Weird

To Retail and Beyond

HIGH Surfing the Sunken City in the fading afternoon-absolutely gorgeous.

LOW Can't we have more?

WTF Put on a scarf and fly!

Birth is Repetition

HIGH Nothing better than wearing your mother's clothes while fighting monsters with laser tears alongside your floating stillborn brother.

LOW Completely misjudging an enemy's projectile can really stick it to you.

WTF "Wow. Is that thing that's currently squirting blood at me what I think it is?"

When this Cake Pop's a-rockin...

HIGH Great for children.

LOW Almost requires micro-transactions.

WTF It's a sugary sweet money-trap.

More than Just Eye Candy

HIGH Gorgeous illustrations and plenty of heartthrobs for all persuasions.

LOW A little lacking in the romance department for an otome game.

WTF Since when did Hijikata of the Shinsengumi swear like a sailor?

Objects in Motion...

HIGH Sense of speed.

LOW Difficulty.

WTF Trial by error.

Combining the Best of the Past and the Present

HIGH Finishing a particularly nasty bit of platforming in the last level.

LOW Not being able to see Rayman when the screen zooms out.

WTF Disco dancing with the main villain for absolutely no reason.

It's easy to figure out why gamers lusted after this thing when developer Capcom released it back in late 2002: It's the mech equivalent of a racing game's steering wheel—on steroids—complete with the foot pedals and about a bazillion other useless doodads.

Here's the final piece of our interview with Kellee Santiago of thatgamecompany, creators of Flower and the upcoming Journey!

In this episode, we discuss not only their forthcoming and beautiful new game, but also the workings of their unique company and their relationship with Sony.

Thanks again for watching! We've a new blog up at stateofplayshow.com; and come back in January for our interview with Jonathan Blow!

Brad's back with a vengeance, smacking down accusations that he's playing The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim incorrectly. Also: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Corpse Party, Fate/Extra, and, at last, our semi-epic fight over Batman: Arkham City. Plus: Details on how you can win BIG in our BIG holiday contest. With Brad Gallaway, Mike Bracken, Richard Naik, and Tim "BIG" Spaeth.

Download: Right click here and select "Save Target As..."
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Links:

• Batman: Arkham City Review
• Corpse Party Review
• Fate/Extra Review
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Review
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Second Opinion

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

Read All about It

HIGH Getting through an entire dungeon without taking a single hit.

LOW Accidentally missing one item and destroying my hopes of 100% completion.

WTF Is up with that clown?