PlayStation

Game Description: Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix is the prequel to the critically acclaimed hit Fear Effect on the PlayStation game console. In this chapter, we delve into the colorful histories of the original cast of three mercenaries as well as the extraordinary circumstances that brought them together. Their adventure will take us to the chaotic alternate reality of Hong Kong, Hells Kitchen in New York City, the formidable Walled City of Xi—an, the lost tomb of the First Emperor of China and finally into the legendary mountain-island of the immortals—Penglai Shan. A variety of melee and range weapons, such as brass knuckles, pistols, and heavy assault weapons, will help you take out increasingly combative henchmen. The game allows you to play as any one member of the team: cover-girl assassins Hana Tsu-Vachel or Rain Qin, master operative Royce Glas, or greedy killer Jakob "Deke" Decourt. The game's variable ending changes with the disposition of certain in-game events, and other hidden features promise added replayability.

In an industry that can't seem to distinguish the fine line between mature and immature, the sexist T & A ad campaign for Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix was very troublesome to me. By alienating women and targeting the more sexually depraved and adolescent minded part of the male population, Fear Effect 2 signals a dangerous trend that may eventually condemn videogames to the same narrow ghetto culture that plagues comic books.

According to the ESRB, this game contains: Animated Blood & Gore, Animated Violence, Suggestive Themes

While I wouldn't go so far as to say that Fear Effect 2 is the digital entertainment equivalent of a cutting-edge novel or soul-searching film, it certainly pushes the envelope of games by going boldly where almost no console titles have gone before in terms of what qualities they are expected to contain, and it manages to do it with panache.

Electronic Arts, granted the license from MGM, took notice of Bond's affinity for fast cars, and 007 Racing was born. Unfortunately for Electronic Arts and its developer, Eutechnyx, every release that followed Rare's brilliant GoldenEye 007 has proven that the license can only carry a game so far. 007 Racing is a game that barely carries its license and succeeds only in driving it into the ground.

007 Racing's developer, Eutechnyx, puts the following tag line underneath their logo: "Advanced gaming science." If 007 Racing is any indication of this pretentious moniker, than it's wrong on all counts.

Game Description: Your name is Bond—James Bond. You've got a stable of specially equipped licensed cars from the Bond universe that have been prepared with weapons and gadgets from MI6's infamous Q branch. 007 Racing for PlayStation delivers to game players a unique Bond experience that features over 15 missions of pursuit, evasion, protection, surveillance, and termination—all inspired by unforgettable moments from Bond films. Missions in 007 Racing take place within a new story line that's inspired by scenes and moments of the more memorable Bond films. Also, players will be assisted by—and pitted against—famous characters from Bond films. The game's multiplayer mode offers intense peer-to-peer combat racing.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Animated Violence

At its surface, Vampire Hunter D is many things. First and foremost, it is a gothic drama about a vampire hunter named "D" (in case you couldn't tell from the title). It is a vampire game done up in grand, operatic fashion. It is a game based on a popular animated film from Japan. It is yet another slow-moving, heavily stylized horror game in the stale Resident Evil tradition (what hath Capcom wrought?). It's a game filled with many monsters, bats and other assorted winged and four-legged beasties. It's a game played from too many off-kilter camera angles. It's a game strewn with mind-numbing puzzles, ordinary and familiar gameplay and poor controls. At is surface, Vampire Hunter D is many things. Below its surface, Vampire Hunter D isn't much.

Game Description:  This Resident Evil-like action-adventure game takes place in the distant future—A.D. 12,090, to be exact—some 10,000 years after vampires have won control of the planet from humans. Vampire Hunter D is based on the original Hideyuki Kikuchi novel and the cult-classic anime that followed. Your character is the aptly named Vampire Hunter D, a half-human, half-vampire who is hired to rescue a kidnapped child. The linear plot has three endings, each of which is triggered by meeting certain criteria.