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Captain America: Super Soldier review: Rank and Files

Tim Latshaw — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 15:05:00 EST

Like baseball and apple pie, the wholesome beatdown of Nazis has been adopted as a symbol of American pride. Captain America has long delivered such blows on the comic pages, shield clanging off the craniums of bad guys like a gong sounding an end to tyranny. As it turns out, blunt force trauma can be pretty darn patriotic.

Captain America: Super Soldier puts players in the red shoes of the titular hero and offers a chance to acrobatically smash an army of evil. And while this third-person adventure has a good share of thrills, there are flaws that keep the experience from living up to the Captain's exacting standards.

Gallery: Captain America: Super Soldier (E3 2011)

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Captain America: Super Soldier review: Rank and Files originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 21 Jul 2011 15:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alice: Madness Returns Review: Madness over method

Tim Latshaw — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 10:15:00 EST

Crazy is not as easy as it looks. If you want to create a world of nightmarish whimsy like that in Alice: Madness Returns, it takes more than just throwing random bloody bits into a blender and spewing it all over the walls. You need careful planning; a formula of producing unease that will affect the player.

When Madness Returns is at the top of its formula, it is a fascinatingly dark and grotesque psychological tale. Unfortunately, the game's greatest strength tends to be impeded by gameplay that doesn't feel so much mad as obsessive-compulsive.

Gallery: Alice: Madness Returns (March 2011)

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Alice: Madness Returns Review: Madness over method originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 14 Jun 2011 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Venetica review: Venice on 20 souls a day

Tim Latshaw — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 16:00:00 EST

You might expect the sudden revelation of being Death's daughter -- as befalls the protagonist of Venetica -- to conjure some deep, introspective questions. What secrets from the beyond should you reveal to others? Is killing someone such a terrible option now that you know there is another plane of existence? Was having someone die at every dance recital really bad luck, or was daddy just doing his best to balance work and family?

Perhaps that last question isn't so poignant, but Venetica, while possessing such an intriguing concept, seems unwilling to run very far with it. Instead, the afterlife flavors a rather straightforward and unpolished action-RPG.

Gallery: Venetica

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Venetica review: Venice on 20 souls a day originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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