Assassin's Creed is generally considered to be a solid, if somewhat flawed, videogame. Despite earning praise for its visuals, concept and unique story, the 2007 title was criticized for its repetition and tendency to bore players after significant periods of time. Fortunately for Ubisoft, Assassin's Creed became an unexpectedly huge success, and the series now has a chance to fix its problems.

Assassin's Creed 2 definitely sets out to address the problems found in the first game, and the once-repetitive game is now a sprawling, quasi-open-world adventure full of variety. However, as old problems are tackled, new ones sprout up to take their place.

Does Assassin's Creed 2 solve old issues while successfully maintaining control of new ones, or does it try to do too much at once and fail on all counts? Read on as we give this game the full review.

When it comes to Wii accessories, the vast majority of products are ones designed to work in conjunction with the Wii Remote. Just look at all of the assorted plastic bits of junk that you can slap a Remote into to turn the controller into "something else" -- generally a superficial representation of another object with little advantage in gameplay.

Penguin United's Crossfire Pistol actually is "something else," however, as they have integrated the Remote itself into the gun. There's no attaching "Tab A" into "Slot B" or any other sort of chicanery, just a self-contained gun accessory.

When I first heard that Capcom's next Resident Evil game was going to be a sequel to the Wii-exclusive Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, I was pretty disappointed. Umbrella Chronicles actually turned out to be great -- much better than I thought it would be -- but still, nothing about the game demanded a sequel. However, that's what we've got, like it or not, so instead of b*tching about what The Darkside Chronicles isn't (namely, a new RE4: Wii Edition-style masterpiece), let's focus on what the game is: an on-rails shooter specifically designed for the home console market.

Will The Darkside Chronicles live up to the expectations of Resident Evil fans? More importantly, does it work to deliver enough punch to satisfy the home console gamer despite the fact that the action is on rails?

Hit the jump to find out.

New friends, more zombies, better apocalypse. That's what Valve has promised, and that's what fans will come to expect when they finally pick up the sequel to one of the best zombie games ever made. Left 4 Dead 2 was developed to capitalized on the mass success of the original game, adding new characters, campaigns, Special Infected and weapons.

With Valve's latest game finally in our hands, the ultimate question is ready to be answered: Does Left 4 Dead 2 pack enough content and zombie-splattering fun to justify making a sequel less than a year after the original title's release, or is Left 4 Dead 2 an unnecessary follow-up that was released too soon?

Read on to find out if new friends and new zombies does indeed make a better apocalypse.

I don't generally like wartime FPSes. In fact, I'd say that the "normal guy with guns shooting other normal guys with guns" genre is my least favorite in all of videogame-dom, starting with GoldenEye on up. I understand their appeal, but on the whole, games like this lack the many things I love in a videogame (character graphic design, creative power-ups, boss fights, item-based puzzle solving, obstacle course-style level design, surrealism, comedy, horror, etc.) and in their place are the trappings of "mainstream" entertainment that I turn to videogames to avoid (Hollywood action movie logic, explosions for the sake of explosions, attempts to turn real-life tragedies into entertainment, reliance on team-based competitiveness, etc.).

So if I'm such a non-fan of the series, why am I the one to review Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex? Well, because this version of the game was made specifically for people like me -- people who aren't already fans of this subset of the FPS genre. If you are a fan of the Call of Duty games, then you bought Modern Warfare on one of the HD consoles two years ago, and are likely knee-deep in Modern Warfare 2 as we speak. No, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex isn't for preexisting Call of Duty fans; it's for fans-to-be (at least, from Activision's perspective).

Hit the jump to see if the game succeeded in making a Call of Duty-loving man out of me.

A few weeks ago, indie game developer Arkedo sent me an e-mail titled "An Easy Game from Arkedo to Dtoid, with Love": "Do you think it would be possible to have your mad skillz colleague try and beat Level 1 AND 2 of our game? That would be awesome. We put some bright and friendly colours, so he does not get scared too quickly. And a cat."

I'm not too sure, but I think Anthony's getting trolled.

In any case, I rose to the challenge and did just that—I beat levels 1 and 2 of Arkedo Series - 02 SWAP! without dying. Of course, I eventually beat the whole thing, but it took a lot more tries and something almost, but not quite, entirely unlike strategy.

In case you've forgotten (or never got the memo to begin with), Arkedo is trying to make one indie game per month, ostensibly designed around one simple game mechanic. Last month they gave us a platformer titled JUMP!. This month, we're presented with SWAP!, a "dual-stick action puzzle," so they say.

Before the Wii, Sony brought casual motion-controlled gaming to the masses with EyeToy. Unfortunately, Sony never really capitalized on it and is only now scrabbling to make use of its camera peripheral in the face of ever-growing fascination with "casual gamers" and the belief that motion control is the only way to appeal to them.

Enter EyePet, Sony's newest family-friendly endeavor. Using the PlayStation Eye to transform your living room into a virtual playpen, EyePet puts you in charge of a cuddly, cute, and multi-talented fantasy mammal and interact with it using your own two hands. It's got the uniqueness and adorableness to appeal, but does it have the necessary staying power?

We've spent plenty of time bowling, planting seeds, and driving wooden cars with our very own EyePet and are ready to give it the final word. Read on to find out if you want one of these things for Christmas.

It's a-me! Mario! Nick said he's too lazy to write an intro! But he reviewed New Super Mario Bros. Wii and you can read that after the jump! There's also a neat-o video review, too! Woo hoo!

Love,

Mario

The biggest game of the year is finally here. Infinity Ward created one of the most popular, well-crafted and subsequently imitated first-person-shooter games in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and a sequel was inevitable. Two years on and we have Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, a game that aims to be bigger, sexier, and more full of explosions than Call of Duty 4 ever was.

A year of controversy and hype preceded it. A year of debate and rage and more marketing dollars than any reasonable human being could conceive. With the game in our hands, however, it is  time to put such things aside and ask the only question that really matters: Just how good is the biggest game of 2009?

Rght around the time that WiiWare was just becoming known to the public, a little company in New Hampshire called Medaverse Studios announced that they would be jumping in on the fun with a game called Gravitronix. About a year and a half after the initial release expectation, the game hit the service a couple of weeks ago.

I've spent some time with it and my thoughts on the game are written below the fold. I'm not going to lie to you, it isn't particularly flattering -- either to me or to Medaverse Studios -- but I think I made a joke in there which might have been funny.

It's mahjongg. I'm not going to tell you that this is some groundbreaking videogame. But I will say that I played the hell out of this title. It seemed to fill some gap in my PSPgo library that I didn't know needed filling. Some days I played this title until my eyes became crossed.

This is Mahjongg Artifacts 2, a PSP minis title. The "2" in the title implies that there is a Mahjongg Artifacts 1. I never played the first one, but that didn't stop me from giving several hours of my life to tile matching and stereotypical Asian background music.

Is this particular PSP mini worth the asking price? I think so, but then again, I like mahjong.

What do you do when you stop making games for one of the biggest roleplaying franchises of all time? If you're BioWare, the answer is easy -- make your own roleplaying franchise and start again from scratch. Dragon Age: Origins sees BioWare return to the world of dark fantasy since it disassociated from the critically acclaimed Baldur's Gate games, bringing an entirely new world, characters and story to the genre in the hopes of creating a brand new fantasy RPG series.

BioWare has clearly spent a long time crafting Ferelden, the realm in which Dragon Age takes place, and the many inhabitants found within. Much work has also gone into the combat and tactical system, and there is no doubt that this is a BioWare production through and through. Is this an entirely good thing, or does Dragon Age fall just short of greatness by sticking just a bit too close to the BioWare traditions?

Read on for the full review of Dragon Age: Origins.

When I heard the news that a second Lost Winds game was coming out I knew I had to finally download the first game and become a big fan of it. So I did download it and I did become a big fan of it. It had its flaws though. Most of these had to do with the fact that you just wanted more thanks to the short length of the game. Luckily for me there was more in the form of the sequel, Lost Winds: The Winter of the Melodias.

Promptly after finishing the first game I "popped in" the second, which instantly negated the whole length issue of the first game. Having already negated the worst thing about another game I wondered if Winter of the Melodias would continue on its streak of greatness or the winds would blow in another direction. Read on for the full review and the hopeful continuation of my wind metaphor.

Upon reading the title of this post, I assume you will have one of two reactions:

1. What the hell is Osmos what is this crap why are you wasting my

2. Didn't that game come out, like, almost three months ago?

To which I would say, in order, "shut up" and "yes." Osmos did indeed come out during the middle of this August, but we never got around to reviewing it. A few days ago, however, I received a review copy. But why bring the game up now, so far from its initial release date?

Because it's really, really good and you should try it out. That's why.