Battlefield: Bad Company 2

Early on in Battlefield: Bad Company 2, during a mission that the ESRB has somewhat spoiled, you hear an absolutely frightening and ominous sound. Its inspiration can easily be found in things like a foghorn or the tripod from Steven Spielberg's version of War of the Worlds, but even so, it's still a surprising and unsettling noise. The way it completely assaults your speakers and rattles your subwoofer serves as a perfect example of some of Bad Company 2's phenomenal sound design -- one of the many things that developer DICE has gotten right this time around.
Sure, there are a lot of improvements (and even a few missteps) within Bad Company 2, but the sound design is particularly noteworthy. It's not just that the guns sound realistic (as far as I can tell), but that DICE's sound gurus have tweaked, amplified, and reverbed them enough to sound terrifying. Sniper rounds carry an ominous thunderclap in passing. Assault rifle bullets alternate between cracking the air and forcibly puncturing whatever surface -- flesh, wood, stone, or metal -- they impact. The way a light machinegun erupts during gunfire indicates that it's designed expressly for the purpose of murdering your enemy. Other sounds, such as the crunch of footsteps in the snow, the creaks of collapsing buildings, or the chattering of jungle insects, contribute to what is one of the best soundscapes in a modern FPS (especially if you set your audio to the "war tapes" soundmix).

Shadow Complex

I'd imagine that just about everyone who gets into the games industry does so because they're inspired by a particular work, a favorite game that ignites a fire inside of them to proclaim, "I want to create something like that!" Some budding developers make it their mission to design something wholly different from that inspiration, yet which still possesses its intrinsic strengths: its addictive appeal, its balance, its intensity. Others, however, take a more literal approach and create a game just like the one they loved so dearly. Shadow Complex is definitely the latter.
To call Shadow Complex inspired by the Metroid series would be a terrible slander to the word "inspiration." It's not so much that the developer, Chair, looked to Super Metroid for ideas as it is that they took a sheet of wax paper and did a rubbing of Samus Aran's entire career. It's a clone, albeit one for these modern times -- which is to say, it uses polygons instead of sprites, and it's a reasonably-priced download game for Xbox Live. In practically every other way, though, it's completely identical to Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion, down to the powers you earn and the map structure. This is a game where you use missiles to blow up red doors, if that tells you anything. Not that the creators have been coy about what they've been striving for here. They've flatly stated, "We love Metroid, and we want to create something like that!"

Wolfenstien

Wolfenstein's not your typical Nazi-slaying, WWII shooter. Sure, it includes the typical unending army of irreconcilably evil soldiers who crumple underneath your overpowered assault. But this latest chapter in the adventures of American superspy B.J. Blazkowicz adds in a few magical superpowers, a little BioShock-meets-Call of Duty -- though you still have to rely on your weapons to shoot electricity and fire. Those new abilities feel a little gimmicky at times, but when considered together with the multiplayer, Wolfenstein provides enough firepower and over-the-top storytelling to satiate anyone's desire for occult, alternate history action. You did ask for occult, alternate history action, didn't you?
At the beginning of the game you find a stone filled with ancient powers that let you shift between the real world and an alternate dimension called the Veil. You start out with Veil Sight, which lets you walk through some walls, move faster, find items, and makes enemies glow for easy sniping from a distance -- but it also dyes your world a sickly, bluish-green. Wolfenstein is a good looking game, so it's a little disappointing that you're encouraged to play through most of it in a such and ugly, washed out view.

Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny PSP

"High divorce rate. Anime. Hipsters. Panty shots," says Soul Calibur's Zasalamel, the large scythe-wielding warrior. "I am busy searching the future." Nonsensical yet humorous, Zasalamel's dialogue exemplifies a shift in Soul Calibur's ambiguous and convoluted story -- a change that breaks the franchise's protracted, austere plotlines about the fight between good and evil, vendettas, mysterious powerful swords, and love triangles. Soul Calibur Broken Destiny's lighthearted and often entertaining dialogue is, honestly, just one of the many excellent changes brought to the series by Namco Bandai. Whether you're a fan or a newcomer, those changes will be refreshing.
A weapon-based fighter, Soul Calibur Broken Destiny's main strengths are its accessibility and, at the same time, its depth. The series' emphasis on close-range combat and high, mid, and low attacks empowers neophytes to overcome the game's learning curve. Even if you aren't fully aware of your actions, the combat basics provide immediate satisfaction. And for those willing to improve their skills, "The Gauntlet," a rewarding and helpful tutorial mode, is a highly enjoyable way to learn new skills and strategies.

Fate/Unlimited Codes PSP

The engine of the game itself is very similar to Melty Blood, another series made by the makers of Fate/Stay Night. You have three standard attack buttons, Weak, Medium, and Heavy, along with a parry button. Just like in Melty Blood, a well timed parry will allow you plenty of time to counter attack your opponent, while a missed parry will drain 50% of your magic circuit. Magic Circuit, like Melty Blood, is your typical Super Meter. 100% equals to one gauge, and the max is 300%. You also have the Heat mode which was present in Melty Blood, where upon activation, your life will regenerate as your magic circuit slowly depletes itself. During this time you can freely cancel special moves out of any normal attacks and even super cancel into a super from a special.The fighting itself is like a mix of Melty Blood + Marvel vs Capcom. You got your Capcom-famous air combos, supers, and such. Many normal attacks can be canceled into crouching or forward version of itself for some characters, allowing longer chains than a standard 3 hit ground combo, while various follow-ups are available to you. The parry button can be used as a linker by sacrificing 50% of your magic circuit, which allows you to start a combo over again while your opponent is still stunned from your previous hit. Heat activation can also be used as a linker, by combining these two with enough magic circuit, you could create some pretty long chain combos before ending it with specials or supers. There is also a side step option by pressing Medium and Heavy together. This is really useful being in a 3D environment. It can be used to avoid keep-away projectile spammers with ease, while baiting jump-ins to have them strike air and counter attack before they recover.

Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2

The original Ninja Gaiden 2, while a solid game, could have been better: inconsistent pacing and brutally cheap moments weighed down an otherwise fantastic experience. With Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, despite the absence of former director Tomonobu Itagaki, Team Ninja has made a well-developed action game that surpasses its predecessor; Sigma 2 retains the developer's signature raw style while excising NG2's bloat and excess.
In the first game, incendiary Ninja enemies armed with explosive shurikens were a huge pain and almost insurmountable on harder difficulties. The huge explosion after beating the armadillo boss in the Daedalus level was an unexpected cheap shot, and an instant death if you didn't block in time. And the game's compulsory puzzles required boring backtracking and rote memorization. With Sigma 2, Team Ninja clearly listened to and implemented player feedback; they wisely omitted the instant death property on the armadillo explosion, and they edited several levels by taking out some of the duller puzzles. The result sharpens those pieces, and ultimately, the whole.

My Sims: Agents

Existing somewhere between Nancy Drew and James Bond, MySims: Agents takes the superdeformed MySims characters and adds a heaping amount of intrigue (or as much intrigue as an E-rated game is legally allowed to contain). But while casting adorable MySims in a kid-friendly, superspy adventure is an idea filled with potential, the game suffers from the one thing a superspy shouldn't have to endure -- boring and repetitive cases.
Like any Sims game, you start by creating, outfitting, and naming your character (detective Blaze, at your service), who is quickly recruited as a Special Agent after solving a couple neighborhood mysteries. The best things the game has going for it are the peppy characters, story (which involves a race to find the powerful "Crown of Nightmares" before the head of the evil MorcuCorp), and safe-for-all-ages humor (which relies more on witty writing and good comic timing than simple slapstick mayhem). It's a direction that respects the intelligence of the game's younger, target demographic, but unfortunately, I can't say the same about the puzzle-solving gameplay. Even though it is great to play.