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The next installment in the ongoing process of making LEGO versions of popular franchises. This is also the first one to not be based on any particular movie, rather concentrating on the Batman universe that’s been created over the years.

The game’s structure follows the standard six episodes approach, each having five chapters.  The first three episodes sees you playing as Batman, along with Robin as your sidekick. You are pitted against the Riddler, the Penguin and the Joker in each episode, fighting different villains that team up with them. there’s the usual vehicle levels where you fly, sail and drive around. The ever present smashing of everything in sight in order to collect LEGO studs which allows you to upgrade your characters and buy bonus features is still present.

The other three episodes sees you taking the helm of the villians from the first three episodes. You might play in the same levels, or get a unique view on the events that lead to Batman entering the fray. It’s an interesting take on the idea, and makes for a welcome break from playing as one character the whole way through.

If you liked the previous LEGO offerings, there’s every reason why you will enjoy this one as well. If however you’ve fallen out of love with them along the line, there’s very little that will entice you back to the franchise.

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For the Prince’s next generation outing, Ubisoft have decided to reset the franchise. We have the start of a new story, with a new prince.

The game kicks off where the prince lost in the desert, and stumbles into an kingdom that’s fallen apart. It’s gotten corrupted by and evil god, and you’re roped into assisting the only living being, a princess, into helping to purge the lands of the evil that taints it. The princess has been granted magical powers do to an event that you learn about during the course of the game. These magic powers allows her catch you when you fall of a ledge, effectively serving as a movable checkpoint. This is the source of the biggest controvesy of the game, as there’s a vocal crowd who believe that this effectively removed the difficulty from the game. The other side of the fence however states that all this really does, is streamlining the whole “Game Over”/restart process that you would be doing anyways.

There are four areas in the game that you visit, each with multiple areas to heal, and each featuring a boss that you have to overcome. You collect lightseeds in the healed areas, which allows you to unlock new abilities for the princess, which in turn gives you access to more areas.

One thing that’s really been shining in Ubisoft games, is the story, and Prince of Persia delivers in spades. As you make your way around the gameworld, you get the opportunity to talk to the princess, which fleshes out the story, and reveals something quite sinister going on. You can avoid all of this if you wanted to, but you’d be left with a rather hollow gaming experience.

The ending also sets up the sequel quite nicely, and if the previous Prince of Persia games are anything to go by, we’re in for an amazing trilogy.

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The next installment in the insanely popular Gears of War series. The fight against the Locust continues, this time it’s taken to their homeground, which is all underground.

Gears 2 takes everything that was great from the original, and amplifies it tenfold. The setpieces are bigger, and you get to do some things that you wished you could’ve done in the first one, as well as facing off against some of the bigger, meaner enemies from the first Gears.

The story also answers a few of the questions left unanswered from the original, but sadly, it makes many more that leaves you a bit puzzled, as well as frustrated. The writing of the game leaves a bit to be desired, but this can be forgiven, since this is the game equavelant of a summer blockbuster action movie, you’re not really there for the plot, but for the action, and in this regard it delivers in spades.

Gears 2 is also one of the most graphically amazing games on the current consoles, it really is something to marvel at. This is something that you really need to experience if you have the opportunity!

I haven’t really had a chance to try out the multiplayer side of things, but I’ve seen a lot of complaints in this regard. Epic have delivered two patches already to address these though, and I see that there’s a third update in the works, which will also finally for the first time feature  bots, which is something that’s been lacking from the people that have created some pretty cool bots in their Unreal Tournament games.

Overall, Gears of War 2 is a great ride from start to finish, it’s not overly long, and extremely enjoyable if you’re looking for some mindless action.

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Much has been said about Force Unleashed, it’s been punted as the official story of the events that happen between Episode 3 and Episode 4, chronicaling the creation of the Rebellion. The biggest feature of Force Unleashed is most definitely it’s story. You play as a secret apprentice to Darth Vader. You’re given the task of hunting down Jedi that have escaped the purge that happened in Episode 3.

The game features some well-known areas, as well as some areas that you merely catch a glimpse from in the movies. It’s all brought to live in stunning graphics, it really holds up quite well to many of the top games out there.

However, Force Unleashed suffers from the most terrible of gaming sins. It’s not a lot of fun to play. You constantly get the feeling that the gameplay itself is against you, you struggle doing some of the basic things, and bits that should be awesome, all fizzle out in execution. Sometimes it does shine though, and when it does, it serves as a frustrating reminder of what the game could’ve been.<

A highlight of the game is the ability to really play as a real bad guy. You eventually have access to all the Sith powers, and you get to attack Wookiees and Jawas and other defenseless creatures from the Star Wars universe. It’s also the first game to let you really go crazy with your force powers, Force Grip being a favourite, allowing you to throw stormtroopers around, or hurl large rocks at enemies.

Force Unleashed has a great story to tell, and if you have the patience to struggle through questionable game mechanics, it’s a worthwhile experience.

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Conan is a hack-and-slash game in the same fold as God of War and Ninja Gaiden. It borrows quite a lot from these games, but it managed to not feel like a direct clone. The fighting mechanic is relatively deep, but unlike Ninja Gaiden, it’s easy to get the hang of, and it’s also quite forgiving.

The story tells the tale of Conan the barbarian as he has to undo a deed that unleashed a plague on the earth. The story isn’t particularly interesting, but neither is it boring, offering enough reason to continue playing to the end. The game’s pretty short, it can be finished in under 8 hours if you play on the easiest setting.

It does leave a little to be desired in the graphics department. It’s not a bad looking game, but there’s no wow in the game, it accomplishes what it sets out to do, and nothing more.

All in all, if you’re looking for a fun, non-intrusive hack-and-slash game, be sure to check this one out.

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Condemned 2: Bloodshot is the sequel to Condemned. It follows up almost directly, however now the main character has been released from duty, and he’s become an alcoholic. They need his assistance though in order to investigate a murder of one of the mian characters from the original game.

The sequel adds some new mechanics when it comes to combat, which adds a certain level of tension. The fights are always tense, and you don’t always come off for the better. Also beefed up is the investigation elements, they’re much more deep and involved compared to the original.

Storywise, it expands on some of the threads that have been left from the first game, but it also adds a whole new level of intrigue, all of which sadly don’t get tied up. Which makes me hope for a third game in the series, as I’ve really been enjoying the whole story.

Overall, it wasn’t as scary as the original, but is still managed to send shivers down my spine ever so often. The ending was a little anti-climatic compared to the original as well, but there’s a scene after the credits that set things up for a third game quite nicely.

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The Darkness is based on the Top Cow comics, created by Starbreeze Studio. You’re a mafioso, who on your 21st birthday gets possessed by an ancient entity calling The Darkness. It allows you to control darkness elements, such as summoning Darklings and controlling tentacles.

It’s not a very scary game, but it’s a great action FPS. The story is decent, and it moves along at a good pace, always leaving you wanting to find out what happens next. A great game, and hopefully the sequel will be worth the wait.

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