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Gary Hodges

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Ninja Gaiden II for Xbox goes heavy on the gore and glitches

By Gary Hodges
Jun 19, 2008

It's probably a good thing Game On wasn't around to review Ninja Gaiden when it hit Xbox in 2004 — we probably would've written "an awesome, brutal, majestic action masterpiece," then filled the rest of the space with crude crayon drawings of ninjas. Because really, there'd be nothing else to...
Castle of Shikigami III tests the bounds of Wii loyalty

By Gary Hodges
Jun 5, 2008

John Edwards might see two Americas, but this simpleminded little game enthusiast is more preoccupied with America's two Wii owners. One is the Nintendo fan: the cat who bought a GameCube, Nintendo 64, every incarnation of the Game Boy — and anything Nintendo releases with a "Mario" or "Zelda" in...
Niko Bellic and Grand Theft Auto IV Are Great, but Is That Enough Anymore?

By Gary Hodges
May 15, 2008

If you read reviews the way I do, you've already started by checking out the score, and now you're back here to see what the hell my problem is. Peace, brother. Grand Theft Auto IV is a fine game, with tons of content and all the great moments you've come...
When Less Is Less

Prologue is a tantalizing — and overpriced — glimpse at the next Gran Turismo.

By Gary Hodges
May 1, 2008

When the trailer for Star Wars: Episode I first hit theaters, some fans bought tickets for the movie it was presented with, watched the trailer, and then walked out — essentially paying full price for a fraction of the final product. Superfans are happy to do that sort of thing...
Baroquen Spirit

Atlus' Baroque imagines eternal life in gaming limbo. It isn't pretty.

By Gary Hodges
Apr 25, 2008

First of all: God bless Atlus. As a publisher devoted to bringing obscure Japanese gaming gems to the West — basically, the much-needed heir apparent of Working Designs — Atlus is the only hope for gamers who crave oddball, strange, or downright niche titles from the Land of the Rising...
Just Shy of Seaworthy

Viking: Battle for Asgard shows promise, but not much more.

By Gary Hodges
Apr 11, 2008

It's nice when a game comes along that pleasantly surprises you. I admit, I judged Viking: Battle for Asgard by the screenshots, writing it off as yet another one of those grimy, violent games so plentiful that they're almost their own category: the "Bloodletting in Brown Clothes on a Cloudy...
Online Turnoff

Who said first-person games need a second person?

By Gary Hodges
Mar 27, 2008

Developers seem to believe that their first-person games are required to include online modes. Blame it on the few narrow-minded gamers (and critics) who constantly hammer away with that boneheaded message. At best, it's a strange logic of inheritance: Since the earliest first-person shooters were playable online, every first-person game...
Pounding Headache

Patapon marches to the same damned drummer, over and over again

By Gary Hodges
Mar 13, 2008

You'll know in the first few minutes exactly what Patapon has going for it. There's the goofy premise, which casts you as the tribal god Patapon, lord of a band of creatures called, imaginatively enough, Patapons — little savages that are basically eyeballs with arms and legs. Then there's the...
Text Adventure

Words get in the way of an otherwise stellar Lost Odyssey

By Gary Hodges
Feb 28, 2008

Lost Odyssey wants to be Microsoft's answer to Final Fantasy — not that that's such a good idea. Like Star Wars, Final Fantasy survives as a power brand thanks to the shining stars of its past, rather than the overwrought installments of recent years. Final Fantasy XII — the most...
Geek Chic

No More Heroes is hip, bloody and indispensable.

By Gary Hodges
Feb 14, 2008

When it comes to giving a game a vibe, "awesome" is an easy mark to hit. Explosions, hot chicks, macho one-liners, and salivating mutants are all awesome. And it's just about impossible to overdo the awesome: More explosions, more hot chicks, more machismo, and more mutants are only more awesome...
Point and Chop

No amount of sharpening can save this dull blade

By Gary Hodges
Jan 31, 2008

The very first time I saw the Wii's motion-sensitive "Wiimote," a single thought bounced in my head like a toddler on corn syrup: Finally we're gonna get an f-ing brilliant lightsaber game. It was inevitable, a perfect match for the technology. Never again would I be caught doing the Star...
Unreal Tournament III Blasts New Holes in Old Terrain

By Gary Hodges
Jan 17, 2008

Unreal Tournament III is ideal for overcaffeinated teenage boys with PlayStation 3s, broadband internet connections, extensive online friend lists, hours and hours of time to blow, and — just for good measure — a deep appreciation of the steroid-addled dystopian sci-fi aesthetic. You know, the one where men are 450...
Keep Dreaming

NiGHTS' second coming feels more like a first draft

By Gary Hodges
Jan 3, 2008

The inevitable challenge faced by Wii developers is this: Can you create a game so spectacularly awesome as to prompt a gamer to even consider ejecting Super Mario Galaxy from his console? The gravy train is over; good luck looking consumers in the eye while offering them another lame collection...
Gaming's Greatest Hits

A look back at the best of 2007

By Gary Hodges
Dec 27, 2007

Best Sleeper Hit: WordJong (Nintendo DS) — It may not sell like Mario, but this mishmash of Scrabble and mah-jongg hooks you like handheld crack. Already a word-of-mouth hit, despite being released only this month, WordJong is perfect for quiet afternoons, loud commutes, or romantic walks on the beach. Best...
Xmas Present & Past

How yesterday's games spawned today's best-sellers.

By Gary Hodges
Dec 20, 2007

Nothing says "holiday spirit" quite like stabbing a terrorist or hammering a goombah, as the hottest games this season invite us to do. But no matter how cutting-edge the stars of 2007 may be, they are also unmistakably familiar. This week, we stack the holiday hits of today against the...
Future Shock

Mass Effect is riveting — and a bit aggravating too.

By Gary Hodges
Dec 6, 2007

For a game that's considered Microsoft's premier 360 title this holiday season, it's amazing how sloppy Mass Effect is. Graphical glitches distract from otherwise fascinating character designs and alien vistas, constant stops and stutters lengthen load times, and the inventory system must be the worst in history. And just as...
The New Face of Evil

Call of Duty 4 might hit a little too close to home

By Gary Hodges
Nov 22, 2007

The unsettling tone is established early in Call of Duty 4, when the president of a Middle Eastern nation is publicly executed on the world stage, and you, the player, experience the deposed leader's final minutes through his own eyes, witnessing — through the rear window of a car —...
A Little Sucky-Sucky

Two vampire classics are back. Unfortunately, this time they bite.

By Gary Hodges
Nov 8, 2007

Castlevania, the vampire-hunting series that stretches over 20 years and as many games, has basically two kinds of fans. There are the traditionalists, who've followed the games since they were straight-up action titles with thumb-busting combat and infamously steep difficulty curves. Most agree that the best of the old-school Castlevanias...
Bang Bang for Your Buck

It's five great games for $60 — shoot first and ask questions later.

By Gary Hodges
Oct 25, 2007

Whether it's $600 PlayStation 3s or the five bucks Nintendo shamelessly charges for 20-year-old NES games on the Wii's Virtual Console, gamers have gotten used to assuming the position when it comes to the costs of their hobby. So if you've just heard about The Orange Box — five of...
Hype Machine

Does Halo 3 live up to its billing?

By Gary Hodges
Oct 11, 2007

What's left to say about Halo 3? How about this: All the pomp and circumstance surrounding its launch sure have been distracting. Commercials that look like clips from a Hollywood movie, extravagant collectors' sets that sell for $130, limited-edition Xbox 360s with a green-and-gold Halo-inspired color scheme, and a midnight...
Down in Flames

Lair's fire-breathing dragon is just a big turkey

By Gary Hodges
Sep 27, 2007

In terms of the yawning chasm between what was promised and what has been delivered, Lair earns the distinction of being the biggest letdown ever for PlayStation 3. Worse, it's also one of those games where massive prerelease hype merely ended up underscoring its flaws, transmogrifying a game that would've...
Atlas Drowned

A sunken utopia sets the stage for a fascinating shooter

By Gary Hodges
Sep 13, 2007

Typically, first-person shooters are a lot like virtual shooting galleries: Great fun, yes, but not exactly thought-provoking.So it's nice when an FPS comes along that's trying to be something more — and even better when it actually succeeds. Sometimes you know it in the first few minutes. Take Half-Life: Unlike...