I decided to go out and buy it this afternoon after working on the site all morning, and proceeded to spend a good 5-6 hours engrossed in it. It's got a nice mix of sword-combo based combat and puzzles, the monsters range from big to huge to epic, and the game world is, thus far, immensely huge.

One of the things keeping me quite entertained is the number and variety of opponents you come up against, and the "killing move" you can make one each one, which invariably involves blood, gore and dismemberment. I'm alos amused by one of the stats which tracks how many gallons of demon blood you've spilled.

The variety of combat is refreshing; so often with me "combo" based combat ends up simply being button mashing, but there moves are simple and quick, and visually spectacular; I end up pulling of various moves not for the damage it inflicts, but for the wonderfully visceral manner in which it does so. There's also the ability to pick up things in your environment (such as cars, lampposts, parking meters and park benches, to name a few) and beat the enemy about the head with them. Nothing more satisfying that battering demons to death with a stop sign.

The puzzles work out well; they make you think without being too taxing, and there is an oddly satisfying feeling about completing them. Yes, it's mostly just a case of "Monkey push button, monkey put sqare peg in square hole", but it's enjoyable.

There are a few niggles; the way in which the game highlights the key points of a location when you enter by running through a little cinematic, even if the lever you came here to pull is right next to you and glowing green, is a little patronising. The dialogue and voice acting (apart from one notable exception, that of the watcher) is also a little lacking.

However, on the whole, a superb game. Nice mix of action and puzzle, with fantasic graphics and brilliant enemies that are a joy to cut into shreds.

9 out of 10 glowing blue eyes.