Rockstar

In a short period of time I have played three games that may not seem to be similar or related. The co-op shooter Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days, the straight-up cover shooter Max Payne 3, and the thriller Heavy Rain share a third-person perspective, though, one that reflects their central cinematic aspirations. Although their critical reputations vary, each of these games is an interesting failure in the project of creating a playable movie.

You wouldn't know it to look at him, but Max Payne does take days off from being Max Payne—at least he tries to.

Payneful

HIGH Soaring through the air, blowing away dozens of gangsters with my dual pistols like a John Woo hero.

LOW Did he seriously just shave his head as a disguise?

WTF Why doesn't Max just shootdodge out of all these situations where a few unarmored guys are holding a gun on him?

The Bride of Frankenstein

HIGH A slow-motion, high-caliber rifle round breaching an enemy's skull is terrifyingly beautiful.

LOW Anyone else tired of morally mucked-up shooter heroes?

WTF Bullet Time©. Shootdodge™.

The most interesting part of Take-Two's 2012 fiscal year earnings conference call covers what was—and what wasn't—said regarding Grand Theft Auto V.

We're back and less offensive than ever! Our conversation about detail and immersion becomes an impromptu "State of Rockstar Games" debate. Plus: Our personal gaming tragedies; tales of data loss and other disasters. Featuring Chi Kong Lui, Brad Gallaway, Mike Bracken, and Tim "The Traitor" Spaeth.

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Games discussed:

• Infinite Space
• Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadow Broker
• Red Dead Redemption

Please send feedback and mailbag questions to podcast (at) gamecritics (dot) com.

When I gave Grand Theft Auto IV the insultingly low score of 85%, quite a few people suggested that I had some kind of a secret grudge against the game that kept me from giving it the glowing adoration that it so obviously deserved. Well, I'm finally ready to admit that yes, I did have a secret predjudice against the game, one that I'll reveal through the medium of crudely-edited video:

I doubt I can be much clearer than that.

While Justin may be a new face here at GameCritics, after reading his review of Liberty City Stories I have a feeling that he's going to fit in just fine. Frankly speaking, I couldn't agree with him more.

The most common bit of praise that will probably be heaped on Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories is how well it has made the jump to a portable system. Where it stumbles is that it has brought every one of the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) series' faults along too, before adding a few new ones of its own—problems that are only magnified by the game's portability.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood and Gore, Language, Violence