The First Templar
Metacritic score (on xbox 360): 52 (based on 7 critics)

The graphics may not be up to today's stantards and the cutscenes are somewhat painful to watch, but the gameplay is all right. So far, the story has kept me interested and the environments are varied and their is a bunch of side-missions or objectives to be found. The musical score is excellent and the game has, from what I have read, a solid 10 to 12 hours campaign. So far, I don't think their is a lot of replayability, but it is fun to go through it once. I believe it will become somewhat of a cult classic since almost nobody is going to give it a try.

My final score: 7.5 out of 10.

Hunted: The Demon's Forge
Metacritic score (on xbox 360): 61 (based on 16 critics)

Where do I start? The majority of the critics don't care too much for the graphics. In my opinion, they get the job done. This game has some of the most unique style of graphics I have ever seen. The main characters are really well presented, especially E'lara, the very good looking Elf. The gameplay is super smooth and using the bow and arrows is amazing. I never use an archer in the games I play. But here, I keep going back to her. The enemies are intelligent and so is your AI partner. Again, the musical score is top-notch and the voice acting is great. I paid full price and I am a proud owner. It may not become an instant classic, but it is one fun game to play.

My final score: 8 out of 10

Deadly Premonition
Metacritic score (on xbox 360): 68 (based on 39 critics)

Well, you just have to play it to find out why this game is the definition of a cult classic.

My final score: 8.8 out of 10.

White Knight Chronicles & Star Ocean 4 TLH :D

Tron Evolution:
Metacritic score (on xbox 360) : 58 (based on 51 critics)

For me, it's all about nostalgia. I used to watch the first film a lot when I was young and I played the lightcycles video game. Evolution, with it's good graphics and fun gameplay was an instant hit for me. Not a bug in sight and a great soundtrack.

My score: 8.2 out of 10.

Man, I came here solely to ttalk about Hunted: The Demon's Forge. There's a game I bought solely because the chick in the trailers looked hot. I thought I'd made a bad purchase when I saw the graphics, the glitches, and some of thhe mechanics (poorly explained by thhe game). Well, somewhere along the way, this game just 'clicked' and I cannot stop playing it. I wouldn't recommend it to people because it might not be their cup of tea but I am having a blast.

Next up, my recently purchased copy of Venetica. I heard that game REALLY sucked and yet I can't wait to jump into it.

Venetica is not bad at all. I think you'll love it, I did.

You know, one thing I hate about reviews is how they exaggerate. I watched the Hunted review and I saw how they showed E'Lara stuck on a rock. The guy went on to say that your AI partner is brain dead and that this happens all of the time. Well, there was this one time where I made it to a door and my partner wouldn't open it with me but that was it. In this game, I can often sit back while my AI partner dispatches hordes of enemies, chooses the right spells and equipment, and revives me when I'm down.

Do these reviewers spend any time with the games they're reviewing or do they just write up their first impression? I gave the game a 6.4 based on my initial couple of hours with the game (it's still there in my" My Games" section. Right now, I would give this game an 8. I'm just having too much fun!

Hunted is really turning out to be one of the worst reviewed game of all time.  I am having so much fun with it.  No problems with the AI, no bugs, smooth gameplay and great characters (especially the lady elf!).

I gave Venetica a try but I could not get into it.  It was not because of the gameplay or main character (I thought she was great), but the text was so small I could not bring myself to play it any longer.  Maybe when I finally get an HDTV.

Lips - got like 70 on meta?

I like this thread:

Nier Meta: 68

I bought Nier because nearly every forum dweller loved it and nearly every reviewer disliked it, which sparked my interest and was an easy $30 purchase. I'd like to say thank you to the forum dwellers, because over the last two weeks, I have been in gaming heaven. Nier is fantastic. The visuals are clean, the art style is interesting, it runs perfectly, the voice acting is amazing, the gameplay is easy to get into, the storyline is engrossing, the characters are all interesting, the atmosphere can shift from eerie to colourful with ease and it also has the greatest soundtrack ever created in a videogame. Nier, to me, is pretty much the perfect game. But it is flawed and those flaws make me love the game even more. Some of side missions can be frustrating and tedious and I guess some people would say that the world can be bland sometimes, but those flaws only add to the charm.
Nier reminded me of Ocarina of Time, a simple combat system, a limited but open world, amazing boss fights, an amazing soundtrack and just a fantastical and interesting world.

Dead to Rights: Retribution Meta: 60

It's fun. Dead to Rights is a very fun game. The storyline is old and the chracters aren't the best in the world, but the shooting and fighting mechanics make it a really fun game. It's pretty much a third person brawler which involves getting up close with your enemy and taking him out with combos, grapples and crazy looking headshots. The shooting is pretty decent as well, but the fun mostly comes from the close quarter fights. You can also use your dog to attack enemies and can even take control of him, so that he can protect you while your down, stealth attack enemies and steal items without anyone noticing. The game looks alright, but everyone looks like they've lived in the gym their whole life and were some how covered in lube during the process. It's also fairly lengthy and can easily take up to 12 hours to complete on a harder difficulty.

Dark Void Meta: 59

I'll keep this one simple. Interesting jet pack mechanics that involve flying around and battling enemy ships, vertical cover platforming and a pretty good plot, voice cast and soundtrack. It's not the best game in the world and I can see it getting boring for anyone who's played Gears of War, Uncharted, Vanquish and Dark Sector back to back, prior to playing the game, but it's also pretty good and it's worth a cheap buy. I'll just give a warning and say that the jet pack mechanics during free flight will need some getting use to, but once I got the hand of it, I was ballin.


The Saboteur Meta: 72

Buy it. This is a AAA game that was never given it's chance to shine. The Saboteur does have it's flaws, but they don't stand in the way of the amount of fun I had while playing through Nazi occupied France. It's pretty much Assassins Creed, Grand Theft Auto and Price of Persia (08) all mixed together to create an extremely fun world of witty French rebels, snarky Germans and a lovable Irishmen who you come to really like as the game goes on. I paid $18 for the game, but I would have gladly paid double that and so I highly recommend it.