply isn't much fun.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty
    It has all the same elements as the original, but it just doesn't deliver the charm and appeal.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Galaga Legions
    As a game following in the footsteps of the Galaga legacy, Legions doesn't do a very good job. Other than the ability for ships to capture other ships, nothing about this game feels much like the original game.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Too Human
    If anything meaningful happens in this game aside from establishing a villain, it was lost on me. The only way I got anything interesting out of it was to start searching for web pages devoted to Baldur's place in Norse mythology to see how many liberties Silicon Knights is taking with its fiction and to see what sorts of things could lie ahead in the next games. As a game, the action is a little too straightforward for its own good.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Bionic Commando: Rearmed
    Bionic Commando: Rearmed is terrific in almost every way, revitalizing a classic but long-dormant game in an exciting way that stands on its own, but also serves as a potent reminder that there's a new retail sequel on the horizon that'll bring all this crazy swinging to 3D environments.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Bionic Commando: Rearmed
    Bionic Commando: Rearmed is terrific in almost every way, revitalizing a classic but long-dormant game in an exciting way that stands on its own, but also serves as a potent reminder that there's a new retail sequel on the horizon that'll bring all this crazy swinging to 3D environments.
    • 53 Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    Fable II Pub Games
    It's slightly less offensive as a Fable II preorder bonus, but it comes nowhere near justifying its 800 point ($10) asking price.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Bionic Commando: Rearmed
    Bionic Commando: Rearmed is terrific in almost every way, revitalizing a classic but long-dormant game in an exciting way that stands on its own, but also serves as a potent reminder that there's a new retail sequel on the horizon that'll bring all this crazy swinging to 3D environments.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Space Siege
    Space Siege is genuinely fun for a while, but at some point in the dozen-or-so-hour campaign it became more tedious than entertaining, and I just wished there was more depth in the mechanics to hold my interest.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People Episode 1: Homestar Ruiner
    While demand for this style of gaming and for Homestar-licensed products both peaked a while ago, it's an enjoyably goofy diversion.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People Episode 1: Homestar Ruiner
    While demand for this style of gaming and for Homestar-licensed products both peaked a while ago, it's an enjoyably goofy diversion.
    • 93 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Braid
    I was initially pretty skeptical about Braid, and it took me some time to get past the game's severe melancholy. I eventually found the game's story and the way it plays against the gameplay to be academically interesting, and the game's final payoff is terrific, but it's the ingenuity of the mechanics that makes Braid so engaging.
    • 90 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2
    Even if you've grown tired of the seemingly endless cavalcade of dual-joystick shooters that Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved's success spawned on Xbox Live Arcade, the sequel is well-worth its $10 price tag.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    SoulCalibur IV
    Overall, it's sort of hard to recommend Soulcalibur IV to anyone who isn't already a big fan of the series. It felt like everything I liked about the game (the actual fighting) was countered by something else (the meaningless story mode, equipment stats, Ivy's creepy-looking boobs) that made me want to take the disc out and put it away forever.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    SoulCalibur IV
    Overall, it's sort of hard to recommend Soulcalibur IV to anyone who isn't already a big fan of the series. It felt like everything I liked about the game (the actual fighting) was countered by something else (the meaningless story mode, equipment stats, Ivy's creepy-looking boobs) that made me want to take the disc out and put it away forever.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    1942: Joint Strike
    A good, solid scrolling shooter. It's tough, but not so tough that it will only appeal to genre crazies who can only feel emotion when it's filtered through a bullet hell pattern.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    1942: Joint Strike
    A good, solid scrolling shooter. It's tough, but not so tough that it will only appeal to genre crazies who can only feel emotion when it's filtered through a bullet hell pattern.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution
    While Sid Meier has been quoted as saying that this is the Civilization game he always wanted to make, Revolution's got plenty of shortcomings, and the scope of its vision can sometimes outstrip its mechanics. That said, this is a really satisfying strategy game, and though it might be old hat for PC players, there are few experiences quite like it on consoles.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution
    While Sid Meier has been quoted as saying that this is the Civilization game he always wanted to make, Revolution's got plenty of shortcomings, and the scope of its vision can sometimes outstrip its mechanics. That said, this is a really satisfying strategy game, and though it might be old hat for PC players, there are few experiences quite like it on consoles.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Unreal Tournament III
    It's a predictable entry in the series, and it's also competing in what's still the most competitive genre on the platform. I ended up liking UT3 for its constancy--at times it feels like a warm handshake from an old friend. But it also feels totally routine from start to finish.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    SoulCalibur
    Soul Calibur gets the fighting right, but without online play or the single-player mission mode that made it fun to play alone, this XBLA re-release is a flimsy package.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Guitar Hero: Aerosmith
    Even if you are a hardcore Aerosmith fan, this game's short and spotty track list makes it hard to recommend.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3
    There’s a real lack of enemy variety, as well.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Battlefield: Bad Company
    It looks great, has fun characters, a load of interesting weaponry, and works nicely whether you’re playing alone or with a squad. The campaign lasts long enough to feel fulfilling, and the multiplayer kept me coming back once that was complete.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Battlefield: Bad Company
    It looks great, has fun characters, a load of interesting weaponry, and works nicely whether you’re playing alone or with a squad. The campaign lasts long enough to feel fulfilling, and the multiplayer kept me coming back once that was complete.
    • 94 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
    None of the game’s minor blemishes are enough to detract from its massive overall impact. It’s the surprising entertainment value of the action, the mind-blowing visuals, and the completeness of the story’s conclusion that make this last installment so satisfying. Metal Gear Solid 4’s positive qualities make it one of the most significant game releases of this generation, and anyone with an appreciation for the evolving form of the medium would do well to play it from start to finish.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit
    Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit is definitely more a game for those familiar with the series than players looking for a deep, competitive fighting game. While it's visually engaging, those without an interest in the actual Dragon Ball Z franchise will find the fighting too simplistic to be rewarding.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit
    Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit is definitely more a game for those familiar with the series than players looking for a deep, competitive fighting game. While it's visually engaging, those without an interest in the actual Dragon Ball Z franchise will find the fighting too simplistic to be rewarding.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3
    There’s a real lack of enemy variety, as well.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy
    The Bourne Conspiracy is a short game that can be clumsy and repetitive at times, but it does it with enough style that I didn’t feel like it was a complete waste of time. For what you get, though, it’s still tough to justify the $60 price tag.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
    After Lego Batman comes out, though, I hope Traveller’s Tales takes a good look at where its Lego games are going and makes the tweaks and additions necessary to keep the franchise relevant.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
    After Lego Batman comes out, though, I hope Traveller’s Tales takes a good look at where its Lego games are going and makes the tweaks and additions necessary to keep the franchise relevant.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Penny Arcade Adventures: Episode One
    It took me a good five hours to play through, and it wraps up enough story threads to be satisfying, while leaving enough open to keep me eager for Episode Two. If the humor and the combat can retain this level of quality, this could be the start of something great.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Haze
    Though it was announced just over two years ago, the end result plays like something that was slapped together and shipped after a year or so, rather than something that was painstakingly developed and refined.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    SingStar (2008)
    Now, some of you are undoubtedly super-shy and would never dream of letting the world see you, in your bedroom, singing. That's fine. But if you're a little more extroverted and want a sanctioned location to look like a jackass, or if creatively creating 30-second videos to the delight or disgust of an online audience is up your alley, SingStar is kind of amazing.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Wii Fit
    Wii Fit is a decent package, and it works exactly as advertised. But you may outgrow it quickly. Unless you’re already convinced that you’ll want other balance board games down the line, you’re probably better off just going for a nice, long walk.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Defend Your Castle
    The presentation goes a long way towards making Defend Your Castle a worthwhile experience, but after a few hours of fending off hordes of DIY enemies, I was done with it.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Boom Blox
    While some of the trickier puzzles may take some real time to master, especially if you want to get a gold medal on every challenge, it doesn’t take a lot of time to acclimate yourself to Boom Blox and whip through most of what it has to offer. The lasting value, then, comes from the multiplayer, which is an absolute blast, and the creation aspect, which, to be fair, isn’t for everyone.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1
    If you have a soft spot in your heart for any of these old big-cart classics, you’ll probably be able to overlook the emulation issues and load times, but some of these early Neo-Geo games don’t hold up so well today, so make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into before you commit.
    • 98 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Grand Theft Auto IV
    Rather than try to out-do the Crackdowns and the Saints Rows of the world with bigger land masses and more missions, Rockstar went the other way, and managed to craft an amazingly impactful story and weave it into an open-world game in an incredibly meaningful way - all without losing the heart and soul of what makes Grand Theft Auto so popular in the first place. The end result is absolutely masterful and absolutely worth your time and money.
    • 98 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Grand Theft Auto IV
    That psychological side to the game translates into characters talking about how they feel, and about what they're going through. It's extremely well-written and made a serious impact on me. This isn't the carefree killing-and-carjacking romp you might have expected.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Mario Kart Wii
    Personally, I’m completely tired of getting exactly what I expect.
    • 33 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Target: Terror
    Here in our dimension, though, Target: Terror came out to today’s arcades: empty, lifeless places full of the damned and people who just don’t know any better.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    NBA Ballers: Chosen One
    NBA Ballers: Chosen One feels like a relic, like an old arcade game that’s been given a fresh coat of paint, but no additional gameplay depth. Like an old arcade game, it’s fun for awhile, but unless you have nostalgic feelings for, well, the other two Ballers games, you’ll probably get fed up fast.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    NBA Ballers: Chosen One
    NBA Ballers: Chosen One feels like a relic, like an old arcade game that’s been given a fresh coat of paint, but no additional gameplay depth. Like an old arcade game, it’s fun for awhile, but unless you have nostalgic feelings for, well, the other two Ballers games, you’ll probably get fed up fast.
    • 37 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Rocky and Bullwinkle
    A game with no originality and not much excitement, either.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Gran Turismo 5 Prologue
    I like what Gran Turismo 5 Prologue offers, I just don’t care for the decision to monetize it. "Gran Turismo 4" featured more than 50 tracks and more than 700 cars, so if $39.99 buys you just six tracks and 70 cars in 2008, I don’t even want to imagine how much Gran Turismo 5 will cost.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Ikaruga
    Just because it’s great doesn’t mean it’s accessible.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Mr. Driller Online
    Unfortunately, Mr. Driller Online is plagued by a meager selection of gameplay modes and bug-ridden online play that keep it from being worth the $10 price tag.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    TiQal
    It’s thoroughly unexciting and visually uninspired, but that’s more the fault of TiQal’s place in history. If it had been one of the first puzzle games on the service, it might stand out a bit more. But now, despite its passable gameplay, it’s hard to not just say “wow, they made another one of these?” and move on.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Dark Sector
    Between the dreary action, the sluggish movement speed, and the seemingly tacked-on multiplayer, you’ll probably want to pass on the whole thing.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Dark Sector
    Between the dreary action, the sluggish movement speed, and the seemingly tacked-on multiplayer, you’ll probably want to pass on the whole thing.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Viking: Battle for Asgard
    The problem is that everything is counterbalanced by a quest that quickly grows stale and repetitive after its first third. Even the final boss fight is just a minor twist on an encounter you’ll have done at least five times before.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Condemned 2: Bloodshot
    This game is all raw nerves and bloody fists, so if that’s what you’re looking for, you’ll find plenty of it in the equally damaging Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Condemned 2: Bloodshot.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds
    There are worse ways to spend a lazy Sunday morning.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2
    If you played the first game to death and are absolutely ready for more, Vegas 2 is right up your alley, but all those similarities mean that you’ll probably burn out on this one a bit faster.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2
    If you played the first game to death and are absolutely ready for more, Vegas 2 is right up your alley, but all those similarities mean that you’ll probably burn out on this one a bit faster.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Condemned 2: Bloodshot
    This game is all raw nerves and bloody fists, so if that’s what you’re looking for, you’ll find plenty of it in the equally damaging Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Condemned 2: Bloodshot.
    • 93 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Super Smash Bros. Brawl
    The questions you need to ask yourself before deciding to invest in Super Smash Bros. Brawl concern your own personal level of love for Nintendo’s rich history and your ability to rustle up enough enthusiastic locals to get into the multiplayer. If both of those are in your favor, then this is definitely a game you’ll want to add to your collection. But if you aren’t big in either department, you probably won’t understand what all the fuss is about in the first place.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Army of Two
    But even with another player, the action gets repetitive too quickly.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Rocketmen: Axis of Evil
    The game itself isn’t much fun, regardless of the number of players. With its plodding, monotonous pace and scattered presentation, Rocketmen doesn’t do enough to separate itself from the seemingly infinite number of other dual joystick shooters available via Xbox Live Arcade or the PlayStation Network.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Rocketmen: Axis of Evil
    The game itself isn’t much fun, regardless of the number of players. With its plodding, monotonous pace and scattered presentation, Rocketmen doesn’t do enough to separate itself from the seemingly infinite number of other dual joystick shooters available via Xbox Live Arcade or the PlayStation Network.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Bully: Scholarship Edition
    There’s something thoroughly satisfying about getting to play out your prankish schoolboy fantasies, though it’s the game’s excellence that makes the technical shortcomings specific to Bully: Scholarship Edition on the Xbox 360 so heartbreaking.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Lost: Via Domus
    Instead of making excuses for Lost: Via Domus, I would just recommend that everyone but the most die-hard of Lost fans take a pass on this one.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Professor Layton and the Curious Village
    Professor Layton and the Curious Village has a certain warmth to it that makes it easy to love, even when you’re up against a particularly annoying puzzle. Personally, I found this first adventure so strong that I’m already getting antsy just thinking about the next game in this planned trilogy.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Poker Smash
    It takes the roles of poker hand ranks and applies it to the well-based puzzle game. Then it slaps on some good, evolved control mechanics. It’s a high-quality puzzle game that you should look at.
    • 88 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Burnout Paradise
    The team at Criterion took a big chance and it’s paid off very well. The game revamps the stock formula in major ways without losing most of the high-speed racing flavor that you hope to see from something with Burnout in the title.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Burnout Paradise
    The team at Criterion took a big chance and it’s paid off very well. The game revamps the stock formula in major ways without losing most of the high-speed racing flavor that you hope to see from something with Burnout in the title.
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