Volition

I'm not sure why Dan put on the kid gloves when it came to his final words on The Punisher, but calling it an extremely well-designed action game is an overstatement. Action game, yes. Well-designed? No.

Of all of the crimes which would destabilize society if they were to be legalized, vigilantism may well be the most attractive. Living as many of us do in a society where various constitutional restrictions keep the police from jailing anyone who looks at them funny (for now, at least), it can be frustrating for anyone with a strong sense of right and wrong to ever see criminals going unpunished for their crimes. Obviously there are logistical problems that keep summary execution from being a practical solution to the world's crime problems, most of them in the area of misidentification and misunderstanding.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood and Gore, Drug References, Intense Violence

Game Description: One of the best-selling RPG's on GameCube, Summoner: A Goddess Reborn introduced RPG fans to an original and immersive fantasy universe. Queen Maia fights to save her people from the enemy and fulfill her destiny. Battle your enemies in real time with a party-driven combat system; craft deadly poisons, cast a meteor storm or devour your enemy's soul; transform into twelve powerful summons from the blood iuggernaut to the blade of sand; explore over 3D excite and imaginative 3D locales.

Being a game critic is a little like being a soldier. Armies keep their countries safe; we play problematic games so other people don't have to. Spending 45 hours with Summoner: A Goddess Reborn won't get me the Medal of Honor—Daniel Weissenberger deserves that award, hands down. Nevertheless, I hope that I can protect others from the game's badness. Don't get me wrong—Summoner: A Goddess Reborn has some good ideas. They're simply crushed by its technical flaws and boring, boxed-in gameworld.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood, Violence

The sequel not only fails to live up to the original in nearly every respect, but exposes the shortcomings of the over-hyped "Geo-Mod" technology.

There's just something sad about videogame villain design. Take Red Faction II for example. The game is clearly set in a far-flung future, where dictators should be sporting snappier duds than today's. Designers can afford to take liberties on the villain's fashion sense because it's in the future.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood and Gore, Violence