Max Payne 3 promises to hit the series' classic notes, but it's the determination to be a hard core no-fuss shooter that make this an interesting proposition.

NeverDead is a peculiarly intriguing concept. Suda 51 brings his distinctive weight to bear in a game that leverages macabre dismemberment and decapitation in an effort to freshen up the action brawling genre.

The Darkness II matches a new look with its comic book credentials, but it's still the sheer demonic madness of it all that is the real draw.

GoldenEye 007 Reloaded 360 makes a creditable attempt to revive a 1990s approach to multiplayer shooting, but for online players it locks too many goodies away as rewards for hours of grinding.