Batman Arkham Asylum (PC)
Old-school beat-em-up game play with some interesting stealth and adventure thrown into the mix. The story was pretty good even with the occasional saw-it-coming moments. The combat is really fun especially when you defeat the last enemy in the area and watch the slow-mo knock out clip. It is funny to watch baddies being head kicked off ledges and shit. The batarang (sp?) was a bit underutilized I thought, but it had its uses. Some of the other gadgets are were pretty fun to use as well. The Ultra-grappling hook was funny on some areas where you could just pull the enemies off a cliff instead of having to fight them. Boss battles are some of the best in I've played, although the final boss was way too easy in my opinion. There was a healthy variety of villains to fight, although there are a bunch that you see but don't actually fight. My favorite part of the whole game, oddly, was the Riddler puzzles and collectibles. A bunch of the riddles are a bit ridiculous, but they are still fun none-the-less and can take up a large chunk of time in the game. The art-design of the game was incredible and seeing some new designs for the Batman characters was neat instead of just seeing the same old crap. Another good thing was the lack of the stupid bat-mobile from the last 2 movies. I didn't like that thing.

Batman AA is a good title and should keep you occupied for a few weeks, maybe longer, maybe less. The action is good and the puzzles are fun without being frustrating. The only thing I would like to see for potential sequels to this game is an more open-world similar to the Spiderman games (just not as shitty of course). I don't think that will happen only because of how detailed the graphics are.

Score: 9/10


Torchlight (PC)
Fucking fantastic! It is basically a Diablo-clone as it was made by a bunch of the original Diablo development team. The art-style is reminiscent of Warcraft's style, but it could use a little more detail in areas; some of the textures are a bit low-quality even on high. There are no graphical bugs otherwise, just the occasional slow-down (very minor) when I smash a group of 5+ enemies into pools of blood all at once! XD I have only played as one of the three available classes thus far and it is really fun with very good pacing. Just as you begin to tire of playing in the dungeon the game seems to hear your complaint and the dungeon boss arrives. Collecting loot is fun and I have found a bunch of great stuff since I started playing, although my last run through I got a ton of super-rare items.

The three classes are your typical RPG set: Warrior, Hunter, and Mage. All three get a pet from the start (cat or dog) and while the pet doesn't do much early on, they do get better and best of all they can hold a lot of items in case your pack is full. They can even run off to town while you continue beating on things to sell your unwanted items. I've been playing the warrior class and it has been really fun although I haven't used any of the skills you can get, but I just like to run through shit anyway.

Another great feature of the game is loot boxes, which you get 2 of. The first one is for stashing stuff you want to keep like gems that can be attached to equipment to enhance them. The other loot box is a shared box between your characters if you choose to play as another class. So far I've filled both nicely with just my warrior and will be starting a new game soon to try the other classes and the higher difficulty levels. On normal difficulty the game is relatively easy and only occasionally will you feel pressured by enemies. I have died just once but that was from being too concerned with what loot was on the ground instead of watching my health.

I really recommend this game to everyone! It is cheap enough to buy that you won't be bickering about the cost. And the sheer amount of fun you'll have is justifiable. I think even non-fans of Diablo will enjoy this game, but I could be wrong. If you are a Diablo fan, or just enjoy gaming in general, go buy this fucking game right now! I'd even offer to drive people to the store to buy it it is that good (but alas my car is running on 3 of 4 cylinders right now so I can't)!

Score: 10/10


Well, I was hoping to add three games to my latest set of reviews, but I haven't really played anything else besides these two, and NFS: Shift (still).

Other games I will be buying and reviewing this month include:
- Borderlands (PC)
- Dragon Age: Origins (PC)
- Front Mission 4 (PS2)
- COD: Modern Warfare 2 (PC)

There are two games that are a toss up right now: Star Wars The Force Unleashed (PC) and This is Vegas (PC). It all depends on if either actually does get released! I'm hoping SW does, but This is Vegas may not, once again.