PSP

Another year, another great PAX. If you've never been to the Penny Arcade Expo, it's debatably the best gathering to celebrate videogames and videogame culture on earth. E3 might win out in terms of sheer size, number of parties, and the incredible quantity of games on display, but PAX has never attempted to be direct competition. Instead, this convention focuses more on the gamers themselves, and in doing so, has become the preeminent place to be a gamer.

It's not too often that a first-party Nintendo release is disappointing, but Metroid: Other M is one of those rare titles. It's been facing adversity on two fronts. The first problem is that the game strayed from Nintendo's recent trend of releasing first-party titles on Sundays by releasing on a Tuesday. The second problem is that the game has been receiving some criticism from various sources on the internet, ranging from issues with the controls to focusing too much on story to even issues with sexism.

Hellishly Good

HIGH Demolishing hordes of demons with righteous holy light.

LOW Trying to figure out how to stay airborne for eight seconds.

WTF Why is there no second, darker ending for playing the evil side?

What's unfortunate in all of this is that Ledesma's comments have not only damaged relations between the industry and its consumers who read Ledesma's views… but they've also succeeded in widening a rift between the haves and have-nots when it comes to this form of entertainment that we all enjoy. Charges of entitlement are flying back and forth and the argument that video games are a luxury—or even a service—makes what was once touted to be "fun for everyone" into a select group of individuals who are financially fortunate enough to take part.

Some things are better left unsaid. For example, most gaming consumers know that the industry doesn't care about them. The disconnect between the industry and the consumer has never been more evident than it's been during this console generation, as I've mentioned more than a few times before. We've known that the industry treats used game purchasers as second-class citizens—or worse—and this well-publicized "war on used games" has devolved into taking basic gameplay modes away from those looking to not pay $60 apiece for games that may or may not be worth their asking prices.

After doing my due diligence for the podcast (and noticing that there's a much-needed lull in current releases) I went to my "play this later" stack and selected Dante's Inferno. An infamous title for several reasons, I think it's fair to say that I didn't expect anything more than a poorly-conceived God of War clone, but the reality is that it's a much better game than I could have guessed.

Casualis Perfectum!

HIGH: The two worlds here mesh wonderfully.

LOW: The spell-targeting can drive you batty.

WTF: "And the Lord said 'Collect-a-thons shall not get thee to Heaven.'"

Game Description: LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 brings the action, adventure and fun of the first 4 stories in the Harry Potter catalog to the video game screen in the way only the LEGO franchise can. Featuring all your favorite characters and story environments, LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 lets players play as the wizard of their choice, combining them piece by piece as is only possible in the LEGO franchise of games. Play options include single player story mode, free-play and two-player co-op online and offline.

Visit Tartarus for a Third Time

HIGH The addition of a female protagonist and new social links.

LOW Climbing the tower can still be a bit of a grind.

WTF Yet another RPG with a dog as a playable character. WTF Japan?