TOMB RAIDER

When Crystal Dynamics announced that they would be rebooting the Tomb Raider series, it came with mixed reception.  Some fans were disappointed, as there has been a glut of overhyped "reboots" in recent years.  Others were glad to see the slate wiped clean, as Lara Croft's adventures had gotten pretty terrible in recent years (Angel Of Darkness, anyone?).  So with the team rebuilding everything from the ground up, how does this new game stand up as an origin story for one of the most iconic video game characters in history?


Pretty damn well.  

SOMETIMES YOU CAN'T GO BACK

I've cited Just Cause 2 as one of my absolute favorite dumb fun sandbox games, great for when you just want to bang around, blow stuff up, and have silly, wacky fun.  It's more serious than Saints Row, more open and free for destruction than GTA, and graphically one of the more beautiful games out there.  Sure, the voice acting may be legendarily bad, and the plot is a thin veneer that just gives a half-assed reason to blow shit up, but that's all insignificant.  I own Just Cause 2 on PC, PS3, and XBox 360, and have hundreds of hours clocked in between the three.

And yet, I'd never played the original.  When the first Just Cause went on sale on Steam this week for $1.75, I figured it was high time I explored this series' roots.   This isn't a review by any stretch, just a slightly baffling comparison, as I sit here and wonder how something so awesome came out of something so...not awesome.

GAME-A-WEEK - SLEEPING DOGS

See?  Not ALL of the games I review are indie games, or older games from several years ago!  Today we have an actual AAA title that is less than 6 months old.  And a damn good one too!