Parents' Guide to Extinction

Even though this game's violence is over the top, taking on overwhelming odds and having a chance to save the day turns out to be incredibly fun. When most games refer to a "looming threat," they aren't usually talking about a threat that's literally towering over the player, but Extinction sure is: It pits players against massive creatures that are rampaging through the countryside like a force of nature. For players, it can be a hectic struggle to fend off the Ravenii giants while also fighting to save the villagers from attacks by frenzied, bloodthirsty troll-like minions. Switching between ground level and aerial attacks while scrambling up buildings, bouncing off treetops, and otherwise whizzing through the air keeps the combat from devolving into your basic button masher. It takes a surprising amount of skill and strategy to effectively charge and use the special attacks required to bring the Ravenii down to size. Still, that doesn't mean the game can't feel a bit repetitive from time to time, especially early on, before the game introduces different enemy types into the mix.

While Extinction's campaign does a good enough job of fitting a story around the action, at its heart, it still feels more like an arcade-style experience. That feeling is fully embraced in the game's other modes, such as Skirmish and Extinction. Here, players are dropped into procedurally generated stages, hacking and slashing their way through waves of Ravenii forces, duking it out for high scores and survival times. These are a fun and challenging change of pace from the main campaign, but they also run the risk of adding to the overall repetitive feel. Even so, it never fully gets old chopping one of the lumbering giants down at the knees or climbing the creature and taking off its head. It's a David vs. Goliath showdown in which, with practice and skill, you can almost feel like Goliath is outmatched.