Xbox 360

CHICAGO – “From Dust” is such a unique, unusual experience that it’s tempting to recommend it based purely on its originality. It stands out from the crowd and, for that fact alone, deserves a look for those of you with credit to burn and in need of something refreshing. Ambition needs to be matched by execution though and there are frustrating elements of “From Dust” that can’t be ignored.

CHICAGO – Having played through dozens of survival horror games and become pretty knowledgeable on the entire universes of “Resident Evil” and “Silent Hill,” it’s rare for this video game critic to honestly experience fear while playing a new title.

CHICAGO – Rarely have I played a game more frustrating than “Call of Juarez: The Cartel.” It’s far from the worst game of the year. It’s not even the worst game of the season. But it’s underdeveloped, disappointing, and sometimes plain broken when it could have been something truly great. This is a game that should have worked and there are elements that do but the overall title never quite comes together.

CHICAGO – I’m not sure there’s any sports title of the year that I look forward to as much as “NCAA Football” and the new edition, “NCAA Football 12” is like another solid season from your favorite team — it doesn’t make any significant-enough changes to drop the ball but doesn’t really air it out either. It just moves it on down the field and wins the game.

Video Game Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – As “Shadows of the Damned” began to kick into high gear, I was pumped up. I thought that after numerous disappointments this season like “Shadows of the Damned” and “Duke Nukem Forever” that we finally had our first real gem of the summer. So, it’s a bit frustrating to report that “Shadows” doesn’t quite fulfill on the potential of its amazing opening act, but I can safely say that it’s worth a look for the target audience.

CHICAGO – We’ve all played games that start frustrating but eventually find an engaging rhythm. And we’ve all played games that start off successfully but fall apart over time. Rarely has there ever been a game that straddles that line for more of its playing time than “Alice: Madness Returns.”

CHICAGO – Based on the incredible box office returns, a lot of the people reading this have probably already seen Michael Bay’s divisive “Transformers: Dark of the Moon.” It’s understandable that they may want to continue the adrenalin-pumping adventure at home with Activision’s latest game based on the legendary Hasbro toy line. Sadly, as much as the movie pops in 3D, the game is disappointingly flat.

CHICAGO – Clearly, Activision and Treyarch aren’t satisfied with dominating the shooter market for only part of the year; they want the entire calendar. How else to explain the most ambitious DLC expansion plan in console shooter gaming history?

CHICAGO – You may have seen the Ryan Reynolds superhero vehicle “Green Lantern” and want to bring the adventure home or see how it translates with a controller in your hand. The movie disappointed most critics and fell short of box office expectations? How does the game compare?

CHICAGO – By now you’ve probably read that the long-anticipated “Duke Nukem Forever” is a total disaster, a glitch-heavy, poorly-written exercise that would have been disappointing as DLC but is downright insulting as a standard release. I really wanted to be able to give the game a pass, to report that critics have been too hard on it.