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The hypocrisy of Duke Nukem Forever's distaste for new shooter heroes is clear early in the game. Duke is disgusted when offered a Halo-like suit of armor, asserting that his unassailable machismo is more resilient than any association with modernized entries of a genre he helped define in the mid-1990s. Yet Duke can only carry two guns at a time and has a regenerating health bar, elements popularized by the game he so readily dismisses. Duke Nukem Forever suggests Duke's compulsive need to pull the trigger to broadcast his manliness is enough to overcome any obstacle, which, as it turns out, it's not.

There was never anything complicated about Duke Nukem. He was an icon in his 1990s heyday because he was more than a floating gun. Duke had a voice, spouting action and comedy movie quotes. He made Army of Darkness' "Hail to the king, ... Read more »

Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days is releasing in a somewhat unenviable position. After controversy surrounding the last game and a generally lukewarm response from critics, some were surprised that a second game was greenlit so quickly. It's good then that Dog Days makes such a strong first impression, with its handheld video style visuals and the return of the violent, mature themes that defined Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. But what everyone wants to know is whether Dog Days solves the problems that plagued Dead Men: the dodgy controls, the story that fell apart, the lack of online co-op, and more. To a degree, it does, but issues remain in IO's tale of criminals in a desperate situation.

Those hoping for some sort of satisfying closure on the Morrigan storyline in Dragon Age: Origins unfortunately won't find it here. If you know what that sentence means and find it to be disappointing, then you're the target audience for this downloadable content. If you have no idea who Morrigan is and why you should care about her exploits, then bail out now. This content is meant for those who have either finished Origins or were too lazy to get through the whole thing and are beyond the point of caring about spoilers.

Called Witch Hunt, this is the latest in a long line of small storyline expansions. Morrigan, the sultry magic user from Origins, is the star here, though she only shows up very briefly at the end. The interaction is frustratingly shallow as well, which is too bad for fans of the fiction hoping for a little more detail. The conversation options with Morrigan w ... Read more »

As a huge fan of the Mass Effect series, I have been somewhat disappointed with all of the downloadable content offerings. While the characters have been interesting and the stories well-told, it felt like what happened didn't matter once it was all over. BioWare has changed that with its latest downloadable content – The Lair of the Shadow Broker. The first "bridging" DLC available, your actions do matter and will play a role in Mass Effect 3.

The Lair of the Shadow Broker begins like any other mission in Mass Effect 2: an email in your inbox. Somehow the Illusive Man has tracked down intel on the location of the Shadow Broker, the galaxy's most mysterious and pow ... Read more »

Reviewing Halo games is hard.

See, you aren't judging just one experience – this is the rare franchise in which campaign and multiplayer are equally popular, and must be considered with equal weight. You aren't judging for just one audience, either – the franchise is too popular for too many unique reasons. There are those who only want an epic solo saga, and those who only care about online competition. There are those who enjoy a Halo game once every couple years, and those who devour the entire Halo universe through comics, novelizations, anime and more.

And you know what? Each type of fan will have a very different reaction to Halo: Reach. Some will be thrilled. Some will be disappointed. To help you predict which end of the spectrum your opinion will fall, therefore, we're splitting this review into two parts. On this page, our review – and score – f ... Read more »

Blizzard has finally opened up access to the StarCraft II beta test to a select number of users, which has many old-school fans excited. It's a little surprising to think that it's been roughly 12 years since Blizzard first released its popular sci-fi real-time strategy title. We've seen it at events numerous times and Blizzard has even released Battle Report videos of entire matches, but we haven't yet been able to really check out all the new features of the online experience.

That is, at least, until now. Users who've been selected to participate in the beta can log into their account and grab the necessary files to dive in. I hopped in a few hours ago to get a look at how everything works. It's still a little early to say much about the gameplay, so in this article I'll focus mostly on the kinds of options the beta test lets you take advantage of.

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One of the biggest MMO events of the year is almost upon us. Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIV is the second online-only game in the main numbered series, following up on Final Fantasy XI which was originally released way back in 2003 for PC in North America and later for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 consoles. This new game launches on September 30th this year, though you can get in early with the more expensive Collector's Edition. Final Fantasy XIV, like its predecessor, will also be straddling the platform gap. In addition to the PC version, PlayStation 3 owners will get a chance to dive in but not until early next year. On PC, the title's in open beta right now. I've had a chance to play for a number of hours to get the feel for the play and understand a number of its system. It's an incomplete picture at this point for sure, bu ... Read more »

There was a time when James Bond was all about the finer things in life; about supping Martinis as he watches the sun set on the Monaco harbour, or of bedding improbably named and impossibly beautiful ladies. Since Daniel Craig's taken on the role, though, it seems he likes nothing more than cracking skulls against door frames and crushing the necks of construction workers with his python-thick thighs.

So it's this brutal blend of combat that's front and centre of James Bond 007: Blood Stone, Bizarre and Activision's game that has Craig reprising his turn as the secret agent. It's certainly the foremost part of the all-new demo th ... Read more »

Mafia II is upon us and ushering in a new era of wise guys and made men. If you've been waiting for this one, there is good news – the game is fun. Having shootouts in bars while bottles explode and glass flies, finding a mob hacking your friend to death, and going to brothels are all great times. Still, those moments aren't the entire game, and the accompanying parts hurt the whole.

Mafia II casts you as Vito Scaletta, a young Italian who returns from World War II to find his mother and sister on the hook to a loan shark. Like any gangster in a gangster movie, Vito decides he doesn't want a subpar life of the slums and goes down the organized crime route to make some cash. You'll be with Vito as he whacks dudes, steals ca ... Read more »

Big name games need big development time. The six year wait for Remedy's Alan Wake may be one extreme, but the very best games often make us wait. Conversely, when a game's turned swiftly around suspicions are raised; will it be a quick cash-in, a rushed job or something that's far from great.

So it was with Fable III – its announcement at last August's Gamescom came when many people were still chewing its predecessor over, and when Peter Molyneux later claimed that the leap from Fable II to Fable III was bigger than that between the first and second games it was hard not to take that statement with a pinch of salt.