Gears of War 2

(Xbox; $59.99; Rated M for Blood/Gore/Intense Violence/Strong Language; gearsofwar.xbox.com)





A lot of gamers gripe when a sequel is released for a game without a major graphical overhaul or stunning new features.  An often complaint when this happens is it's "more of the same." But when a developer gets to spend more time in a familiar game engine and refine the rough areas of the original game and improve on the successes, how is this a bad thing? After all, Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy all looked the same, but that didn't make the second and third films any less impressive than the first.

"Gears of War 2" is not a drastic overhaul of the Xbox's third-person, sci-fi, shoot-a-thon, but it is a refinement of an already stellar game.  Because of this, haters may gripe that it's simply "Gears of War 1.5," but if that means that I can jump into a new game, already familiar with the controls, and enjoy new levels and progression of the story established by the original release, I welcome that opportunity.  "Gears 1" is still one of the best-looking games on any console and with the improvements to the size and scope of the sequel, "Gears 2" is unrivaled in amazing visuals only by its predecessor.

The marketing focus of "Gears 2" has been the improved storytelling in order to give the war between the humans and the underground-dwelling Locust Horde more of an epic weight.  Despite attempts at tugging on heartstrings and exploring the personal lives of Delta Squad, "Gears 2" still relies heavily on vein-poppingly muscled protagonists and their chest-thumping bravado as they shred through enemies.  The more interesting aspects of the game are the nods to classic platform-styled gameplay through some levels and improved online multiplayer options.  Notably, the multiplayer "Horde mode"- which pits up to 5 players to survive against 50 increasingly difficult waves of enemies- feels like a next-gen reimagining of classic arcade games; think: Galaga or Space Invaders, but with five players and in 3-D.  With four other friends playing together, it may be the best addition to the series.

Left 4 Dead

(Xbox; $59.99; Rated M for Blood Gore/Intense Violence/Language; www.l4d.com)





I've got a soft-spot for the Undead.  Not only are they completely objectified in today's pop culture, but they've also been the scapegoat for the end of the world time and time again.  Let us not forget that they were just like us at one time, and were it not for this oppressive cast system of living vs. non-living, we might be more understanding of them and their plight.

However, the one objection I have to zombies is the fact that they will not stop until they eat my brain.  As such, I have no choice but to shotgun them in the face.

Best thought of as "28 Days Later: The Game," "Left 4 Dead's" premise is simple: You and three other friends are the last survivors of an infected city teaming with hordes of brain-eaters.  Thousands in fact.  And they just keep coming.  You and your posse have to get from one end of the city to the other in order to be rescued, along the way there are safe houses that give you a short respite, ammo, and health kits before having to venture out again.

Also along the way to safety is the zombie apocalypse and there is no escape from the swarm without serious teamwork and lots of bullets.  Although the routes to the safe-houses and the progression through each level is linear and unchanging, the implementation of Valve's "AI Director" dynamically changes the enemies' spawn-points, difficulty, type, and volume depending on how well or how poorly the team is doing.  This means that as the team works together more cohesively, the number of enemies, frequency of attacks, and difficulty of attack will change on the fly.  In addition, the location of weapons, health kits, and ammo will change dynamically with each game- so players can't just plan on making it to a certain room where a Molotov cocktail will be, because it may not be there at all.

Given how well the "AI Director" adjusts difficulty on the fly, and the fact that "L4D" was built from the ground-up to be a cooperative experience, straying outside of the group is guaranteed to get you overwhelmed by zombies, knocked down, and have to be rescued by your teammates.  If you go unaided too long, you will die and respawn in a closet somewhere in the level for your friends to find and free you.  But if you've been a jerk to your teammates, hording all of the health packs and ammo to yourself, they could just leave you in the closet to rot.

Though you can play the game solo and have the computer control, rather competently, the other three characters, "L4D" is really meant to be enjoyed communally.  Split-screen play between two players on the same couch is good, but four-players over Xbox Live is ideal (or through Valve's "Steam" gaming service on PC).  Despite how completely satisfying this game is, and the promise of more downloadable levels on the way, if you are not someone who games online, it may be better to pass on this title until it drops in price.

For all others: this is a can't miss title.

Prince of Persia Mini-Review

(Xbox, PS3; $59.99; Rated T; www.princeofpersiagame.com)

For those that like their acrobatic action/adventure games a little more traditional and on the fanciful side, "POP" reboots the favorite franchise with a whole new Prince. A return to the near-flawless "Prince of Persia: Sands of Time" means that the Prince spends most of his time scaling everything around him, but this time with an intelligent AI partner who adds a new depth to the story. Light-hearted dialog and artistic visuals, plus a healthy helping of hand-holding for newcomers to the series will find this a satisfying, but less challenging title than "Mirror's Edge."

The Much-Delayed Fable 2 Review

Fable II (Xbox 360; $59.99; Rated M for Blood/Language/Sexual Content/Use of Alcohol/Violence; www.fable2.com)

"Fable II" the epic follow-up to the already epic "Fable" for the original Xbox improves on every area of the original's shortcomings, it is more ambitious, prettier, easier to play, and even more enjoyable- it is, however, not without some disappointing concessions.

"Fable II's" celebrity designer, Peter Molyneux knows how to create a hype when it comes to designing his games.  For the original "Fable," he wanted to create a world where the player experienced the whole of the protagonist's life, from childhood to old-age- and where each decision the player made in the game affected the way the player was viewed and received both in terms of physicality and morality.

With "Fable II, " morality and choices have a much greater impact on the story and the world as a whole.  Players have the ability to look into their dark hearts and be the most infamous beast that ever stepped into the land of Albion.  If one so chooses, a player can go into a town, kill all of its citizens, buy up all of the houses and shops for dirt-cheap, and then rent out the entire town to newcomers at an oppressive price.  Alternatively, one may choose to charge no rent for your property, while performing acts of purity such as defending a sacred religious landmark for a group of monks.  No matter the choices, minstrels will sing your praises whenever you enter a town where your reputation is well-known by its citizens.  To become truly evil takes acts of true corruption- for instance, human sacrifices; whereas to be truely good takes personal sacrifices of your own- both paths are thoroughly entertaining and make the "play as you like" mentality so much fun that you can't help but look forward to going through the game again as a different character.

Along with you for the ride is your faithful dog who acts as an alert to enemies and when treasure is nearby.  Players can choose to be as nice or naughty to their dogs as is consistent with their character, but even evil-doers like to throw a ball to their pooch every once in a while.  Did I find it ironic that I sat and played ball with my dog in "Fable II" as my own real labradors sat on the floor beneath my feet while I played? Yes.  Yes I did.  Was I surprised that I actually did care and bond with my virtual dog throughout the game and come to really enjoy his company by my side while I adventured? Absolutely.

Other original tweaks to gameplay that are successful in "Fable II" is the ability to always know where to go on a quest, thanks to a glowing trail of "breadcrumbs" to lead players in the right direction.  In a world that is so large as Albion, it's easy to get lost and derailed from where you should be going in order to complete the main story arc of the game, the breadcrumbs make it more enjoyable to be able to divert your attention away from the main quest, to partake in the side adventures that flush out the world of "Fable II" (and there are a bunch of them), without losing track of where you should ultimately be going.

One-button combat, though seemingly simple, is also satisfying and allows for a surprising amount of variety to players who want to mix and match swords, crossbows, and magic during fisticuffs.  The variety in spells and attributes that players can choose to improve is deep enough that no two players will probably go through the game in the same way.  I personally like to slow time down and then get up close and personal with my blade, others will chose to hang back and pick off enemies by using ranged weapons.  Again, "play as you like."

The big fail of "Fable II" is the total lack of flexibility or personalization in the cooperative play that was so highly anticipated.  What was promised was to be able to take your fully realized character into a friends game online, and adventure together.  Whatever gold, experience, or items you acquired while in your friends game, you'd take with you to your game.  This is not the case with the finished project- online coop is incredibly limited, no customized characters can be used, and the screen is locked to a single camera which restricts player movement- an absolute shame for a game so ambitious.  Maybe we can hope for a patch to change this in the future.

Nevertheless, even with these shortcomings, "Fable II" is impossible not to enjoy.  It's size and scope is on par with "Grand Theft Auto IV" or "Fallout 3" and, as such, with just a few of these games in your library, you'll have more than enough game and entertainment to last you an entire year.

The Much Delayed Little Big Planet Review

Little Big Planet (PS3; $59.99; Rated E; www.littlebigplanet.com)



Last year's big gaming trend was online co-op. This year? Undoubtedly, user-created content. With blogs, YouTube, Twitter, etc. clogging up the internet, we are a world that is bound and determined to express ourselves to anyone who is willing to listen or look- it was only a matter of time before the "YouTube mentality" spread to gaming and "Little Big Planet" is the YouTube of the gaming world.

It's difficult to describe "LBP" without actually seeing it in action. Deceptively, it looks like a regular platformer: players control their adorable and highly-customizable SackBoy as he traverses colorful levels that are all look as if they had been designed using house-hold items. Traversing each level is different and varied as the one before it: complete a race on a giant skateboard, or collect as many gems as quickly as possible, or simply jump-rope as long as your stamina permits- all the while unlocking special stickers, objects, or effects. All the while, everything that happens on-screen is charming, pleasant, and a joy to behold.

Using the tools, objects, pictures, environments, and sounds collected in other levels, players can use the fairly intuitive design tools to create whatever type of game they can imagine on the canvass of their Little Big Planet. Effectively, "Little Big Planet" is the rudimentary way to design a video game without ever needing to know how to program a single line of code.

Once your masterpiece is completed, the third leg of "LBP" becomes apparent- uploading and experimenting with others' user-created levels. Just as others can play your level once it has been published to the Little Big servers, playing other user-created levels is just a simple button-press away. Each level gives prizes chosen by its designer- sometime it may be a piece of custom equipment made by the designer, a custom sticker that can be used to tag your own level, and sometimes it's just the respect that's earned from placing top on the online leaderboards of that level. After playing the level, users can rate and assign a meta-tag to it for other users to be able to find it easier in the future.

And such is the experience of surfing the "Little Big Planet."

This is a title that won't even realize its full greatness until more people have gotten used to the design interface and really let their imaginations run wild. Already there are numerous homages to classic 2D platforming and recreations of some of gaming's greatest levels from other titles, but the excitement of a game like "LBP" are the original experiences that will come as a result of having simple design tools in the hands of Joe Gamer. For those who are willing to invest the time, there's no reason why "Little Big Planet" can't be the proving ground for a future game designer.

But for those of us who just want to play- "Little Big Planet" has a limitless supply of game levels to enjoy either alone or cooperatively. While there are several other titles this season which showcase user-created content, "Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts" for the Xbox 360 or "Spore," "Little Big Planet" certainly sets the bar incredibly high for a first effort.

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe

(Xbox, PS3; $59.99; Rated T for Blood/Suggestive Themes/Violence; www.worldscollide.com)



There was much ballyhoo about the battling between the Kast [sic] from the notorious Mortal Kombat series and the heroes from the Justice League.  "What? This doesn't make sense!" Fanboys of the DC Universe cried, "How could Superman possibly be beaten by Sub-Zero? I refuse to accept!" When it was announced that the game would be getting a T-rating, marking the first time the series was not rated M, "MK" purists wailed "But what about our tried-and-true Fatalities!? How can you have a 'Mortal Kombat' game without Fatalities?"  Geekdom as we knew it, was turned on its head.

When the dust settled, gamers realized that stranger mash-ups had occurred ("Marvel vs. Capcom").  As for Fatalities, reassurance that Fatalities would make its way into the game, but toned down for the T-rating, helped settle some.  "But Batman doesn't kill!" a nerdier minority shouted.  Fine, fine, the publisher responded: 'Mortal Kombat' characters and villains from the DC Universe will have fatalities, superheroes from the DC Universe will have new 'Brutalities'- non-lethal signature endings that, if done in real life, would probably be fatal anyways.

It seemed that all nerds were silenced in satisfaction.  But what about the gamers that realized a good 'Mortal Kombat' game hadn't been released in a long, long while?

Thankfully Midway assuaged that fear as well: "MK v. DC" is a fun, satisfying surprising return-to-form for the sixteen-year-old series.  What could have been the... ahem... final fatality for the series, has actually rejuvenated it.

No, this is not a tournament-quality fighter, but this is a game that you'll bring out when you have non-gaming friends over who can memorize just enough special moves to enjoy beating the crud out of each other.  It's not an Oscar-caliber movie, it's a holiday/summer popcorn flick- colorful with quality production values; mindless, but an amusing diversion.

It's too bad that this is a full-priced game.  With so many other top-tier titles available right now, I can't imagine that "MK v. DC" is going to be in hot-demand.  At $30 this would be a fantastic stocking-stuffer for the fanboy in your life, and likely would have sold like hotcakes; but at full price it's a bit of a stretch.  Still, given the softer T-rating, and the option to turn off blood-effects in the game, parents who are comfortable with cartoon violence would do well to pick this title over the gorier M-rated titles that their teenagers are probably asking for.

Mirror's Edge Mini-Review

(Xbox, PS3; $59.99; Rated T; www.mirrorsedge.com)

Combining classic platforming gameplay and a first-person perspective could have been a recipe for a vomit-inducing game.  Thankfully, "Mirror's Edge's" cool minimalist style, smooth parkour-inspired flow, and emphasis on avoiding the use of firearms make this one of the most refreshing games of the year.  When the whole world is a giant jungle gym and you have to use your puzzle-solving skills to get from one building to another while being chased by an Orwellian police force, you know you are in for a unique experience.