Silent Hill Origins
PlayStation 2
If you like your videogaming with mood, polish and some freaky scares, it doesn't get any more consistently stylish or creepy than the Silent Hill series. Silent Hill Origins specifically, meanwhile, is illustrative of why the ol' PS2 is still a relevant game system.
MLB 08 The Show
PlayStation 2
Meet the new Show. Same as the old Show. But you'll get fooled (again?) by the updated rosters, the new cover athlete, and the price tag insinuating "new Show."
Swashbucklers: Blue vs. Grey
PlayStation 2
Swashbucklers: Blue vs. Grey is an oddball historical hybrid -- superficially similar in its port-to-port mechanics to the classic Sid Meier's Pirates!, yet set against the pseudo-historical backdrop of the Union Blockade of the American Civil War. It's partly traditional port-hopper, partly role-playing game, partly action-oriented fighting game... and, sadly, it bites off a bit more than it can chew.
Star Trek: Conquest
PlayStation 2, Wii
A barely-advertised, "budget" Star Trek board-game / arcade-action mash-up that skimps on gameplay modes, completely eschews multiplayer, summarily chucks Gene Roddenberry's Utopian notions of The Federation right out the air-lock, divides both series fans and gamers on principle -- and manages to be something like compelling, despite it all. Fascinating.
The Simpsons Game
PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360
Videogame tie-ins rarely make for good games -- not that TV, movie and merchandising cross-overs can't be good game fodder, they usually just aren't because they sell well enough to a fan base as is. While The Simpsons Game does have plenty of laughs at the expense of the video game industry, gameplay is just as big a joke.
Buzz! The Mega Quiz
PlayStation 2
Buzz Trivia is old, the PlayStation2 is old... a match made in heaven! Especially if you're permanently or temporarily bored with or otherwise un-interested in "videogames" and more interested in "games that everyone can play and enjoy, especially with friends and the odd cocktail or three or none if the kids are around."
Thrillville: Off The Rails
PlayStation 2, Wii, Windows PC, Xbox 360
A little bit amusement park tycoon, a potential pedophile/cyber stalker simulation (yikes!), a whole lot of mini-game fun.
Soul Nomad & The World Eaters
PlayStation 2
Come on, it's called Soul Nomad and the World Eaters. World eaters?! Nomadic Souls?! You've got to be a least a little interested.
