We meet again, Ninja Gaiden 3. After the release of the heavily flawed Ninja Gaiden 3 over a year ago, Team Ninja attempted to redeem itself and the series with an updated rerelease of the game, titled Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge. Razor’s Edge was released as a launch title for Nintendo’s Wii U in November of last year, and attempted to rectify many of the core issues that plagued Ninja Gaiden 3. It recently became available to PS3 and Xbox 360 owners as well, and added a few additional tweaks to entice fans to re-purchase the game. With that said, while Razor’s Edge is a massive improvement compared to the original Ninja Gaiden 3 release, it still feels subpar when compared to Ninja Gaiden Black and even Ninja Gaiden 2.

Dark Souls stands out for many of reasons – though in this writer’s opinion, its incredible challenge, methodical action combat, brilliantly thought-out world and lore, and impeccable attention to detail are what set it in a league of its own. The DLC content released during the fall of last year, titled Artorias of the Abyss, further expanded the rich world and lore of Dark Souls. Everything about Dark Souls’ gameplay and setting is rooted in the mythos of the game world and vice versa, creating a wonderfully rounded and mature action/RPG/adventure.

Kingdom Hearts is a title that genuinely piqued my interest, despite my initial disdain for the silly “kiddy” title. The idea of a Disney game that melded elements of the Final Fantasy series into the game’s narrative was too interesting to pass up, even if these elements were cameos at best. And despite the game’s flaws, I had a great time playing the game — so much so that I felt it deserved a place among the PS2′s top ten games.

Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMIX is a high-definition re-release of Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories and cutscenes from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.

Fist of the North Star is classic manga/anime property that tells the story of Kenshiro, successor to the lethal martial art “Hokuto Shinken,” which allows wielders of the art to destroy their enemies from the inside-out, in excessively gory and violent fashion. Set in a desertified post-apocalyptic future ruled by violent thugs and powerful war-lords, Kenshiro travels from town to decrepit town in search of shelter and water, while at the same time facing off with lawless thugs who prey on the weak. Naturally, the setting and over-the-top martial arts make for prime action game material. So it is extremely disappointing to know that Fist of the North Star : Ken’s Rage 2 is utterly mediocre at its best, and a tedious chore at its worst.

Developed as a collaborative effort between Platinum Games and Kojima Productions, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance goes in a direction the Metal Gear series has never gone before: balls-to-the-wall, spectacular action. There are a few minor flaws with the game that detract subtly from the overall experience, which will be discussed later in this review, but overall Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is a fantastic and unique action game that reworks established gameplay norms of the action genre to create a refreshing, engaging and extremely fun game.

Parrying is nothing new to the Devil May Cry series. It is a gameplay mechanic that has existed since the original Devil May Cry was released back in 2001, which allowed protagonist Dante to deflect certain projectiles and melee attacks with well-timed sword strikes. All future Devil May Cry titles implement this type of weapon-parry, in some form or another. DMC3 introduced a dedicated block/parry ability with its “Royal Guard” play style. This style allowed Dante to enter a defensive stance, reducing the damage he took from attacks. Timing a block in sync with an enemy’s attack resulted in a “just” block, which deflected all damage directed at Dante and stunned the attacking opponent. DmC: Devil May Cry, Capcom’s reboot of the Devil May Cry franchise developed in collaboration with Ninja Theory, reworks the style abilities introduced in DMC3 and unfortunately, Royal Guard didn’t make the final cut. What it does instead is expand on the weapon-parry system that has been an underlying part of the combat in all previous games.

Devil May Cry defined twitch-based action combat when it was released back in 2001. Devil May Cry told the story of a modern-day demon hunter named Dante, on a mission to defeat the demon king Mundus. By combining swordplay with gunfire and special demon abilities, Dante could slap around enemies near-infinitely, giving players a level of creative control over their combos that truly set the game apart. Devil May Cry was also incredibly responsive, allowing Dante to break off his assault with a dodge or jump to get out harm’s way. The result was a fast and exciting action game that demanded good reflexes as well as enemy pattern recognition. Add a creatively difficult hard mode, and you have a memorable action title that is well worth replaying.

The fruits of Razer’s “Project Fiona” have finally come to fruition at CES 2013 in the form of the 10.1-inch Razer Edge, a powerful new tablet that Razer hopes will be your new one-stop-shop for all your gaming needs. Announced during CES 2012, “Project Fiona” was lauded as a tablet developed “by PC gamers for PC gamers” and received much attention and accolades.

I was able to sit down with the final version of the tablet and give the portable powerhouse a go.

The Digital Experience is an electronic showcase organized by Pepcom twice a year, with the larger of the two showings presented during the Consumer Electronics Show – CES – in January. Dozens of companies show off the latest and greatest in tech and gadgetry. Nearly two hundred companies exhibited during the Digital Experience this year. The following is a list of a few gaming-related gadgets that caught my eye during the show.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is an action-oriented sequel to Metal Gear Solid 4, developed by Platinum Games in collaboration with Kojima Productions. As such, it deviates from the stealth/action gameplay of previous titles, focusing instead on Raiden’s superhuman abilities and swordplay to create a frantic and stylish arcade-like brawler. With rock-solid action titles like Bayonetta, Vanquish and the upcoming Anarchy Reigns under Platinum Games’ belt, players can expect a demanding and creative twitch-based action game from MGR:R. Considering how engaging the combat is in the demo of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, I think it’s safe to say that the game will not disappoint when it’s released on February 19th. Mind you, the demo this preview is analyzing was packaged alongside the Zone of the Enders HD Collection, and the more recent build of the game is even more polished, both visually and mechanically.