Corporate line:
Based on the comic book series and major motion picture from Marvel Studios, Iron Man immerses gamers in hardcore shooting action and explosive combat from the film. Exclusive content created just for the game makes it even more interesting for those who want to know more about the Iron Man story. With freedom to move anywhere in the open world environment, customize your Iron Man suit, and seamlessly transition between ground combat, and open air flight as you battle against armies of fighter jets, tanks, armored Super Villains, and more. You are a One Man Army. You are Iron Man.

Features:

* Become a Devastating Weapon: Iron Man alone battles armies of fighter jets, military tanks, armored Super Villains, and more.

* Beyond the Movie: The game includes additional plotlines and characters from the Iron Man Comic Universe that are not featured in the movie.

* Open World: Players have complete freedom to move anywhere in the environment and make seamless transitions between ground combat and open air flight.

* Power Control : Players will direct power to different parts of Iron Man’s suit, creating a variety of unique attacks.

* Chaotic Battlefields: Open-ended battlefields create adrenaline-packed combat filled with unpredictable challenges.

Gameplay:
There is the rare moment of joy playing as Iron Man–which is a shame because the movie is so good. One of the rare bright spots is your ability to tweak your suit. You get to mess with everything from the weapons to the abilities of Iron Man.

Then there is the bad–and there is a lot. “Iron Man” is the definition of repetition. The enemies couldn’t be lamer. If I didn’t have to review the game I’d have bailed on it much sooner. Another pisser is the fact that you either make it through a level or you don’t. There is no halfway point where you can die soon after and restart there–its back to the beginning if you burn through your lives. There were numerous occasions where you are asked to be a hero but can’t because its impossible. Either you are so massively under attack which makes it near impossible to complete a mission or you just can’t sort through the chaos to save a nuclear plant from exploding. Sometimes its just easier to pretend the bad guys aren’t blowing things up.

Graphics:
“Iron Man” is all over the graphic map. Occasionally some of the scenes are great and others just move awkwardly. The cut-scenes should be great and yet they are lackluster.

Audio:
Robert Downey, Jr. and Terrance Howard are actually voicing the characters and yet it doesn’t matter. Not because the game isn’t good–they just sound like two guys going through the motions.

Finally:
“Iron Man” is an exercise in frustration. Not only because the game isn’t good–but because it could have been great. Flying around as Iron Man is cool. It’s when Iron Man has to react to a problem that the game falls to pieces. “Iron Man” is the type of game where you wish it were more “Grand Theft Auto” with a massive world where you can explore everywhere. How cool would it be to fly across the ocean to Europe just because you can? Well you can’t fly forever and that is forgivable, but little else is. The lack of AI and other important details kill “Iron Man.”

Watch the trailer:

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Gameplay:
If there was a Russian “Scarface” his name would be Niko Bellic. And Liberty City would be Niko’s playground—and what a massive playground it is.

Niko is straight off the boat from Eastern Europe and he has one goal—to live the American Dream and make it big in Liberty City. Niko thinks it will be easy because he believes his cousin Roman is a hot shot rich guy who has already made it—but he soon finds out Roman is no better off than him.

Niko is the best character GTA has yet to offer. He is more like Michael from the Godfather than Scarface. Niko is a smart guy who realizes that he can have it all, but at a cost. There are times when Niko struggles with being little more than a killing machine which adds to the depth of his character.

But before you get caught up in the emotion of the game there is still the part where you steal cars, run from the police and murder people. An interesting twist is that there are moments in the game where Niko must make moral choices—often to kill or not to kill. And those moral choices have ramifications.

The brilliance of GTA IV is what seems to be hundreds, if not thousands of interactions happening. It’s as if you were driving your car in the real world while something is happening to others on every block throughout that city. This is what makes GTA IV feel so alive. It seems that even if you weren’t there something would still happen as other characters go through their simulated life. One moment you might be getting your car washed and watch a cop chase a criminal down the street. These people go on with their lives without worrying about you—that is unless you steal their car or run them down as you crash through an intersection.

Liberty City may not be the largest city, in terms of what you may have played in other games, but it’s amazingly functional. You may end up on a roof chasing someone or just buying clothes, playing pool or bowling.

A great feature in this version of GTA is the mobile phone. Niko call, receive voicemail or be texted. There is even a phonebook entry for calling a car from Roman’s place and every person you meet ends up in your quick dial phonebook. And, Niko doesn’t have to be standing still to make a call. He can be driving 100 mph through the city will asking someone out on a date.

You will also use your phone to call some of the cast of characters that fall into your lap. One of the more interesting characters is the Jamaican drug/gun dealer Little Jacob. It’s not necessary to befriend everyone but when you need something it doesn’t hurt. Even an enemy can come in handy when they are in need of your services. Sometimes it seems as though this is a brilliant way to create mini-games. You might take one of the characters out for pool or bowling—you can actually bowl and play pool. But it’s about bonding even when it doesn’t seem completely necessary, however it’s hard to know what helps and what may not. You can even go drinking—and when drunk you have a hard time driving your car and may find it really tough to run from the police. Drinking is also an interesting way to get some of the characters to tell the truth.

The combat system is better but there are occasions when it’s very hard to lock on to someone. It makes sense to be able to lock on when firing a weapon but why do you need to lock on when just throwing a punch? There was one occasion where Niko was out on a date and the owner of a restaurant started a fight and it was impossible to lock the target on him. Instead Niko locked on to his date and in a split second hit her. The whole time the owner was punching and kicking Niko all I could do was run out of the place to stay alive. Even with free aim it’s not as easy as it should be.

One of the other issues is the police. They aren’t really good at capturing crooks, particularly Niko. It’s also amazing that you can run red lights right in front of them without getting chased. The only time the police seem to show up is when shots are fired, you steal a car when they are within sight or when you run someone over. The radar system is great however. When the police are after you there is a parameter that details how you need to get in order to outrun the police. It’s nice to have a goal rather than just running aimlessly hoping to get away.

The single best feature of GTA IV is the waypoint feature. It allows you to hit pause and go to the map and set a GPS style direction to follow. This streamlines the game and makes up for frustrating and aimless navigating, especially when in pursuit of someone or while trying to run from the police.

Graphics:
Liberty City is as massive and alive as it is beautiful. It’s not beautiful in the sense of the perfect utopian city—it looks more like New York City—but it’s the rare video game city that actually looks and feels realistic. The next generation platforms couldn’t have come soon enough for this franchise.

Audio:
The soundtrack is huge. I’ve read that there are over 200 songs, even though I prefer to drive without music. There is too much happening to try and follow along with the phone, people screaming and the radio on. The constant environmental noise is far more interesting than the radio.

As amazing as the soundtrack is, the characters are even better. Each character has a unique voice, and like a good movie they are immediately identifiable. There is so much dialogue that GTA IV could easily be a movie—and maybe one day it will be.

Finally:
I’m not really a fan of this genre, but Grand Theft Auto IV has me addicted. I can’t go to bed without at least an hour of Niko’s adventures. This is easily one of the best games I’ve ever played. Grand Theft Auto IV is epic.

Corporate line:
Start your engines and race with Mario and his friends with their finely tuned racing machines in Mario Kart Wii. Use 3 different control styles with the Wii Wheel included in the box. The worldwide race is on with a whole new set of tricks, tracks, and ways to play. Mario Kart Wii draws on courses and battle arenas from every game in the series – not to mention tons of new ones. The true king of the Mushroom Kingdom racing circuits will finally be crowned. Experience new tracks, enhanced Wii graphics, extraordinary gameplay and much more. Place first in Grand Prix circuits or clear skill-based missions to open up increasingly difficult and thrilling circuits. You can have multiplayer races on any open courses or battle in arenas. Now you can feel like you are Mario and steering to avoid obstacles and doing incredible stunts.

Special Powers/Weapons/Moves/Features – Shake the Wii Remote to pull off a trick that will temporarily boost your speed. When riding a bike, gain additional speed by flicking the Wii Remote up and popping a wheelie Up to 12 people via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection or up to 10 people via Wi-Fi Connection with 2 people playing locally

Gameplay:
“Mario Kart Wii” is a rip-roaring race against 11 other competitors. There are 32 courses total, some new to the Wii version. A cool new feature is the ability to do extreme moves when kart goes off a ramp. There are all sorts of cool tracks with fun ramps that produce all sorts of interesting features and tricks. The tracks are way more interesting than the few classic maps that have been carried over from previous releases. The tracks are loaded with items to help or hinder your race.

The new Wii Wheel transforms the Wii Remote controller into a steering wheel that feels natural in anyone’s hands, while the Wii Remote and Nunchuk controller offer a classic control style for the Mario Kart veteran. In either configuration, players can perform speed-boosting tricks with a shake of the Wii Remote.

Players can race as their favorite Nintendo character, 25 characters in total, or as Mii characters.

Graphics:
The Wii version should look better but it doesn’t look much different than it did on the GameCube. The environments have more detail and of course there is the addition of the Miis. Too bad it isn’t a much larger upgrade visually.

Audio:
The sound effects and sound track is very similar to the previous releases.

Finally:
“Mario Kart Wii” is as fun and fresh as it was 16 years ago. The addition of the Miis and the new Wii wheel give it a new level of fun.