Prince of Persia
Platform: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Release Date: 12/2/2008
Official Site
Buy it on Amazon
Reviewed by: Gerasimos Manolatos
Price: $49.99–$59.99 The Skinny: Ubisoft turns the page on the Prince of Persia series with a new lead and a new storyline. Are the changes worth it or just a royal pain in the ass?
The Good: We were a little skeptical with Ubi developers keeping their cards so close to their chest prior to release. Not much was known about the gameplay in this reimagining of the series, but it's definitely worth the wait. While the story branches out a bit more from the linear style found in previous versions, the fighting system has stayed the same, with three buttons acting as action keys (grabs, sword attacks, and acrobatic moves) and one as the "co-op" combat trigger (magic powers and such). Speaking of co-op, we're especially pleased with the addition of super-sexy sidekick Elika, who's magical save skills prevent you from ever dying. Sure, it makes for an easier game, but it also eliminates the annoying busy work some games provide by making you re-do sections you already completed.
The Bad: What's with game makers needing to emo-fy everything? The Prince has taken some cues from Pete Wentz with his new bed-head hairstyle and he's always whining about having to fight enemies. Dude, you're stranded in a haunted desert with a Perfect 10 pixel babe equipped with magic "healing" powers—enjoy yourself!
Maxim Tip: The game doesn't really give you any direction in pulling off lengthy combos, so you'll want to experiment with the different acrobatic, grab, and sword attacks to get things done. Or, you could just look for teh cheatz!
Buy, Rent, or Disembowel? Buy. If you're looking for something Tomb Raider-esque without the suck, get ready for a magic carpet ride.
Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix
Platform: Xbox Live, PSN
Release Date: 11/26/2008
Official Site
Reviewed by: Gerasimos Manolatos
Price: 1200 Points (360), $14.99 (PSN)
The Skinny: Remember the days of the sweltering arcade with hordes of 10-year olds peering over your shoulder just to see you hadouken the shit out of your opponent? Here's your 5,000th chance to bring that experience home!
The Good: Ever since the original game debuted in 1993, Super Street Fighter II has been repackaged more often than Star Wars DVDs. But, it's safe to say, none of those came close to the amount of production put into the sixth version, which we'll just shorten into SSF2THDR. In terms of bang for your buck, you won't get much more better than this: 15 smackaroos nets you both the new and old version of the game, a training mode, tournament modes, leaderboards, 1080p HD artwork drawn by UDON Entertainment and online and offline multiplayer that is nothing short of fantastic.
The Bad: While the 17-fighter roster has been adjusted to account for some unbalanced gameplay, most gamers won't notice, nor care about all that jazz. Also, if you haven't invested in a joystick for your console, it may be tough sledding trying to pull off some of the power moves.
Maxim Tip: Make sure you check out the move lists provided by the game. While most of the classic maneuvers haven't changed, there are some power moves that require specific timing.
Buy, Rent, or Disembowel? You can't really rent this one, so we recommend you test out the trial versions found on each respective download service. Then again, for 15 bucks, you really can't go wrong here.