10 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.
I’m not in the business of reviewing multiplayer games. In fact, I’m not in the business of any sort of business. This review of Call of Duty: Black Ops will cover the single-player portion of the latest smash-hit title, of which there is much to say. Call of Duty: Black Ops is developer Treyarch’s largely successful attempt at upping the craziness ante established in Modern Warfare 2. By moving ahead 20 years from…
I recently watched the 1995 “Goldeneye” movie this game is more or less based on, and it still holds up! The game’s history is a bit more complicated than that though. The first Goldeneye game was developed by Rare as a movie tie-in, but what secured its place in gaming history was the split-screen multiplayer suite. It helped define what multiplayer on consoles is all about, the sort of social, pick-up-and-play fun…
Sonic CD is a game for the Sega CD, or Mega CD depending on where you live, featuring everyone's favourite blue hedgehog. It's also the first apperance of Metal Sonic and Amy Rose, two of those Sonic side characters everyone loves to hate. At least it doesn't have Big the Cat. Tails is suspiciously absent, one has to wonder if seeing Sonic in the shower traumatised him for good. The Sega CD is a device with some…
I initially decided to play Fallout: New Vegas in a similar way to how I played Fallout 3 two years ago – as a good guy bringing justice to the wasteland. What I found was a game where the line between good and evil wasn’t quite as clear cut. Take the Brotherhood of Steel for instance, the closest you got to a «good guy» in Fallout 3. In this game, they’re pretty much a bunch of dicks! Certainly not evil, but…
It’s no secret that Castlevania is a franchise that’s struggled through low sales numbers and a couple of awkward previous attempts at transitioning into 3D gameplay. And yet, it’s perservered and remains one of the oldest franchises still active and still with significant mindshare among gamers. Recently it has found a home on DS with a series of three excellent 2D games modelled after the 1997 crowning achievement…
Bungie continues to do what Bungie does well – but is this the end for the Halo we know? It’s kind of strange going back to a proper Halo game after having played a bunch of shooters where “aiming down the sights” is integral to the gameplay because that’s not really how Halo rolls. I found it refreshing to be back in the Spartan armor, mixing up vehicular and on-foot combat, and punching grunts in the face. Even…
Metroid Other M is Team Ninja's take on the Metroid franchise and it's an interesting mix of styles. Interesting, yes, but with some fundamental flaws. The worst of these is the characterisation of Samus Aran. The portrayal of her is Team Ninja's attempt at giving the player insight into her personality and history but what we discover doesn't seem consistent with the «silent badass» Samus we've seen in previous…
Starcraft II's budget is right there up on the screen. From the moment you boot it up it's clear that this is a lavish package without precedent in PC gaming. Another thing that's nearly unprecedented is a twelve year gap between games in such a gigantic franchise (not counting Brood War ). For maybe the first time, Blizzard could afford to actually spend seven or so years on development for a single game. It's hard…
The 4 words in the headline sum up my feelings on this high budget PS3 exclusive. Most reviews at the time of its release were quick to point out the excellent multiplayer suite, including the MMO-style levelling system and co-op "raids." These all work extremely well and are a lot of fun. Exhilarating even. Running from objective to objective with your crew, and killing massive bosses is highly enjoyable and…
Final Fantasy 13 doesn't leave a great first impression. It then actually gets fun for quite a while, but the aftertaste isn't really that sweet. The game tells its story in a completely linear fashion, which I actually prefer in most cases if the story is interesting. There's a decent story here but it's clumsily told. Terms are thrown about that you have no connection to until you go into the datalogs to read up…
