Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is full of flash, but is it light on substance? Find out in our review...
Metal Gear Solid 4 is a masterpiece, arguably the best in the series and – though many will fiercely disagree – ever so slightly disappointing. About 40% through, our notepad was scarred with breathless superlatives like 'Genius', 'Amazing' and 'Wow!!!' but by the game's conclusion, they'd given way to considered criticism and stark cries of 'WTF?'. Will you enjoy it?
Much like record companies in the late-’80s, game publishers have realized that they can mine their back catalogs by sprucing up a couple classics and putting them out in a single package. While some of these are obvious cash grabs, even those are often worth it for people who missed the included games the first time around. Such is the case with the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, which pairs 2001’s Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, 2004’s Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, and last year’s Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. For anyone who’s already played all three games repeatedly, HD Collection isn’t worth your hard-earned ducats. Sure, seeing these games in hi-def is cool – as with the God of War: Origins Collection, Bluepoint has done an impressive job upgrading these games’ visuals – but since they just have better looking versions of the original graphics, not new HD graphics, it’s hard to justify the double-dip...
Following up a smashing success is a tall task – just ask an Oscar or Grammy winner. Fans will demand the impossible, clamoring for innovation and fresh perspective without straying too far from the successful formula. The makers of MLB 09 The Show surely feel similar pressure, having achieved a spectacular success with last season’s edition. Is it possible to top a seminal touchstone without trying to do too much or, even worse, overreach and take a step (or two) backwards?
Like your smokin’ hot yet tragically bipolar ex-girlfriend, MLB 10 The Show will seduce you one minute only to kick you in the groin the next. Sony’s first-party hardball gem is a feast for the eyes and playground for the baseball-obsessed, yet delights in torturing you. Whether or not that translates into “hurts” or “hurts so good” depends upon your patience and dedication.
It’s a 3-2 count, the bases are loaded, and Johan Santana is sweating. He shakes off the call for a fastball – too obvious – and instead goes with his best pitch, a devastating slider. Devastating, that is, when he gets it right. Which he hasn’t been doing much of today. As the former Cy Young Award winner tucks into his stretch then releases the pitch, all we can do is say “Wow..."
MLB 12: The Show is up for another round at bat. After years of domination and helping to cement the PS3 as the platform for baseball fans, is the series still the top choice?
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