Bioshock is the third (and likely final) entry in 2K/Irrational’s genre-bending FPS series. Infinite leaves the sunken dystopia of Rapture behind for the beautiful sky-island of Columbia. Players take control of former Pinkerton agent turned Private investigator Booker Dewitt as he infiltrates the island in search of a young woman with mysterious abilities. Of course the mission is anything but easy, as the island’s inhabitants and ruler Comstock exhibit the worst of early 20th century racism, sexism, and xenophobia. That’s not even mentioning the civil war taking place on the island and the nightmarish human/robotic amalgamations you’ll be doing battle with.
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A few weeks ago, I did a Lost Classic about Captain N. If that show represented every gamer’s ultimate fantasy, this might represent every kid’s delusion: video game characters coming out of their games to hang around with them. Even worse, most of the characters were from spme rather forgettable titles, and it was made by the late, not-so-lamented, Acclaim entertainment.
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Well, everyone’s favorite gun-toting raccoon and living tree are among Marvel’s newest (and most obscure) movie stars as of this weekend in Guardians of the Galaxy, and earlier this summer, everyone’s favorite mutants returned to the silver screen in X-men Days of Future Past, and what good would any movie be without the prerequisite tie-in games? Of course unlike recent movie tie in games, such as the Gameloft-Cashgrab mobile games based on Captain America 2 and Spider-Man 2, these games have no in-app purchases (it’s a rather biting commentary on mobile gaming when we’re praising games for NOT having any IAP, but I digress). The games themselves aren’t bad either.
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Remember when the Spec Ops series was just a poor man’s Delta Force/Rainbow Six? Ever since its 1998 debut, it was little more than a series of fairly solid, if forgettable, budget-priced Playstation, PC, and Dreamcast tactical military shooter games. That all changed with 2012’s Spec Ops: The Line, which was the first game in the series since 2002’s Spec Ops: Airborne Commando. You would be forgiven for dismissing it as another Call of Duty-esque military blastfest, however, if you do, you’d be missing out on one of the smartest games of this past console generation. While on the surface it’s no different from other cover-based military shooters on the market, Spec Ops is a deconstruction of the military shooter genre, a commentary of violence in video games, a look at the effects of PTSD on soldiers, and even a take on American interventionist policy.
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Halo Spartan Assault is a top down shooter that takes place between Halo 3 and 4. Taking control of either solder Sarah Palmer or Spartan Davis, you fight back against a rogue sect of the Covenant that ignored the cease fire from Halo 3. Fighting through 25 single player missions, Spartan Assault contains all the action and weapons that Halo is famous for from an all new perspective. The controls are easy to get used to, and all your favorite weapons, vesicles, and enemies are here as well. Seeing as how this was originally a mobile game, it unfortunately contains micro-transactions. Thankfully, it isn’t pay-to-win. A recent update adds new missions, new achievements, and the ability to use XP to buy certain weapons rather than currency. Spartan Assault may not be a killer app for the Windows Phone, but Halo fans will love it, and it will tide them over until Master Chief’s newest adventure hits in 2015. BTW, if you have an Xbox One and a Gold membership, you have until the end of today to download this for free.

Admit it: If you played Nintendo as a kid, this was your ultimate fantasy. Whisked off to a world inspired by your favorite video games, teaming up with your favorite characters, and scoring with a hot princess. From 1989 until 1991, Nintendo, DIC Entertainment, and Saban made it a reality, although the execution was a bit off.
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Like Street Fighter IV two years prior, Mortal Kombat 9 (simply called Mortal Kombat) serves as a revival of everything players loved about the series even as it attracts a new generation of players. Although Midway has long since been dead as a gaming company, the original developers, under the name Netherrealm Studios, haven’t lost a beat as the most recent entry, Komplete with all the DLC characters, walks a fine line between revamped sequel and reboot.
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This past memorial day, we remembered the brave men and women in our military who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. We as gamers also remember the many games that have been left on the cutting room floor, some due to budget issues, others due to executive meddling, and others due to censorship. This list of titles once again mentions 10 games that didn’t make it past previews and concept stages. Some titles we were better off without. However, other titles were potential classics that were killed off before their time. All games mentioned deserved their time in the spotlight, even if metacritic would have given them a rating of only 5.5.
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