True fear and suspense are hard to capture in a game. Surprises are more often used to shock the player, but sometimes a game comes along that can develop quality suspense. In the tradition of Resident Evil and Silent Hill, Dementium: the Ward provides a survival-horror experience (mixed in with some first person shooting) that will keep you white knuckled, gripping your stylus and hunched over your DS, waiting to see what's behind the next corner.

The game opens mysteriously, a vague and blurred scene of the main character entering the hospital as the only introduction. As the game progresses, more veiled scenes of the protagonist's past are seen, suggesting a dark history steeped in blood. However, the end of the game doesn't quite provide a full conclusion to the hints offered. Some points are resolved, but the game ends as mysteriously as it begins, though it does keep open the opportunity of a sequel.

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What do you get when you combine a six-foot tall dog in a suit and a mildly psychotic three-foot rabbit? The Freelance Police, solving all manner of crimes from local disputes to problems in the White House. Sam and Max Season One on the Wii combines all six episodes of the first season of Sam and Max, a point-and-click adventure game onto one handy disc. Be prepared for intrigue, danger, love, and a lot of comedy.



If there's one word to summarize Sam and Max, it's wacky. The premise alone should tip you off, and each episode is packed with comedy, from interactions between characters, observations on the environment, to the plotlines of each episode. However, each individual episode is linked so that an over-arching story ties together all of the plots of previous episodes and returns many characters for the sixth and final episode. Witty and...

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Well that didn't take long for the next double feature review. Since I played these two games back to back and they're connected, I thought I might as well combine their reviews into one blog. Came out a little longer than I intended, but oh well.

Sonic Rush

The world's fastest hedgehog arrives on the DS with Sonic Rush, a return to speedy Sonic action with the introduction of Blaze the Cat, a mysterious figure with similar Sonic speed. Does the game deliver, or is the player left in the dust?



The game throws you right into the action, and as a result the story comes across as a little jumbled. Blaze the Cat and Eggman Nega appear out of nowhere along with the Sol Emeralds, the counterpart to the Chaos Emeralds. As Sonic pursues Eggman Nega for the Chaos Emeralds, Blaze chases Eggman for her jewels, with all four characters meeting...

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Ghost Squad and House of the Dead 2 & 3, originally arcade light gun shooters from Sega, made the leap to consoles with Wii iterations. Retaining all the light gun on-rails action, do these games still entertain in this new setting?

Ghost Squad

There's little point in mentioning the story as it is only meant as a weak background to the gameplay. The idea is that you are part of an elite anti-terrorist group, the Ghost Squad, and over three missions you rescue high profile figures including the President of the USA while shooting hordes and hordes of terrorists with poor aim. The core gameplay is fun--using the Wiimote to shoot enemies--and the game does offer branching paths in each of its three levels to entice you to replay over and over to try all possibilities. This doesn't change the fact that you are replaying three levels over and over, though, and they become tiresome quickly. Even the ability to customize your character with outfits and different...

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Developer Rockstar serves up another sandbox adventure with Bully: Scholarship Edition. Mixing a lot of wit and charm in the exaggerated setting of a boarding school, Bully shows what delinquent Jimmy Hopkins can amount to when he puts his mind to it and beats the shit out of a lot of people.

The game mixes a lot of humor within the pretty interesting setting of a corrupt boarding school. Jimmy Hopkins makes a great anti-hero, thrust into the midst of a pretty horrifying environment and forced to eat or be eaten. Each chapter focuses upon a different click within the school (bullies, nerds, jocks, preppies) and requires Jimmy to help them but ultimately beat them down into submission, thereby earning their respect and granting him more power over the school. The characterizations are great, from corrupt teachers to delusional rich kids, every person in the game has a lot of dark humor around them, keeping things light and entertaining. Rockstar did a great job of creating the often ridiculous...

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