Category Archives: action

The Whip Asserts Itself in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Posted on December 1, 2010 by

The biggest mistake Mecurysteam made with Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was allowing Konami to brand their half-finished project as a Castlevania game. Without the expectations packaged with such a legendary series, the game could have easily survived on its own … Continue reading →

Posted in action, castlevania, playstation 3, reviews, third-person action | 2 Comments

Besting Cesar: Examining Shank’s final fight

Posted on November 3, 2010 by

Further to my review of Shank over at Rules of the Game, I wanted to examine the fight with Cesar, the man responsible for the murder of Shank’s girlfriend and the last encounter of the game. It stuck in my … Continue reading →

Posted in action, analysis, arcade, reviews, xbox 360 | Leave a comment

Shank review at Rules of the Game

Posted on October 29, 2010 by

I got a review copy a few weeks ago for Shank, a beat ‘em up from Klei Entertainment. I’d been following this game since the original announcement, and after seeing the initial demonstration videos I was pretty fired up for … Continue reading →

Posted in action, arcade, reviews, Rules of the Game, xbox 360 | Leave a comment

Case Zero: An Introduction to Dead Rising 2

Posted on September 7, 2010 by

Around this time last year, I complained that the trial version of Batman: Arkham Asylum was a poorly constructed demonstration of the final game, and lamented the days when demos were complete pieces of a larger game that allowed the … Continue reading →

Posted in action, reviews, xbox 360 | 1 Comment

Dante’s Inferno: The Wretched

Posted on May 6, 2010 by

Dante: “Where are the others? Why aren’t the other damned down here with me?” Lucifer: “This isn’t their Hell, Dante. It’s yours.” – from Dante’s Inferno Dante’s Inferno is a half-hearted action game that gets caught up in its own … Continue reading →

Posted in action, game culture, reviews, xbox 360 | 3 Comments

Darksiders: Uncanny

Posted on April 12, 2010 by

Darksiders is a wave of nostalgia. It is playing A Link to the Past (1991) on a Super Nintendo console borrowed from a friend away for summer vacation. It is the limited edition comic book with holofoil cover that never … Continue reading →

Posted in action, comics, reviews, xbox 360 | 3 Comments

Ghostbusters The Video Game: Nostalgia is a Dangerous Weapon

Posted on March 9, 2010 by

Including the New York Public Library as a playable mission in the demo1 should have been a dead giveaway. As one of the signature setpieces in the film Ghostbusters, allowing players to take part in a second trip to this … Continue reading →

Posted in 3ps, action, movies, reviews, xbox 360 | 3 Comments

Torchlight: the game Fate should have been

Posted on January 13, 2010 by

In the wait for Diablo III, Torchlight has been cause for celebration among those that wish for an effortless and predictable excursion into well-worn territory. But like Darkstone was to the deadspace between Diablo and Diablo II, Torchlight is being … Continue reading →

Posted in action, pc gaming, reviews, rpg | 7 Comments

Canabalt

Posted on December 21, 2009 by

In Canabalt, you jump or you die. It’s that simple. When you think about it. But Canabalt doesn’t give you much time to think. You have no control over your avatar’s movements in the game besides jumping. He is already … Continue reading →

Posted in action, favorite games of 2009, iPhone, reviews | 2 Comments

Prototype: With Great Power Comes No Responsibility

Posted on November 13, 2009 by

Prototype is excess. It is what happens when game designers grow up with American comic books post-comics code and the type of Japanese animation that is more interested in overblown displays of power than telling a story. It is a … Continue reading →

Posted in action, comics, console gaming, reviews, xbox 360 | 3 Comments