Ubisoft

Microsoft Xbox 360 (PS3, PC)

$59.99

ESRB rating: Mature

Review rating: 4.5 stars

Old-school gamers have watched the "Ghost Recon" franchise slowly evolve from a strategic shooter into more of a high-tech tactical shooter. Now the latest version, titled "Ghost Recon: Future Soldier," has been turned into an action-oriented shooter with mild tactical elements. While the drastic change may alienate some people, this long-time fan of the series still appreciates the overall package!

Set in a realistic near future rife with terrorists and die-hard soldiers, the story follows a group of secretive military Ghosts as they track the source of a dirty bomb that almost made its way into the U.S. Players globe-trot their way from one country to the next as they escort VIPs, hunt down arms dealers, and blast every enemy they come across. If this all sounds familiar, it's because the story line is as played-out as top-40 hip-hop.

Fortunately, the game play goes beyond what is found in most modern shooters. For instance, I really like how running-and-gunning is discouraged by making it the quickest way to fail a mission and/or get the player's squad wiped out! This encourages team play in both single and co-op mode.

I prefer taking cover and using the handy "cover swap" ability to highlight an area and rush there while crouched simply by holding a button. It's also fun to become practically invisible by using optical camouflage and then sneak up on enemies for silent take-downs. Even more helpful is the ability to highlight enemies and then coordinate multiple kills with a single order!

In addition to playing the entire campaign in single and co-op mode, players can defend bases from seemingly endless waves of enemies in Guerrilla mode. Moreover, the exciting class-based adversarial combat offers four different modes over ten maps and is much more enjoyable than twitch-based shooters like "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare!"

"Ghost Recon: Future Soldier" is very different from past iterations, but it still ends up as a very solid and fun shooter!

'Metal Gear Solid HD Collection'

Konami

Sony PSVita

$39.99

ESRB rating: Mature

Review rating: 4.0 stars

Simultaneously lauded for innovative stealth game play while also criticized for melodramatic and long-winded storytelling, the "Metal Gear Solid" series has survived three consoles. Fans of the series may not be thrilled by the bold changes to the upcoming action-oriented sequel, but at least they can wax nostalgic with the "Metal Gear Solid HD Collection."

This cool collection contains hours upon hours of sneaky game play by offering both "Metal Gear Solid 2" and one of my favorites, "Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater," in one package. Even though it doesn't include "Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker" like the console versions of the HD collection do, the package is still a good deal!

It would be easy to laugh at some of the ridiculous plot points found in "MGS2," like having to fight an obese guy on roller-skates, if the game play wasn't so ... err ... solid. Fortunately, a huge amount of VR missions and other bonuses have been added to satiate fans who ravaged the original game.

"MGS3: Snake Eater" is even more robust than its predecessor and definitely doesn't leave fans hungry for more! I really enjoy using stealth and camouflage amongst the serene outdoor environments because it actually makes me feel like I'm hunting enemies rather than picking them off from a distance.

Sadly, all is not well in the HD collection. Sure, I can understand wanting to incorporate PSVita-specfic options, but why do I have to use the touch-screen to change weapons? It would be much more intuitive to use the exclusive rear-touch panel to do so because my fingers wouldn't block the screen, and my hands would stay in the same position.