Back when this game was first announced, and was still in development under the moniker of Metal Gear Solid: Rising, the idea of playing a game as the more badass incarnation of Metal Gear Solid 4 was quite tantalizing. And the slicing mechanic that I was able to first experience when I played Afro Samurai got me even more excited. But then it just disappeared. I wondered if it would ever come out, much like many other people were doing. The cycles of grief came and when, and then I forgot about it for a long time, until word came down the grapevine that the name was being changed into the current, and oft insulted Revengeance and the development was being shifted over to the very talented team over at Platinum Games.

This got me ready to go again, as I had loved both Bayonetta and Vanquish to death and the idea of the cyber ninja being handed over to those folks who made smooth gameplay their calling card left me buzzing with excitement.

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When I think of an Army of Two game, I am not necessarily thinking of some great gaming masterpiece put together by the gods of the third person shooter. In fact, it is much more likely that I am thinking of a less than serious brofest through enemy territory with a huge amount of unlockable and upgradable guns and some really fun co-operative play. So it is fair to say that when I started to play The Devil's Cartel, that was what I was expecting to get.

Unfortunately, this game did not really feel like an Army of Two game to me at all, in fact it felt like but a shadowy imitation of the very fun shooter that used to bear that name. Sure there was co-operative play, and sure there were some guns that you could upgrade, but the game felt like a pale image of what it used to be and that makes me sad, as I had a whole hell of a lot of fun playing those games with my friends.

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In the continuing saga of Assassin's Creed games, it is refreshing as hell to finally step out of the shoes of series mainstay Ezio Auditore de Firenze. And many things about this game feel suitably refreshing as well. Almost everything about this game feels smoother and more tight than the previous, just begging for you to dig into it and start stabbing redcoats from Boston to Washington.

But as you play, you just can't escape the feeling that even though you are playing as a new character in a new time period in a new country, that the world is somehow less fleshed out, relying more on your reaction to being a part of the American Revolution than impressing you with the plot or gameplay. At its core it is simply another Assassin's Creed game, improved in all gameplay mechanics, but not expanded upon to actually feel like a sequel. It feels like the series is taking a step back rather than forward, making the iteration feel unneeded.

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After the 2010 reboot of the classic Medal of Honor series, there were some high expectations being laid down for the next game in the modernized franchise. The first game felt like a proof of concept, with an underdeveloped, but fun, multiplayer mode, and a campaign that was hard hitting, but too short and too easy for its own good. Warfighter capitalizes on many of the good ideas laid out in the first game, all the while looking as good as any other game that I have seen, courtesy of Frostbite 2.

Medal of Honor 2010 did have a fantastic story and an actually fun campaign, despite the sub five hour length and a difficulty level that would allow you to run most levels with only melee attacks and your pistol. And Warfighter attempts to follow in its footsteps, but it doesn't quite live up to its predecessor. It attempts to make the story a bit more diverse and varied in location, but at a loss of some story.

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Max Payne is an asshole. And he knows it. So, as we have been witness to across the entire franchise, he drowns all of his feelings of angst with copious amounts of alcohol and painkillers. Which can do nothing to his mood.

And where the previous two games in the series were more about a broken man taking his revenge, this game is about a broken man trying to put the pieces of his life back together. But, it has Rockstar's "unique" twist. It is a thinly veiled social commentary, that is none too subtle best, and outright obnoxious at worst.

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Once the fine folks over at Grasshopper Studios have laid their hands upon a game, absolute insanity is almost ensured. And Shadows of the Damned is no exception to that little rule. All throughout its trek through the bowels of hell, deformed demons and penis based puns abound, and it is absurd to try and remain serious while playing. The only way that you won't find yourself with a smile splayed across your face is if you happen to a member of One Million Moms or some other watchdog group.

But behind its ridiculous facade, solid gameplay mechanics support the fun that you will be having while playing. You don't even notice these lithe tweaks as you try and focus your mind on the visual spectacle that this game is. But that is a good thing. Good mechanics should never be noticed, but bad ones invariably are. And these are solid enough to keep you from getting distracted.

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There have been many iterations in the massively popular Call of Duty series, each has been hated in their own time. Hated both for their flaws and for their obscene level of popularity makes them inescapable for most players.

Are these games really deserving of all of the hate that they receive? Not really. And Modern Warfare 2 is no exception to that rule. At the time, it was one of the few games with a campaign that will keep you on the edge of your seat, no matter what the length that it was.

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Not the series’ greatest generation

Reviewed by Tom Blaich for Xbox 360

Bromance at its finest

Reviewed by Tom Blaich for Xbox 360

It should have never came out

Reviewed by Tom Blaich for Xbox 360