Reviews Round-Up (Uncharted 2 Siege DLC, Alan Wake, UFC and Aqua)
The Round-Up is back after a month on hold. While we did miss out on quite a bit this month, we're back with the latest in reviews for some pretty big games.
This week we've got a couple of well-anticipated titles including the likes of 360 exclusive Alan Wake, the brand new Siege expansion pack for Uncharted 2 as well as UFC 2010 and Aqua - Naval Warfare for XBLA.
Uncharted 2: Siege Expansion Pack (PlayStation 3)
Naughty Dog has released yet another DLC pack for Uncharted 2's multiplayer, adding a new game mode and two new maps. The aptly named Siege mode will have players holding down the fort as waves upon waves of enemies rain down on their position. Building on the game's Survival mode, Siege brings a new twist as players will have to defend randomly generated positions throughout the game and the new maps place additional emphasis on traversing, making this expansion a nice addition to Naughty Dog's hit title.
Alan Wake (Xbox 360)
The much long anticipated Alan Wake finally arrives on store shelves, but is it the exclusive that Microsoft seems to make it out to be? The story follows the life of best-selling suspense thriller write Alan Wake as he looks for newfound inspiration in a remote town with his wife. Unfortunately, things go awry as his wife mysteriously disappears and Alan finds himself battling hordes of creatures from the darkness. The gameplay mechanics work extremely well, players will make good use of the light to break down the darkness around their enemies before dispensing of them for good. However, this gameplay mechanic stays pretty much the same throughout the game with a few variations here and there. Remedy has done a great job in creating an eerie and uneasy atmosphere for the game's setting. Unfortunately, the animation suffers quite a bit with pour facial animations and bad lip syncing. Overall, Alan Wake is a great thriller worth experiencing.
UFC 2010 Undisputed (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
UFC is back with THQ and Yuke's 2010 iteration, UFC 2010 Undisputed. This year's game brings over a hundred real fighters to choose from. New mechanics have been added to the Career mode like aging! The older fighters get, the more their stats deteriorate. The core fighting gameplay is still intact, in fact, it's been improved upon. Fighting is now more technical with the inclusion of quick evasion and ground posturing. While not everything is quite polished, the core of UFC 2010 is still very engaging.
Aqua - Naval Warfare (Xbox Live Arcade)
Aqua - Naval Warfare is an ingenius take on the twin-stick bullet hell genre. Developed by newcomers Games Distillery, the game sports a steam punk design and some lovely visuals. Like all twin-stick shooters out there, players will maneuver their ships with the left stick and shoot projectiles aplenty with the right. Unlike many twin-stick shooters, Aqua takes the shooting to the seas. Unfortunately, the multiplayer is quite restricted, allowing only players to play through the game's Skirmish and Chase modes. The game is still quite fun and it is very satisfying to sink enemy ships with a variety of weapons, to say the least.
