Kombo's Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don't waste your time. This is why we've split our reviews into four sections: What the Game's About, What's Hot, What's Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.

What the Game's About
Watchmen: The End is Nigh is the disc-based version of the two part episodic content that ties into the movie version of the epic movie. You play as either Nite Owl or Rorschach to clean up the streets. It is actually set before the events of the Watchmen movie and you are put in the streets of a grimy world that looks bleak.

What's Hot
The style of Watchmen has always been more cerebral and plotting. In terms of the video game, this is a huge plus. The streets you walk and the dingy establishments you visit are vividly painted with the Watchmen lens on society. The character personalities are true to the source material and you get a feeling of who these masked vigilantes are by cleaning the streets with their unique styles.

It is possible to play with a local friend and rock a two-player mode. One can play the technological wizard Nite Owl and the other can play the scrappy and uncompromising Rorschach. The two characters actually feel different even though their controls are the same. Nite Owl is more polished and uses some items to confuse foes while Rorschach is more of the back alley brawler who throws down for the cause of what is right and just, no matter the cost. Watchmen deals with heavy subject matter and you fight some depraved people in businesses that resemble cesspools more than anything.



What's Not
There is this great effort on characterization and setting but the action part of the game is wholeheartedly lacking. Watchmen could have been the next-gen version of Double Dragon but the enemies aren't exciting and the combat is repetitive and boring. It isn't that there are too few encounters but that there are too many. You'll fight the same enemies every encounter with very little variation other than the way they are skinned to fit with the immediate surroundings. The combat system does a decent job at keeping attackers at bay, but when a horde of bad guys circle you, it could be lights out since they can overwhelm you with sheer numbers. After spending some time with the game, the missions blend together and not even the setting can keep the gameplay interesting.

Final Word
Watchmen is a neat little package if you don't want to download these titles on Xbox Live. If you haven't purchased the first Watchmen episode, you can pick up both of them for a reduced price. Watchmen sets a nice story and puts forth some interesting characters but it can't outrun the repetition of pummeling the same few enemies for the entire game.