We live in a divided country. Sure, we can’t agree on whether to allow gays to marry or women to have abortions, and we’re constantly bickering about the differences between red and blue states. We know Barack Obama’s got a bit on his plate these days being King of the World or whatever his official title is, but if there’s one cause Mr. Obama can swing his weight behind, it’s this: Nathan Fillion wants to be Nathan Drake.

If there’s one thing that most gamers really don’t appreciate, its constant in-game advertising. I mean, sure, it’s okay for sports and racing games to be littered with advertisements throughout; that’s commonplace, even in real life. But as development costs have risen and the proliferation of AAA titles increased over the years, developers are becoming more reliant on in-game advertising as a source of revenue.

Watching the trailer for Shank, I knew that I was in for something different from the norm. Shank is presented as a hyperviolent stylized old-school beat ‘em up, a Double Dragon-type side scroller where the constant use of bats and knives led to actual bloodshed. I’m truly a sucker for retro-type games, and one of the things I’m consistently impressed with by modern developers is the ways in which they are consistently changing the form that became a cliche long ago.

If there’s one thing you can always depend on, it’s a downloadable release during Xbox Live’s annual Summer of Arcade. In a summer that already brought us the artful puzzle-platformer Limbo, the arcade boat racing sequel Hydro Thunder Hurricane, and the multiplayer 2D retro frenzy in Castlevania: Harmony of Despair, needless to say Monday Night Combat was another highly anticipated title for the XBLA library.

I told myself I wouldn't come back. Sure, Metal Gear Solid 4 was a great game and all, but after enduring the hours upon hours of endless cut scenes with some stellar gameplay mixed in between, I just wasn't sure I was ready for another Metal Gear game. However, after hearing that series creator Hideo Kojima was returning to his franchise - on the PSP no less! - I knew I'd have to give it another go.