Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds is comfortable in its own skin. The side-scrolling beat-’em-up from Mages and 5pb knows it’s going to come across as very Japanese, so it just embraces it. The result is a game akin to a sugar rush; there’s not a whole lot of nutrient-rich depth here, but it’s certainly fun as a complement to a healthy gaming diet. READ MORE
Paradox has added another flavor to its large catalog of grand strategy, this time focusing on Europe in the early 1800s. March of the Eagles acts as a bit of a light version of the company’s usual offerings, cutting out a lot of the politics and empire management parts, and boils it down to war and diplomacy. READ MORE
Bit.Trip Runner is a throwback to rhythm games of yesterday. In today’s world of plastic guitars and drum kits, Runner used the music as a gameplay element rather than a goal unto itself. It started by realizing that player actions enhanced the soundtrack, and it culminated in playing a new level just as much by ear as by eye. Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien continues that tradition, and improves upon its predecessor in every way. READ MORE
Back in 2007, a little title known as Crysis set a new benchmark for video game graphics, and the question “Can your PC run Crysis?” became both a legitimate query and a running joke in the industry. Since then, the series has made its way to consoles with surprising success, bringing it to a whole new audience. After two successful games, Crytek is back with the final chapter in its so-called trilogy. While Crysis 3 may not boast the mind-blowing visuals of the original, it still manages to hold its own mechanically and look nice doing it. READ MORE
The coolest thing about Koei’s Dynasty Warriors (or Musou) series in the past few years has been the occasional branching away from the same old Three Kingdoms song and dance and exploration of really great, classic anime franchises. It started with Mobile Suit Gundam, followed that up with Fist of the North Star and most recently tackled Eiichiro Oda’s insurmountable cash cow One Piece. The first game based upon Buronson and Tetsuo Hara’s classic post-apocalyptic martial arts saga, Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage was a bit of a divisive game; some found it sluggish and limited in scope, but others (including myself) enjoyed it as a hard-hitting, accurate tribute to the classic manga (and anime) that made a few interesting changes to the typical Musou formula. READ MORE
