Need a little insight into the gameplay of Yakuza: Dead Souls? These tips and tricks should help those who are overwhelmed with the boss and enemy encounters in the game.

Want a zombie game that’s better than Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City? Check out the current alternative: the latest from Yakuza.

What will you get out of the new Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition? In two words: a lot. Read my review at GameZone.

Each one of Naughty Dog’s games has earned a place on my list of favorites: Crash Bandicoot 2 was my first and most cherished PlayStation title, Crash Team Racing still holds my number one spot for kart racer, and Jak & Daxter surprised me when it evolved from a simple and easy platformer to a crushingly hard, mature trilogy with a clever third act to wind down with. Uncharted has been no exception, proving to be another superb inclusion on Naughty Dog’s resume, but the third game in the series—the final entry before the developer moves on to The Last of Us, which already has gamers hungry for more—didn’t hit quite the high note that Jak 3 or Uncharted 2 did.

Let me clarify: Drake’s Deception retains all the essential elements of a good Uncharted game, and in some ways it delivers much more. Uncharted 2 cemented the series as an action wonder that could serve up a good story, and the third game follows that mantra to a moderate degree of success. It’s got good twists and turns and delves into an engrossing backstory between Drake and Sully, a relationship that has always fascinated fans and left them curious about the duo’s old adventures. The game also presents a chain of incredibly involved and well-designed sequences that sends Drake scrambling through a burning building, navigating a sinking cruise ship, etc. Naughty Dog demonstrated largely with Uncharted 2 that it understands how to best build these scenes: that the key is the right mix of cinematic guidance and player control, one that tightly regulates the action but also instills a sense of frantic, unpredictable energy. That’s the kind of adrenaline that hooks players on Uncharted, and the brilliantly executed camera work, with its immense sense of scale (from Drake’s tiny figure in the desert to the vastness of the churning ocean waters), lends incredible value to the production and gives the journey its magnitude.

Naughty Dog’s crowning achievement in this department is undoubtedly the blazing French chateau scenario, which is impressively long and complex and much more creative than expected. It’s interactive storytelling at its finest.

But there are issues, and plenty of them. Oftentimes scenes won’t trigger correctly, or dialogue will initiate preemptively, before the player reaches a point of interest. What’s worse, occasionally to solve puzzles players must first talk to a character or zoom in on a section of the scenery, even when they don’t need to. This isn’t a huge hindrance, but it does have a common enough presence to be a problem.

While Nate is now more responsive to his environment—smashing pots against his enemies’ heads or pressing his hand against pillars and walls as he moves through his surroundings—this new feature, while likeable, also makes him terribly clumsy, a quality that’s certainly more comedic than disastrous.

Once again Uncharted adheres to the same system of combat: sticky cover and shooting with sometimes imprecise aim, depending on the gun. The zoom-in options for the better weapons are nice as usual, but the array of firepower has basically remained the same—and by this point, it’s a disappointment that they didn’t find ways to offer more. The developers did pitch in a grenade throwback capability, which lets Drake toss live grenades back at his foes, but sometimes Drake experiences difficulty in actually grabbing hold of the grenade when you want him to—and there’s no easy way to master this component other than to jam the triangle button as soon as a grenade lands.

Despite the fast-paced sequences like Drake’s escape through the burning chateau, Uncharted 3 feels the lightest on actual action out of the three. Particularly in the first half, the game focuses heavily on narrative—so exploring rather than maintaining ground in a gun or fist fight. And that’s another problem entirely: Without spoiling anything, the overabundance of one-on-one brawls in the game starkly diminishes a climactic moment later on, a scene that’s meant to satisfy gamers but doesn’t. Uncharted 3 doesn’t end with the same explosive action that Uncharted 2 does, and the denouement that wraps up the story isn’t nearly enough to give gamers that warm and fuzzy “the end” feeling. For a developer that prides itself on attentive storytelling, it’s perplexing as to what went wrong.

The game still achieves the same high-grade quality as the other two (better than most games on the market), and its puzzles are some of the coolest around. Still, it forces hints upon players even when they choose not to enable them, with the game concealing annoying clues in the way of dialogue. While working alongside Chloe, Sully, and the other characters deepens the experience by making it more of a collaborative, team effort, it does too much to help the player. Overhearing their dialogue while you’re stuck on a puzzle doesn’t necessarily make the situation transparent, but it does make it easier to solve.

Drake’s Deception disappoints in other ways, as well. In hindsight, many of the characters—including newcomer Charlie Cutter, whose sardonic personality and extreme claustrophobia made him a welcome addition—were snubbed in favor of the main trio of Drake, Sully, and Elena, who didn’t even receive the closure they deserved. The villain Marlowe turns out to be a joke, with the developers robbing gamers of a true showdown and instead relegating the most devious acts to her lackey Talbot, who does more damage than she does. But even he’s neglected, as his motivations and supernatural powers are never thoroughly explained.

Perhaps more inexcusable than any of these problems are the loading times, which stretch on ridiculously long when starting up the game.

Uncharted 3 is highly playable, full of breathtaking environments, and just as imaginative as the other games in the series, but it feels rushed in places and often poorly structured. The series will be remembered for its exhilarating cinematic moments, its beloved characters and storytelling, and its overall quality and contribution to the action-adventure and third-person shooting genres, but Uncharted 3 doesn’t close the curtain with as much flair and bravado as it should. The game tries to replicate the success of Uncharted 2—maybe not in the most obvious manner, since it does surpass the second game in some respects—but in many ways it fails—not in becoming more, but rather in maintaining its glory.

Rating: 8/10
Pros: Charlie Cutter’s comedic relief, the puzzles, the Old Adventures of Drake and Sully, escaping from various collapsing structures
Cons: No monsters, shafted characters and an inconclusive ending, unimpressive final battle

Not sold on the new Twisted Metal by Eat Sleep Play? Take a closer look at what it has to offer in my latest editorial for GameZone. See what’s new and get a quick sense of the tournament’s history.

Take a look at my two-part editorial on Soulcalibur V, which breaks down the character roster and provides a who’s who of everyone involved. I’m definitely looking forward to playing as Viola.

Part One

Part Two

Start saving your money and marking your calendar—in my latest editorial for GameZone, I list the top fifteen most anticipated console games of 2012. The games range from big budget blockbusters to some welcome additions and underdogs, so be sure to take a look.

I’ll be following this up with a list of ten great upcoming handheld games, so check back soon.

But Naughty Dog’s name is attached to the project, and that alone is enough to get me excited. Naughty Dog happens to be my favorite developer; each series they put out ends up as some as my most enjoyed games. Now, with the VGA trailer, gamers have some idea about what to expect.

Still, I feel like Dead Island should stand as a warning. The game’s cinematic trailer built up hype for a game whose mood was dramatically different and whose gameplay suffered from glitches and other issues. The Last of Us might not be about zombies, but it’s close enough. The Last of Us is a game of survival, and so far we know little to nothing of its gameplay. I like the characters (Joel and Ellie) and the narrative tone already, but that doesn’t mean The Last of Us will do right where Dead Island did wrong.

What are your thoughts on The Last of Us? Are you holding out for it despite the similarities to Dead Island?

Want a full briefing on the characters of Batman: Arkham City (now available for PC)? Then head over to GameZone for my two-part rundown, which details the characters’ comic book pasts.

Part One is here, and Part Two is now up.

Stop by GameZone for ten reasons why being an assassin would be a great way to spend your time.

Disclaimer: It might not be so awesome for everyone else.

Portal 2 was my first experience with the series, which turned heads and made everybody and their professors stay home to play it. Maybe it was because puzzles make my brain numb or because GLaDOS’s threat of spending eternity placing cubes on pressure pads made my time with the game actually feel like an eternity, but I wasn’t expecting such a lasting and substantial single-player campaign.

From the first test on, I knew a generous game length wouldn’t be a problem. If I could master each scenario, then that would be an accomplishment to be proud of. And I did … for the most part. Admittedly, I did resort to GameFAQs a few times, and in three-fourths of those instances I regretted the decision immediately. The solution would have come to me on its own, if only I was a little more patient, logical, and observant. No matter how difficult the puzzle, none of them were unfair. I would say that maybe cheap tricks don’t compute with a robot like GLaDOS, but she did waste perfectly good confetti on humiliating me.

After completing so many tests, primarily in the beginning of the game, I did grow tired of GLaDOS’ insults and the constant barrage of portal-based puzzles. To my surprise, though, the game broke up the pace with a more action-focused segment and then continued to introduce new mechanics, gameplay objectives, and plot points so that I was never bored for long. Challenged, maybe, and cranky sometimes, but never bored with the same routine.

More than just orange and blue portals await the player. There are bouncy blue, slippery orange, and white surface-reinventing gels. There are excursion funnels and weighted and discouragement redirection cubes. There are also frankenturrets, which are, by the way, adorable.

All these oodles of gameplay combine with the dozens of ways you learn to achieve momentum and manipulate a testing stage. Add that to the many humorous or dramatic conversations with Wheatley and GLaDOS (the voice-acting is superb), and the wealth of content comes together to deliver an even stream of story and gameplay. Like many gamers of our current generation, I don’t always feel compelled to see a game through to its completion, even if it is, by critics’ standards, “good.” I did feel adequately compelled with Portal 2, and the motivation resulted in my witnessing one of the weirdest and most musical endings in any game. Its inclusion is no longer a mystery to me, considering that Jonathan Coulton’s name appears in the closing credits.

The game’s sound itself is interesting. Whenever you slide on orange gel or rocket off blue, a different theme can be heard in the background. Add that to whatever music might already be playing, and the result is often harmonious. Considering artificial intelligences are constantly making perfectly clear their desire to kill you, a little tranquility is appreciated.

I did get a taste of the multiplayer mode, and it fell very short of the quality presented in the normal campaign. But I guess the option alone counts toward replay value. Having to cooperate with another person to overcome challenges establishes a much different dynamic than the one in the single-player campaign.

Without spoiling the game, I can say the final boss fight resolves with one galactic-sized deus ex machina, but it was such an enjoyable and surreal deus ex machina that I don’t even care to think less of the developers for doing it. Who would have thought anyone would do that in a video game.

The final minutes do suggest another, much different Portal sequel could be on the way, and the suggested context relieves me. I had, throughout my time with Portal 2, dreaded what a possible continuation would consist of because as wonderful and thought-provoking as Portal 2 is, I wouldn’t want to put myself through another 12+ hours of this mental exhaustion. That’s like taking a week to solve a Rubik’s cube and then challenging yourself to another go, without the foggiest idea as to how you solved the damn thing in the first place. Once is enough, unless some big changes are involved. And no, I don’t mean an even bigger Rubik’s cube. Let’s not get carried away.

Rating: 9/10

Pros: Cave Johnson, black humor, cute frankenturret buddies
Cons: Wheatley’s change of heart

If you’re wondering about the North America-bound Ni no Kuni RPG, wonder no more. This editorial should help explain why it’ll be an RPG well worth your time.

I love the Studio Ghibli films. They’re just about the best animated films out there, and yes, I’m a fan of Pixar and Disney and all that. Nearly all of the studio’s productions are moving, humbling, funny, sweet, shocking, beautiful … I was on a quest to see every one until Netflix forced me to decide between their instant streaming service and monthly DVDs after they hiked up their prices. Since I can’t afford both and want more for my money, I chose the former plan.

Ni no Kuni (The Another World) is basically Ghibli’s next movie made video game. If you’ve seen one of their films, then you know how exciting that is. Their worlds are gorgeous, and their characters lend enormous personality and charm to the stories.

Not to mention Level-5 (Professor Layton) is the developer working on the game, and they’ve got some of the most reputable animation output in the business.

According to GhibliWorld.com (which reports quite a bit of detail on the Nintendo DS version, at least), Hayao Miyazaki, animator and director of most of the studio’s most popular works, is not officially involved. But that shouldn’t stop you, considering the DS game (subtitled The Sorcerer of Darkness) is already out and has received high ratings from Japanese magazine Famitsu.

The PS3 game (Queen of the Holy White Ash) is slated for November 17 in Japan, along with a fancy “gold” 160GB console and game bundle (with Move support). So far, there’s been no word on a North American release date for either system, though localization was previously said to be confirmed.

The multiplayer FPS divides players into two opposing groups: vigilantes dressed like Batman and crazed criminals looking head-to-toe like the Joker. The two sides go at it on the open streets of Gotham City.

The game allegedly has “more customization than you can shake a shotgun at,” allowing players to alter hairstyles, guns, and gadgets. Upgrades and unlockables are included as players level up in various ways, including solo outings and several multiplayer modes.

The beta starts in September (next month). Cast your submission and you’ll be thanked with the cute Batman drawing on the left. Adorable.

King Oberon, ruler of Avalon, calls upon your newly awakened hero to save the faery world from vanishing into disbelief. Your main task is to find and recruit a companion, and a quick trip down to the beach will usher in pesky goblins and another faery named Aziel. In exchange for your help exploring a small cave near the shoreline, Aziel will join your quest to heal the portals dividing the faery and human worlds. In the cave, the two adventurers encounter small crabs, more goblins, and a guardian of rare dragon eggs.

Load times in Legends of Avalon are immediately atrocious in between actual gameplay, but the character designs translate crisply and colorfully onto the screen. The opening narrative and some of the in-game dialogue contain a few glaring spelling errors, a considerable blunder for any finished product.

Interacting with other, non-playable characters means choosing from slim pickings of questions and answers in a dialogue wheel. A small percentage are coded in blue or red, indicating that the person you’re holding the conversation with will either react favorably or unfavorably. This stark social perspective leaves little room for moral ambiguity; dialogue straddles the line between dry and interesting, although conversing with Aziel gives the tutorial portion of the demo a much more natural feel.

The controls are fairly easy to learn. Combat is turn-based in nature, relying on action points instead of mana and allowing players to either execute a string of regular attacks or a few stronger moves. Your party will automatically heal after every battle, so for seasoned RPG players expecting an innovative experience, Legends of Avalon might not be the best choice.

One feature Legends of Avalon has incorporated quite nicely is its menu system. The game facilitates menu navigation, prompting players with the option of viewing the appropriate window whenever they open a treasure chest or gain a skill point. The more your character levels up, the more sporting he or she will look. They’ll even start showing a little tattoo ink, each bearing a special ability.

With such convenience and simplicity, one has to wonder whether Legends of Avalon lacks any deeper substance. From the screenshots made available, it looks like the game’s most appealing asset is its gorgeously rendered locations and bizarre, often jumbo-sized monsters. The demo’s boss fight with the Giant Crab verged on falling into a lifeless, back-and-forth routine of attacks and dodges, but the game’s potential emerged with one creative catch. The Giant Crab, standing a poor chance against Aziel’s lightning attacks, fortified itself behind a front line of smaller crabs and goblins.

This game is also available for the Xbox 360 and PC.

Have you tried Faery: Legends of Avalon? Let me know what you think in the comments below.