CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE (M)
Rating: ****1/2
Activision
Xbox 360
I had pretty much written off the Call of Duty series. Its problems seemed beyond repair. The graphics were often fantastic, the gameplay solid and the multiplayer sufficiently frantic, but Call of Duty’s failure came from its extremely specific sub-genre: the World War II shooter. Between Call of Duty, Brothers in Arms and Medal of Honor, I killed more Nazis than there ever even were, and I was sick of it. Apparently, I wasn’t alone. That’s why Activision did the unthinkable—it took one of its flagship franchises and jumped genres.
Modern Warfare takes the series more than 60 years into the future, but all of the superb mechanics of the game remain intact. The battlefield has moved from Eastern Europe to the
MARIO & SONIC AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES (E)
Rating: **1/2
Sega
Wii
Mario and Sonic have been bitter rivals since the early ’90s, but they’ve never competed within the same game until now. Unfortunately, the ingenious platforming and insanely fast action that make the franchises of these two mascots so memorable is completely absent. Instead, they participate in a series of generic mini-games using the Wii’s motion controls. Some of the diversions are mildly entertaining, but most just make me wish the stocky plumber and blue hedgehog would stick to their respective strengths.
LEGO STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA (E10+)
Rating: ***1/2
LucasArts
Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 2
Considering there’s a new video or DVD box set released every few years, Star Wars fans are used to paying over and over again for the same thing. Lego Star Wars continues the tradition, with both titles in the building-blocks-meets-space-opera franchise re-released on one disc. If you have yet to experience this bizarre blend of childhood nostalgias, this is the disc to pick up, but if you’ve already been there, it’s not worth the extra expenditure. As if that will stop you.
GUITAR HERO III: LEGENDS OF ROCK (T)
Rating: ****
Activision
Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 2
In its third iteration, Guitar Hero isn’t really revealing any new tricks. But just because we’re not discovering new guitar chords doesn’t mean there’s no more good music to be made. With a very strong, metal-heavy song selection and a higher level of difficulty than ever before, this third entry will keep rhythm game addicts busy for a long time. Mastering “Through the Fire and Flames” on expert alone could take a lifetime.
When Las Vegas Weekly contributor Matthew Scott Hunter realized his career as a lab technician was seriously interfering with his gaming, he pink-slipped himself into a successful career as a freelance writer. Bug the hell out of him at [email protected]