Alice: Madness Returns brings solid platforming, tedious length

Alice: Madness Returns brings solid platforming, tedious length: "

The original Alice title was a PC exclusive, and remains a collector's item for fans of the darker take on an already dark story. We now have a sequel to that game that continues the story of Alice while also exploring her past. The game features solid platforming and some inspired aesthetic choices, but that doesn't save the game from repetition and a lack of ambition.

You'll be floating from platform to platform throughout the game, but the core mechanics have not changed or matured in any meaningful way in the sections I played. The problem is that each chapter seems to go on forever, long past the point of tedium.

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F.E.A.R. 3 Review

F.E.A.R. 3 Review: "

The F.E.A.R. series has unintentionally become 'that video game series I don't have time to play,' for myself. Approaching this as a new fan, F.E.A.R. 3 is a terrible jumping on point to figure out things like, 'who (or what) Alma is,' 'what's a F.E.A.R. agent,' and 'why is everyone attacking me?' These questions never get fully answered through the game's campaign, and if I were to judge this title solely on the merits of its single-player, it wouldn't be worth recommending. The strides it makes with co-op however -- along with its point accumulation system as well as some very tense and unique multiplayer modes -- makes this a great game to play with a giant bucket of buttered popcorn, a large Coca-cola, and some friends. This is your video game summer blockbuster.

As I mentioned before, this installment isn't the best area to start getting acclimated with Alma's saga. The narrative seems hell-bent on wrapping up various existing plot strings rather than doing enough to bring new players up to speed. This would be a moot point if I didn't care about narrative structure in my shooters, but I do -- I'm a stickler for this sort of thing. The campaign is poorly paced and does a meager job of giving me a reason why the character of Point Man exists. Some levels are also rudimentary in scope and gameplay -- insisting you find that one unlocked door in order to continue to the next area, or taking on high-level boss encounters with simple circle-strafing tactics. The A.I. makes up for these deficiencies somewhat -- it is quite remarkable to see enemies constantly try to flank my position or duck into cover when appropriate. But if it wasn't for the scoring system, the campaign would be unremarkable to play alone.

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All About Final Fantasy XIII-2's Art

All About Final Fantasy XIII-2's Art: "

If you're expecting Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIII-2 to look much like the game it's a sequel to, think again. 'The concept is 'surrealism,'' said art director Isamu Kamikokuryo in an interview printed in this week's Famitsu magazine. 'The story and gameplay direction for FFXIII-2 was largely decided upon at an early point in development, and as I thought over what my goals would be for the visuals along those lines, that's what I came up with. I also want to have a dark feel to the game.'

That goes in the opposite direction from FFXIII's bright look, and that's no accident -- considering that the 'dark' direction is something that director Motomu Toriyama has brought up in interviews himself. 'It's not as if we're solely concentrating on that,' Kamikokuryo said, 'but I certainly had the impression that the story takes a serious turn here, and I thought surrealism would match well with it. There was also the fact that the staff on the last game wanted to go with a dark feel for FFXIII during pre-production. I wasn't aware of that since I was still working on FFXII at the time, and when I moved on to XIII, things shifted in a brighter direction instead. So partly it's also an effort to go back to the dark-fantasy style that was part of the original concept.'

Other points brought up in the interview:

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