15 public written reviews
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In an alternate universe, Capcom released another turgid re-tread of Resident Evil 4 that somehow managed to out-stupid Chris Redfield punching boulders and we all laughed in that sad kind of way. Capcom is its own worst enemy when it comes to milking its cash-cows because the cow in question has been horizontal since 2009 and was starting smell. Resident Evil 6 may be one of the most expensive videogame train…
The Evil Within 2 probably shouldn't exist given its predecessor's limp reception amongst all but Shinji Mikami's most diligent fans. But, in this hypernormalised reality, here The Evil Within 2 is: slicker, less bizarre, and sporting one of those fashionable tragic dad stories that seem to be all the rage these days. In its stylish opening minutes, you don't need Jon Johanas' director credit to realise that this is…
Leadership is a concept that is so often poorly explored in games. Commander Shephard "leads" by being charismatic, capable and oh-so sexy and The Walking Dead's Lee picks between a handful of bad choices for dealing with a desperate situation but as the players, we don't so much lead through him/her as much as we choose which outcome we would prefer. Choice is but one part of leadership and its outcomes are rarely…
Diablo 3 is a wonderful anachronism. In the intervening period between Diablo 2 and its belated successor; mainstream games became 3D, started getting delusions of Hollywood grandeur and got as far away as possible from the grognard mid-maxing numbers-game that Blizzard incorporated into World of Warcraft and then never looked back. Even with the release of Diablo 3 on PC in 2012, there was always a nagging sense…
Expectations are a tricky thing to manage in a world where the internet exaggerates and amplifies everything we engage with on a daily basis. Everything remotely worth talking about is either put on a pedestal as the best thing since the last cool thing that people liked or cast into the fiery pit of things to rage about on the internet. There's no place for a merely "good" thing to merely exist and be appreciated…
Transistor can't escape comparisons to Bastion. How could it? With their first game, Supergiant Games delivered something that would put most veteran game-studios to shame. A near-perfect blending of storytelling and gameplay with presentation values that became iconic on their own right. For better or for worse, Transistor looks and sounds like the successor to Bastion. However, individual aspects of Supergiant's…
Vlambeer’s track record is a remarkable one. The self-styled two-man arcade game developer for the modern era continues to surprise with simple games that wring every ounce of depth out of a single idea. From Super Crate Box to Ridiculous Fishing to the still-evolving Nuclear Throne, Vlambeer has proven themselves time and time again to be masters of the nebulous term: “feel.” Their games “feel” incredible, and…
Something occurred to me during my time with Tomb Raider. As I repeatedly saw the numerous hard surfaces of Tomb Raider play hot potato with the new, young Lara Croft, it was like the team at Crystal Dynamics was trying to show me how serious they were about making a Tomb Raider game that wasn’t a pastiche of Indiana Jones and softcore pornography. The new Tomb Raider is nothing if not a very serious game. It wants…
As arguably the best game of 2009, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves set the bar ridiculously high for Naughty Dog’s next outing with series. The cinematic flair of the action, the peerless character interaction and the incredible pacing of Uncharted 2’s globe-trotting romp has become the yardstick that the competition has failed to meet ever since. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception doesn’t quite measure up to that yardstick.…
In this age of multi-million dollar shooters and inflated development budgets, it’s impossible to imagine a reboot of a 90’s classic strategy game not undergoing some serious changes to appeal to the average player. Rather than try to update an old formula, Starbreeze Studios (they of The Chronicles of Riddick and The Darkness fame) have taken the name and a few thematic elements of 1993’s Syndicate and bolted them…
Though some would argue that he never left our hearts, Max Payne’s belated arrival on this generation of consoles comes with a set of laden questions for the ardent fan. The words on lips of gamers with only a nodding acquaintance with Max’s illustrious legacy of shootdodging and painkillers run along the lines of: “Is this a Max Payne game? Is Max Payne 3 soaked in goofy melodrama, ridiculous writing, liberal daubs…
Simplicity is a concept which few games can pull off without being called "simple", gamers consider it a derogatory term rather than a badge of honour. It's this much maligned adjective that has come to define the brightest and best of the twin-stick shooter genre. Giants of the field such as Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2 have proven that to be brilliant, a twin-stick shooter must do a few things perfectly rather…
There was a point in Dead Space 2 where alarms were going off and lights were flashing an ominous orange. I dimly recalled a similar sequence from the original Dead Space, which meant I also recalled how it ended. Spinning left and right, dementedly trying to point my plasma cutter at every possible opening, in time-honoured fashion I got pumped for a showdown while playing a videogame. And then nothing. Nothing…
If you want to talk about surprises in gaming you talk about Batman: Arkham Asylum. A videogame based off a hugely popular comic and film franchise is almost certainly doomed to mediocrity, yet the then unknown Rocksteady took Batman and made him a gaming icon by pulling off the best action-adventure game in recent memory. As the direct sequel to the most pleasant surprise of 2009, Batman Arkham City has plenty to…
Michel Ancel would probably not appreciate it if you referred to Rayman as the “French Mario”. Ancel’s limbless goofball has never shared much of the limelight that catapulted his more popular and utilitarian counterpart to stardom, occupying a space that has become increasingly under-appreciated and unloved in the HD era. In Rayman Origins, Ancel has brought Rayman full circle back the series roots in 2D…
