At the end of "Mass Effect," Commander Shepard saved all sentient life in the galaxy from annihilation at the hands of the Reapers, ancient machines that exterminate all intelligent species every 50 millennia or so.

At the beginning of "Mass Effect 2," Shepard dies.

And two years later, the commander is brought back to life by the shadowy Cerberus organization, which believes what the galactic government of the Citadel Council denies: The Reapers are still coming, and Shepard is the only one who can stop them.

Cerberus' mysterious head, the Illusive Man, has directed enormous resources into rebuilding Shepard just as he or she (player's choice) was before death.

Players can begin the game with the same Shepard they completed the first game with, or start from scratch with a new one. Starting with a seasoned Shepard confers some advantages and has numerous other effects on the game, depending on what choices the player made in the original.

Did Shepard spare the Rachni Queen or destroy her? Romance Liara T'Soni or Kaidan Alenko? Let the Citadel Council live or die? The game notices these and other events and incorporates them into the "Mass Effect 2" universe.

One thing is constant: The Illusive Man has big things in mind for the resurrected Spectre. Whole colonies are disappearing, their human settlers gone without a trace, which Cerberus believes to be the work of an enigmatic race called the Collectors.

The Illusive Man suspects that the Reapers are truly behind these mass kidnappings. He dispatches Shepard to gather a new team of specialists to eliminate the Collector and Reaper threat.

That's as much of the plot as this review will give away. Interesting things are going on in "Mass Effect 2," and it would be a shame to spoil any surprises.

The new cast is full of interesting characters – most new, a few old – with a variety of combat, technical and biotic (space magic) powers. The combat system has been streamlined and upgraded, as has the selection of powers each character can learn, (typically four, with the final one closed until Shepard has earned that character's loyalty).

No longer do players have to juggle armor and weapon types for several alien races; when players find or research a new weapon, it becomes available for everyone to use but only Shepard can carry the new heavy weapon class, which includes a grenade launcher, a freeze cannon and even more exotic weaponry.

Bayonetta is a witch with a memory problem. Awakened from a long slumber 20 years ago, she remembers little of her past life, but she knows how to fight and wield magic against legions of angels in a continuation of an ancient war between her line, the Umbra Witches, and the Lumen Sages.

"Bayonetta," the game, is ridiculously over-the-top. The action is amped up, the sound is loud, and the graphics are flashy. Bayonetta, the character, is equally ridiculous – her exaggerated figure makes a Barbie doll's look natural.

The game's Mature rating applies not only to the violence but to the numerous suggestive elements of the character and how she's presented. She wears a tight leather catsuit, sucks on lollipops, carries a quartet of guns (two by hand, two strapped to her legs as stiletto heels) and morphs herself, her hair and her clothing into various forms for powerful attacks.

The angels also take on monstrous forms – some huge, some small, one a giant upside-down head with dragon heads sprouting from it.

"Bayonetta's" highly polished guns-and-melee game play owes an obvious debt to the "Devil May Cry" series. The resemblance is no accident; the game was directed by Hideki Kamiya, the man responsible for the first game in the "DMC" series.

The bulk of the game is dedicated to combat, as Bayonetta makes her way through various gorgeous locations packed with angelic enemies. The witch has a wide repertoire of fighting moves to start with, and she can buy more as she progresses through the game.

Bayonetta's moves include attack combos that vary depending on which weapons she has equipped; she can switch between two sets of weapons at will. Dodging attacks at the last moment activates Witch Time, which slows down enemy movement for a few moments.

Special golden records can be traded in for new weapons, such as a pair of shotguns or a sword. Bayonetta can also craft her own power-up and restorative items from components she finds.

Chaining together long strings of attacks activates Wicked Weave, powerful moves that use the witch's shape-changing hair. And with enough magic power, Bayonetta can summon infernal torture devices from the underworld to cause massive damage to her foes.

Defeated angels drop halos that Bayonetta can use as currency for new moves, items and upgrades. Sometimes angels leave behind their own weapons, which don't last long in Bayonetta's hands but are quite powerful as long as they do.

Bayonetta is a witch with a memory problem. Awakened from a long slumber 20 years ago, she remembers little of her past life, but she knows how to fight and wield magic against legions of angels in a continuation of an ancient war between her line, the Umbra Witches, and the Lumen Sages.

"Bayonetta," the game, is ridiculously over-the-top. The action is amped up, the sound is loud, and the graphics are flashy. Bayonetta, the character, is equally ridiculous – her exaggerated figure makes a Barbie doll's look natural.

The game's Mature rating applies not only to the violence but to the numerous suggestive elements of the character and how she's presented. She wears a tight leather catsuit, sucks on lollipops, carries a quartet of guns (two by hand, two strapped to her legs as stiletto heels) and morphs herself, her hair and her clothing into various forms for powerful attacks.

The angels also take on monstrous forms – some huge, some small, one a giant upside-down head with dragon heads sprouting from it.

"Bayonetta's" highly polished guns-and-melee game play owes an obvious debt to the "Devil May Cry" series. The resemblance is no accident; the game was directed by Hideki Kamiya, the man responsible for the first game in the "DMC" series.

The bulk of the game is dedicated to combat, as Bayonetta makes her way through various gorgeous locations packed with angelic enemies. The witch has a wide repertoire of fighting moves to start with, and she can buy more as she progresses through the game.

Bayonetta's moves include attack combos that vary depending on which weapons she has equipped; she can switch between two sets of weapons at will. Dodging attacks at the last moment activates Witch Time, which slows down enemy movement for a few moments.

Special golden records can be traded in for new weapons, such as a pair of shotguns or a sword. Bayonetta can also craft her own power-up and restorative items from components she finds.

Chaining together long strings of attacks activates Wicked Weave, powerful moves that use the witch's shape-changing hair. And with enough magic power, Bayonetta can summon infernal torture devices from the underworld to cause massive damage to her foes.

Defeated angels drop halos that Bayonetta can use as currency for new moves, items and upgrades. Sometimes angels leave behind their own weapons, which don't last long in Bayonetta's hands but are quite powerful as long as they do.

Harry Mason searches the spooky, frozen town of Silent Hill for his daughter in "Silent Hill: Shattered Memories."

The "Silent Hill" series has been creeping players out for more than a decade.

Now the original game has been reimagined as "Silent Hill: Shattered Memories," which shakes up the series' horror formula.

The story's basic setup is familiar: Harry Mason is searching Silent Hill for his daughter, Cheryl, who went missing after a car crash at the edge of town. At certain points in the game, the perspective switches to a therapist's office, and the player answers questions that the game uses to create a personality profile and mold the experience to the player.

Instead of the previous games' pervasive fog, this version of Silent Hill is snowed in by a massive storm. It's dark, it's cold, and Harry's flashlight illuminates just enough to get around. That's bad enough, but sometimes Silent Hill freezes over, and the monsters come out to play.

When Harry's not running from the horrors that plague him, he's exploring the town of Silent Hill, talking with the people who live there and trying to find ways around and through areas blocked off by the storm. There are puzzles to solve as well, typically requiring the player to use the Wii Remote to manipulate objects.

Past games in the series have allowed their characters – including the original game's Harry – to defend themselves, albeit clumsily, with 2-by-4s, guns and other weapons. Not this time. Harry can't fight back in this nightmarish realm of ice; he can only run.

If a monster catches him, he can hurl it away, but there's no way to kill his creepy foes, and if he takes too many hits, he'll be overwhelmed and die. Flares can keep the creatures at bay for a time, and obstacles and doorways highlighted in blue show the way to safety, but it's not easy to escape.

These encounters are harrowing enough but become repetitive, and the sharp line between safe exploration and desperate flight prevents the game's creepy mood from developing into real tension. Also, when the action heats up, the visuals sometimes slow down or freeze for a moment, a hiccup in the game's otherwise good looks.

Harry's cell phone warns him of nearby foes, alerts him to points of interest, maps his location with a GPS uplink (which is a pain to use), allows him to call people he's met or receive text and voice messages, and lets him take photos that reveal the truth behind shadowy figures he finds frozen in place around the town.

Harry Mason searches the spooky, frozen town of Silent Hill for his daughter in "Silent Hill: Shattered Memories."

The "Silent Hill" series has been creeping players out for more than a decade.

Now the original game has been reimagined as "Silent Hill: Shattered Memories," which shakes up the series' horror formula.

The story's basic setup is familiar: Harry Mason is searching Silent Hill for his daughter, Cheryl, who went missing after a car crash at the edge of town. At certain points in the game, the perspective switches to a therapist's office, and the player answers questions that the game uses to create a personality profile and mold the experience to the player.

Instead of the previous games' pervasive fog, this version of Silent Hill is snowed in by a massive storm. It's dark, it's cold, and Harry's flashlight illuminates just enough to get around. That's bad enough, but sometimes Silent Hill freezes over, and the monsters come out to play.

When Harry's not running from the horrors that plague him, he's exploring the town of Silent Hill, talking with the people who live there and trying to find ways around and through areas blocked off by the storm. There are puzzles to solve as well, typically requiring the player to use the Wii Remote to manipulate objects.

Past games in the series have allowed their characters – including the original game's Harry – to defend themselves, albeit clumsily, with 2-by-4s, guns and other weapons. Not this time. Harry can't fight back in this nightmarish realm of ice; he can only run.

If a monster catches him, he can hurl it away, but there's no way to kill his creepy foes, and if he takes too many hits, he'll be overwhelmed and die. Flares can keep the creatures at bay for a time, and obstacles and doorways highlighted in blue show the way to safety, but it's not easy to escape.

These encounters are harrowing enough but become repetitive, and the sharp line between safe exploration and desperate flight prevents the game's creepy mood from developing into real tension. Also, when the action heats up, the visuals sometimes slow down or freeze for a moment, a hiccup in the game's otherwise good looks.

Harry's cell phone warns him of nearby foes, alerts him to points of interest, maps his location with a GPS uplink (which is a pain to use), allows him to call people he's met or receive text and voice messages, and lets him take photos that reveal the truth behind shadowy figures he finds frozen in place around the town.

Games set in World War II are common to the point of oversaturation. But most of them are first-person shooters or strategy types.

"The Saboteur," though it takes place during that terrible conflict, offers a fresh perspective by putting the player in control of a resistance fighter in Nazi-occupied France and parts of Germany.

The resistance fighter is Sean Devlin, an Irishman whose racing career was ended by a run-in with a German racer – and Nazi officer – just before the war began. Embittered and hiding at a friend's cabaret hall in Paris, Sean is quickly drawn into efforts to disrupt the Nazis' operations.

Take note: The game works to earn its Mature rating, with plenty of violence and foul language. New copies of the game include a code for the downloadable "The Midnight Show" add-on, which unlocks an option for topless nudity, along with some more practical features. The content can also be purchased.

"The Saboteur" feels like a "Grand Theft Auto" game with a bit of "Assassin's Creed" and "Red Faction: Guerilla" thrown in. The game world is open to exploration; contacts assign missions against Nazi targets, and between missions there are plenty of free-form objectives to attack and weaken the Nazi presence.

As Devlin completes important missions and inspires the French people, their will to fight is symbolized in a striking way. When the Nazis control an area, the world is rendered in black-and-white except for the red of Nazi flags and armbands – and of blood. Inspire an area to resistance and color will return to it, the Nazi presence will be reduced, and citizens will come to Devlin's aid.

In his fight against the Nazis, Devlin has many tools and allies. Black marketeers will trade him weapons and upgrades in exchange for contraband, and their garages provide him with cars.

Devlin can plant explosives to destroy guard towers, anti-aircraft guns, fuel tanks and other targets, and he can clamber up buildings and over walls to reach them. The controls are a bit loose, especially when climbing buildings, but they work well enough.

If Devlin kills a Nazi without using a weapon, he can take the soldier's uniform and blend into the ranks, as long as he's careful. And if he's discovered, he can summon a band of resistance fighters and a getaway car to escape a tough spot.

Performing certain tasks – making a number of stealthy kills, for example, or collecting certain kinds of cars – will unlock perks, providing permanent boosts to Devlin's abilities. Each perk category has three levels whose conditions grow increasingly difficult to fulfill, and some higher-level perks unlock special weapons in the black market.

Games set in World War II are common to the point of oversaturation. But most of them are first-person shooters or strategy types.

"The Saboteur," though it takes place during that terrible conflict, offers a fresh perspective by putting the player in control of a resistance fighter in Nazi-occupied France and parts of Germany.

The resistance fighter is Sean Devlin, an Irishman whose racing career was ended by a run-in with a German racer – and Nazi officer – just before the war began. Embittered and hiding at a friend's cabaret hall in Paris, Sean is quickly drawn into efforts to disrupt the Nazis' operations.

Take note: The game works to earn its Mature rating, with plenty of violence and foul language. New copies of the game include a code for the downloadable "The Midnight Show" add-on, which unlocks an option for topless nudity, along with some more practical features. The content can also be purchased.

"The Saboteur" feels like a "Grand Theft Auto" game with a bit of "Assassin's Creed" and "Red Faction: Guerilla" thrown in. The game world is open to exploration; contacts assign missions against Nazi targets, and between missions there are plenty of free-form objectives to attack and weaken the Nazi presence.

As Devlin completes important missions and inspires the French people, their will to fight is symbolized in a striking way. When the Nazis control an area, the world is rendered in black-and-white except for the red of Nazi flags and armbands – and of blood. Inspire an area to resistance and color will return to it, the Nazi presence will be reduced, and citizens will come to Devlin's aid.

In his fight against the Nazis, Devlin has many tools and allies. Black marketeers will trade him weapons and upgrades in exchange for contraband, and their garages provide him with cars.

Devlin can plant explosives to destroy guard towers, anti-aircraft guns, fuel tanks and other targets, and he can clamber up buildings and over walls to reach them. The controls are a bit loose, especially when climbing buildings, but they work well enough.

If Devlin kills a Nazi without using a weapon, he can take the soldier's uniform and blend into the ranks, as long as he's careful. And if he's discovered, he can summon a band of resistance fighters and a getaway car to escape a tough spot.

Performing certain tasks – making a number of stealthy kills, for example, or collecting certain kinds of cars – will unlock perks, providing permanent boosts to Devlin's abilities. Each perk category has three levels whose conditions grow increasingly difficult to fulfill, and some higher-level perks unlock special weapons in the black market.

"Nostalgia" is a solid role-playing game whose appeal is partly rooted in the title's emotion.

With its band of plucky young adventurers traveling the world on a grand adventure, the game recalls the Japanese-made console RPGs of the late 1990s.

The game feels like a mixture of other RPGs, taking characters, game mechanics and plot elements from "Final Fantasy X," "Skies of Arcadia," "Wild ARMs" and "Panzer Dragoon Saga," among others. It's openly derivative, but the game's designers have been smart in their borrowing – the different pieces fit together pretty well.

"Nostalgia" takes place in a version of our world in which monsters and magic exist, and airships are the chief mode of transportation. It's late in the 19th century and England's best-known adventurer is Gilbert Brown.

Brown goes missing after the game's prologue, and son Eddie is determined to find out what's happened to him. Eddie joins the local Adventurers Association, takes the helm of his father's airship, the Maverick, and prepares to follow in Dad's footsteps. Apart from the main story line, Eddie can take on quests from the Adventurers Association to earn various rewards.

He'll visit several fictionalized versions of real-world cities, such as London and Cairo. Ancient ruins, such as the Great Pyramid, serve as dungeons. And Eddie will gain companions along the way, starting with the scrappy street kid Pad, whom he meets on his first job for the Adventurers Association. Melody, a wizard, and Fiona, a mysterious girl, will join later.

Eddie and his friends will fight on the ground and in the air. Both battle modes are turn-based, with the action order of the next few turns displayed as in "Final Fantasy X." Each character has standard attack, defense, escape and item usage options, as well as a unique set of abilities and skills.

During airborne battles, each character is in charge of a specific weapon: Eddie commands the ship to attack with its bow-mounted blade, Pad fires the machine guns, Melody uses the cannon, and Fiona controls the ship's magical orb.

Enemies in the air can attack from the front or sides, and some weapons are more or less effective against enemies in certain directions. Weather conditions such as rain or snow also affect the Maverick's combat capabilities.

The party members increase in strength as they defeat foes, learning new skills at set levels. The party earns points that can be used to upgrade these skills, allowing players to strengthen abilities they find useful, and advancing certain skills to sufficient levels unlocks additional ones.

"Nostalgia" is a solid role-playing game whose appeal is partly rooted in the title's emotion.

With its band of plucky young adventurers traveling the world on a grand adventure, the game recalls the Japanese-made console RPGs of the late 1990s.

The game feels like a mixture of other RPGs, taking characters, game mechanics and plot elements from "Final Fantasy X," "Skies of Arcadia," "Wild ARMs" and "Panzer Dragoon Saga," among others. It's openly derivative, but the game's designers have been smart in their borrowing – the different pieces fit together pretty well.

"Nostalgia" takes place in a version of our world in which monsters and magic exist, and airships are the chief mode of transportation. It's late in the 19th century and England's best-known adventurer is Gilbert Brown.

Brown goes missing after the game's prologue, and son Eddie is determined to find out what's happened to him. Eddie joins the local Adventurers Association, takes the helm of his father's airship, the Maverick, and prepares to follow in Dad's footsteps. Apart from the main story line, Eddie can take on quests from the Adventurers Association to earn various rewards.

He'll visit several fictionalized versions of real-world cities, such as London and Cairo. Ancient ruins, such as the Great Pyramid, serve as dungeons. And Eddie will gain companions along the way, starting with the scrappy street kid Pad, whom he meets on his first job for the Adventurers Association. Melody, a wizard, and Fiona, a mysterious girl, will join later.

Eddie and his friends will fight on the ground and in the air. Both battle modes are turn-based, with the action order of the next few turns displayed as in "Final Fantasy X." Each character has standard attack, defense, escape and item usage options, as well as a unique set of abilities and skills.

During airborne battles, each character is in charge of a specific weapon: Eddie commands the ship to attack with its bow-mounted blade, Pad fires the machine guns, Melody uses the cannon, and Fiona controls the ship's magical orb.

Enemies in the air can attack from the front or sides, and some weapons are more or less effective against enemies in certain directions. Weather conditions such as rain or snow also affect the Maverick's combat capabilities.

The party members increase in strength as they defeat foes, learning new skills at set levels. The party earns points that can be used to upgrade these skills, allowing players to strengthen abilities they find useful, and advancing certain skills to sufficient levels unlocks additional ones.