Mature (17+)

Rainbow Six Vegas raised the bar so high that all subsequent FPS titles have looked pathetic in comparison. The only thing the developers needed to do to ensure that the sequel was a success was design a few new levels, add a few new guns, and wait for the dollars to start rolling in. What makes Rainbow Six Vegas 2 such a special title is just how far above and beyond the developers went, turning in a game that improves on the first in nearly every respect.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood, Intense Violence, Strong Language

Game Description: The sequel to the award-winning next-generation first-person shooter—returns to Sin City. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is your last chance to rescue America's sexiest city from an escalating terrorist siege that will force you into heart-pounding action from beginning to end. The best are back and this time winner takes all.

Dark Sector is a prime example of great execution elevating a tired premise. A cursory look at the plot: Special Forces Guy vs. Mutants might lead the average gamer to think they've played it before, and they probably have—it just wasn't this great before.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language

Game Description: Dark Sector is a third-person Action/Shooter that thrusts players into a sci-fi flavored nightmare scenario set in the post Cold War era. Playing in the role of Hayden Tenno, an unscrupulous covert operative sent on an assassination mission into Lasria – a fictional Eastern European city on the brink of ruin and rumored to be contaminated by a mysterious and frightening plague, Hayden takes out his mark, but before he can escape is attacked by an unknown enemy. Not killed outright as expected, he is instead infected with the virus that is causing the plague.

Had I been asked, one year ago, what the absolute best premise I could imagine for a game would be, there's an 80% chance my answer would have been "A gothic-horror themed League of Extaordinary Gentlemen battle Hitler's undead army." So how can I possibly look at a game fairly when it seems to have been created for a market of me?

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood, Violence

Game Description: WWII Strategy RPG with Werewolves, Vampires, and Zombies!
Enter an alternate WWII era world where history and fantasy collide. Leading an army of ruthless officers and unearthly creatures, Adolf Hitler marches through Europe, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. With his powers on the rise and his armies on the move, it falls on you and your team of elite soldiers to cut deep into the heart of the Third Reich and strike a fatal blow to Hitler’s ever growing legion of evil.

I would love to have a chance to sit down with Hideo Kojima, one of the industry's most well-known, well-respected auteurs and find out exactly what place Guns of the Patriots holds in his mind. Why? Quite honestly, the game is a shadow of what it could, and should have been.