@Anigmar This is review. A critic is giving their take on something, not some magical "absolute score" that doesn't exist. It's personal opinion, and he brings up a ton of valid points.

If this is like 2 (I haven't played 3 yet), I suspect I'll enjoy it a lot, but even still the points he raises certainly apply to 2, and regardless I'm thrilled Gamespot and this critic didn't feel the need to appease people who don't understand that professional reviews of any sort are ultimately personal takes on a piece of art from someone knowledgeable about the art form.

Good review, very interesting. Brings up sooo many interesting points I'd love to talk about. Regarding the difficulty, I found the first game impossible, though I'm not sure if that's just because I didn't understand how to play it yet, or if it was just broken. 2 finally "clicked" for me and I started enjoying it (particularly when I realized it was more about time management and making sure you collected as much money and experience as possible, not about wasting time fighting zombies). I actually played the version with Frank West first, on the PS3, and am now playing through the PC version of the original release. I wonder if 3 is like 2 where you're really needing to restart it a couple of times before the boss battles are remotely doable?

Even if that's the case, it's still a VERY weird way to design a game!

And interesting points about offensiveness. I wonder if it's worse than 2 in that regard? I'm not sure how I feel about the whole thing. Even calling the bosses "psychopaths" is kind of questionable. 2 at least, I guess I just take it in a certain way...it has a certain...I'm not sure quirky is the right word, but WEIRDNESS to all the characters, and the bosses are just absurd as characters.

Not sure if 3 has a different feel, nor how to feel about what sounds like some real problematic material. I mean is it meant to be taken seriously in that way? Do the developers actually feel like that, or is it just trying to be stupid/absurd? Either way a certain segment of the population won't be mature enough to take it in the right context.

Anyway, I bought it for Xbox but haven't played it yet...may end up actually playing it on PC. Not sure how I'll feel about it (COMPLETELY agree that the boss fights really strain the game's controls/systems in 2).

Regardless, I'm both looking forward to trying it, AND love this review! Brings up a ton of great points that are certainly valid things to talk about, and I LOVE that Gamespot and the critic didn't feel the need to give it a 7-10 just because it's a big, popular game.