33 public written reviews
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Video Review Just how exactly do you conclude one of the most beloved video game series of this generation? After the mammoth success of Bioware's sci-fi role-playing games, Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 , fans have been anxious to find out if the conclusion to this much beloved franchise lives up to all of the hype it's been garnering over the months, and the answer to that is a resounding yes. Mass Effect 3 is an…
Dark Souls is the very epitome of "hardcore" – here is a game that doesn't hold your hand and one that will mercilessly punish you for even the slightest error. Because in Dark Souls, you'll succumb to one untimely demise after another, but for every horrific death you'll suffer through and for every bit of progress lost, there's always a reward waiting for you. When you topple that boss that's been giving you…
Amnesia: The Dark descent is one of the scariest games ever made. While that might be a bold statement, it couldn't be a more apt way to sum up this spook fest, courtesy of the Swedish, independent studio Frictional Games. Amnesia is all about disempowerment; you have no weapons or means to defend yourself, so when trouble arises –which it often does-- then all you can do is run away and hide. But the scare factor…
The original Deus Ex is still to this very day considered to be one of the finest action/rpg's of all time and with good reason -- it successfully told a poignant, well-realized story, merged stealth and combat mechanics and showered the player with a ton of choices, which added a ton of depth and variety to the proceedings. It's been a long time coming but the next-gen offering in the Deus Ex series --dubbed Human…
The original Deus Ex is still to this very day considered to be one of the finest action/rpg's of all time and with good reason -- it successfully told a poignant, well-realized story, merged stealth and combat mechanics and showered the player with a ton of choices, which added a ton of depth and variety to the proceedings. It's been a long time coming but the next-gen offering in the Deus Ex series --dubbed Human…
The original Deus Ex is still to this very day considered to be one of the finest action/rpg's of all time and with good reason -- it successfully told a poignant, well-realized story, merged stealth and combat mechanics and showered the player with a ton of choices, which added a ton of depth and variety to the proceedings. It's been a long time coming but the next-gen offering in the Deus Ex series --dubbed Human…
Amnesia: The Dark descent is one of the scariest games ever made. While that might be a bold statement, it couldn't be a more apt way to sum up this spook fest, courtesy of the Swedish, independent studio Frictional Games. Amnesia is all about disempowerment; you have no weapons or means to defend yourself, so when trouble arises –which it often does-then all you can do is run away and hide. But the scare factor in…
There's definitely no shortage of destinations for anyone who fancies off-road racing and if you happen to be that type of a person, then you have likely been keeping up with the Dirt series over the years. After all, these games have brought the joy of knocking opponents out of commission, racing through muddy tracks and up steep hills to the forefront and the latest iteration in the series -- Dirt 3 -- tries to…
Apparently, this is what we have spent the last decade and a half waiting for, a shooter so boring and ugly it makes you wonder why you even cared about the Duke Nukem series to begin with. Because while Duke Nukem Forever's brethren were tongue-in-cheek run and gun shooters starring one of the most wonderfully obnoxious and iconic protagonists in the genres history--this long, long awaited sequel is nothing short…
In the world of online-oriented shooters, one must come up with an invigorating recipe in order to stand out from all the other contemporaries, a bold and arguably hard feat that Battlefield: Bad Company 2 actually accomplishes with vigor. By boasting chaotic multiplayer action, an intense and varied single-player campaign and immensely thrilling destructibility coupled with some of the most cacophonous sound desgin…
Taking one glance at Frozen Synapse will immediately reveal the focus of this indie-developed title. This is clearly a deep and challenging top-down turn-based strategy game that's all about finess, wit and the ability to predict your opponents next move, all before the outcome of your choices are played back right before your very eyes. Though it may look overly subdued and complicated, rest assure that this…
Multiplayer-centric shooters have recently staked their claim as industry giants with titles like Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and the Call of Duty series being a very good indication to that. Splash Damage's team-based shooter opus Brink tries to carve it's own niche on this landscape and in doing so it offers seamless online integration, parkour elements and an objective-based structure, all wrapped in a near…
Assassin's Creed is the kind of game that is more fun than it has any right to be. It features an absolutely implausible story that infuses historical events with sci-fi conspiracies and tons of other heavy-handed plot elements. It's also a fairly repetitious gameplay experience, featuring one-note missions that never really gets interesting and you might run into the occasional glitch and visual oddity from time to…
Odds are likely that if you owned a decent rig or a console by the time The Orange Box hit store shelves back in 2007--you bought it and experienced a little game called Portal . For the uninitiated, Portal was a cerebral, puzzle-based game seen from a first-person perspective, casting players in the role of Chell , a female test subject who had to work her way through devious test chambers under the watchful eye of…
Mass Effect 2 was no doubt a landmark game that brilliantly continued shepard 's trek around the galaxy in search of spectres, intimacy with crew members and faithful opportunities to the deliver the pain with biotic powers and moment-to-moment moral decisions. The latest downloadable add-on doubt "Arrival" however, has very little of that. Sure, the core shooting aciton remains largely intact but the unforfilling…
Read the full review Arrival is a shallow and dissapointing send-off of Mass Effect 2.
Mass Effect 2 was no doubt a landmark game that brilliantly continued shepard 's trek around the galaxy in search of spectres, intimacy with crew members and faithful opportunities to the deliver the pain with biotic powers and moment-to-moment moral decisions. The latest downloadable add-on doubt "Arrival" however, has very little of that. Sure, the core shooting aciton remains largely intact but the unforfilling…
Read the full review Arrival is a shallow and dissapointing send-off of Mass Effect 2.
It says a lot when a shooter can take many strides away from the norm, delivering an experience thats both innovative, inviting, Enter Alcatraz, the latest certified nanosuit badass. thrilling and fun. The original Crysis achieved just that--blending nanosuits with big levels that led to a ton of flexibility and all of that was coupled with some of the most advanced visuals ever seen on the PC, which prompted…
For not finding its trappings in a comic book legacy, Prototype certaintly earns points for being an original title in which you don the hoodie of the amnesiac superhero/villain Alex Mercer . But Prototype Isn't just trying to be original with its intriguing use of the Manhattan setting but also goes out of its way to provide an over-the-top and extremely chaotic sandbox experience in which you get to use a vast…
Far Cry 2 is the kind of game that teases you. It puts you in an enourmous, sprawling African setting populated by all sorts of wildlife, lush terrains and choices to tangle with. It also boasts a terrific atmosphere and occasionally enthralling action that is a product of the stellar gunplay and weapons--of which there are many-- and some exciting missions. Sadly, Far Cry 2 also suffers from a loathsome of downtime…
I really have to leave it to indie developer Playdead for this magnificent Xbox Live Arcade title. Because while Limbo may look like a simple and by-the-numbers 2D-plattformer with a film-noir look to it--It turns out to be something much, much more. Limbo offers no exposition, no in-game tutorial or any form dialogue whatsoever and the lack of any narrative direction is one of the key elements in Limbo that will…
At first glance, Super Meat Boy may seem like the kind of plattformer that will have you exercising in frustration. It throws just about every obstacle and hazard imaginable at you, from buzzsaws to heat-seeking projectiles and pits filled to the brim with spikes and so on. But even after stumbling again and again at the very same obstacle, you´ll have no one to blame but yourself. Super Meat Boy is a tough game but…
[Originally written 11/11/09] No one can deny the commercial impact of Infinity Ward ´s efforts in shaping authentic shooters. Most notably was Call of duty 4 , with its jump to modern warfare, that has created a great cult following with similar games trying to achieve the same gold status since its release. No one has, but finally, after all the gathered hype and excitement at its tipping point, Modern Warfare 2…
The Sam Fisher we once knew is gone along with his tremendously skillful abilities to slink around in the shadows and carry out orders for the NSA sub-branch agency known as Third Echelon . Instead were giving in favor a vengeance seeking rouge agent on a personal vendetta to pursue the man responsible for the death of his daughter. Conviction is more than a new outing in Ubisofts long running stealth/action series…
With the Call of Duty series being at the top of its game there seems to be very little room or possibilities for other military shooters to carve out a niche in this ever growing landscape. Medal of Honor was once a beloved series comprised of first person shooters devoted to the World War II era but as time passed on, Medal of Honor became an unappealing force to be reckoned with and was still stuck in the muddy…
What is Minecraft really? How about a better question -- What isnt Minecraft? Its a sandbox game populated by animals, resources and all sorts of danger that culminates in a sprawling, 3D-world comprised of blocky polygons. Yes, Minecraft is not a pretty looking game but thats also what makes it so charming. When you start a new game it only takes mere seconds for the game to generate huge, never ending landscapes…
Visceral games survival-horror space outing from 2008 was lauded by many for its creepy aspirations and how it culminated so many different elements that as a whole yielded an original result. Dead Space was a great game but the game sadly fell abit short on greatness thanks to repetetive environments and an uninteresting main protagonist. The sequel however does not squander in any of those ways, delivering and…
2009´s Borderlands successfully brought "Role playing shooters" to the forefront with its imaginative, addictive design. However, if you thought uncovering the truth behind the vault meant closing the book of Pandoran adventures, think again. Set on an Island under the control of one the many weapons manufacturer referenced in the original, The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned pits vault hunters against threats that have…
Read the full review A quirky and atmospheric return to Pandora.
[This review was originally written 11/12/07] First person shooters have slowly started to detract from the PC were the genre originated from, seeing it´s way towards consoles with thumbsticks in favour of a mouse and keyboard setup. This however isn´t the case with Crysis, an emergent and thrilling experience that is only possible on the PC. It may be one of the biggest system hogs to date and anyone with a beefed…
Ezio´s trek through renaissance italy and his struggle to overthrow the Borgia is a journey that once again casts a shadow over Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. Because unlike the entry that preceeded it (Assassin's Creed II) Brotherhood is more of a diversion too keep fans busy prior to a possible fullbodied third game, thankfully, its a really good diversion. Not only does Brotherhood add meaningful improvements and…
Its impressive when games manages to embrace alot of elements from different genres while still providing a unique experience and Borderlands is indeed the case with this. It offers satisfying and comfortable first person combat with slick controls that games like Call of Duty have beaten into our muscle memory, dig a little deeper and you will also come across the character progression and loot hunting reminiscent…
Treyarch has been under the Call of Duty helm for only a couple of titles now but have failed to hit the mark with iterations that have come off more like stop gaps prior to Infinity Ward´s fullblown mega hits that have ushered into a world of jaw dropping sales and critical acclaim. The question is if the latest entry, Black ops manages to leave its own mark or if it´s just another blip on the radar. Woods is a…
Doube time it, Noble!Halo has always been the jewel crown in the overwhelming genre of First person shooters as the first Halo: Combat Evolved would eventually blossom into a phenomenon with its innovative gameplay, epic storyline, awesome multiplayer sweet and flashes of brilliance that has yet to be mastered. These are all elements that have been spilled over into its two sequels which has taken the series into…
Epic beards culminate almost all of your brothers in war. With the Call of Duty series being at the top of its game there seems to be very little room or possibilities for other military shooters to carve out a niche in this ever growing landscape. Medal of Honor was once a beloved series comprised of first person shooters devoted to the World War II era but as time passed on, Medal of Honor became an unappealing…
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