Matt Hughes

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Stories By Matt Hughes

  • 007 Legends review: Live and let (this game) die

    Remember those scenes in License to Kill where James Bond hacked an office PC using mini-games on his Sony smartphone, massacred 100 henchmen with his custom-configured assault shotgun, bounced his car off some invisible walls, then had a Punch-Out!!-style QTE fist fight with villain Franz Sanchez? Neither do I – but that's how 007 Legends remembers things.Admittedly, such inaccurate adaptations are not entirely to blame for 007 Legends' failings; certain concessions need to be made to create an engaging video game. But the degree to which developer Eurocom and publisher Activision fail to successfully capitalize on any of the crazy action sequences or exotic settings of the five films featured in Legends is astounding. Bond's most memorable moments have been mutated almost beyond recognition to fit the mold of a safe first-person shooter, and the result is a bland, boring mess.%Gallery-162442%

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  • Orcs Must Die! 2 review: Co-op and then some

    Somehow, they're through. Despite my spike traps, acid sprayers and brimstone, a small contingent of the orc horde is now within hugs-n-kisses range. The blunderbuss shotgun smears some of the frontrunners, but their numbers are simply too great. With my life bar on its last pixel, an orc, axe raised high overhead, prepares for the final strike. Then my smarmy buddy steps in and blasts that sucker into oblivion, because this is Orcs Must Die! 2, and co-op is glorious.Considering the unanimous cry for multiplayer in Orcs Must Die!, Robot Entertainment could have merely added the two-player co-op and a few minor additions, packaged it up, slapped a "2" on the end, and tossed a relative regurgitation to the hungry mob – especially given the small 10-month gap between games. But to the developer's great credit, Orcs Must Die! 2 is more than that. While the changes and additions fall short of revolutionary, nearly everything – save for the meager, repetitive soundtrack – has been enjoyably enhanced and/or refined to the level of sufficient sequel justification.%Gallery-159844%

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