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

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

Check out my thoughts on Rayman Origins (not a review). Were you satisfied with what the platformer delivered, or were you hoping for more?

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.

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

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.

Knights Contract, an action-adventure game from Namco Bandai, comes out February 22. Visit Spawn Kill for the skinny.

Has the game made your wish list, or completely fallen under your radar?

Promising two player co-op (online and local) gameplay, The Cursed Crusade is set at the close of 12th century medieval Europe and follows two damned warriors in a fight for their souls. Throughout the game, Denz and Esteban are afflicted by the Templar’s Curse, which pulls them ever closer to hell and burns “their humanity away as it engulfs the space around them in demonic flame.”

According to Aram Jabbari, Manager of PR and Sales at Atlus, the game’s historically accurate locations will be contrasted with the characters’ supernatural struggle, making for a unique experience:

“The game’s main characters are not heroes; they’re just men, susceptible to temptation, easily made to feel doubt and despair.”

Thoughts? To me, this sounds like a dark fantasy twist on Assassin’s Creed.

Visit the brand new website thecursedcrusade.com for a teaser trailer featuring gameplay footage.

Ubisoft backtracks to a prettier prince with the prequel to Warrior Within. The sands make a comeback, along with a female sidekick, a common move for the Prince of Persia series. As the Prince and his brother Malik break an ancient seal, they release King Solomon’s sacred army, a misnomer. These skeletal and armor-plated fiends operate under an evil spell that threatens to cover the world with a sandstorm. With the help of a magical Djinn named Razia, the Prince wields the elements of water, wind, fire, and ice as his only hope against the power-hungry Ratash.

The Forgotten Sands sits more comfortably among earlier PoP games like Sands of Time than the recent experimental ones, such as the cel-shaded remake that, as gorgeous to view as it was, made a lot of players grumpy (who wouldn’t be after that cakewalk and story ending?). This run-around takes a step down in graphics, but it does construct a stable balance between traversing obstacle courses of spikes and whirly gigs and engaging in combat. Players can rewind time as usual, but what makes this edition unique is how it challenges gamers to mix environmental and water manipulation and aerial boosts on command. Thanks to Razia, the Prince can solidify water and interact with it like he would a wall or beam. Timing is key, camera clues are vital, and specialized aerial jumps and area restoration add an extra edge to the gameplay. A few instances will leave players exasperated with buggy missteps, but for the most part, the Prince follows orders (nudge, nudge).

The game quickly immerses players by introducing various fighting methods and enemy types. The selectable upgrade system, based on experience points gained in battle, enhances combat and allows for a better grip on health and magic (longer water and time control, more powerful elemental attacks, etc.). Over the course of the game, these upgrades feel as unnecessary as opponents are redundant. The Prince swings a mean sword, and it does the job right.

A little more dedication to the adventure could have saved players from occasional boredom. Scattered throughout the palace, the blue sarcophagi that award bonus XP act as the sole incentive for careful exploration. Forgotten Sands falls into fits of uninspired gameplay, only to pick up its pace and then lapse into a creative coma again. While the narrative blows over more like an bothersome breeze than a strong sandstorm, at least the vigorous final boss fight justifies the investment.

The Forgotten Sands isn’t altogether unwelcome, but it does little to earn a valuable place as a member of the Prince of Persia series. 7/10

More Bioshock, please! Check out the star-spangled news (with a teaser trailer and screens) at OneMetal.

Irrational Games promises to return the Bioshock series to red, white, and blue form with Bioshock Infinite. The sea is so three years ago. Come visit the city in the clouds.

2K Marin departed Bioshock from its original creative talent for the lesser praised sequel, but the company is graciously stepping aside for the third installment in the series, a property that Irrational Games has reclaimed. 2K president Christoph Hartmann recently announced, “We believe that Irrational Games will lend their meticulous attention to detail and unique storytelling expertise to make BioShock Infinite an incredible entertainment experience that will immerse new and diehard fans of BioShock alike.”

I guess that’s where composer Daniel Licht comes in; he’s got quite the reputation (Hellraiser, Children of the Corn, Dexter), but will his songs fit the series? The music sounds a bit too exotic for my tastes, and the gameplay looks like it meddles in the action-adventure genre (get that out of my survival horror!), but who knows. The thematic face lift could be just what the nurses ordered.

The game’s director does promise an “evolution of the franchise’s core combat.” What do you think? Too much Homecoming, too little James Sunderland, or just right, Mary?

Vatra Games is developing the 2011 title for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows.

[GameInformer]

Want more Resident Evil 5 content? Unless you plan on diving into co-op mode, I couldn’t possibly understand why, but hey, more power to you. Just don’t let the year that flew past us distract you from the game’s original flaws, because they stick to the two DLCs recently released.

Find out what “Lost in Nightmares” and “Desperate Escape” have to offer in this RadNerd review.

Hey, remember the days when Chris Redfield and his sassy BSAA partner, Sheva Alomar, crunched those mean ol’ Majinis side by side? I can still smell the blood rusting on the chainsaws, feel the Reapers using my guts as Play-Doh, and hear Sheva’s incessant nonsense about needing more ammo. Not to mention all the cheesy love and hugs (and, erm, Wesker drama) that hitched a ride with frustrating QTAs hogging the steering wheel. My brain can replay all that action as if it were yesterday … maybe because it practically was yesterday. Okay, a year does not equate to the concept known as “yesterday,” but Resident Evil 5 is managing against any non-masochistic odds to surf its fairly sized, “racist” wave of cheap tricks. I mean, did we all just forget how much the AI’s moronic antics bothered us or how much misery the final boss sequence caused us? Oohh, yes. Now the pain smacks you in the face.