In one word, DeathSpank is staid. Heck, it might as well be a platonic form: the action-RPG-est action-RPG out there. Whether this will appeal to you is largely a matter of genre allegiance, because it’s good for the polish and bad for the novelty. Either way, DeathSpank is a solid game if you’re in the market to hit things and level up.

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood looked like it could have been Sonic’s salvation. However, a distinguished new developer and a new genre just weren’t enough to snap the hedgehog out of his deep blue funk.

Episodic Gaming hasn’t really ever seen a breakout hit before and it’ll have to wait a bit longer. While Penny Arcade Adventures offers a pleasantly active take on the Role Playing genre, its presentation and sense of humor will be most enjoyed by those who are already fans of the comic.

If you’re out there gaming right now, you should be aware that Gary Gygax has died.

Even if you’ve never played a tabletop roleplaying game, RPG fans owe a great debt to this man and his co-creators. Squaresoft borrowed heavily from the core Dungeons and Dragons formula to produce Final Fantasy, the game that saved the company, and later Final Fantasy VII, the game that mainstreamed RPGs in american gaming. These design tropes have rippled throughout gaming as genre lines have blurred and his impact on the medium is probably now inestimable.

Well done, Mr. Gygax. Rest in Peace.

Xenosaga 2 is an unadulterated Japanese role playing game wrapped in an excessive quantity of cut scenes. The gameplay is uninspired when it isn’t frustrating, but the cut scenes are fairly entertaining and fans of the series can enjoy some story revelations. If you do play it: don’t play for the game, play it for the parts that aren’t interactive.