Showing 1-10 of 20 items
Mass Effect 2 feels like the middle chapter of BioWare's space opera, and that's not a bad thing. It's tense and satisfying as a narrative driven third person shooter, epic and engaging as a choose your own adventure, and kind of hard to classify when it's not clearly doing either of those things. There's so much memorable characterization, dialogue and fiction on display that it elevates the Mass Effect universe to rival the best of Sci-Fi in any medium.
While John Marston's story isn't completely free from Rockstar's signature tone and tricks, it still easily manages what it sets out to be - gaming's first great Western. Content filled, beautiful, confident and plenty fun to play.
It's better than the first, so that's something. You're constantly bombarded with variety and innovative concepts and the game continues to both look and sound incredible. A high water mark for platformers and Nintendo.
Spent a lot of time with Civ V over the year. A worthy evolution of the series that will get better with expansions. (Ed. Note: It did!)
A Pac-Man endorphin rush, over and over again. With a variety of modes and customization options available, CE DX is an instant classic that should probably be in everyone's collection.
Haunting and engrossing, with some interesting storytelling mechanics and heavy atmosphere. You'll want to see it through multiple times to find out what's really going on.
No other game this year empowers the player more - when you are Ezio at full strength with crew in tow, you are as badass as they come. Even the multiplayer is worth getting into. Though the core story beats lack oomph this is the finest AC title in many ways.
From the distinctly Commodorean look and sound to the core one button mechanic and open level design, the deceptively modest VVVVVV succeeds at nearly everything it attempts without wearing out it's welcome.
Lightning quick, batshit insane action that's both absurdly Japanese and just plain absurd. A huge moveset and deep combo system makes for rewarding and spectacular combat.
The adventure game format gets twisted around almost as much as the plot does, Telltale's engine is much improved over earlier titles and there's vintage Sam & Max dialogue and situational comedy throughout.
