Flashback: Party however you want in Dragon Quest IX

For uninitiated readers, the Dragon Quest series is by far the most popular series of RPGs in Japan. It's not uncommon for Japanese businesses to shut down when a new Dragon Quest is released because so many employees have skipped work to pick up the next installment. The fact that the newest one is exclusive to the DS is a great asset to Nintendo. Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies has some big shoes to fill, and it does not disappoint.

Flashback: Crackdown 2 is astoundingly mediocre

Crackdown 2 is finally out and gamers have greeted it with a well-deserved cry of "meh." The first Crackdown had more going for it: it included the Halo 3 beta.

Flashback: Transformers: War for Cybertron breeds Halo and Twisted Metal

The game industry is a lot like the film industry. More an more often, the fomula seems to boil down to taking existing intellectual property, adapting it to the medium and then cranking out as many sequels as possible. This has been done in video games for years, especially with superhero games, and thinking about these poorly-made, unoriginal disappointments gives the whole genre an overwhelming sense of dread. That's the feeling that comes when hearing that there's a new Tranformers game, but it will quickly dissipate this time around.

Flashback: Split/Second delivers explosive action

You know how some people only watch car races on TV in the hopes of seeing a wicked crash? Split/Second was undoubtedly made by those people. They've packed so many huge explosions and crashes into this game that you'd think Michael Bay had a hand in it. If there isn't something over-the-top happening every 30 seconds or so, you're playing a different racing game.

Flashback: Skate 3 raises the bone-cracking bar

The series that put Tony Hawk to shame is back to bring the pain. Skate 3 takes the players to Port Carverton, the ultimate skating utopia. This city has ramps and rails everywhere, and since it's a utopia, security guards won't be chasing you down and knocking you around this time.

Flashback: Splinter Cell: Conviction makes its mark

Sam Fischer returns in Splinter Cell: Conviction to find out the truth about his daughter and crack a few heads along the way.

Flashback: Just Cause 2 is a cocktail of monk-crafted crack

Explosions are the name of the game with Just Cause 2. Players resume the role of Rico Rodriguez as he completes missions to uncover a plot that surrounds the island nation of Panau. Mostly though, it's a third-person shooter about a guy with a grappling hook and a penchant for destruction.

Flashback: God of War III: If it an't broke...

The God of War series is a gaming powerhouse, and God of War III reminds us why. It picks up right where God of War II left off: With the protagonist Kratos leading an army of Titans up Mount Olympus screaming "ZEUS!" so hard he almost pops a blood vessel.

Flashback: Final Fantasy XIII sends mixed messages

The series that's anything but final has returned to consoles with its thirteenth numbered installment. Over 5 million copies have been sold [at the time of writing], so why all the fuss?

Flashback: Killzone 2 delivers

Killzone 2 has been one of the most anticipated games in the PS3's future for years. It was announced years ago, even before the PS3 was released. After all that anticipation, [Sony] delivered a solid shooter.

Flashbacks

I've got some older content, and I thought I'd share.