Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal was the third Ratchet game that Insomniac released in three years. The company had been on a roll, with three successful Spyro the Dragon games under their belt on the PlayStation, and a wildly popular follow-up franchise in Ratchet & Clank. Does Up Your Arsenal continue this grand tradition, and does it hold up today?

I know I'm going to be in the overwhelming minority here, but I have seriously mixed feelings about Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando. On one hand, the game drastically improved upon some of my gameplay complaints from the original title, on the other, it went ahead and created a whole new set of problems. Lenghty fetch quests and far too many required mini-games made the game feel drawn out and the overwhelming combat drastically overshadowed the platforming. This hurt an important core element of the game leaving it unbalanced, unfocused, and devoid of an element of character it once had before.

Child of Eden is not a game that can be easily described—it needs to be experienced.  At its core it’s a simple arcade style shooter and the controls couldn’t be easier to pick up, but there is so much more to this game than those simple elements.  Child of Eden is a visceral experience in the purest meaning of the word.  Simply put, it’s a game you won’t soon forget.

The last Ratchet & Clank game I played was A Crack in Time nearly two years ago, and man, that game was awesome. With the release of All 4 One steadily approaching, I figured it might be fun to return to the series' roots; after all, it has been over four years since my first playthrough of the original.

With a name like Charlie Blast’s Territory, I was expecting a game as awful as the pun. What might sound like a ripoff of Bomberman is actually a puzzle game involving pushing explosives together to set them all off in one chain, thus clearing the stage. There are many elements to instill variety into the gameplay, which usually distract from the lackluster presentation. Although it is short-lived, there are some truly mind-bending puzzles awaiting those up to the challenge.

id defined the first person shooter for an entire generation of gamers.  From Wolfenstein to Doom to Quake, they pumped out standard setting shooters for years before going quiet after the 2004 release of Doom 3.  In the years since, they have worked diligently on an all new IP that slowly morphed into the finished product that we know today as Rage--a game that stays true to the aesthetic and spirit of its predecessors while borrowing a few trappings from more contemporary games.  Does it have what it takes to hold its own in a world dominated by the likes of Call of Duty, Halo, and Battlefield?  You better believe it does.

Picross is hands-down my favorite pick-up-and-play puzzle title of all time. I've played nearly every game based on nonograms I could get my hands on, including flash ones online. However, due to being Japan only releases, there were two big Picross titles that eluded me for a while, Picross 2 and Mario's Super Picross. After scouring eBay for an available copy of either title I was delighted to see that both games were relatively inexpensive as far as imports go and impulsively purchased them both. After their very long journey to my house across thousands of miles it was only right to play them immediately, and since Picross 2 arrived first, it received the honor of the first playthrough.

Though pegged as another Mafioso-inspired sandbox game, Mafia II doesn’t have that much in common with its open world contemporaries. Rather than being inspired by Scarface and Goodfellas like GTA or Saints Row, Mafia II is more deliberately paced and more akin to The Sopranos or The Godfather, in which story and the lifestyle itself are front and center. There are no side quests or odd jobs to complete. Although there’s a big city, this is not an open world game. It's a linear action game with a strong narrative.

Resident Evil 4 on the GameCube was a game that won over countless fans. The game brought the series into a new era with revolutionary gameplay while retaining the series' classic creepy feel. Over the years we've seen many different ports of the game, and this time we see what is likely to be the last version: Resident Evil 4 HD. It retains all of the features from the PS2 and Wii ports along with a graphical makeover which surprisingly is the weakest part of the package. But a great game is a great game, and this HD port is proof.

Like most people, my favorite moments in the Burnout series have always revolved around the wrecks.  Slamming a competitor into an oncoming car during a race or just causing as much damage as possible during a crash mode is endlessly entertaining to me, so when I heard that Criterion Games was making a downloadable version of the Crash mode I was more than excited to get my hands on it.

Apparently the eponymous Heavenly Sword is a highly prized weapon.  It is said to be a sword forged and used by gods, a theory that has resulted in the rampant bloodshed and chaos that has spread across the land.  Chief among the pursuers is the evil King Bohan, an oddly charismatic megalomaniac voiced by the very talented Andy Serkis.  Bohan has destroyed the lives of countless people in his quest for the sword and he has now turned to the last remaining clan not under his rule – the keepers of the Heavenly Sword itself – Nariko’s people.

Initially I wasn’t sure what to expect from Rochard.  Conceptually it comes off as a one note affair -- the imaginative love child of programmers who had way too much fun with the gravity gun from Half-Life 2 and decided to base an entire game around the physics-bending concept.  Gravity manipulation certainly is an interesting enough game mechanic, but is it enough to carry an entire game?

It’s been a long time since I found a game to play that was simple, challenging, addicting, and just plain fun. For months now I’ve desired an uncomplicated gaming experience that was lighthearted, didn’t require a membership, was devoid of long, drawn-out cutscenes, and could be played within my very limited free time. So, thank goodness for the arrival of Mercury Hg. Thank you Ignition, for allowing me to escape the reign of epic titles for a few solid and incredibly fun hours.

No More Heroes looked like an intriguing game when it came out on the Wii, but after playing it I wasn't too impressed. You play as the badass Travis Touchdown and your simple goal is to kill everyone in your way until you are number one. The gameplay was interesting and the story and characters were entertaining, but these just sugarcoated a fundamentally flawed game. Upon hearing about this remake, subtitled Heroes Paradise, I hoped that it would all be smoothed over. Again I walked away disappointed.

Call of Juarez: The Cartel is the third game in the Call of Juarez series, with each game preceding it being decent, albeit with some minor problems. They have always had a western theme which made the series differ from many other shooters today, something I've appreciated. The Cartel drops the Western theme and, coincidentally, all of the fun as well. I almost felt like I was playing Dog the Bounty Hunter the video game rather than Call of Juarez. If that's not enough to dissuade you, I don't know what is.

After having some fun with the first Chameleon Twist despite its issues and simple gameplay, I was excited to try the sequel. With the hopes that it would improve upon at least some of the problems with the original, I slid the cartridge into my Nintendo 64 and flipped the power switch.

You may be asking yourself, "Why did Capcom decide to remaster Resident Evil Code: Veronica X in HD?" Truth is, I'm asking myself the same question after playing it. The game is fully rendered in 3D, unlike Resident Evil 1, 2, and 3, which feature static backgrounds. This has made an HD port possible, but it hardly makes it necessary. Because the graphics have received minimal improvement and the gameplay has received none, the HD port serves little purpose other than bringing Code: Veronica to two new platforms.

Just so I'm not pulling any punches, Disgaea 4 is the first game in the series I've actually played. While it has taken four iterations for me to take notice, it's clear to me why Disgaea has become a fan favorite and is often mentioned amongst the best games on the PlayStation 2 and 3. This unique flavor of tactical RPG gameplay comes complete with an engrossing world, characters, and a story that's rife with social commentary.

Trinity: Souls of Zill O’ll is exactly the kind of game that you would expect from the makers of the Dynasty Warriors franchise – no more, no less. It’s unfortunate that I can’t simply end my review right here because there isn’t much else to say about the game beyond that opening sentence. Unfortunately the powers that be at PixlBit have requested that I elaborate on exactly what that opening statement means, and while that may seem unreasonable I am nothing if not a good sport.

At first blush, it's easy to see a bit of Ratchet & Clank in the latest Phineas and Ferb adventure, which is based around the most recent movie Across the 2nd Dimension. This is due in part to the past experience of developer High Impact Games, which is comprised of ex-Insomniac Games and ex-Naughty Dog members. Despite offering a taste of the beloved Sony series, the game stops short of completely aping it to provide a more family-friendly experience that captures the own charm of the Phineas and Ferb series. While it's not going to reach the Ratchet and Clank crowd, it's still a great game for the target demographic of the show.

I am always happy when an XBLA game comes out that is more than just a skinned engine or a shooter with no story. Rock of Ages, created by ACE Team, is a memorable game for the unique way in which it recounts various events and persons in history. While it is an enjoyable game, it will quickly wear thin with its incredibly unbalanced game engine.

I’ve never been more impressed by a title screen. Picture this: it’s a peaceful, moonlit night in 8-bit land. The pixelated moonlight is reflecting off of a pixelated island. There’s a catchy Japanese song playing (the one used in the official trailer). This one scene tells you pretty much everything you need to know about the game. It shows that NIS really understands its core fans and has put a lot of effort into making the game exactly what they want it to be.

That's a bold name for a game – it immediately makes you think, "This game must be badass." Or at least that's what developer AGO Games thought you'd think about the game based on its title. Put up or shut up, I say – and based on my experience, AGO ought to be shutting up right about now. The Asskickers is a completely terrible game that achieves little more than being just that, a game.

There is a sense of finality with Resistance 3. It’s not that it feels like nothing more can be done with the universe -- quite the contrary, especially with Burning Skies being developed for the Vita -- but there’s a feeling that Insomniac Games is ready to hand over the reins of the franchise to someone else. It would be a shame if that were the case, because Resistance 3 feels like the game that Insomniac has been trying to make since the start.

It's hard to make heads or tails on Yakuza 4. It's an absolutely weird game that's steeped in Japanese culture. Calling it a game is even a little off, it's more like some game-movie hybrid. There are hours upon hours of cutscenes that drive the story, and the various tasks you perform in the sandbox world of the game. Don't mistake this for a Grand Theft Auto clone; it's something completely unto itself. If you've played Yakuza 3, I'm sure this is all old hat, but unlike that title, this one hasn't been censored in any way for its western release.