Civilization Revolution

Sid Meier is universally recognized as the master of computer game design. I remember playing F-15 Strike Eagle, on my old Commodore 64 when I was a kid. Civilization is his masterpiece, delighting millions of gamers and evolving through several versions. Civ, for the most part, has been exclusive to PC’s and Macintosh’s. However, with the PC market in a decline the past couple of years, it was only a matter of time before the franchise expanded. Read more

Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice

Nippon Ichi’s unique brand of niche turn-based gameplay finally makes the leap to current generation consoles in Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice. Though to be perfectly honest I’m not exactly sure why, given that this latest sequel still very much looks the part of a game belonging on the PS2 rather than Sony’s Blu-ray behemoth. Read more

Soulcalibur IV

Ridiculous crossovers are the vehicle of choice for fighting games struggling to find their niche. While Soulcalibur IV doesn’t exactly need to sucker punch Superman to get attention, Namco Bandai’s decision to cross-pollinate its fighter with Star Wars is no less bizarre. Read more

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Hellboy: The Science of Evil

You’d think that film studios would exhibit a little common sense and follow a simple rule: don’t make movies that suck. In my opinion, in the past fifteen to twenty years, I’d say about 50-60% of films fall somewhere within the mediocre to decent categories, meaning that I got some sort of enjoyment out of them. Read more

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Kung Fu Panda (The Game)

I can tell from the beads of sweat sliding down my forehand that summer, a season rife with movie releases and video game cash-grabs, is in full swing. Read more

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The Incredible Hulk

As the story goes in my family, when I was a toddler I had a certain affinity for The Hulk. Apparently, equipped with a special pair of green Under-Roos, I would tromp around the house flexing my muscles and growling. This is one of those stories that my mother will never grow weary of telling, even though the particulars are lost to even myself. Read more

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Wall-E (The Video Game)

After seeing the phenomenal title that is Wall-E, my wife was excited to try her hand at the video game license that shares the name. After it arrived, we slapped the disc into the PS3 and immediately noticed something had gone horribly wrong. Read more

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Metal Gear Solid 4

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, I’m sure that you not only know what Metal Gear Solid 4 is, but you’ve also been waiting patiently to get your hands on it, because MGS4 is the crowning achievement of console game development.  It reaches a standard of quality by which all other games should be judged.  Mr. Kojima’s team has created an uncompromising tour de force. Read more

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Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy

If you love spy thrillers, chances are you’ve probably heard of Robert Ludlum’s Bourne novels, made popular with the Hollywood adaptations starring Matt Damon as Jason Bourne. The well choreographed and brutal hand-to-hand combat portrayed was the hallmark of the films, and game publisher Sierra and developer High Moon Studios have done a excellent job capturing that adrenaline-filled action, almost to the point where you feel like you’re recreating scenes from the movie. Read more

Army of Two

There was a lot of hype surrounding Army of Two, so I was pretty excited when it finally came out.  After watching a lot of the trailers and commercials, and then actually playing the game, I can assure you that this is just one of far too many examples of how style and hype can supersede substance and quality.  

The story follows the adventures of Salem and Rios, two ex-Army Rangers-turned-mercenaries hired to do the government’s dirty work.  As you go on missions and complete your objectives, you receive cash rewards so you can pimp out your armory.  As you start following the “story,” you soon discover that someone within your organization is trying to sell you out.  Shocker!

There are some good gameplay concepts.  One example is that if you’re too wounded to fight, you can be dragged away to safety by your partner while you provide covering fire till he takes you to cover so he can heal you.  Another is the simultaneous snipe, which you and your partner can do to take out one or two targets at exactly the same time.  You can also give your partner help in overcoming obstacles, like giving him a boost to get over a wall or by pulling him up out of a hole.  The biggest element of note is the aggro system.  It’s much like a typical MMO, except the bigger a threat you are, the more aggro you generate, attracting more fire towards you, which frees up your partner to flank them and take them out.  The biggest problem I ran into playing co-op with the computer AI, however, is that when you order him to generate aggro, he does it for about five seconds, thus leaving you exposed in an open area as you try to maneuver for position, thus having to have your partner come in to drag your sorry butt back to safety.  And of course you can praise your character by giving him a high-five, or if he does something stupid you can give him a backhand across the face.  Not very useful for the game itself, but you can get a kick at smacking the crap out of your partner.

As a tactical shooter, I couldn’t say it’s even sub-par; the computer AI is horrible, both for your partner or the enemies.  I had enemies run right past me or my partner and neither would take a shot.  What the heck?!  And then I’m starting to wonder who’s the better shot.  It seems the terrorists were trained at the Marine Corps Sniper School.  When I run and gun, I couldn’t hit the broadside of the bus.  The only way to effectively take out your targets is doing a precision aim and taking a head shot.  In all, the gameplay is unbalanced and extremely frustrating. The game’s only saving grace is that it has some decent graphics.

In the end, Army of Two attempts to capture the magic of Gears of War or any of the Tom Clancy games - and falls way short.  As a multi-player, I’m sure that Army of Two would have been decent, but I have to admit that I didn’t get that far.  This game left me so bitter that I didn’t even bother trying to play its online co-op features.  Do yourself a favor, go pick up Rainbow Six: Vegas 2; or better yet, wait for Gears of War 2.

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