Keiji Inafune

As someone who was extremely critical of the first game for its numerous shortcomings, I can tell you that Dead Rising 2 looks to be on the right track. Capcom's fixed almost all of my major issues from the original Dead Rising—and I'm excited about the prospect of guiding new series protagonist Chuck Greene through a zombie-infested Las Vegas.

Completed Dead Rising 2: Case Zero last night. I was having so much fun that I decided to go for all of the Achievements and just wrapped it up a few hours ago.

Game Description: Set several years after the events of the first game in the series, Dead Rising 2 contains all the fun and over-the top carnage which gamers associate with a zombie apocalypse. As with all releases in the Dead Rising series, it is a survival horror game. Players take on the role of an all-new character, with equally new motivations to survive and resources to do so. These resources include new weapons, expanded weapon combination/creation possibilities, and even two-player coop functionality. The game also features a 4-player online multiplayer mode, an optional prologue to the game available as downloadable content and a dramatic increase in the number of zombies that can be faced at once.

Welcome to Still Creek, Population: You

HIGH Killing zombies with the broadsword is a gory good time.

LOW Trying to guide an injured survivor back to the bowling alley only to have her defect at the alley's entrance.

WTF Watching a female zombie take a giant chomp out of Chuck's crotch.

Multi is the New Single

HIGH Jumping into a transforming Vital Suit and unleashing hell on enemy troops.

LOW The poor setup for mission 3-3 turns a great battle into a frustrating slog.

WTF Earning customization items is soul-crushingly slow and hatefully random.

Game Description: The next installment in the popular Lost Planet action series, Lost Planet 2 is a third-person shooter which continues the story of humanity's futuristic struggles and attempts at colonization on the planet E.D.N III. A blend of new RPG elements and features that made the original game a huge success, including massive boss battles against the alien Akrid creatures, rugged terrain, mech warfare and dynamic multiplayer support, Lost Planet 2 is sure to please both new and longtime fans of the franchise alike.

Earlier I finished Lost Planet 2 on PlayStation 3. It was a really bizarre experience for a few reasons, but primarily because it started off lukewarm and sort of middling, but then actually managed to get better and more exciting with each successive level. I wasn't feeling too hot on it at first, but the game had completely won me over by the time credits rolled.

To every person who went out of their way to say that I must be blind, dumb, or mentally disabled; for every person who decided that I did not know the meaning of the word fun; for every person who tried to convince me that I hate games and was absolutely missing the point of Earth Defense Force 2017... I give you Lost Planet: Extreme Condition.

As I felt the controller rumble and watched as a hundred feet of worm crawled its way out of the ice, bellowing madly and flailing about, I didn't pause to marvel at the fantastic creature design. I just started blasting away without a second thought. At its best moments, Lost Planet creates something really special that only the best arcade games ever managed—an adrenaline-charged state of hyperviolence where pulling a trigger becomes every bit as much a natural process as breathing. It's the kind of game that sucks players into its world from the moment they start playing, and if that world doesn't have a lot of depth, it's pretty and noisy enough that no one will notice any faults until after they're done with it.

Game Description: In Lost Planet, human snow pirates navigate VS (Vital Suits) through hostile ice-covered environments, fighting against the indigenous Akrid creatures for the precious thermal energy they need to survive. For one such pilot named Wayne, death almost seemed imminent until he was fortunately rescued. However, he can only remember a few fragments of his past including the slaying of his father by the monstrous beings. Yet under the veil of ice, a devious plan has been set into motion for the termination of all Akrid and snow pirates alike. What really happened to Wayne? Who is plotting the destructive scheme? Encounter valuable allies and dangerous enemies on Wayne’s search for the truth.