Destructoid

It is truly mature, with the kind of narrative you'd only expect to see in a major TV drama series or crime movie. No game released this generation has tackled the subject matter found in L.A. Noire with the same degree of intelligence and respect, and no game has blended gameplay from various genres so seamlessly, in a way that delivers something far more unique in experience than the sum of its parts.

Brink is a confusing beast. Inspired and engrossing, exasperating and chaotic. Putting my thoughts into words has been difficult, as a series of garbled, guttural noises are what I want to make whenever I try to describe this game. I want to excitedly shout about how happy it makes me, but I can't do so without adding important, overbearing caveats.

Whether or not it is worth that price for you simply depends on how much you like twin-stick shooters and if you have a potential co-op partner to enjoy the game with. After playing through the game once and finishing all of the survival maps, you can take your fully upgraded walker into a higher difficulty if you please

Darkspore isn't perfect, but it's solid, and I'm really happy to see a game in this genre that takes some risks and introduces some new mechanics. I would love to see randomized maps, a less clunky inventory management system, and a way to progress through the game that isn't quite so entirely luck based. But even with these issues Darkspore manages to be entertaining.

Over the past two weeks, I've spent perhaps as much time playing the new Mortal Kombat as I did playing the original titles in the arcade and on consoles. The fact that I still haven't unlocked everything, and that I'm not bored of the game's ruthless fighting mechanics and sadistic finishers, is a testament to the game's value. Mortal Kombat doesn't redefine the franchise, but by sticking to what it does best and piling on the content, it has become a must-have for fans and easily establishes itself as the best in the series

This is SOCOM 4. A game of three parts, two of which are awful/broken and one of which is too shallow because of the time spent developing the others. At best, it could hope to be a functional, if archaic, shooter. At its worst, it's a glitchy, laggy game that seems to be facing the exact same problems as its prequel, released three years ago.

Ar Tonelico Qoga serves as an impressive curtain call for the series, making up for its less-impressive combat and visuals with a cast appealing, well-developed characters, a colorful and well-realized setting, and a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack. Its somewhat leering sensibilities and strongly "anime" aesthetic may not win over some players, and it won't revolutionize the genre in the eyes of its critics.

Shift 2 Unleashed is rare in that it gives you real cars in real locales, but also provides an intensity and excitement that other sim games can't offer. While the steering isn't as polished as it could be, you won't be thinking about that in the tense, white-knuckle, high-speed races that this game offers. Let loose for once: Shift 2 Unleashed is a hell of lot of fun.

The concept is fairly original, intuitive, and fun, if simplistic. After a few hours, you'll have the go-to strategies down, and that can lead to eventual boredom before long. It's a good little distraction for the price, or at least, it should be. I may be fairly forgiving when it comes to issues that can be eventually fixed via patch, but the crashes alone are entirely too frustrating to deal with.

As with all launch titles, the game doesn't feel quite so fleshed out as it could have, and it's clear that the game is ticking boxes to meet standards, rather than go that extra mile to produce something great. Nevertheless, it's a fun game that feels good to control, looks impressive and delivers some classic arcade racing that's perfect for quick bursts of portable play.