Arcade and Puzzle Video Games

A small and quiet hero befriends a great and wild beast, to survive together the perils of The Last Guardian. Combining the adventure puzzle of the developers' Ico and Shadow of the Colossus with the role-playing interaction of a pet sim, the game leads players speechlessly through the rich, mountainous environments of an original fantasy realm. With a feathered, cat-like body and the wings of a giant eagle, the beast is wounded and hostile when first discovered by the young hero. Through the boy's compassion and patient training, it becomes a most powerful ally.

By way of platform exploration and cause-and-effect discoveries, the boy protagonist moves through lush, set-piece stages, which extend up and downwards as well as horizontally. Players guide the boy to crawl, climb, and leap across towering structures, built of ancient slabs of stone, overgrown with grass and vines. The hero soon learns how to encourage the huge creature to move about and perform actions, in order to set off triggers and solve environmental puzzles. As their bond of trust strengthens, the beast eventually allows the boy to ride upon its back, carrying him in-flight to previously unreachable locations.

The young hero begins the game unarmed, relying on stealth to move past enemies. His griffin-like companion can fight, however, and may become more powerful as the adventure progresses. The creature is programmed with an artificial intelligence designed to develop a distinct, individual personally, according to the bonding experiences it shares with the boy. Characters are brought to life in artistically rendered key-frame animation. Visuals are in the style of a light-streaked painting-come-to-life, reminiscent of Team Ico's acclaimed PlayStation 2 games but in sharper, more vivid detail. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

Publisher Valve's sleeper hit of 2007 returns with a new single-player story mode, two-player cooperative action, and new physics-based challenges to overcome. As in the original game, Portal 2 involves figuring out a way through a series of rooms within Aperture Science Labs, a futuristic facility that exists within the Half-Life universe. You'll fire a portal gun to create openings and exits within each area, allowing you to traverse the environment and manipulate objects in unusual ways. The GLaDOS computer once again serves as your droll guide through the game, as you navigate the hazard-filled test chambers and encounter new characters along the way. The cooperative mode is notable for featuring a distinct campaign, separate playable characters, completely different test chambers, and reworked puzzles that rely on teamwork. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide