Throughout my time with Crisis 3, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was trapped inside of a Hollywood film. This became especially true during the more predictable moments of the script. At one point in the campaign, my partner and I, a man called Psycho, quietly snuck through the sewers as we attempted to evade C.E.L.L. -- a private military outfit ordered to find and capture us. Pyscho was formerly a Nanosuited military bad boy like me, but he had his outfit surgically removed by force somewhere between the last Crysis game and this one. Relegated to a life as a regular soldier, Psycho tugged at a rusty crank to open a set of sealed double doors until he felt fatigued; a loud creak reverberated through the environment -- a sure sign to anyone in earshot that they weren't alone.

Metal Gear Solid 4 may be one of the most polarizing games of this generation, but supporters and dissenters alike can come together and agree on one point: Director Hideo Kojima really goofed with his choice to depict the outrageous acrobatics of Raiden's new cyborg form exclusively through non-playable cutscenes -- a decision that seems like an intentional tease, given that Guns of the Patriots features a creaky and cranky old man as its protagonist. And Kojima certainly isn't above yanking his audience's chain; remember, 2001's controversial Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty came into being largely as an elaborate and masterful prank engineered to prove its director's point about the control and flow of information. We have only short attention spans to thank for the fact that games journalism as an institution wasn't dissolved shortly after Sons of Liberty's release.

About an hour into Aliens: Colonial Marines, it's hard to find a reason to keep playing. At least that's exactly how I felt during my solo campaign run. Xenomorphs -- the creepy, black-suited extraterrestrials from the Hollywood films -- often slipped past my dimwitted allies to attack me directly. In some instances, they visibly brushed shoulders with my teammates, as they pounced towards my avatar and took a swipe at my head. Honestly, it's a strange sight to witness at first. Can the nimble Xenos even see my allies? It's hard to tell, but one thing became clear to me at this point: I'm the only target on the field that matters, and unless I round up four buddies for a coop session, no one is coming to my rescue.

Some things in the game industry are such no-brainers you wonder what took so long when they finally do happen. For example, when Koei took their long-standing Dynasty Warriors franchise, known for letting you blow away armies of dim-witted enemies, and paired it with the macho manga/anime series Fist of the North Star. It makes perfect sense, as it's one of Japan's supremely mindless action series (in a good way). The first First of the North Star: Ken's Rage wasn't too bad for the start of a new sub-series, and First of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2 attempts to tighten up some of the loose ends, but in doing so ends up diluting other parts of the game that were just fine.

If pop culture has taught us anything, it's that space can be a pretty lonely place. Like Ellen Ripley before him, Dead Space's Isaac Clark had to endure two full games of solitary terror in order to arrive at where he is today. To give the guy a break, EA and Visceral Games decided to expand the third installment in the series by allowing a second player to assume the role of John Carver, and officer in the Earth Defense Force with a bit of a troubled past. Together, the two of them journey from the familiarity of decrepit spaceships to the unfamiliar hell of Tau Volantis, a frozen planet that holds the key to saving humanity. With this newfound importance placed on cooperative play, we decided that it would be best for 1UP editors Jose Otero and Marty Sliva to team up and review Dead Space 3 together.

Marty Sliva: Before we delve into Dead Space 3, I feel like we should first state our history with the series. How versed are you with the prior games?

]]>Tue, 05 Feb 2013 16:59:00 PSTREVIEWhttp://localhost/reviews?cId=3188188Chris Pereira

Oftentimes the approach developers take when designing a game in an established genre involves adding layers of complexity in the hopes it will add up to a game with depth. What we don't see as frequently is a developer that comes at things from a much different angle, paring back at the excess, and in the process, delivering a more streamlined, yet still deep, game. That is exactly what 17-Bit have come up with in Skulls of the Shogun, and although that notion may be objectionable to diehard strategy game fans who want their games to be anything but approachable, Shogun manages to provide a highly enjoyable game that it just so happens almost anyone can play without hours of practice.

I really don't need to tell any of you adventure game fans that we're in the midst of a genre renaissance. This past year has seen a wealth of titles that present many different takes on one of gaming's oldest genres. From Telltale's award-winning adaptation of The Walking Dead, to iOS showcases like The Room, to beautiful sleeper hits like Kentucky Route Zero, those looking for narrative-based puzzle solving have no shortage of options. But each of those games I just mentioned come from relatively young voices in our medium, despite their respective levels of quality being more reflective of seasoned creators. It's with that in mind that we enter The Cave, Double Fine's latest straight from the mind of adventure game pioneer Ron Gilbert.

For the Maniac Mansion/Monkey Island creator's latest tale, we're immediately introduced to an omniscient, devious, and hilarious narrator who also just so happens to be the titular cave. As our Sherpa on this downward quest, The Cave himself (itself?) provides many of the game's most memorable moments, and is immediately a strong contender for 2013's best new character. In the spirit of Maniac Mansion, the first decision the player makes stems from choosing a trio of heroes to send into the dark depths of Gilbert's world. These adventurers range across all genres -- a Time Traveler, a Buddhist Monk, and a pair of creepy, Shining-inspired kids are all at your disposal. Each of the seven tortured souls has a specific reason for journeying into the cave, which is conveyed through single-frame paintings that you find scattered throughout the environment. As you descend deeper and deeper, you'll realize that each character may or may not represent one of the seven deadly sins, and parsing out their darkly-comedic backstories is one of the true joys to The Cave.

For better or worse, and to the chagrin of some of the series' more outspoken fans, Capcom stuck by their decision to shake up Devil May Cry and try something new. Understandably, news of this reboot set off major concerns from loyal followers, some of whom have painted a bleak picture for the future of the series. In their eyes, Dante should always have white hair, a cocky demeanor, a touch of Japanese wackiness, and a deep arsenal of weapons and combos to use in his fight against demons. Nothing could ever change it.

As someone who enjoyed the first and third installments of Devil May Cry immensely, I couldn't help but feel conflicted by this change. Our first look at the new "Dante" had a disturbingly beat-up and dark motif, but one the developer has subtlely dialed back over time. Just take a look at Dante now! New developer Ninja Theory has wisely toned down some of the off-putting characteristics their rebooted hero initially displayed, making him a much more approachable leading man. As far as looks go, he still bears similarities to professional Portuguese soccer player Cristano Ronadlo over Hillary Swank and Twilight, but he also retains the same irreverent attitude as ever -- not to mention a collection of fantastic weapons and fighting styles to use against his demon opponents. And, most importantly, he's still cool.

Anarchy Reigns can look like a scatterbrained mess of a game at times. Its art direction wanders all over the place, with character designs culled from a wide palette of visual styles. Imagine cybernetic burly dudes, skin-tight vixens, robots, and a dash of Dynasty Warrior costumes, and you'll start to get the idea. Its use of hub worlds and a scoring system to unlock new missions can appear obtuse and even arbitrary. Some may even think the single-player feels a bit tacked-on, mostly due to a oddly implemented campaign structure that can feel like a perfunctory way to unlock the remaining 16-player roster. And then there's the middling graphics, which range in quality from up-rezzed PlayStation 2 visuals to an almost-but-not-quite-Unreal-Engine-3 level of detail. If you can't handle these types of flaws, you probably won't find Anarchy Reigns that impressive or fun -- even at the tantalizing price tag of $30.

But there's more to Anarchy Reigns than these surface level flaws, and if you're willing to look a little deeper, there's actually a fun game to enjoy here. Anyone disappointed by its presentation and campaign structure will still find a surprisingly deep brawler to play with, and for developer Platinum Games that's kind of the point: Sure, Anarchy Reigns presents a handful of irksome single-player design decisions, but it ultimately succeeds in resuscitating the multiplayer brawler and applies a modern sensibility to a forgotten genre.

First impressions are important in art, but they're certainly not everything. I really despised my first few hours of pain in Dark Souls. I couldn't imagine why anyone would put themselves through such an arduous gauntlet of pain and suffering. Of course, I now know that my ignorance of FromSoft's language was at the heart of this misinformed opinion, and upon learning Souls' inherent lexicon, it became one of my favorite games of 2011. But for every game that builds like Dark Souls, there's an analogue that makes a fantastic first impression, only to show its cards far too early. So it goes with Black Knight Sword, the newest downloadable title from co-developers Grasshopper Manufacture and Digital Reality.

For better or worse, you kind of know what you're getting into when you enter a game with Suda's name on it. With this in mind, Black Knight Sword starts with a fantastic opening that exudes the uniquely strange style and vision that we've come to associate with the eccentric creator. You begin this dark fairy tale where most childhood stories start -- at the business end of a noose. Upon wiggling your corpse off of its not-so-final resting place, your titular knight stumbles upon a cursed blade, and thus begins a three-hour tour through a hellish nightmare. It's a great first few minutes, but the game sadly heads in a downward direction after that.