BLOODFORGE

What the game says it is: You play Crom a celtic warrior that has seen endless battles and has finally come to rest with his family, until one day after a hunt he has a different dream then his normal nightmares, he dreams of a fight with the gods. He then awakes to his villge burning attacked by the gods minions, he tries to find his family, tragedy ensues and he swears revenge.

What the game actually is: Blood forge is a third person hack and slash where you play Crom a celtic warrior who swears revenge against the gods for the death of his family.

Graphic and sound: The color scheme and art of the game reminds one of a graphic novel giving it a 300, Sin City type of look which adds a good deal to the overall feel and play of the game. The sounds are ok with nothing annoying and vocie acting that is good for story related scenes.

How game play was: The hack and slash is easy to learn and combos can be easy to perform. You have the ability to buy magic upgrades at the blood forge with the currency being the blood life energy of your fallen foes. The game quickly becomes a button masher as piles of enemies come at you, the boss fights are fun and interesting with similar elements to them, at some point in each, the boss creates minions for you to fight.

The good: The good graphics, ok game play and decent story mix well together.

The bad: The story is too short and has the feel of "I have done this, been through this story before".

The ugly: The camera angles can somtimes work against you and the difference in melee weapons doesn't seem to make a difference to how you do in battle.

Overall: It was too short of a game, however, I did enjoy going through the game. I enjoyed the look of the game, it felt more often then not that I was reading a graphic novel and the game moved at a good pace. All in all making me wish for a sequel. This is defiantly a game that I will play again in the future.

PTSD: 4

Why I rated it: For the death of the villagers and family as well as the grossly violent game play with limbs, heads and even guts flying everywhere as well as copious amounts of blood.

UNBOUND SAGA

What the game says it is: The story of comic book characters Rick Ajax and Lori Machete who are aware that they are comic book charaters and mad at their maker for forcing them into roles. Rick wants to be a veternarian and Lori is tired of being the damsel in distress.

What the game actually is: This is a third person beat 'em up, side scroller were you go from comic book panel to comic book panel fighting your way out of the fictional city, Toxopolis, and toward a confrontation with your maker.

Graphic and sound: The graphics are in the form of comic book cut scenes and old stand up arcade graphics, (the kind you put qurters in), that being said they are still smooth with decent background detail. The sound is also ok with some good voce acting for the main charaters.

How game play was: Simple punch, kick throw, you can upgrade your moves and abilities, making youreself faster and punch harder.  None of the moves are hard to do, of course, none are really necessary to learn to beat the game, (it took me a day).

The good: it is easy to get through the levels and is fun. The cut scenes are decent, it has a element of humor to it particularly through Rick's character. 

The bad: The upgarde of skills power doesn't seem to make much of a difference in the first play through.

The ugly: There is very little replay value other then, perhaps, to get the achievements which I don't believe you can accomplish in just one play through.

Overall: The story, although simple and seemingly short, was decent. I particularly enjoyed the ending and elements of humor. Every other aspect of the game fell a little short. I was some what disappointed it wouldn't have been a game I would have been happy to purchase if it hadn't been in a bundle with some others arcade games I purchased on XBOX Live with microsoft points.

PTSD: 2

Why I rated it: For some violance and blood.

COMIC JUMPER

What the game says it is:  You play captian smiley, a comic book hero whos comic was canceled but you have a chance to get it back thanks to twisted pixel you can earn money by guest staring in other comic books. 

What the game actually is:  You punch shoot your way through several different comic books, including your own, that has been canceled. There is a lot of humor in the game, I mean you play a guy with a smily face for a head with a star attached to his chest that makes wise cracks at Captain Smiley's expense while fighting goofy villians like "The Putter".

Graphic and sound: The graphics are decent and change depending on which comic genera you are playing, it's a great addtional feel to the game. The sounds are good and don't really get annoying unless you die a lot.

How game play was: Fun and humorous not all of which are appropriate for children but a lot of it they won't understand. When you die there is a geeky little voice that says stuff like "You suck" and "Good thing you don't have any friends", which can be quite entertaining. The controls are simple to learn and the play is generally light hearted. There are several areas that involve jumping and sliding that can be frustrating.

The good: Decent graphics and a humorous story line as well as Star and Captain Smiley comments to each other and others make this game seem more like a good animated story then video game which doesn't take away from the challenge of play. I found the anime comics the toughest.

The bad: Potty humor in the game and content that I was worried the kids might understand and ask me about, also the length of the game I felt like more levels not ones required for the story but maybe some DLC comics you could get.

The ugly: All the jokes that are told over and over and comments can become tiresome in short order, but a break from the game for a few days can cure this.

Overall: This game had an entirely different feel to it then a lot of games the self deprecating humor and works with the game play instead of against it. The power ups and other trinkets that you can buy makes playing the challenging levels again more then worth it.

PTSD: 1

Why I rated it: Simply for the violence, shooting and explosions which for me wasn't much of anything especially with the humor and comicbook styles of the game making it further removed from anything that could be real.

Where to Find: I found this game on Xbox LIVE under Arcade games. I bought the bundle pack which included Comic Jumper, Explosion Man and one other I can't remember right now. They are a fun distraction when you need a break from other more intense games.