Video Game Review

CHICAGO – The developers of “Rock Band 3” have surely heard the bell-ringers who claim that the music game genre is dead and have accepted the challenge presented to them. People have been proclaiming rock to be dead for decades only to be proven wrong by an amazing new release. Does “Rock Band 3” disprove the naysayers and reinvigorate the oversaturated genre?

CHICAGO – Puzzle games don’t get any more inventive or enjoyable than the ridiculously addictive “Super Scribblenauts,” a game that challenges the player to come up with the most creative way possible to solve a puzzle. Unlike many Nintendo DS puzzle game which require you to use the analytical part of your brain, this wonderful title demands that you think outside of the box. It’s one of the best games you could buy for your DS.

CHICAGO – The learning curve may be steep enough that casual gamers could get thrown off by a title that demands a lot of its players but once you get the hang of “NBA 2K11” it becomes one of the most addictive and accomplished sports games ever made.

Video Game Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – With “DJ Hero 2,” “Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock” and “Rock Band 3” likely to take over families and parties for the next few months, do we really need another music game? Especially one from Konami, a company that hasn’t exactly broken the mold when it comes to karaoke games? Luckily, “Def Jam Rapstar” delivers exactly what you should expect from it — nothing much more than stupid fun.

CHICAGO – The world of video game development can be oddly cyclical. There was a time when the creators of the “Call of Duty” games looked to the success of the “Medal of Honor” games and now the coin has flipped as the reboot of “MOH” has been clearly-inspired by the success of games like “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” and “Battlefield: Bad Company 2.”

CHICAGO – One of the most anticipated games of the next several months has to be EA’s sequel “Dead Space 2,” a title that promises more incredible action and sci-fi scares. To prime audiences for that title, EA has released a DLC prologue to the game called “Dead Space Ignition” that can be purchased or activated with a pre-order of the January title. An odd mini-game, “Ignition” feels only loosely-related to the “Dead Space” universe and a missed opportunity at something that would truly remind players knee-deep in mega-titles of the season like “Fallout: New Vegas” and “Fable III” that there’s another great game coming soon.

CHICAGO – One of the most surprisingly-accomplished and well-executed titles of the season has to be “Enslaved: Odyssey of the West,” a gorgeously-rendered blend of combat, puzzle solving, and climbing that gets a bit repetitive but stays entertaining due to its incredibly high production values and beautiful graphics.

CHICAGO – Everything old is new again. It’s fall 2010 and there are millions of gamers playing a new incarnation of “Castlevania” (review here), a reboot of “Medal of Honor” (review coming soon) and yet another variation on another of the most legendary franchises in gaming history in “Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light,” an immensely-enjoyable downloadable title now available on both the Playstation Network and Xbox Live Arcade.

CHICAGO – As often happens with programs aimed at children, Disney’s “Phineas and Ferb” is becoming way more than “just a TV show.” It’s becoming an industry in itself, recently releasing a Christmas DVD called “Phineas and Ferb: A Very Perry Christmas” and a Nintendo DS video game called “Phineas and Ferb Ride Again.” Are these just attempts by the Mouse House to make a few more dimes off one of their successful properties or are they worthwhile on their own?

CHICAGO – Alan Wake’s continued nightmare is your gaming gain as the second installment of DLC for the Microsoft-exclusive title hit Xbox Live Arcade this week and we’ve endured the surreal episode and survived to give you the lowdown on what to expect.