Teen (13+)

Adol the Red is Back and This Time He Brought Friends

HIGH Bringing down a boss that has over 100K hit points in short order thanks to the fluid and fun combat system.

LOW Whenever the game forces players to stop killing things and advance the uninspired story.

WTF Really? A princess in disguise and a prison scene? Come on, RPG writers...

Game Description: Ys SEVEN is the latest installment in the long-running Ys series which first debuted on PC in 1987. This is the first iteration to be built specifically for the PSP system, taking full advantage of the widescreen format and hardware. The battle system consists of a three-member battle party with enemies engaged on the field map in real-time for fast-paced combat. Old fans of the series and new players alike will be immersed into the rich vibrant world containing over 30 hours of gameplay.

Swinging Four Ways

HIGH Dragging a gunsel into the shadows and webbing them to a wall in a single, effortless motion.

LOW Being unable to tell an enemy from a wall in 2099.

WTF Wait... he ate Uncle Ben? Ick.

So Tasty He Doesn't Need Gravy

HIGH The hidden warp zone nods to past eras of gaming.

LOW The incredibly stiff difficulty will put off some players.

WTF Beware—anyone who can 100% this game may not actually be human.

Game Description: Super Meat Boy is a tough-as-nails platformer where you play as an animated cube of meat who's trying to save his girlfriend (who happens to be made of bandages) from an evil fetus wearing a tux who lives in a jar. Leap from walls, jump over seas of buzz saws, and run through crumbling caves and pools of old needles. Super Meat Boy relives the old school difficulty of classic retro platformers and streamlines it down to the essentials, no BS, just straight-forward twitch reflex platforming, and all while sacrificing his own well-being to save his damsel in distress.

Yes, I Can Hear You Now. Why didn't You Speak up Earlier?

HIGH Increased use of the game's psychological elements.

LOW The combat is infuriatingly cheap and unbalanced.

WTF The Signal's product placement for Verizon is unbelievably blunt.

Something Old, Something New

HIGH The first time I dominated an encounter after fully comprehending the battle system.

LOW Another last boss? Why can't this game just be over!

WTF Japanese developers really love their quasi-Christian bad guys.

Monkeying Around in a New Genre

HIGH Activating Monkey's "cloud" for the first time.

LOW The end of the game doesn't seem to match the beginning.

WTF Trip shows no remorse for killing innocents in the first level.

Who Cares? Sega Should

HIGH Transporting myself to a simpler, more poorly-rendered time and coming to the realization that Gunblade NY is actually pretty solid.

LOW Dozing off repeatedly during a run of L.A. Machineguns. For reference, the game is 30 minutes long.

WTF Wondering how to defeat all these robo-terrorists? Advise you slam 'em continuously!