Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
Ubisoft
PS3 (Review Copy) Xbox 360, PC
★★★★

Hmm, another third-person shooter. Let's go down the checklist, shall we? Cover mechanic? Check. Regenerating health? Check. Gameplay requiring intelligence and forethought so that sometimes the best option is to just avoid the enemy instead of splattering them? Che—WAITAMINIT... HOW DID THIS GET IN HERE? To those who are familiar with the Ghost Recon series, this isn't anything new, but in a genre that constantly embraces mindless carnage, the eponymous Ghost squad fades into the background and silently gets its job done, just the way we like it.

The squad-based campaign circles around the point that your team is outmanned and outgunned. So in order to accomplish your objectives you'll have to stick to the shadows, staying out of sight while you pick your enemies off – or oftentimes, just slipping through without them even knowing you were there. That's a tall affair, so it's a good thing that you've got a bunch of nice toys. On top of the in-development-but-not-yet-a-real-thing-in-real-life adaptive camouflage, you have other tools at your disposal. Sensor grenades and a tiny UAV style drone help you not only see your enemies, but also plan your actions based on their placement and patrol routes. It's here where the coolest part of the single-player mode comes into play. Either through sight or through your drone, you can mark up to four enemies, and when your team has drawn a clear bead, you synchronize your kill shots, taking everyone out at once. It's a completely satisfying feeling when your team quickly clears out the area in one fell swoop. The good comes with the bad though, because if you opt to mark your enemies by eye, you run into Ghost Recon's biggest problem. The control scheme is a little weird, with two different zoom options (the first-person zoom is a completely different button from the third-person zoom). Play a while and you get used to it, but at first it's pretty weird and off-putting. The campaign also stumbles slightly when it tries to add in different wrinkles, such as a walker-style war machine that just turns the mission into a mortar drop. Fun, but a little out of place.

The online mode – while a fun romp – does eschew a little of the stealth play for more straight action, but not to the point where one would feel they're two different games. Though online, it can sometimes be difficult to find players that actually conform to the team dynamic. That's not Ghost Recon's fault, but it's at least worth noting.

To its end, Ghost Recon: Future Soldier takes the standard third-person shooter genre and adds elements of stealth to make an interesting and solidly paced experience. A few slight hiccups keep it from greatness, but the overall experience is worth the price of admission. | RDW

Dragon's Dogma
Capcom
Xbox 360 (Review Copy) PS3
★★★ 1/2

It's an interesting dynamic when you talk about roleplaying games with fans of the genre. Conversations with the Japanese RPG fans tend to steer towards the storyline, but if you speak on American-style RPGs, there are only two things that matter: leveling up and sweet l00tz. While it seems that the JRPG's are trying to tell you a story, their Western counterparts offer less spiky hair and endless monsters to beat the shit out of, proving who's the strongest one there is. And that's the goal of Dragon's Dogma.There's some sort of story involving a dragon, and that's pretty much you need to know, with the exception of one important tidbit. Because you've got a grudge match with said dragon, you have the ability to summon "pawns," which are computer-controlled party members from another dimension who do nothing except follow your orders. Very much like how you create your own character from scratch, choosing your attributes and skillset, you'll do the same with your bottom-bit... er, main pawn. This pawn will follow you throughout your journey, though he/she may do a little moonlighting, adventuring with another player on the side. Doesn't make sense? Well, allow me to explain! While Dragon's Dogma is strictly a single-player adventure, your main pawn will be uploaded to an online server to be possibly used as a secondary pawn in another player's adventure. This helps you because your pawn brings anything he/she learned while out with someone else to your party, making certain trials easier to figure out. Between this and the team building dynamic, the pawns are a big part of what makes the game fun. What's NOT fun is actually talking to your pawns. Other than hinting at what you should be doing if they've already completed the current quest, they have a lot to say, NONE of it interesting.

Dragon's Dogma is an interesting idea, with an interesting party system to add to a competent level-grinder. Even if the story isn't particularly interesting, the combat system works well, and the quests themselves offer a wide enough variety and challenge to keep the grind going. And at the end of the day, that's a fair enough payoff for the time expected to play through this. | RDW

Inversion
Namco Bandai
Xbox 360 (Review Copy) PS3
★★ 1/2

You know what's cool about playing Inversion? If you've played any other third-person cover shooter, you already know the control scheme. This stuck out immediately, as the opening tutorial almost felt superfluous because I already knew exactly what to do and how to do it. (Disclaimer: this may be because I play too many video games and don't do enough breakdancing, which my girlfriend most certainly agrees with.) Inversion definitely feels comfortable to veterans of the genre, which may be its biggest downfall – because almost everything Inversion does (even the gravity aspect, Inversion's calling card), another game does better.

Davis Russell is your typical hot-headed cop. Wife, family and two days away from retirement. Okay, I'm kidding about that last one, but one does get the feeling that he is indeed too old for this shit. A normal day is wrecked when the Lutadores (coming straight from the Thunderdome) arrive, toting futuristic, gravity-defying weapons. Suffice it to say, Russell and his partner Leo Delgado are going to eventually get their hands on this tech and shoot the shit out of the bad guys. I'd talk more about the fact that the Lutadores have killed Russell's wife, and his child is nowhere to be found – but truthfully? The voice acting is so bad, and the plot so choppy, all that really matters is guns. Boom. Floating. Boom.

Nothing really stands out about Inversion other than how utterly pedestrian it is. The controls function, just not as smoothly as others. The shooting mechanics work, except when they don't – like when a completely unneeded item obstructs your vision for no reason, or when the sniper zoom doesn't reset the way one would expect. Even the gravity aspect feels tired (although the promise was there). It's not all bad though. There are solid points to be found. Inversion offers a good challenge, and the cover mechanic works well. It's just not enough. Inversion may not be terrible, but the third-person shooter genre is stacked, and you've gotta do better than this to survive. |RDW