Shooting

In a short period of time I have played three games that may not seem to be similar or related. The co-op shooter Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days, the straight-up cover shooter Max Payne 3, and the thriller Heavy Rain share a third-person perspective, though, one that reflects their central cinematic aspirations. Although their critical reputations vary, each of these games is an interesting failure in the project of creating a playable movie.

Your Daughter is in Another Castle

HIGH Flinging an enemy high into the air and watching the varying gravity directions pull him back and forth.

LOW Pretty much every single line of dialogue. Or the boss fights. I can't pick between the two.

WTF Look man, I know you love your daughter, but do you really not lose sight of that while the world is getting taken over by aliens?

In this episode we have a good old fashioned "What have you been playing?" Discussion. We then have a debate sparked by an email over Sniper Elite V2 and round it all out with some thumbs! With Chi Kong Lui, Brad Gallaway, Mike Bracken, Richard Naik and Dylan "I have no witty nicknames" Collins.

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Please send feedback and mailbag questions to podcast (at) gamecritics (dot) com.

Do You Feel Like a Hero Yet?

HIGH White phosphorus.

LOW White phosphorus.

WTF This many soldiers were abandoned for six months?!? Get real.

I'm still putting some time into Metro 2033, but I've got to be honest here, folks... the appeal is really wearing off. What a difference a few hours makes, eh?

Capcom released the demo for Resident Evil 6 today. What's that? You didn't know, and didn't play it? That's pretty understandable... it's exclusive to Xbox 360 owners at the moment, and of that group, only to people who bought a new copy of Dragon's Dogma.

Mario and Luigi have been busy the last couple of years. The 3DS has been crammed with all sorts of Mario-themed adventures from Mario Kart 7 to Super Mario 3D Land to Mario Tennis: Open—Luigi has even gotten his own sequel this year. Needless to say, the Mario Brothers are busy. But even so, does that make it okay to leave their other less-talented brother behind to man the shop. Doesn't he deserve some of the glory?

Tonight (or today, depending on when you choose to listen) we join Richard, Kristin, and guests Aaron and Anna for a very special Avatar-themed podcast. No, not the stupid M. Night Shyamalan adaptation or James Cameron film, we're talking about the real meat of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. We talk about our favorite episodes and characters, followed by rampant gushing about everything related to bending, sky bisons, and more. Plus, we engage in rampant speculation as to the identity of Amon, all of which turns out to be spectacularly wrong. Enjoy!

Please send feedback and mailbag questions to podcast (at) gamecritics (dot) com.

You wouldn't know it to look at him, but Max Payne does take days off from being Max Payne—at least he tries to.

So, the Mass Effect 3 "extended cut" DLC amending the old endings came out. It's a free add-on and I'm pretty sure it provides an auto-save right near the end of the game for those who may not have a file at the appropriate point—I was positive that I didn't, but when I booted the game up, there it was. It could be my imagination, but I'm guessing the developers included this save as part of the DLC to avoid further outcry.