Mass Effect 2 - 9.0/10

The much anticipate sequel to Bioware's mega hit, it's tough not to be caught up in the hype. That said, this is certainly a solid game and, overall, an improvement over its predecessor.

Let's start with the improvements. The combat is much more shooter based. Gone is the RPG model of needing to develop your ability with a weapon in order to use it effectively. Now, the bullets go where you point the cursor. The controls have been tightened and the experience more visceral. Indeed, the combat is so much like Gears of War (right down to the conveniently placed cover) as to be a bit unnerving. However, layered on top of the combat are the still present tech and biotic powers, including the ability to call up a radial menu that pauses the game and allows the user to give individual commands to squad mates, and you have a tactically more complex experience than a typical shooter.

The leveling system and powers have been refined, some would say simplified, from Mass Effect 1. There are fewer options when it comes to abilities, but the abilities you do have are amped up and combine together more effectively. Mixing and matching squad mates is more flexible and gamers that can learn to combine and coordinate their squad's abilities can lay devastating pain upon their enemies.

Bioware continues to develop their ability to create deep characters and stories. Both voice work and character animation are second to none. The dialog scenes, always a big part of every Bioware game, are far more dynamic than before. Much more like participating in a movie drama. Once again, relationships become a big component of the game. Indeed, the story consequences of your relationships with your squad are more dramatic than in Mass Effect 1. Also fun is your ability to import your Mass Effect 1 characters, which effect the starting conditions of the universe in which you play. This is a feature that Bioware promises to expand upon even more in ME3.

Now for the bad. Gone is the mako and driving around generic planet environments to search for resources and side missions, but that has been replaced with slowly scanning the planet from orbit, which is even more dull. Once you find a side mission, they are much more various than in ME1 as well as being better integrated into the story, but the actual process of finding these missions is boring as hell. In addition, the resource gathering is essential to upgrading your ship and equipment, something you're going to want to do to get the most out of this game.

This game is also easier than before, with a sense of trying to appeal to a wider audience. The game is more shooter now than RPG and there is a general sense of the game being dumbed down a bit.

That all said, none of this is a deal breaker. The story does suffer somewhat from being that middle child of a trilogy, bridging opening and climax, but overall its exciting, engaging, and stands well on its own. The challenge can still be found by cranking up the difficulty. There's certainly nothing here that doesn't leave me eagerly awaiting ME3.

Story: 5
Interface: 4
Game Play: 4
Challenge: 4
Fun: 4

Overall: 9.0/10

Dragon Age: Origins - 9.5/10

Another gift under the tree this year, Origins comes from BioWare, the same folks that gave us Knights of the Old Republic (best Star Wars game ever!) and Mass Effect. However, instead of being set in space, this time we've got ourselves a good old Sword and Sorcery piece. With it's deep malleable story and extensive dialogue trees, Origins is instantly recognizable as a BioWare game, but for those that are familiar with the previous titles there are a number of notable difference.

First off, gone are the good/evil meters judging every one of your decisions. That doesn't mean your decisions don't have consequences. One the contrary, your companions still react to what you do, as does the story. In fact, the permutations as to where the story goes is more extensive then in any of BioWare's predecessors. The game not only has multiple endings, but multiple beginnings and middles, and someone who wants to see them all is going to be kept busy indeed.

Second is the depth of the game play. Origins is a tougher game than Mass Effect, sometimes a bit intimidatingly so. The learning curve at the start is a somewhat steep, but ultimately this game becomes more rewarding for it as you continually discover more abilities and tactics, even during repeated playthroughs. One of my knocks on Mass Effect was how easy it got, even on the highest difficulty level, once you got into the second act of the game. With Origins, I found myself turning it down to "casual" on my first playthrough. On hard, this game is sure to challenge any RPG veteran out there.

Bioware has also put in full, and solid, voice acting for all of their extensive dialogue trees. With far less repetitive side missions than in the previous games, Origins becomes much more engaging. With a deep and engaging story, and intriguing and well voiced characters, Dragon Age Origins is easily one of the best RPGs out there, a must for any fan of the genre and likely a good idea for those that aren't too.

My only knock, what's with the blood? I mean, it's almost comical how much blood gets sprayed around in this game (very Monty Pythonish), and they carry the blood splattered characters right into the dialogue scenes where one can't help but giggle as one blood smeared character calmly talks to another. Oh well, I suppose it is visually distinctive.

Story: 5
Interface: 4
Game Play: 5
Challenge: 4
Fun: 5

9.5/10

Battlefield: Bad Company - 8.5/10

Although released about a year-and-a-half ago, Bad Company was a game that slipped under my radar. That changed due to the amount of fun I was having with Battlefield: 1943 and the fact that my son found it for $15, causing it to be a stocking stuffer this Christmas.

On the surface, Bad Company can get lost in the glut of all the other war based shooters, but there are a number of things that separate it from the pack, the biggest being the strength of its multiplayer. Twenty-four players on huge maps, great weapon variety, and wonderful vehicle fun. Bad Company sets the standard for destructible environments. Besides just looking really good, destruction is incorporated well into gameplay without overwhelming it. Some folks might feel only two game types - conquest (territories) & gold rush (siege) - but I would rather play these objective based games, polished and balanced to a tee, than endless varieties of slayer, populated by trash talking thirteen year-olds.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the single player experience. The plot is a simple one: the four team B-company fall upon a trail that appears to be leading them to a fortune in gold bullion - think of the film Three Kings without the political or moral overtones. In an age where every game is determined to be as epic and convoluted as possible, playing Bad Company was surprisingly refreshing. Instead of a silly plot, you get very well constructed levels and well paced gaming. Refreshing indeed.

Story: 3
Interface: 4
Game Play: 4
Challenge: 4
Fun: 4

8.5/10

Assassin's Creed 2 - 9.5/10

This is a game I had asked for Christmas, but I couldn't wait any longer, and my son and I rented it to give it a go. The first Assassin's Creed received somewhat mixed reviews, but I for one greatly enjoyed it. Ubisoft Montreal was promising many improvements in the hype leading up to the sequel, which left me a bit concerned. I worried that the immersive world and unique game play that I loved would get lost in an attempt to reach a wider audience.

It turns out my worries were unfounded. Assassin's Creed 2 improves upon the original in every way without sacrificing in the least what made the original a great game. The core game, and story, is left intact, but is now surrounded by a much greater variety, not only in the missions, but in the game play too.

The core fighting mechanics are still the same where timing is at the essence of performing combinations and counter attacks, but they entered in a great many more moves, sneak attacks, and a whole armoury of weaponry. Being able to blend into the crowd is handled much more naturally without using a walk-real-slow button, and guards will no longer chase you simply for running to get to where you want to go. In addition, instead of improvements in weapon and armour being parcelled out, you can earn (or steal) money in the game and visit shops to get what you need.

The game play elements change up frequently with mission structure being modelled more after something like Grand Theft Auto. In addition there are tombs and catacombs to explore, taking full advantage of Assassin Creed's movement engine, with acrobatics that are reminiscent of Tomb Raider or Prince of Persia. The game even has DaVinci Code like moments with hidden glyphs and ancient puzzles to solve, and a simple sim game where you make improvements to your villa to help you earn more cash.

As much as I've enjoyed playing Grand Theft Auto IV the last little while, I think I like this one better. The game play is just as fun, the variety almost the same (the edge going to GTA), but for me what puts Assassin's Creed over the top is the detail and immersive feel of its world set in 15th century Italy. GTA has wonderful characters but it's dark, satiricaly, mood (although often hysterical) doesn't pull me in in the same way as Assassin's Creed's compelling, clever, story and historical detail.

Anyway, the game got returned today, unfinished, and I'm going to discipline myself to wait until Christmas to get to the end. Some things are worth savoring.

Story: 5
Interface: 5
Game Play: 4
Challenge: 4
Fun: 5

Overall: 9.5/10

Brütal Legend - 8/10

After the brilliant Psychonauts, I had very high hopes for Tim Schafer's next outing, the recently released Brütal Legend. It's not like it's a bad game (I played the whole thing through, afterall, and plan on trying to complete it on the brutal difficulty setting), but after everything that was in Psychonauts, this one felt a little shallow.

You can still see it's a Schafer game. It's got his humour and quirky characters all over it. It also does the same thing as Psychonauts by disguising itself as one thing but delivering something else - I'm not sure how clever that is from the marketing perspective. Psychonauts appears a generic platformer that was actually a witting and engaging game. Brütal Legend disguises itself as a fairly mindless hack-and-slash that suddenly morphs itself into a real-time strategy game.

It's going to be interesting how this gets received. Fans attracted to a heavy metal themed hack-and-slash staring Jack Black may react rather negatively when they find themselves having to construct and organize siege weapons to attack the enemy stronghold. By the same token, RTS fans will likely be put off by the games shallow exterior, and depth of the RTS mode certainly doesn't compare to the more popular games out there in the genre anyway. There is a multiplayer mode that is just one-on-one RTS battles. I really can't see who will be playing this on-line a few months from now ... hard core Jack Black fans?

For myself, I'm not a hard core RTSer (the last RTS I played right through was StarCraft years ago) but I did enjoy the battles in this game. I certainly enjoyed it more than grinding through the repetitive side missions this game provides. That said, I know there isn't enough there to keep me interested for too long.

But perhaps I'm getting too down on it. It's fun, funny, and original - more than can be said for most games. The characters are well voiced and animated - even Ozzy Osborne as the "Guardian of Metal" whom you get to buy your upgrades from. The heavy metal themed world and creature design are certainly inspired, and there is enough depth in the RTS battles to keep me engaged without being overwhelmed. Overall, a fun time.

Story: 4
Interface: 3
Game Play: 3
Challenge: 4
Fun: 4

Overall: 8.0/10

Shadow of the Colossus - 9.5/10

Shadow of the Colossus is easily one of my favourite games of all time. First of all, in my opinion, it is the most, drop dead, gorgeous game I have ever seen, and that includes high pixel count games of the 360 and PS3. I'm talking about more than resolution here. I'm talking about composition, texture, and colour. There is nothing that compares. Just the way the camera moves is stunning. It doesn't just simply hold the avatar in the center, but lets it drift left-right, up-down, and in-out as if somehow it knows what would compose a great shot. When I first saw video of the game play, I found it hard to believe I wasn't watching a humanly constructed cut scene. It's absolutely astounding to me as to how this was pulled off.

Of course, I wouldn't love the game just because it's beautiful. The game play is truly unique too. The game is one, big, pastoral world that you ride through facing barely an enemy. There is no level grinding or items to collect, but there are sixteen colossi hiding out there that you can locate with a magic sword that you happen to have stolen (the lead character is very much morally grey). Yes, that is all there is to the game, sixteen boss fights, but before you dismiss it as being too simplistic, just give it a try. The fights are epic, varied, and challenging. Each boss is its only little puzzle to solve. By the time I got to the end, I was still hungry for more, something I don't get from most games.

Story - 5
Interface - 4
Game Play - 4
Challenge - 5
Fun - 5

Overall: 9.5/10

Psychonauts - 9.0/10

I'm not sure you can find a game more original than Tim Schafer's Psychonauts. On the surface a kid friend adventure-platformer, it doesn't take long before you realize this is a darkly funny, high concept little game that can be devilishly challenging at times.

Let me set the scene. You play Raz, a ten year old who breaks into a summer camp for psychically gifted children that is, in reality, a military training facility for the next generation of super soldiers - the psychonauts. The majority of levels in this game take place in the psychic landscape that represent particular characters' minds, and considering that many of the characters are bat-s**t crazy, some of these levels are bizarre to say the least.

For example, in one level you enter the mind of a paranoid milkman whose true personality has been pushed back thanks to the efforts of the game's villain. Here a quiet suburban neighbourhood is twisted into a gravity defying pretzel where every hint that may lead you to the true milkman is guarded by barely disguised government agents whose superiors are a troup of girl scouts (cookies - milk - get it?).

In another level, a giant mutated fish is being controlled by another villain. Here the fish's mind is an urban metropolis populated (quite amusingly) by fish - Fishopolis. Raz becomes a giant, Godzilla like, interloper that must thrash his way through the city to confront the similarly sized villain in a building destroying show down. How the hell can that not be fun?

And it keeps going like this. I don't want to give too much away but the game truly blows me away when the minds of Raz and the chief villain mix together and the two must team up to defeat their own perceptions of their fathers. Man, Freud would have a field day!

Story: 5
Interface: 4
Game Play: 4
Challenge: 4
Fun: 5

Overall: 9.0/10