Dead Space. Amazing game. As a game, it is designed incredibly well. It provides a nearly flawless experience, fun to the point that you don’t pay attention to any of the flaws.

That is, unless you’re looking for an actual survival horror. See, there are plenty of design elements that work well for Dead Space as a shooter, but horrible for it to be the survival horror that EA Redshores Studio labeled it to be. While on harder difficulties these matters are less of an issue, they still interfere with the horror aspect.

Granted, what games like Resident Evil and other survival horror titles had going for them is considered bad game design. Poor controls, no checkpoints, limited saves, incredibly limited inventory, these all contributed to the horror in a different way than just making you jump. You were actually afraid of the next encounter, because you’d have to deal with clumsy controls, and if you died you would have to replay half an hour or more. Not to mention you aren’t sure if you have enough ammo to be prepared, or if you even have the right kind.

Dead Space eliminates all of that. Granted no game would be allowed to get away with horrible controls these days, and there are still great ways to balance that such as A.I., where the enemies come from, how quickly they move, etc. However, just about any other problem, and more, are eliminated from the equation.

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There aren’t many sequels I can think of that feel so similar to their predecessor they may as well be one in the same. Gears of War 2 has the same formula and feel of the first title, so much so that it feels wrong to even call it a sequel. While technically it stands on its own as a game, considering the lack of depth to the franchise’s story and setting, it is better thought of as a continuation of the first game. It isn’t Gears of War 2, it is Gears of War: Part Two.

To give you a better understanding, think of the Alien trilogy compared to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The three Alien films tell the overall story of Ripley and her battle against the Alien, but each film has its own isolated plot and atmosphere that allows them to each stand on their own. The Lord of the Rings films, on the other hand, are all one larger story. The Two Towers doesn’t stand on its own, but rather it continues the tale started with Fellowship of the Ring. This is how Gears of War 2 feels overall.

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I was all set for this Fall release schedule. I had picked out a handful of titles I was going to purchase on day one, and had put titles I was unsure of aside to wait for a price drop following the holidays. Plenty of excellent games should be down to $40 by February, if not more so. I was going to grab the three or four games I really wanted, put the rest on a Christmas wishlist and grab the rest at a cheaper price in ‘09.

Then I played the demo for Mirror’s Edge.

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It isn’t often that I get addicted to Live Arcade games. I don’t know why, but most of the games end up being fun for a little while, but don’t have any lasting appeal. I wasn’t even sure about grabbing Castle Crashers at all, but a friend of mine had purchased and given me a 1600 MS Points card with which to buy the game. Gratefully, I accepted and downloaded the game. I played it briefly single player, and found it to be enjoyable enough, but as usual didn’t find it to be all that amazing.

Then I played it with my roommate and his brother, and together we got the full Castle Crashers experience.

There are just some games that aren’t meant to be played alone, and Castle Crashers is one of them. This technically puts it in the category of “party game”, which is quite fitting. Not only is it great for multiple people to play, but it is entertaining for an audience as well. As I played with my roommate and friends, there was always at least one observer, and never did any audience member get bored and just walk off. I imagine watching isn’t nearly as fun as playing, but the art, music and humor all combines to be an entertaining experience to watch as well as play.

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So by now most everyone has already made up their mind about Too Human. You either hate it, or you figured out how to actually play the game properly and enjoy it (or, potentially, still hate it for whatever baby-kicking reason). The unfortunate truth to the game is that, despite Silicon Knights making it common knowledge that the right thumbstick is used for attacks for over a year, people still went in expecting you to mash buttons. The first instinct from just about everyone, once you discover the thumbstick’s functionality, is to instead mash and click the thumbstick in every which direction as if it were trying to be a Wiimote.

This is, in fact, wrong wrong wrong.

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