With all the rhythm games out there now that use those little plastic guitars, it is getting easier to become disenchanted with the whole experience. Activision and Red Octane in particular have been milking the Guitar Hero franchise ever since they ripped it from the bosom of its original programmers at Harmonix.

So when Harmonix (you know, the guys that took Konami’s original “Guitar Freaks” concept and improved on it by leaps and bounds?) themselves announced that they would be releasing not one, but two off-shoots of their popular Rock Band franchise, the eyebrow began to raise. “Lego Rock Band” is still a few months off and will have to prove itself when it does finally release. But in the here and now, we have “The Beatles: Rock Band”, a game that, unlike Guitar Hero: Has-been Metal Band, features the songs and performances of only one band.

Many have asked the question; Are the songs of a single band, even one as influential and well known as The Beatles, enough to sustain a quality gaming experience?

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“Wet” is the story of Rubi Malone a dual pistol and sword carrying, leather clad sexy bad ass gun-for-hire, who is trying to retrieve a wealthy man’s son. In typical action movie cliche style, she gets caught up in a double cross and is out for revenge.

Bethesda would love it if Rubi could join the ranks of Dante, Kratos, and Lara Croft as an action game icon. Read on to see if her game has what it takes to raise her up to the level of these gaming icons.

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One of the purest joys in life is watching terrible dancers try to dance. Horrible rhythm, weird contortions, the gasps for breath, even the overly passionate closed eyes (as though the music is causing physical pain). I love it all. I could watch it for as long as they have it on.

That is why I think the following game idea is so amazing.

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When I first heard about XBLA, and the kind of games you would be able to buy, I was a little skeptical of any real quality coming from it. Geometry Wars was neat, but I was really expecting it to be a medium used to foist Bejeweled clones upon us. I never expected to get something quite like “Shadow Complex”.

Shadow Complex is Chair Entertainments’ second shot at an XBLA game. While their first game, Undertow, wasn’t especially strong, they have come back this time around with renewed vigor. Shadow Complex is a breath of fresh air for the downloadable games market, and makes me reconsider what the platform is capable of.

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Almost every gamer I know has one. Especially those who are collectors.

That stack of “must play” titles that you never actually got around to playing. You may have started most of them, but never played more than half. It isn’t that you don’t like the game. In fact, you were enjoying it quite a bit. There are just too many games to play in a day and you have a real job/family/school work/etc.

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