The Aesthetics of Ruthlessness

HIGH Nightmarish art design, gameplay that feels both revolutionary and reactionary.

LOW Laying awake at night and plotting revenge.

WTF Dead enemies getting stuck to the player's shoe?

I've been spending most of the last two days playing Shiren the Wanderer on the Wii and Dark Void on the Xbox 360.

To be or Not to be like Everyone Else

HIGH The multiplayer.

LOW The battery in my controller going dead while playing the multiplayer.

WTF Everything about the game other than the multiplayer.

My dad isn't a particularly complex guy.  He believes in hard work and close family ties.  He believes in healthy marriages, tradition, and solid spirituality.  He enjoys retribution and cusses at frustrating phone calls.  He hates any movie that isn't a comedy; the Naked Gun films are probably the only ones he's seen multiple times.  He sings along to '60s tunes in the car.  He doesn't appreciate "art."  He hates crying. He loves sports.

Black and White and Red All Over

HIGH Blowing an entire Nazi base sky-high in the space of a few seconds.

LOW Any time you try to escape an alarm in a car.

WTF They can blow up heavily armored tanks, so why don't my explosives damage buildings?

Absurdly Delightful

HIGH The surreal, abstract nature of the adventure.

LOW Putting important collectibles in action sequences without checkpoints.

WTF Pretty much everything you see on-screen.

The Normandy's Back, but She's Taken Some Damage

HIGH Plenty of the same great writing and character work BioWare is known for.

LOW The collective lack of surprise at Shepard's resurrection.

WTF Do people really want to have sex with grotesque alien crewmates?

(Home)Wrecking Crew

HIGH Watching rivalries and alliances unfurl and collapse over the course of a single stage.

LOW With four players, the final stage was filled with nothing but weeping, wailing, and the gnashing of teeth.

WTF Play as all your Mario favorites! Mario, Luigi, Blue Toad, and Yellow Toad?

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom is a great game. Too bad it's on the Wii.