Destructoid

Army of Two: The 40th Day is a good, but entirely forgettable experience. It's worth a quick play if you've got nothing else to do, and a weekend rental would serve you very well. However, it's definitely not something you'll want to keep on your gaming shelf for very long.

Darksiders is one of the best action-adventure games of the current generation. Everything in it, you've played before, but never has such a collection of game mechanics been stitched together so well, not to mention feel like part of a coherent game world. Everything that is in Darksiders feels like it belongs there, and makes sense. Altogether, fans of action games owe it to themselves to check out this memorable, lovingly crafted, and simply fun title.

Ultimately, Bayonetta is a great game that fans of hardcore Japanese action games should be incredibly satisfied with. It looks amazing and can feel great to play when combos are rolling, Torture Attacks are earned and giant demons made out of hair are summoned to crush bosses. However, the pace-killing minigames and the frustrating nature of the chaotic combat hold it back from being a truly superb title. Definitely recommended playing for all fans of the genre, despite the few flaws keeping it down.

Sure, it doesn't quite have the same novel gameplay hook (or even the surprisingly artistic look and sound) of Q-Games' previous PSN effort, PixelJunk Eden. But PixelJunk Shooter is still an absolute blast (no pun intended) to play, with enough charm and originality to make it another strong addition to Sony's already solid downloadable game library.

While neither game is perfect (weird camera angles plague the first game, particularly; some could argue that combat is "repetitive"), they're easily some of the most entertaining games in the genre. Each title is packed with action and some of the most epic boss battles in any game to date, tied together with a compelling story that you'll definitely want to catch up with before God of War III hits shelves in March 2010.

James Cameron's Avatar: The Game is a waste of time, and a squandered opportunity. That a studio was given free reign to make their mark on a potentially huge upcoming movie franchise and just threw the opportunity into the garbage can to produce this lazy, slapdash, develop-by-numbers excuse for a videogame is truly sad.

Despite its humble promotion, the lament that it was sent out to die, and the death of developer Pandemic, The Saboteur is a terrific experience deserving of more accolades and attention that it will ever receive. It looks terrific, it has a fun story with a wonderful main character, and addictive gameplay that allows you to explode Nazis again and again and again. As if that wasn't enough, there are plenty of sexy ladies to keep things ticking as well.

In theory, Tony Hawk: Ride could have been an interesting and fresh gaming experience, and Activision and Robomodo should at least be commended for taking a chance. But in execution, Tony Hawk: Ride falls flat in nearly every aspect. Understandably, the franchise had begun to lose its luster, and Electronic Arts had swooped in with its own, fresh take with Skate. Activision had to do something. And Tony Hawk: Ride certainly is "something."

Ultimately, I couldn’t shake the feeling that all of this amounts to little more than window dressing. And that’s the main problem with this game, a microcosm of the current state of the music game genre. A lot of work clearly went into crafting the Story Mode, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a different package for the same old Rock Band setup: play songs, buy stuff to outfit your band with, and travel to other places where you play more songs.

Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter is a great purchase for both fans of the series and newcomers. Those who have grown up on modern shooters may find the primitive design and simplistic objectives a bit jarring, but the purity of the gameplay simply has to be respected. It looks really good for what it is, and the hardcore, old school shooting action is just as robust as ever.