Call of Duty: World at War

Developer: Treyarch
Publisher: Activision
Release Date: Nov. 11, 2008
Systems: Xbox 360 (reviewed), PS3, PC, PS2, Wii, DS
ESRB Rating: M
Official Web site

In a nutshell: All the fun of World War II, now with more grenades!

0:00 I was prepared to like this game after playing a bit of the excellent Call of Duty 4 (different developer, I know). But this post on Joystiq has changed my expectations a bit.

0:01 This minute spent downloading a downloadable update that's available for download. DOWNLOAD!

0:02 After downloading yet another update (that's a first), we're on to the title screen. Through some gray fog, I can see pith helmets sitting on bayonets sticking up out of the ground. The music is Silent Hill-style creepy.

0:03 Graphic content can be set to "reduced" or "unrestricted." This makes sense, but calling it "unrestricted" just makes it sound so ... DECADENT!

0:04 "WARNING -- Call of Duty: World at War contains graphic content and historical footage which some players may find disturbing. Player discretion is advised." Yeah, I got that impression from the Joystiq post...

0:05 The selectable difficulties are Recruit, Regular, Hardened and Veteran. The last of these says point-blank: "You will not survive." Well that doesn't sound like fun! I'm just a Regular guy.

Read the full review at Crispy Gamer

Wii Music

Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: Oct. 20, 2008
System: Wii (duh!)
ESRB Rating: E
Official Web site

In a nutshell: The world's first and only rhythm game that includes a dog suit.

0:00 I had a bit of fun playing a demo of Wii Music at the last E3, but it seemed more suited to a short demo than even a full hour of play. Will it hold up? Let's find out!

0:01 "Welcome to Wii Music! I'm the musical maestro, Sebastian Tute!" Heh. Toot. He looks like a mustachioed Mii crossed with a muppet crossed with a South Park character crossed with Bach. He talks in a sort of pidgin Italian with text-based speech bubbles. "I'm here to help you discover that YOU'RE a musical maestro, too!"

0:02 My Mii looks rather dashing in a suit and tie. Tute explains that there are four methods of controlling instruments. First up, piano, which requires me to dig out the Nunchuk. "The secret is to just relax and move as if you're playing the piano." He tells me, "don't even think about tempo" for now. Rock Band it ain't...

0:05 "Hear that? You're a pianist!" What did you call me? Oh ... sorry, I thought you said something else (even though I'm reading text). Just waving the Wii remote and Nunchuk up and down made some surprisingly nice music. The controls are nice and responsive too. One annoyance: I can't pick my notes?

Read the full review at Crispy Gamer

Gears of War 2

Developer: Epic Games
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Release Date: Nov. 7, 2008
System: Xbox 360
ESRB Rating: M
Official Web site

In a nutshell: Big gear keep on turning ... proud war keep on burning.

0:00 Confession time: I bought the original Gears of War and played it exactly once before putting it back in its case and never touching it again. I know ... I'm a horrible person.

0:01 Logos fade into a Gears of War 2 title screen with red gears and skulls and burning and blackness. Par for the course for this type of game.

0:02 The training grounds seem to be about multiplayer matches, so I'm off to muddle my way through the solo campaign.

0:03 The difficulties are Casual, Normal, Hardcore and the locked Insane. Casual is if "you've never played a shooter before" which doesn't quite apply. Normal means "you enjoy playing the occasional shooter" which isn't totally accurate, but is closest.

0:04 "It began, as always, with the desire for power, the need to conquer, the hunger to consume." Humanity fighting an endless battle against itself, then uniting against alien attackers -- but their retaliation causing their own downfall. "To survive is to endure and prosper, and we have most definitely survived." Apparently the narrator is an alien. "In a way, I pity them, but humanity, as always, brought this war upon itself."

Read the full review at Crispy Gamer

Resistance 2

Developer: Insomniac
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Release Date: Nov. 4, 2008
System: PS3
ESRB Rating: M
Official Web site

In a nutshell: Definitely not futile.

0:00 I played the original Resistance a little bit when the PS3 first came out, but I could never really get into it. I guess you could say I played some token Resistance. Eh? Eh?!

0:01 The preview screen doesn't even show the name of the game ... just a huge, stubbly face, with glowing orange eyes, mouth agape in a scream, with some war march music in the background. Creepy.

0:02 It wouldn't be a PS3 game if there weren't an update available immediately. Version 1.2 requires a paltry 24 MB download. I have to say, these updates seem to be getting smaller and smaller.

0:04 All installed and we're off.

0:05 The game actually somehow detects that I'm not using HD cables, and therefore will run in non-HD mode. Super-mega-bonus points for you, Insomniac.

0:06 "Resistance 2 needs to perform an initial setup process. This will take 90 to 120 seconds. Please do not turn off your PlayStation 3 system during this time." You just lost all those brownie points, guys...

Read the full review at Crispy Gamer

Bejeweled Twist

Developer: Popcap
Publisher: Popcap
Release Date: Oct. 27, 2008
Systems: PC (reviewed), Mac
ESRB Rating: E
Official Web site

In a nutshell: A new twist on a casual classic. You see what I did there? Eh? Eh?!

0:00 I've played the original Bejeweled and a few other match-three-type games before, but never for very long. Even the critically acclaimed Puzzle Quest left me feeling empty. For the most part, I'm just not good at sensing the patterns needed to succeed in these games.

0:01 Some quick loading and ethereal music plays over a sort of purple spiral black hole. I enter my username and receive a "Trainee" ranking automatically. The music has switched to astro-funk.

0:02 The "How to Play" videos show how I can twist squares of four gems clockwise to make lines of three or more of the same type. Four or more in a row creates explosive "flame gems," while five gets me a "lightning gem," each of which can explode to get rid of nasty, unkillable coal. Locked gems can't be twisted. Bombs have to be removed before they asplode. If I make a bunch of lines in a row, my score multiplier goes up.

0:04 Playable modes include the untimed Zen mode, the five-minute Blitz mode, the classic, er, Classic mode and the locked Challenge mode, which has "brain-busting puzzles." Let's start with Blitz, as five minutes is usually my tolerance for these kinds of games.

0:05 Before we start, a cut scene shows a brightly colored 3-D spaceship flying toward a massive space cube. This seems a little unnecessary for a match-three game. "GO!" says a guttural voice. And I do!

Read the full review at Crispy Gamer