Destructoid

If the goal of NBA 2K11 is to craft the most realistic basketball game ever, then it succeeded: this is the most realistic basketball game ever. However, the game definitely takes a hit to its fun factor for what I imagine will be a great deal of its audience. This is a game that will make you bad at basketball games even if you’re good at basketball games, and that’s a frightening prospect, and one that I think may initially turn off a lot of players.

Medal of Honor is a solid title. It satisfies and it provides a decent bit of fun, but the best you can say is that it's okay. It's not a great example of the FPS genre, it has nothing to say, and there's really not a lot of meat on its bones when you get down to the nitty gritty. If you really, really love war games and you literally cannot wait for a few weeks until Call of Duty: Black Ops is out, then this game will at least swallow a weekend for you.

Not only is the game completely unoriginal, it doesn't even manage to be seamless and competent with its copying like an unoriginal game needs to be. There's no justification for Lords of Shadow. It's simply a second-rate title that might have been good a decade ago, but doesn't need to exist in this day and age.

Between the solid story, entertaining gameplay and huge replay value, Dead Rising 2 offers more bang for your buck than just about any single-player game on the market right now. Add in the multiplayer features and you have a great package. The design, however, is an acquired taste and simply will not be everyone's cup of tea. But for those out there who can appreciate an action game where the prevailing philosophy is one of planning and foresight, while forgiving its flaws, it is an exceptional treat to play.

Quantum Theory is what would happen if Gears of War and Super Mario Bros. had a baby. A mewling, deformed, horrific baby that doctors would try to drown. It upsets me to tear this game apart, due to my being genuinely pleased with its opening chapters, but the game goes from passable to unforgivably dreadful with each passing stage until it gets to the point where even if Filena got her tits out at the end, it wouldn't be worth the pain to get there.

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West has its flaws, and those flaws are worn on the sleeve at all times. However, none of them tarnish what is, overall, one of the very best experiences released on a console in a long, long time. The game's eight- to ten-hour quest truly does feel like a journey, one that is compelling, exciting, and incredibly memorable. Any time it threatens to frustrate the player, it wins back one's heart with an exciting exploration sequence or a gorgeous vista.

Frictional seems aware that a key ingredient in the recipe for fear is a feeling of powerlessness. The player should be more the victim than the hero, helpless before whatever horrors stalk the halls and lurk in the shadows. Amnesia: The Dark Descent, developed on a shoestring budget by five Swedes, is a rare game that outshines (or rather, out-scares) the high-end, high-budget, triple-A titles that so often lay claim to the horror game mantle.

I may not be a fan of EAUHL, but I don’t mind that it exists, since it’ll definitely generate valuable data and feedback that will help the developers create a real online dynasty mode. (Besides, the gameplay is the best it’s ever been.) Yet again, the peerless NHL team has produced a modern classic that will surely sit at the pinnacle of the year’s sports releases. This is probably the best hockey game ever -- until NHL 12 comes out, that is

Warriors of Rock is a solid Guitar Hero offering for sure, and perhaps one of Neversoft’s best, despite the weird creative decision to include monsters in its primary experience. It’s a title that packs a ton of content and gameplay onto a single disc, and its import options for songs from previous titles will pad your song selections nicely. But it’s also an experience that feels remarkably similar to last year’s offering, and that’s unfortunate.

Hydrophobia isn't straight-up, unforgivably dreadful. It's mostly just boring, uninspired, and vapid. Were it not for the combat, one could get away with calling it an almost decent waste of time and money