Progressing through the campaign, the level design improves in general, as the funnel-like corridors become less elaborate and meandering. The story pacing, on the other hand, doesn't really get better at all. There are ambient logs with some background info, and a revelation or two near the end at least justifies the plot overall; but the storytelling isn't engaging and the ending isn't satisfying.

That's emblematic of Syndicate as a whole -- it shows a good hand early, but simply doesn't continue to live up to its own promise. But it isn't a bad game either. The story isn't consistently interesting, but alternating high- and low-action chapters keep the campaign moving at an acceptable pace. There are few chances to exploit the unique Breach abilities in really impressive ways, but the general shooting (and the slow-mo Overlay ability) is good enough to carry the combat just fine. There are few opportunities to explore the intricately-described game world, but the level design is nuanced enough to maintain a mild sense of wonder.

I think, with another year in the oven, this could have turned out to be a really groundbreaking game. As it is, it's a fun but largely forgettable accomplishment.

Better than: Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine
Not as good as: Red Faction: Armageddon
Really not as good as: Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Progress: Finished on Normal

My first thoughts were, is this really just some additional dialog and cutscenes? These were my second thoughts, also. My third thoughts were, do I really need to play through the whole ending sequence again to see this new stuff, hidden in the old stuff? And then my fourth thoughts were a lot like the first two.

Eventually, I reached the part where the Catalyst explains stuff, and I do appreciate that it actually explained something this time around. The new ending? Nice to have a choice, but the content is pretty meh. And I honestly didn't care enough to even watch the rest of the new stuff.

At any rate, I hope that future generations of Mass Effect 3 player will enjoy this less-retarded conclusion. It's a good thing the DLC was free, though, because it really didn't do anything for me.

Progress: Gave Up -- Watched some of it? Whatever.

Syndicate's shooting is surprisingly good, which may be a bit of a backhanded compliment but here we are. Almost immediately, the controls were a bit daunting, at least on a mouse and keyboard setup -- I got the impression that Starbreeze wanted me to have more easily-recognizable buttons in my grip, particularly for the hack-like "breach" abilities. But the shooting is solid, and even early on I'm encountering some neat weapons, like an automatic rifle that can shoot around corners and a sniper rifle with a close-range firing mode.

The "Overlay" mode, which is a combination of Batman's Detective Mode and a bullet-time-esque slow-motion, gives combat a really enjoyable rhythm. Managing the use of Overlay (which recharges over time but depletes rather quickly) keeps extended encounters from becoming tedious, while the Overlay itself provides an immensely satisfying rush of empowerment when it's available.

As for the story, it's a bit of a mixed bag. The intro was heavy on sci-fi and corporate intrigue, but since then I've only been strung along between set pieces. I'm really hoping that the plotting becomes thicker as I proceed through the campaign.

I do have to complain a bit about the level design, specifically how frequently I'm getting lost in hallways because there isn't a strong indication of where I came from or where I'm going. Unlike many other games of its ilk, Syndicate doesn't care to point an arrow toward your current goal, or highlight interactive doors or other items. Which would be fine if this was a slower-paced game, or if there was any point to exploring the levels, but it isn't and there isn't.

Progress: I'm on a train!

This is an art game, if that wasn't exceedingly obvious from the get-go. That being said, it isn't a complete waste: the writing is clever and mildly amusing, the aesthetic theme is intriguing, and the "gameplay" is -- yeah, alright, time to get real. It's pleasantly simple at first, but Sworcery rather quickly demonstrates that - depite being self-aware as a mobile game, by chopping its campaign up into bite-sized chunks - it has some difficulty grasping the concept of playability.

To wit, it makes the classic adventure-game gaffe of blocking puzzle solutions until you've walked back and forth to gather the proper dialog; it forcibly draws out story sequences to revel in its own ponderous animations; and in the boss fight of the second chapter, I kept getting hit by an instant-kill attack, several minutes into the fight, forcing me to start the entire thing over again.

These aren't necessarily horrendous mistakes, but what lies underneath just isn't interesting enough to merit wading through them. Summarily: not worth it.

Progress: Gave Up -- Finished Chapter 1

Years and years ago - or at least what feels like it - Spec Ops: The Line came out trailers blazing, with the claim that it could invigorate the art of storytelling in third-person shooters. With a premise inspired by Heart of Darkness (and a central character named John Konrad), plus the fresh and exciting setting of a sandswept Dubai, it seemed well on its way.

Several delays later, with a release date finally looming later this month, the demo makes it clear that this uniqueness wasn't enough for 2K -- they wanted what everyone else had, too. The demo content lays out a beat-by-beat set-piece based shooter campaign that any modern gamer will feel right at home in. But what the demo doesn't make clear is if that spirit of strong narrative was sacrificed, or is still lurking around. Certainly these guys aren't breaking any genre barriers with their ambient voice-overs and non-interactive cutscenes; but there are hints of a potentially compelling story in here, too.

To be fair, the gameplay isn't bad or overly trite, either. Actually I quite liked the headshot mechanic, which temporarily slows down time when you surprise an enemy with a bullet in the face -- especially useful when rushing into a hot zone. So even if the story does blow, it looks like there'll be a solid game on top of it.

Progress: Gave Up -- Finished the demo

Lollipop Chainsaw is an okay-but-not-great melee-action game, in the same way that Shadows of the Damned was an okay-but-not-great third-person shooter; serving as a vehicle for really wacky scenarios and mechanics. The combat balance seems off from the start, and awkward checkpoints combine terribly with some instant-fail quick-time-events. At the same time, this is a game about a high-school cheerleader who slices up zombies with a chainsaw, so, there is that.

I wouldn't say I've been as impressed by this game's premise as I have been by Grasshopper's other recent productions (Shadows of the Damned, No More Heroes and 2) -- the introduction is somehow verbose and light at the same time, steeped in high-school authenticity but lacking in charm. The end of the first level, though, hints at a much quirkier and more involved plot that I hope continues to flesh out.

As for the combat? Like I said, not great, but it has some cool flairs and seems mechanically solid. I haven't invested enough upgrade currency into new moves and combos yet to see how much they might change things up, but in essence it seems very dodge- and swing-heavy, which feels pretty cool. There's a definite disappointment in using the fast attack (pom-poms) as opposed to the heavy attack (the titular chainsaw), but leaping around to confuse the zombie hordes while cutting them down is definitely fun.

What irritates me the most so far, aside from the aforementioned checkpoint-QTE struggle, is how overlong the first level was. Truthfully I don't know if the game would have resumed at a checkpoint had I stopped midway through, but the hodgepodge of parking lot, corridor, classroom, and junkyard levels really felt like it was stretching my patience to soldier on.

Progress: Killed Zed

My key suddenly started working again yesterday, so I was able to put some time into Harley Quinn's Revenge -- very little time, considering the DLC is so brief. It's not bad, per se; like The Missing Link, it offers a microcosm of most of what made the main game special and fun. The writing and pacing are excellent, and the combat and puzzle density is fantastic.

But I have to re-emphasize that this mini-campaign is short. And during its brief life, there are no open-world, freeform components, nor does Robin play differently enough from Batman to make his segments feel special.

Harley Quinn's Revenge is fun and well-produced, but not vital to the Arkham City experience and maybe a little overpriced.

Better than: Red Faction: Armageddon - Path to War
Not as good as: Deus Ex: Human Revolution - The Missing Link
For the record: buying a Games for Windows Live key through Steam is still some bullshit

Progress: Complete

I thought I was done, but I wasn't! I got bored/drunk enough to approach the extra instances of the obstacle course and the yarn-ball destruction derby, and then a new mission opened up, where I had to not only skydive through rings and balloons -- but also land on rooftops, chop up costumed mascots with a chainsaw, and then get back in the air before a time limit ran out; not only a fun combination of elements, but also challenging, which has been pretty unique since I bought all the character upgrades.

(And then there was a second, even more challenging instance of this activity, so, awesome.)

With that, even though it still doesn't last super-long or add anything really meaningful to the game, there's enough fun to be had in this DLC pack that I'd easily call it Volition's best.

Better than: Red Faction: Armageddon - Path to War
Not as good as: Saints Row: The Third
Re: Volition's ability to make DLC: you know, not a bad try. Probably still wouldn't pay $7 for it alone, though.

Progress: Finished the 'story'

Well, I've heard that this DLC isn't all that, but I want to find out for myself and I've got $10 to waste. Unfortunately, the already-convoluted purchase process - in which I bought it on Steam, but apparently must redeem my code in Games for Windows Live? - has failed me, because my code doesn't work.

Not off to a great start here, guys.

If you look real closely you can see some classic side-scrolling gameplay in-- what's that? Oh, hello Alucard. It's been a while.