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It is not very often that a game looks you straight in the eye and tells you it is going to lie to you. It is one thing to soften things up so as not to hurt a person’s feelings or to rearrange the words so people are not insulted. Most of the time in the gaming world, though, the lies a game tells you have to do with the story. A character lies to the protagonist and motivates him/her to exact revenge, or things are not as they seem. More important, sometimes a game doesn’t live up to its full potential. In this case, the game “has lied” about what it is supposed to be. This can happen for any number of reasons, such as lack of time, skill of the technology, lack of testing and so forth. Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories for the Playstation 2 is a liar, a braggart and a thief.

Music, death, laser panthers. No, this is not random word association from my childhood (though I have had particular trouble in my youth with the latter two). These are just some of the things that make up Brutal Legend, the newest game from Double Fine studios. It’s a story about a roadie getting transported to a fantasy world where metal is king and glam is slightly powerful. A game with a premise so heavily awesome you won’t be able to move out of sheer satisfaction, Brutal Legend does everything in its power to remind you why metal rocks and why you should, too.

Picture a serene wooded scene filled with lumberjacks sectioning fallen trees. Suddenly, Snow White appears and hacks them all to pieces with a cleaver. Sound odd? Welcome to Fairytale Fights. Developed by Playlogic, Fairytale Fights takes tales of yore, such as Hansel and Gretel and Snow White, back to their roots. Before Walt Disney, most of these stories featured good amounts of gore and death. Fairytale Fights reclaims that bloody past and does it with fair success. Unfortunately, several issues with the game tarnish the attempt.

Turbine’s The Lord of the Rings Online has seen 10 major content additions since its launch in 2007: nine released for free and one retail expansion pack. This December sees the launch of its second paid expansion, Siege of Mirkwood, which brings new playable region Skirmishes, a level cap increase from 60 to 65, and the conclusion to the storyline begun a year ago with the Mines of Moria expansion.

Fallout 2 takes place about 70 to 100 years after the story of the original. That character is now called “the Wanderer,” as he wandered about the wasteland looking for that elusive water chip. Now in exile, he founded a village far into the mountains in the north. Shortly after his death, the village started to experience some major difficulties. Crops are dying, and the children are having trouble maturing and are becoming sick. Their only hope is to find the possibly fictional Garden of Eden Creation Kit (also known as “GECK”). So where is this mystical GECK? Where is the location of the “sacred Vault 13?” And what other dangers are out there?

Four years ago, a group of seniors at Leafmore High School came across a laboratory where horrific experiments were taking place. They fought their way through hordes of faceless creatures and saved themselves from befalling such a horrible fate.

Two years later, having survived the horror of Leafmore High, the students are trying to lead normal lives. Shannon and Kenny are enrolled in Fallcreek University, where Obscure: The Aftermath begins.

When it comes to representing World War II in videogames, there’s practically a whole smorgasbord of games from which to choose. From shooters to flight simulators, now comes a two-player card game starting with the Invasion of Normandy through to the war’s end.

I’ll admit that card games usually aren’t my bag, but I was pleased to find that Panzer General: Allied Assault feels much like turn-based strategy games that I know and love, like Advance Wars or Fire Emblem. Playing as the U.S. forces, you begin the campaign mode with a deck of cards representing troops, tanks, Howitzers and cards granting special abilities (like calling in an air strike). You square off against German forces that have an army every bit as strong as yours.

I am not a sports fan. Period. Start talking about the Stealers, Bills, Otters or whatever sports team you like, and my eyes start to glaze over. No, I am not talking about the yummy glazed donuts that you can find at your favorite bakery. I am talking about complete and utter disinterest. If I wanted to play football or soccer, I would be playing it, not watching it. This is why I get a kick out of power walking: It is something I can do, the scenery changes and I have earned a few medals over this past year from races. Thus, with great anxiety, I encountered Pangya: Fantasy Golf for the PSP. It is one of the better alternative sports game, but at the same time, it has one of the highest learning curves.

AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! — A Reckless Disregard for Gravity has a title that sums it up pretty well. You, the nameless jumper, are on a mission: to leap from buildings with little worry about your personal safety and hug against said buildings for as long as possible. All the while, you’re attempting to land eloquently on a spot far below designated by a red circle. Plus, you don’t want to end up a pile of broken bones that once was your body. That’s bad for your health and all, ya know.

I'm a lover of minigames, but if they're spatial, I'm awwwwful at them. I don't know why this is as I did really well in design in school ... but that's another conversation. The Plateau is minigame, spatial and freakin' awesome. And I'm not terrible at it. I just have no idea if I can describe it.

On a single plane are a series of points, no fewer than five in any single puzzle. Each point has at least two vertices so that the entire series of points is wholly connected through the lines. When first presented, the lines and points are a mish-mash so that the lines cross each other, often multiple times. The goal is to move the lines and points as to position them so that none of the lines cross.

As a compulsive writer and self-described word nerd, my love of math games often results in crossed eyes and exclamations of, "But you wubs the wurds?!" Yes, that is exactly what they say … it's not as if I haven't written about this before. Rock Ridge Games has fed my distraction that much more with Solution Zero for iPhone and iPod Touch by making it portable. Enough fun like this, and I may never write again.

Sword of the Stars: A Murder of Crows expands again on the Sword of the Stars series for the 4x space strategy game. This expansion brings a new race called Morrigi, nicknamed the “Crows” because of how the ships look bird-like and because of the nature of crows. Sadly, this expansion does little on improving some of the weaker elements found in the game. Naturally, I still was able to enjoy the nuances without the problems upsetting the apple cart.

In a playful caricature of prehistoric humans, The Humans (aptly named) puts the player in control of a tribe of caveman on the verge of extinction. Your job is to help them navigate a world of hostile dinosaurs and other enemy tribes and along the way, “inventing” items, such as clubs, torches and rope.

I am not a movie buff. I watch three movies a year. That is it. One of the movies I watched this past year was Monsters vs. Aliens , a “B-movie” inspired by the old drive-in horror movies from the 1950s and ’60s. To say that my dad liked it is an understatement. He loved it. So how does the videogame tie-in of the same name fit with the movie? It comes together decently and allows novices to have fun but falls a bit short.

It's been so very long since I've played a Pokémon game. I haven't had enough money to buy a new one since Red Rescue Team, and I was skeptical about the new Pokémon. However, when I got Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky, I found that I really liked the new Pokémon. The chance to be a Pokémon instead of a human who uses them to fight other Pokémon was refreshing and fun.