Midway

When I go through a pile of used games, I usually have a pretty good idea of what I'm looking for. I keep tabs on titles that look like solid "maybes"—games that may have a few good points, but are sketchy enough to discourage me from risking $50 buying them new. It's pretty rare that I'll end up bringing something home that I hadn't already targeted as such, but Surreal Software's The Suffering was exactly one such game.

Game Description: Honor is his code. Vengeance is his mission. Bloodshed is his only option... Experience the excitement of the true next-gen action while continuing the story of John Woo's influential action film, "Hard Boiled" starring Chow Yun-Fat. Ensnared by a crime boss with a gripping secret, Inspector Tequila is forced to cross the line from sworn duty to bloody revenge. Engage your enemies with intense cinematic gun battles and cause massive environmental damage in real-time or revolutionary slow-motion Tequila Time.

Rampage may be unique among videogame franchises in that, across six titles and twenty years, not a single one of them has ever actually been a good game. No, Rampage has squeaked by on the strength of its premise alone.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Violence

Game Description: Rampage: Total Destruction offers a fresh take on an arcade classic complete with everyone's favorite monsters. Control George, Lizzie, and Ralph as they go around the world, destoying major cities through direct destruction or through their fighting. Virtually everything in the environment can be damaged, broken, and utterly destroyed with plenty of hilarious results. Aided by power-ups, the Rampage: Total Destruction monsters will acquire upgrades throughout the course of a single campaign—leading to even more destruction.

Game Description: The legendary arcade classic Gauntlet is reborn with a new vision, story and gameplay in Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows. Seeking to undo the past, a powerful emperor is lost in his own dreams and nightmares. After being imprisoned by him for two centuries, four immortal heroes set out to undo their tormentor's lifetime of regrets. In the process, they must deal with the consequences of their own actions and watch as the world shakes apart around them. Seven Sorrows is the fusion of fantasy fighting action with the strategy and fascination of user friendly RPG elements, challenging gamers in solo play, co-op and a thriving online community. Junction Skills. Featuring avant-garde Junction Skills, players can band together to use their skills and abilities to unleash a number of devastating attacks upon their unsuspecting enemies.

With the click-click-click of my X and Square buttons as a soundtrack, I'm fighting off swarms of demon hordes while racking up experience points and nibbling on food whenever my health gets too low. (Many times I am disgustingly wasteful, littering the ground with dozens of cheeses I'll never need). Sometimes there's a switch to pull or a boss to fight, but mostly I just hold my own against monsters that keep coming at me like George Romero's zombies.

According to the ESRB, this game contains: Violence