As a rule, when staging a train robbery, you should never open a safe that looks like a giant coffin, especially if the desert is teeming with the undead. But then outlaws such as Jericho Cross don't care much for rules. This gothic western has you, as Cross, on a desperate mission to track Lazarus, the lord of vampires, before the little love bite he gave you makes it tougher than usual to venture out into the hot Arizona sun. Fortunately, you'll have all sorts of period weapons at your disposal, like six-shooters, rifles ... and bazookas?
This collection of Old West clichés, the macabre and explosive anachronisms adds up to one immensely joyous first-person shooter. Darkwatch doesn't really offer anything new to the genre. In fact, many of its conventions (like a rechargeable "blood" shield) seem uncannily similar to Halo 2. But it's the unique, mismatched theme of cowboys and ghouls that makes your rampage feel fresh. When you shoot a zombie's TNT barrel from horseback, reducing his nearby companions to a pile of sun-bleached bones, it's pure bliss. Yeehaw!
SONIC GEMS COLLECTION (E) (3 stars)
Sega
GameCube
Sonic Gems Collection is a somewhat misleading title. It's more of a mundane rock collection, with only one precious gem in the mix. Sonic CD, originally from the Sega CD system, is almost worth the price of admission. But the rest of the compilation consists of the blue rodent's unsuccessful attempts to expand into genres like fighting and racing, as well as some archaic Game Gear titles not good enough to have made it into the last Sonic collection.
NANOSTRAY (E) (4 stars)
Majesco
Nintendo DS
Nanostray is to the DS what WipeOut Pure is to the PSP: an onslaught of mesmerizing eye candy which—once you've snapped to your senses—is also a fun, well-balanced game. Similar to old-school shooters like Galaga, Raiden or Axelay, Nanostray throws hordes of enemy spacecraft at you, which you must then blast into beautifully rendered, 3D dust particles. Your eyeballs might actually develop cavities.
GUMBY VS. THE ASTROBOTS (E) (3 stars)
Namco
GameBoy Advance
If you think Gumby is the best thing that ever happened to Play-Doh, then you'll probably enjoy this romp with the lopsided hero and his whole malleable gang. But everyone else might be disappointed that this is yet another simplistic platformer where enemies merely pace back and forth waiting for you to jump on their heads. The 2D graphics are impressive but shouldn't we expect more? I mean, this is Gumby, dammit!
Matthew Scott Hunter has been known to mumble, "Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start" in his sleep. E-mail him at
[email protected].