Staff reviews, page 102

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light review

Besides puzzles, the game also offers a nearly perfect combat system. As Lara explores the fourteen stages in which her adventure unfolds, she'll do battle with all manner of monsters: gators, spiders, magicians, demons, skeletons and…

Jason Venter · December 22, 2011

Staff Xbox 360

Call of Duty: Black Ops review

In Call of Duty: Black Ops, you play an Australian actor named Sam Worthington doing a bad American accent while the serial killer from Saw forces him to yell stuff about the exposition, with occasional breaks to play through overloud…

Tom Chick · December 21, 2011

Staff Xbox 360

Dead Space 2 review

Storytelling aside (those are two words that this narrative-heavy game can't afford), Dead Space 2 is a serviceable two-trick pony. The main trick is the contrived dismemberment mode. Headshots are so passe. So the Dead Space approach is…

Tom Chick · December 21, 2011

Staff PC HG exclusive

Hard Reset review

Hard Reset isn't quite able to live up to the high standards of mayhem set by Serious Sam and Painkiller, but it gets enough right to be a lot of wrist-snapping fun.

Andy Chalk · December 20, 2011

Staff 3DS HG exclusive

Puzzler Mind Gym 3D review

Puzzler Mind Gym 3D is the first brain training game for the Nintendo 3DS. What sets it apart from most other brain training games is that it’s a 90-day training regimen in which all 90 days are open and available to you right from the…

Rhody Tobin · December 19, 2011

Staff Xbox 360 HG exclusive

Assassin's Creed: Revelations review

Combat is still solid when it's one guy fighting a handful of enemies polite enough to hang back and wait their turns. But when Ubisoft tries larger encounters, which they do frequently in Revelations, Assassin's Creed combat looks…

Tom Chick · December 19, 2011

Staff PC Review of the Week

Fallout review

I’ve found Fallout to be enormously irritating. It’s a grotesquely unfriendly game. Its interface is convoluted and confusing. Wandering through the desert early on will almost certainly get you killed by foes you’re totally unequipped to…

Lewis Denby · December 17, 2011

Staff Xbox 360 HG exclusive

Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening review

Meanwhile, you'll primarily be fighting the same stuff from Origins with a handful of new foes...and they just don't have the staying power to last through Awakening. In one dungeon, my guys were hacking down the formerly-feared Revenants…

Rob Hamilton · December 16, 2011

Staff PC HG exclusive

Jurassic Park: The Game review

Fortunately, such exploration scenes are relatively few and far-between and there are no time constraints or other pressures rushing you along, so you won't be punished for awkwardness or missteps. What you will be punished for, at least…

Andy Chalk · December 16, 2011

Staff PlayStation 3

Green Day: Rock Band review

Some of that personality is censored, unfortunately (or fortunately, if you're of the proper mind). When Harmonix released The Beatles: Rock Band, the company had the luxury of working with musical selections that the Vatican itself has…

Jason Venter · December 14, 2011

Staff 3DS HG exclusive

Mario Kart 7 review

Mario Kart games have been headed in a cheap direction for awhile now, but the issue has been easy enough to ignore that its impact on the overall experience remained relatively minor. This is the first time that players have been forced…

Jason Venter · December 9, 2011

Staff Xbox 360 HG exclusive

Dragon Age: Origins review

Don't get me wrong — I'm not saying the Darkspawn aren't a threat because they are (just saunter unprepared into an ambush of high-ranking ones for all the proof you need of that), but at least you know what you're getting with them —…

Rob Hamilton · December 9, 2011

Staff PC Review of the Week HG exclusive

Serious Sam: BFE review

Serious Sam 3: BFE is Croteam's love letter to those of us who have been waiting for another glimpse at classic shoot-'em-up-ery in the vein of Doom, Quake, and even the original Duke Nukem, whose modern iteration failed to deliver. It's a…

Brittany Vincent · December 4, 2011

Staff DS HG exclusive

Beyblade: Metal Masters review

The combat itself is barebones. Much of it is based on typical fighting convention stuff: position, sequence and timing. It’s all very basic. What’s important is to launch well and to use special attacks frequently. Each Beyblade has an…

Calvin Kemph · December 2, 2011

Staff PC HG exclusive

Anno 2070 review

The campaign, which has no time limits and almost no fail states, is just a primer. The core of Anno 2070 is the continuous scenario, which you can set up to be as competitive, goal-oriented, and punishing as you want, or as peaceful…

Tom Chick · December 2, 2011

Staff PlayStation 2 HG exclusive

Tales of the Abyss review

As you play, though, you'll notice a dark side to the powers that be relying on The Score as their be-all, end-all source of guidance; especially when it's made clear than a number of huge tragedies were caused by man solely to keep things…

Rob Hamilton · December 2, 2011

Staff Xbox 360 HG exclusive

GET TO THA CHOPPA TWOOO!!2 review

Get to tha Choppa Two‘s most remarkable aspect is how it takes a foundation, then, rather than build upon it, arms itself with a shovel and digs deeper into the muck.

Gary Hartley · November 29, 2011

Staff 3DS HG exclusive

Pokémon Rumble Blast review

And so, the game keeps going. You work your way through a corridor-shaped level, such as a lake shore or a forest (the various settings differ only cosmetically and by the types of Pokémon you encounter), fighting mobs of Pokémon that go…

Rhody Tobin · November 28, 2011

Staff Xbox 360 HG exclusive

The King of Fighters XIII review

There are slow and powerful bruisers, tiny and agile schoolgirl types and everything in between. If you decide to spend the time that is required to master even a small portion of the more than 30 fighters, you’ll be busy for many hours…

Jason Venter · November 28, 2011

Staff Xbox 360 HG exclusive

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim review

This is when Skyrim will reward you most richly. Not when you're trying to win, or beat it, or get to the end, or level up, or earn the achievements. Not when you're playing it like a stat-based RPG, or a single-player MMO, or a challenge…

Tom Chick · November 27, 2011