53 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.
At it’s heart, Warriors: Legends of Troy is another simple Hack and Slash that we’ve seen copied over and over again in the past. The few perks the game does present however, create a satisfying play through all the way to the game’s conclusion. Developed by KOEI Canada, Warriors: Legends of Troy brings us a satisfying experience, but not one that we haven’t seen before. Only the second game the developer has put…
At the core, Red River is a gritty, tactical based shooter that brings to life what war is really all about. However, the game fails to draw in the player. The game as a whole is just boring; worst yet, it will frustrate you more than it satisfies you as a gamer. Operation Flashpoint: Red River is a dirty, gritty, military simulation created by Codemasters. It is not the first entry into the franchise either and has…
The original Just Case was weighed down from a variety of bugs, a complicated control scheme, and a heap of mundane missions that squeezed the life of out of the potential the game offered at the time, which was the thrill of exploring a tropical island. Just Cause 2 retains the same vibe, explore a large tropical island, but falls short of greatness, be-riddled with many of the same flaws and mishaps the original…
The long and short of Resistance 3 is that it is fun. Unfortunately, it offers is nothing we haven’t yet seen in a shooter from the past. The story isn’t compelling, multiplayer isn’t groundbreaking, but the core of the game is simply fun. The Resistance franchise has been in the works since 2006 and marked itself as one of the biggest PS3 exclusive franchises to date. It brought an engrossing story to the table and…
Killzone 3 is the perfect example of a shooter done right. It is the most engrossing shooter I’ve ever played thanks to it’s compelling story and bestial combat, your heart won’t stop pounding in your chest until you’ve reached the very end! Killzone 3 is everything I could ask from a perfect shooter. My likes far outnumber the minor dislikes I have for the game. It is more than the typical shooter that places a…
Batman is back and is facing his biggest challenge yet! All the crooks Batman has ever faced have united under Jokers banner and have taken over Arkham Asylum. Will Batman thwart whatever Joker has planned up his sleeve? Better yet, was Rocksteady able to bring the classic DC comic hero to life in an interactive Video Game? Batman makes a glorious return to the world of video games after countless disappointments…
Dead Island is finally the RPG that every zombie slayer fan has been waiting for: a beautiful open world game, with an intriguing story and a fluid combat system. Guts, gore, bones and blood will all be spilled on the Island of Banoi today. Lets just hope that it isn’t yours. The game is bloody and violent without reason and puts off a vibe that will make you feel like the last person on earth if you dare to venture…
Battlefield 3 pushes to extend the franchise into an entire new territory. The game features an all new ambitious campaign, a neat spin on co-op, and a extravagantly improved multiplayer component. The game is a sheer blast to play! Modern shooters in the past few years have centered in on blockbuster like experiences in where action sequences are fast and simply insane. While the single player campaign in…
Dragon Age is back with another gargantuan experience that sets the bar ever so higher as to how stories in games should be told. Though the game doesn’t quite live up to its predecessor’s hype, BioWare still managed to bring another fun-filled, epic experience to our hands! The few things that make sense in Dragon Age 2 is that people are bad, darkspawn must die, and dragons are a pain in the you know what! Dragon…
“Here we go again.” Nathan Drake is back in an all new thrilling masterpiece that is a complete joy to play from start to finish. Uncharted 3 is the sole reason why I own a PlayStation 3. It such a fun and engaging game. My only complaint is where is the sequel? The game is a masterpiece just simply waiting to be recognized. Very little in the game is “new” and nothing we haven’t seen before, but it is the most…
The year after year Madden franchise would seemingly have to be very addictive. However, this year, the series seemed to have taken a turn for the worst. Madden 12 houses more problems and bugs than improvement and innovation. The game is one giant step backwards, when I expected them to be moving the opposite. The problem with Madden 12 is that can’t seem to execute the plan originally mapped out. As last year,…
If there is one sentence that can sum up my disappointment of Assassin’s Creed 3, it’s that bigger does not always mean better. Ubisoft did everything they could to push their game into bold, new territory, that in the end, was just too much. Players will likely spend the first ten hours of the game just trying to figure out what to do. The game is truly massive, of which I think takes away from what past Assassin’s…
How do you create a successor to the Nintendo DS, the most successful handheld ever made? In a little over six years, the DS sold 146.8 million units. That is the feat Nintendo has to overcome. Their solution? The world’s first glasses-free 3D video game handheld. Nintendo is relying very heavily on the 3DS to once again revolutionize handheld gaming, an area quickly becoming overrun by hundreds of different phones,…
The annual release of yet another Call of Duty game has arrived once again, smashing sales records and deriving us from our social lives to beat our buddies to the level cap in multiplayer. And that’s all there is to it. The formulaic sequence of events that has happened every year since Modern Warfare is now what defines not just the series, but its fan base following as well. We wake up at midnight to get our copy…
I originally thought that Batman: Arkham Asylum was the greatest Batman video game of all time, perhaps even one of the greatest entertainment mediums for the comic book hero ever made. But Rocksteady has left me dumbfounded and confused. Batman: Arkham City is so good, it makes the first game look bad! All of the classic elements I so dearly loved about the iconic bat growing up can be found in the game. From the…
Fans of the Lord of the Rings Online MMO have waited a long time –pretty much forever– for an expansion worth their time. The past two entries put forth into the five-year standing game have been cookie-cutter at best, hurting the game more-so than it did improve it. Riders of Rohan is the best, and largest, expansion since we first braved the depths of Moria many years ago, and it is the reason every past player of…
Read the full review The Lord of the Rings Online: Riders of Rohan
Spec Ops: The Line is one of the best shooters I’ve played this console generation… And I’m sick of shooters to be quite frank. Every other game that comes out is a shooter these days. Spec Ops: The Line is a thought-provoking game that deserves to recognized, backed by some fantastic voice-work, a gorgeous setting within the Arabian Desert, and a satisfying, gritty outlook on what war can do to the mind. Expect the…
Uncharted is one of most, if not favorite game series this console generation. From the witty dialogue, beloved characters, and the many engrossing adventures I’ve gotten to go on with Nathan Drake, few other video game franchises could quite match the experience I have always gotten out of an Uncharted game. So I was confident based on what I’ve seen that the Vita could do that the little portable console could…
Portable shooters aren’t anything that we haven’t seen before, they just haven’t ever taken off the ground, having to cling to face button controls or gimmicky touch screen controls for aiming. But with the Vita, a full on FPS experience now seems possible thanks to the systems two analog sticks, ideal for shooters. But since Insomniac has abandoned development on the Resistance franchise in favor of pursuing other…
The Madden games have arguably gotten worse and worse as time has gone on this console generation, gradually dipping lower in lower with the critics. Last year’s entry was one of the worst in the franchise’s history from my viewpoint, so Tiburon had a lot to do over the off-season to reel me back in. One step at a time. That’s how you should right your wrongs before moving past them and that’s exactly what Tiburon…
At first glance, most might write off this game as a Sony-branded Super Smash Bros. clone. While in some ways that may be true, that would be unfair to the game since it does a lot to differ itself from its competitor’s counterpart thanks to its many tweaks and own unique style to various parts of the game. More importantly, who doesn’t want to play as any of the multiple iconic characters of Sony’s past franchises?…
Crytek’s Crysis Warhead is the standalone expansion to the original Crysis. Unfortunately for console gamers, the game is only for the computer at this time, but who knows? Crytek may plan to port the game over sometime this year. But for those of you who have the PC rig powerful enough to handle the game, Warhead is an essential buy for PC gamers. The game follows Psycho from the original game instead of…
When Crysis launched on PC back in 2007, the game became an instant legend thanks to its breathtaking technologically feats and gorgeous vistas that strained even the most beefier of gaming rigs back then. There was a spoof that went around claiming NASA supercomputers could only run the game at max settings for no more than 10 minutes before crashing. Of course that isn’t true, but it does contribute to the sheer…
Have you ever wondered what the God of War games would have been like if the protagonist wasn’t Kratos, but one of the many lustrous prostitutes scattered throughout Ancient Greece? Well, if that’s on your bucket list, then the cover of what is Heavenly Sword probably drew you right in. The game stars a beautiful looking woman, Nariko, donned in nothing but her lingerie and a sword. On the outside she may seem like…
Since God of War first debuted on the PlayStation 2 back in 2005, Kratos has campaigned against his enemies across three different systems now, and in this case, the PSP. The Origins collection brings the two adventures, Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta, to the PS3, since before they were only found on the PSP. And with the transition to the big screen comes a flashy new coat of high-definition for the games…
The Assassin’s Creed series is one of the biggest gaming franchises of this console generation, and one of my most favorite game series to have ever gotten the pleasure of playing. I’ve always been a geek for history and the Assassin Creed games allowed me to escape to those historical worlds I could have only ventured into with books and movies . I got to personally relive history. Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation is…
It’s been a long year for fans of the racing-style games. With very few games launching within the genre, its become a bit of a challenge for those who enjoy those racing-esque styled games, or enjoy the thrill of driving on the open road, bolting away from the police. Other than Need for Speed: Most Wanted, practically nothing else has shown its face on the market for racing fans. So lets take a quick trip back in…
The crazy crime title that is Saints Row: The Third accomplishes the first priority of which I think games must have to complete first on their “checklist,” a fun time. From parachuting out of airplanes, navigating tanks through the streets, to witty and humorous punch lines and whacking assailants on the side of the head with giant dildos, Saints Row: The Third was perhaps the most fun game I’ve played in a long…
Developed by the same team that created Heavenly Sword, developer Ninja Theory shows off all the goodies the Unreal Engine 3 can give us. Even though the visuals are something we can commonly find on our handheld games today, it was still a treat to see none the less. Enslaved takes the typical, post-apocalyptic setting and mixed in a variety of steam punk and futuristic, science fiction for its world. But as…
I have to admit I had my doubts going into Orcs Must die 2, and I had good reason to. The game’s predecessor had launched only just ten months before the release of its sequel, not garnering much praise for the developer by myself. I’ve never been one to praise a developer for milking a game’s success by releasing sequel after sequel until its popularity simply ran dry. And that’s what I had originally assumed with…
To quickly quell everyone’s minds, Mass Effect Infiltrator is not an RPG. There is no special level-up system, no lengthy dialogue sessions, or shiny, big spaceships to fly around like in the other Mass Effect games. Infiltrator is simply a cover-based shooter through and through, homing in on what I particularly thought was the weak link of the original Mass Effect games, the combat. Players can play through nine,…
The iPhone has never really been a destination of choice for many gamers of who were looking for a good scare from their games. If we were craving horror, most likely we’d have to resort to our home anchored consoles for satisfaction. Thankfully, the Dead Space iteration for idevices delivers in its promise for true horror gameplay in good old fashion Dead Space style. You are codename: Vandal, yet another engineer…
Ever the innovator, id Software has crafted together a lavishing looking shooter that is both fun and best of all, smooth in performance to play. I loved Battlefield 3 and the wonderful graphics the game came equipped with, but I was never really hooked on how the game’s combat performed. It felt stiff, clunky, seemingly weighed down by the in-numerous texture files my Xbox had to forcefully plow through. Rage…
The lackluster gameplay world of the modern RPG has finally met their match with Kingdoms of Amalur. Even after 40 hours, I was still chugging along at quests through the expansive world the game has to offer at ease. Every second I spent tuned into my character was a second of fun that felt well spent. I didn’t feel sorry for myself after a ten-hour play time session like I sometimes feel in games like Fallout or…
Total War Battles: Shogun isn’t the best iOS game out there. But nor is it the worst. Creative Assembly and Sega’s first attempt to bring their award-winning Total War franchise to the iOS platform is one that seems littered with small, easy fix problems here and there that could have been addressed with simply more development time. That shouldn’t surprise the lot of you who are probably already fans of the PC game…
F.E.A.R. 2 is a tricky game to wrap my head around. I would sometimes forget I was playing a horror game and become fully entangled in the shooter aspect of the game, feeling like I was apart of yet another Call of Duty themed roller-coaster ride when the action got tense. But then on other occasions, I’d be panting for breath and struggling to stay in my chair as hideous creatures jumped out at me from all…
The role playing game that arguable defined the genre for this past generation of consoles, the PS3 and 360, left me in awe once I finally broke away from it 75 hours from the start. It wasn’t just an enhanced version of the hit success Oblivion, it was an entirely new game. So it was obvious not to have any ridiculously high expectations for the game going into it. The only thing the game suffered from was a…
The wild west has made many writers and actors both famous and rich over the years. Countless television shows and movies have come and gone depicting their own adaptions of the lawless west, and the majority of them were flawless hits. The setting was what made the on the on-screen cameo so good. The western genre had all the essential pieces needed to make a perfect movie. They just never clicked in video games.…
Shooters have come and gone over the course of the past many years, many of them slipping by us because the industry has become so overwhelming inflated by them. What I think defines a good shooter game is dependent upon how well the core mechanics of the game play out. Is the game fun? Are the controls in sync with what’s happening on the screen, or more importantly, does the action flow or feel fluid? But the…
When I play a game, I love to have a challenge. The kind of challenge that can only be overcome by wit or talent alone, perhaps both. The problem with Viking: Battle for Asgard is that the challenge proposed often counteracts with what the game was made for. Thanks to some very poor game mechanic flaws, many of what would’ve been the big highlights of the game were lost in a flurry of disappointing. More like a…
How many remakes does it take to realize you’ve failed? 007 Reloaded is a remake of the remake done for the Wii, and both have taken turns for the worst. The game simply repackaged the Wii’s edition, but with the addition of some flashier graphics that still don’t resemble anything far from average, and some extra game play modes. The game ships with an entirely new story than that of its N64 roots, though it…
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North takes players to an area untouched by Tolkien and the movies. The game introduces an entire new story line, a marvelous soundtrack, and fun co-op RPG action. The game also brands an M rating thanks to the savage combat system. What the game lacks is “guts.” Snowblind Studious took no risks when it came to stepping outside the box. The story is very bland to say the least,…
Read the full review The Lord of the Rings: War in the North
It’s pretty clear that Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver were simply made to hold us over until the big launch that was Pokémon Black and White. Yet the re-scripted classic GameBoy color versions of Pokémon Gold and Silver bring many new, exciting features to the franchise, and it wouldn’t be fair to say that this is just a remake of a ten year-old adventure. The game reuses the same 3D platform as Pokémon Pearl,…
For every game review that I’ve written, I always managed to make it through to the end of the game. I make sure that I have played through everything the game had to offer. Stronghold 3 is the first the game that really gave me a run for my money. It was one long, grueling journey to the very end. But hey, now I am able to say that I am one of the few people who actually completed Stronghold 3. It’s that bad. The…
Rift is the perfect MMO out there for any newcomer into the genre. For veterans, everything you’d hope to be here is, yet it will all grow old on you very quick. Rift’s claims that “we’re not in Azeroth anymore” grows true to the technical meaning, but in reality the entirety of your adventure in Telara will feel like one long deja vu moment. The game seemingly took everything you loved and adored about other MMOs…
Five years from now, the world as we know it will change. Governments will collapse and mega corporations will take over as the new leaders of our technologically driven world. Neural implanted chips will make electronic devices obsolete, supplying us with a vast wealth of knowledge at the tip of our fingers. That is the world of the future, or so that’s how it goes in Syndicate. But recreating a game in an entirely…
For the first ever, a Nintendo handheld has gotten not one, but two core Pokémon games in its lifespan! Squeezing itself in at the tail end of the DS life-cycle, Pokémon Black and White breathes new life into a somewhat depleted franchise that I thought was beginning to run out of ideas. But boy was I wrong. The game brings not only brings the entire new Unova region for trainers to explore and battle in, but…
It was only a matter of time before Disney’s hit movie franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean was transformed into the world of LEGOs. Encompassing all four of the movies in the series, developer TT Games takes the old LEGO formula that has worked in past games and replies it here. And that’s why the game flopped. For those of you who are fans of the movie franchise, you will probably find yourself disappointed since…
Read the full review LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game
