Volition

The Third Time's not the Charm

HIGH One of the best extended opening sequences I've played in some time.

LOW the game fails to maintain that quality past the opening.

WTF No booty size slider—again?!? And Burt Reynolds?

I initially had a hard time writing my review of Red Faction: Armageddon. I almost fell into the same trap that caught me in my review of No More Heroes 2, another game that essentially abandoned an existing open-world concept, of reviewing the predecessor rather than the sequel. This was an enticing prospect, because I liked Red Faction: Guerilla a great deal, and I did not like Armageddon one little bit.

Mars Bores

HIGH Bringing a whole structure crashing down on a monster using the magnet gun.

LOW The monster didn't seem to notice it.

WTF Why am I doing so much work to protect force-fields and take out bridges when these creatures are constantly emerging from the solid rock?

In the Boom-Boom Room

HIGH Watching your very last explosive take down the crucial pillar that brings down an entire structure.

LOW Driving vehicles across the entire map within a ridiculous time limit.

WTF "When did those twenty guys appear?! Gah!"

Game Description: A worthy successor to Saints Row, the first open-world title on next-generation consoles, Saints Row 2 features all new customization options, including player's: gender, age, voice, crib and gang. In addition, the sandbox just got larger with a totally transformed and expanded city of Stilwater, offering all new locations to explore with new vehicles, including motorcycles, boats, helicopters and planes. Saints Row 2 will be playable online in 2-player co-op through the entire singleplayer campaign or in the all new open-world competitive multiplayer mode never before seen in the genre.

New Playa, Same Game

HIGH Jumping out of a plane to discover that there's a minigame associated with the landing.

LOW Finishing a stressful mission only to have my 360 lock up before I had a chance to save.

WTF Not being able to adjust the bust and hip size of female characters.

It's as sure as death or taxes that anyone who takes up videogaming will find themselves rooting through a bargain bin or scouring pre-owned shelves sooner or later. For those that do, few things feel as satisfying as saving hard-earned cash and getting a gem of a game at the same time.

I'm not sure why Dan put on the kid gloves when it came to his final words on The Punisher, but calling it an extremely well-designed action game is an overstatement. Action game, yes. Well-designed? No.

Of all of the crimes which would destabilize society if they were to be legalized, vigilantism may well be the most attractive. Living as many of us do in a society where various constitutional restrictions keep the police from jailing anyone who looks at them funny (for now, at least), it can be frustrating for anyone with a strong sense of right and wrong to ever see criminals going unpunished for their crimes. Obviously there are logistical problems that keep summary execution from being a practical solution to the world's crime problems, most of them in the area of misidentification and misunderstanding.