34 public written reviews
The views here are this user’s only and are not representative of Giant Bomb's thoughts and opinions on the discussed video game. GB's official reviews reside at giantbomb.com/reviews.
It feels weird to call Abzu a story-walker (jokes about being a swimming simulator notwithstanding) since other titles in this genre tend to give the player means of investigation and unraveling the story along the way, uncovering smaller elements that lead to a bigger picture - Abzu however gives the player freedom to explore in the various ‘levels’ while pacing out the reveal of plot points ala chapters, not to…
Good writing in gaming is certainly challenging, mostly since trying too hard makes you come off as artsy, while trying too little makes you come off as lazy. The line between those or being a legitimately good experience is a narrow one, and the tipping point is debatable depending on who you ask. While story isn’t something I tend to always hang my hat on when it comes to the purchase or value of a game, someone…
Games that are meant to be callbacks or love letters to earlier legends fall into a dicey gambit, since the comparison to its predecessor comes in the form both of how much it evokes the original and what it does differently - Or not similarly enough. This leads to Dusk, a shooter that doesn’t need much viewing to decipher what games had inspired its look, feel and speed. Despite such clear inspiration, Dusk manages…
Read the full review More than a retro callback. [Early Access]
[Note: I’ve had such subpar feelings about the Versus mode that I’ve chosen to omit them from this review.] Killing Floor was a testament in how a team-based cooperative game could remain continuously fun to play thanks to solid gameplay, chatty characters and of course all that dosh being thrown around between waves of monster slaughter - But it still showed its age on its sleeve despite its timeless replayability.…
[Full disclosure: My copy of the game was gifted to me by a friend.] Hello from the other siiiiiiiiiiiide- Oh, sorry. Wrong context. I’m quite happy that I was able to avoid spoilers and coverage of Inside when it first came out, otherwise I wouldn’t have come away from its scenes and revelations with the same amounts of shock, horror or confusion. Inside is a story-driven experience that relies on sights, sounds…
[Note: I’ve had such a lackluster interest in the multiplayer components that I am omitting my thoughts on them in this review to avoid bogging things down with half-hearted apathy. Because of this, this review will be based on how the game performs as a single player experience.] I’ll have to admit I was feeling rather cynical about the announcement of a new Doom being in the works, figuring that we’d get an overly…
[Full disclosure: My copy of Virginia was supplied by www.pcgamesnnews.wordpress.com ] There’s something to be said for being bold and creative when it comes to video game development; be it mechanics, what is expected of player input, visual style, storytelling and so on. This of course often leads into the trap of being called ‘hipster bait’ or ‘art house garbage’ if these creative angles end up being too far…
[Full disclosure: My copy of Lovely Planet Arcade was supplied by www.pcgamesnnews.wordpress.com ] The original Lovely Planet was certainly an unexpected bit of joy - And by joy I mean frantic, stressful, skill-demanding shooting that was punctuated by a (mostly) strong soundtrack and bright, cheerful visuals. It’s also a game I never finished because of how challenging it was, asking an incredible amount of skill…
Action games set in space tend to, at least from my point of view, fall into two categories; simulation heavy or too arcadey. As someone with an interest in space games, I’ve been after a game that falls somewhere in the middle of this spectrum while leaning towards the arcadey side, but such a balance is a pipe dream. Having pages of complex mechanics takes away the fun and asks me to resemble more of an actual…
Games that boast high difficulty and challenge ride the delicate line between being skill-demanding or just downright obnoxious, often separated by whether or not tools or abilities are available to the player to let them overcome such adversity or if the scales are tipped so drastically in favor of the game that it’s an exercise in insanity trying to win. At first I had God Hand penned on the latter end of the…
If a game has a good story, often the player can look past its other flaws and issues because they have an interesting tale to experience and travel through. Killer7 is a weird game in this regard since it has an interesting story (while being head-scratching right to the scalp) but has atrocious aiming controls that limits its combat. I’m placed in the precocious position of recommending the game for the experience…
[While the game has a multiplayer mode, I do not have anyone to test it with. I therefore am omitting any of the positive or negative impacts the multiplayer would have to ensure the review remains fair.] Drink it in. When it comes to games that find their main gimmick in being weird or bizarre, I can’t think of many titles that also back up their absurdity with enjoyable gameplay. Often these games sucker players…
I’m all for innovation when it comes to blending genres to create something new and noteworthy, and SuperHot’s early prototype certainly had me intrigued when I first saw it. Never mind the strange, unseen narrator who references the game’s title ad nauseum or the shattering of red people like panes of glass, it was the nature of having a partial control of time while dodging bullets and dispensing your own in a…
Devil Daggers is an odd game to discuss since it’s very ‘small’, but it can easily be described as a spooky first person shooter time attack game that is dirt cheap, but incredibly challenging. It’s a very deceptive game however, as the simple objective of staying alive for as long as possible is marred by specific rules used by the enemies that in theory are simple to read and avoid, but when put into play together…
Stories in gaming vary from light-hearted, to dark in tone, and anywhere in between, and many take twists and turns in order to surprise the audience, subvert expectations, or to keep things fresh and intriguing as the player progresses. Firewatch certainly changes its story arc and expectations partway through, but it ends up doing so in a confusing and flaccid manner that acts as a betrayal of its original…
With the surge in popularity of roguelikes, it was an eventuality that developers would need to do something other than merely make another punishing dungeon crawler like the original Rogue. While there have been many grand takes on the formula by entrants like Rogue Legacy, FTL, and Nuclear Throne, the last concept I was expecting was a roguelike crossed with a rhythm game. I wondered how this mashup would even…
I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up Downwell for $3.49; it looked fine enough for a cheap game, and it appeared to be an arcade-like fling that would make for some quick fun in the same vein as Luftrausers. I certainly wasn't expecting a fast, challenging twitch shooter that has a surprising amount of depth for a game about falling down a hole while firing off gunboots. If gunboots doesn't have you sold…
[To be clear; I do not believe that The Beginner's Guide is a game in the typical definition as an interactive piece of media, and instead I view it as a story vessel. As such, I'm reviewing it based on how well it communicates itself in this form and not from a gameplay standard.] Without getting into the argument of 'are video games art', I am not the target audience for games that are focused on delivering a…
Taking directions in video games has become something we've all (generally) become resigned to; we read the manual, check out the controls menu, follow signs and hints in the environment, etc... In most cases, games follow a guideline and set limitations as to what extent you can deviate from the original plan or script, these rules becoming more lenient and expanded since the good ol' days of the NES and into the…
I wasn’t able to experience Diablo 1 or 2 back when they were relevant and popular, so my eagerness towards Diablo 3 had been sparked mostly by Torchlight, which helped me realize what I’d missed out on by not playing these granddaddies of the dungeon crawler genre. Upon release however, Diablo 3 seemed (during the first few months to my knowledge) to be incredibly divisive among its player base, being both too…
FMV games are an unknown territory for me as a genre, especially since my younger self did not have access to them during the phase of its fad-like popularity. Looking at previous titles however makes me wonder if it truly was ever popular, as many FMV titles seemed to be all about the technology and visual wow factor rather than the gameplay or story-telling aspects. Contradiction must be familiar with this trend…
Let’s be honest; Dead Island was one janky game. The ‘charm’ of said jankiness could only last for so long, and certainly its finale and memorably bad final boss was not worth slogging through the combat that consisted mainly of the player character waving their noodle arm all over the place. Obvious hesitation came when Dying Light was released, but word of the fun parkour and no goofy combat slowly sold me on…
There’s always a dangerous line to travel when a sequel is made, especially when the previous installments are successful or have a healthy modicum of acceptance from consumers. Straying too far from the original formula can make the sequel feel removed and disjointed from what made the previous game good, and sticking too close to the original can come off as lazy or apathetic. Dennaton certainly did not have an…
Lisa is a strange game. It’s also a satisfying, humorous, entertaining, thought-provoking, at times emotional, and more often disturbing game. It has already shoe-horned itself into my top ten list for 2014, and damn me if I’ve ever walked away from a game with such satisfaction for having seen it to the end - And end up only wanting more. I find the term ‘Devil’s Earthbound’ when referring to Lisa is a loving and…
I’m not one to shy away from games that focus on exploration and discovery, like your Minecraft’s or your Terraria’s or your action games, but in these cases, said exploration brings you rewards like treasure or upgrades; rewards that improve your character and gives you reason to go out of your way to locate them. When it comes to finding rewards that merely give you plot or story points however, my drive begins to…
After the recent revamp (and unfortunate downfalls) of Sim City, it seems like Maxis and EA are in a type of unholy matrimony that had sullied the names of both parties (the latter more so than ever), so the mention of a new Sims game had, fairly enough, many consumers including myself hesitant and skeptical. The new emotions system, the ability to multitask, the clean, crisp new look of the sims themselves and the…
A game like Antichamber should not be played by people like myself; games that have puzzles that go beyond merely logic, reasoning, memorization or problem solving and into the realm of beating your head against it until a solution reveals itself do not sit entirely well with me. This is more an issue with myself than those types of games for sure, but while Antichamber does take a couple of cues from Portal, this…
Roundabout is a fine example where a game can both bring you a witty experience and a legitimately fun ride where it makes no sacrifice in either department. The B-Movie style of cutscenes with atrocious acting, awful script-writing and all sorts of other 'mistakes' are worth quite a few laughs, while the gameplay of your constantly rotating limousine is tricky, challenging and save for a few instances where you'll…
A friend of mine has labelled Jazzpunk as an 'interactive joke machine', which I feel sums the game in its entirety. Unlike titles like Proteus for example, which are more compelled to give you an experience and story rather than any kind of solid campaign (and also is debated on whether or not it's an actual game), Jazzpunk brings you a nicely sized campaign that is more interested in entertaining you through…
I loooooooves me some weird Indie goodness. Perhaps almost to a fault, but No Time To Explain (NTTE) from tinyBuild satisfies the weirdness in independent gaming that I've come to love and enjoy. Unfortunately, even if the game has a lot of chuckles and amusement up its sleeve, you won't find yourself being sucked back into this wacky tale that often unless you're a completionist or if you have an inner speed demon…
Calling Little Inferno a 'game' is difficult for me, as it's really more of a interactive toy than a proper game. That said, there is a win condition and a ending leading to the credits, but there is no lose condition, no way to reach a game over screen, which is drastically different in comparison to World of Goo, where failing a level means you outright fail and have to start at the beginning again. World of Goo…
The schmup (Shoot Em' Up) genre has had a rather iffy relationship with me; generally how most of them are brain-melting difficult in their bullet hell, or are yawn worthy boring. Many 'modern' schmups take the former option, where one stray bullet to your ship has you screeching in agony as the game over screen pans up time after time. Thankfully, Shoot 1UP has the frusterating rule where one hit destroys your…
LolJapan. No More Heroes was, at least to my knowledge, the Wii game to give the toilet-humor related console a fighting chance against the other consoles when it came to more darker, violent games. Even with NMH's (No More Heroes) bright, cell-shaded/comic book/anime appearance. NMH had suda51, the freaks behind Killer 7 onboard for this one, and you can definitely tell by the visual appearance, sick and…
My nightmares will forever be changed. Thanks to all of the horrid AVGN clones on Youtube, you’re no doubt well aware of the Sega Genesis' ghastly brawler known as Shaq Fu, and honestly, having me repeat and carbon copy all of the raging lunatics’ ranting and raving would make me look pretty stupid, if not more stupid. BOOP BOOP BOOP BOO-DOO-DOO, DULULULULULU For those of you with enough intelligence to avoid these…
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