By Matthew Scott Hunter

‘Starhawk’

(T)

****

Sony Computer Entertainment

PlayStation 3

Part science-fiction, part Western, part third-person shooter, part real-time strategy game, the spiritual successor to “Warhawk” is an epic mash-up of many different film and video game genres. The single-player campaign casts you as Emmett Graves, a terraforming farmer turned space-age gunslinger, hired to protect rift energy mines from the deadly mutants created by exposure to rift energy. There’s a barebones story that pits you against your own mutated brother, but the brief single-player campaign is really just a beefed up tutorial for the true focus of the game: the extravagant 16 vs. 16 multiplayer mode.

The key innovation to “Starhawk” is the way it incorporates RTS elements. As you sprint around the expansive and desolate landscape, blasting away at everything that moves, you can requisition various structures to be dropped from orbit. These structures can be as simple as a single wall to provide a bit of cover or more helpful objects like auto-turrets or a launchpad, complete with a Starhawk — the titular spacecraft — which handily transforms into a hulking mech for land-based combat. For better or for worse, victory in multiplayer bouts is largely determined by which side puts more rift energy into fortifying its defenses rather than attacking aggressively. In this way, “Starhawk” is much more like an RTS game — albeit one seen through the eyes of a lone soldier on the battlefield rather than the eyes of an all-seeing puppetmaster in the sky. And in the absence of an omniscient puppetmaster, a little well-coordinated teamwork goes a long way.

‘Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition’

(E10+)

***1/2

Microsoft Game Studios

Xbox Live Arcade

For those unfamiliar with the indie game sensation that hit PCs late last year, “Minecraft” strands you in a primitive-looking but virtually endless 3D world with nothing but your wits. Fortunately, your wits are enough to fashion wooden tools, which can be used to fashion stone tools, which can be used to build some surprisingly impressive structures, which you’ll desperately need for shelter once the sun goes down and all the giant spiders come out. Though a faithful port for the most part, the 360 edition is missing a few features, and if you explore far enough, you’re likely to encounter an invisible wall (whereas the original was infinite), but “Minecraft” will still appeal to any gamer who likes to be dropped in an open-world sandbox with as few limitations as possible.

‘Mortal Kombat’

(M)

****1/2

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

PlayStation Vita

Last year’s “Mortal Kombat” reboot — essentially a remake of the original “Mortal Kombat” trilogy — packed in more content and gore than every other game in the series combined. Not only do all of these features survive the transition to Sony’s handheld without a single fatality, but the Vita actually manages to pack in MORE content, making this the most beautifully bloated addition to the grisly fighting series ever. Included are all the special DLC characters (like Freddy Krueger), a new 150-stage bonus challenge tower and the gimmicky but fun ability to wipe blood spatter off your touchscreen.