Army of Two: The 40th Day improves on original, but not by much

Even though Army of Two: The 40th Day improves on its predecessor in nearly every way, this action war game won’t make anyone put down Modern Warfare 2 any time soon.

In the first outing, released in 2008, the great concept of playing as part of a tandem of mercenaries out to get rich by killing enemies was ruined by the lousy artificial intelligence your partner had. Any place you wanted to be, he would stand, ratcheting up the frustration levels. Add that to a forgettable story and mediocre controls and you wonder why the game was such a success and a sequel was even considered.

Luckily in this new incarnation, Salem and Rios have much better artificial intelligence and work a lot more like a team. And the story is gripping and thrilling, as gamers are thrust into a Shanghai that is under a massive attack. Buildings crumble, walls explode and skyscrapers topple, sometimes directly over your head. Wave after wave of invading forces gets in the way of the guys’ escape.

But while the story is definitely memorable, the controls aren’t. They are still too clunky, and getting comfortable with them takes too long. For instance, having to switch which shoulder of your character the camera follows makes it really hard to aim quickly and precisely.

The action is slightly improved when playing online with a friend, but not by much. And the split-screen co-op mode (for playing with a friend next to you) is forgettable.

Maybe the makers will get all of that right for the requisite Army of Two: Part 3.

Grade: B- (better but not great)

Details: PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and PlayStation Portable platforms; $59-$39.99; rated Mature (blood and gore, intense violence, language).

Dark Void gets lost in the abyss

Few games are as aptly named as Dark Void. A lot of the scenery in the game is really dark and hard to see, and the game itself is void of any real thrills that would immerse the player.

The action-shooter is set in a bizarre cliff-laden world in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle, where our generic action hero has crash-landed with his equally generic sexy sidekick. As he makes his way around the strange land, our hero must not only fight the aliens in front of him, he must also shoot others off cliffs.

Although the setting is original, if at times a little repetitive, the controls are clunky and hard to use with any kind of precision. And having to fight up and down the cliffs, as well as fighting straight ahead, gets disorienting after a while.

About the only other thing the game has going for it is a great score by Bear McCreary, who composed the beautiful score of “Battlestar Galactica.”

Grade: C+ (not very compelling)

Details: PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms; $59.99; rated Teen (animated blood, mild language, violence).

Bayonetta plot is hard to follow

Bayonetta is a gooey enigma wrapped inside a flaky crust of confusion served with a creamy side of “huh?”

OK, so the title character is a witch sent to battle angels, and she’s got this guy who gives her weapons and stuff who seems like a friend but acts like an enemy, and then there are these flashbacks to her past, and then this other lady who might be her sister appears and . . . yeah, whatever.

Adding to the strangeness is the way the outfit of our main character -- who looks like a leather-clad librarian with her bookish glasses -- magically disappears when she uses a special move that makes her hair transform into a giant fist with which to punch the bad guys.

Or are they good guys? And what’s with the hair? The action is standard button-mashing stuff -- fighting off waves of enemies -- and is neither horrible nor great.

This puddle of bewilderment even has curiously odd music to sweeten the deal. An upbeat (and remarkably out-of-place) Japanese pop version of the Sinatra classic “The Way You Look Tonight” plays under an early fight between Bayonetta and the winged ones. This is a good choice for a battle between supernatural forces?

Games don’t get more befuddling than this.

Grade: C- (can’t figure it out; can’t stay interested)

Details: PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms; $59.99; rated Mature (blood and gore, intense violence, partial nudity, strong language, suggestive themes).

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