Review: Saint's Row: The Third

Saint's Row: The Third

PS3 (reviewed), Xbox 360, PC

Publisher: THQ

Developer: Volition, INC

Release Date: 15 November 2011

Do you remember when Grand Theft Auto first went into the 3D space? The games were parodies of popular culture and famous mafia movies. The series got more crazy with Vice City and the send-up of the excesses of the 1980s. And finally, the over-the-top look at 'gangstas' in San Andres. The games were all about the crazy, sociopath main characters inciting violence across town in tanks and skydiving into gun fights. Then it got serious. Volition, INC, makers of the Saint's Row series, started off imitating, but then realized that one of the major draws to open-world crime games is the overblown action. This brings us to their crowning achievement: Saint's Row: The Third.

The Third Street Saints in all their glory

News Roundup: 20 November 2011

Happy Thanksgiving (Americans)!  The end of the Holiday Rush of Great Games (tm) is finally here!  The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword came out today, and with that, the march to Black Friday begins.  A few interesting stories after the jump!

Review: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

PS3

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Developer: Naughty Dog

Release Date: 1 November 2011

How do you follow up a nearly unanimous Game of the Year winner? Expectations are through the roof. Do you go bigger? Do you change it up? Do you leave well enough alone and take baby steps? The pressure Naughty Dog must have felt after Uncharted: Among Thieves won multiple Game of the Year honors (amazing considering it's a PS3 exclusive) must have been nearly crushing. Two years later, we have our answer. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception is here and it doesn't disappoint.

Nathan Drake sets off on another adventure in Drake's Deception

Review: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

PS3

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Developer: Naughty Dog

Release Date: 13 October 2009

After a solid, if flawed, opening act, Naughty Dog brings a sequel that not only surpasses its predecessor, but damn near redefines the genre. Expectations were high, given the studio's pedigree, but I don't think anyone outside of the Naughty Dog office saw this coming. Among Thieves is not only worthy of the multiple Game of the Year awards it won, but it's a game that every PS3 owner should have in their collection. Simply put, Among Thieves is a classic.

That's a long way down...

News Roundup: 30 October 2011

The news stories of the week that caught my eye.  Read more after the jump!  Links to the original articles are in the titles.

Review: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

PS3

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Developer: Naughty Dog

Release Date: 16 November 2007

Tomb raiding is something gamers have enjoyed since Lara Croft introduced the concept to us back in 1996. The old adventuring through forgotten tombs and ancient catacombs has gotten stale, though. Lara had become less appealing and her games have fallen from grace. The genre needed a fresh hero and a game worthy to succeed Tomb Raider. Someone dashing, heroic, suave but also easy to relate to. That someone was Nathan Drake and that game was Uncharted: Drake's Fortune.

Drake and Elena

News Roundup: 23 October 2011

Well, here's a brief news roundup for the week ending 23 October 2011 after the jump.

Review: Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

PS3, Xbox 360, PC

Publisher: Square Enix

Developer: Eidos Montreal

Release Date: 23 August 2011

Blade Runner fans, rejoice! The cyber-punk genre finally gets it's due in an action-packed, choice-laden package that not only pays homage to the PC Game of the Year (2000) that spawned the franchise, but adds modern gaming conventions and accessibility for fans new and returning. It's a game that not only balances its roots with the advances made in the last 10 years, but it also carves out its own identity.

Heng Sha is so pretty!