70 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.
Through some strange course of events, Fallout turned out to be the last Infinity-Engine-era RPG I ever played. The Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale series caught my eye early on, but I never actually got around to playing Fallout until 2007. So fair warning ... this is an old game, and the interface and combat will take some getting used to. FAQs are your friend. Once you get the swing of things, you're in for one of…
As I was wrapping up the final level, it's easy to forget this game is so old. The environments and characters still look fantastic after all this time, and the action is just as fun as anything I've played in Crysis or Call of Duty 4, despite all their bells and whistles. Even the storyline picked up toward the end. (Too bad it took a dozen-some hours -- and 3 years -- for me to get to this point. I could just…
The downside is -- this looks a lot like Half Life 2 and it's not entirely exciting to go back into the Citadel as soon as you spent the entire first game blasting your way through corridor after corridor. The upside is -- Episode 1 completely takes the level design to new heights. Everything looks familiar, but more immersive ... more authentic .. and more challenging. Combat has a few true challenging spots. Light…
The Half-Life 2 saga is a curious bird. The first two games move along incrementally and slowly ... while the production values and gameplay are impressive, it's easy to lose interest on plot alone. But it's also deliberate. You can tell Valve wants you to absorb the plot fully and really develop some sort of connection with the characters over time. If you've made it through HL2 and Episode One, Episode Two is your…
I picked up Flow as part of PSN's half-price sale on downloadable games. Four dollars is totally reasonable for something as simple and fun like Flow. A friend and I played through the game in a few hours. I think we were both surprised by how eager we were to see how the creatures grow and to see what other animal forms you unlock as you progress. It's not really "addicting" per se, but it definitely has that "just…
We've been hearing about STALKER for so long, it was hard not to expect the worst when this title finally made it out of development and onto store shelves. Lukewarm reviews on release didn't help matters, and I never actually planned to ever buy or play this game. But I started hearing from people I respect just how good this game was. How underappreciated and underrated it was. And how it was one of 2007's best…
[Note: This review is of both Titan Quest and its expansion, Immortal Throne, together.] Titan Quest distills everything that is addicting and innately fun about World of Warcraft and Diablo II into pure kill-loot-kill joy. It can get a little repetitive over time, but there's no question TQ delivers the goods so enjoy it until your brain can't take anymore. First and foremost, TQ gets the classes right. Branching…
Let me first say I realize some people love this game. I'm not one of them. I'd certainly like to be one of them, but it ultimately depends on what you personally think is "fun". Is "fun" gazing at lushly drawn and animated medieval figures in jammed cities with roughly the same amount of personality as a Ken & Barbie playset? Then you will have fun here. Is your idea of "fun" being railroaded from one mini-game…
As a huge fan of Bioware and the first KOTOR, I went into KOTOR II with admittedly large expectations, judging from the franchise, Obsidian's reputation and the generally sterling reviews. But a huge surprise to me -- this is a review of the first 10 hours of KOTOR II: The Sith Lords because, honestly, I couldn't bring myself to play any more without the urge to strangle myself with my keyboard cord. The most…
Read the full review Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords
Jeanne d'Arc was one of the most heavily hyped PSP games in 2007. Serious gamers lauded its story, art direction, and tactical options on the battlefield. I had high expectations going into Jeanne d'Arc, and unfortunately I didn't quite see what all my friends have been raving about. Jeanne d'Arc is definitely a well-designed game, but whether it really takes hold of your imagination depends on how much you enjoy…
Judging by the 15-hour campaign length, I've made it through roughly half of MGS: Portable Ops, and I just can't bring myself to play any further. After suffering through 8 hours of fighting the camera, enduring horrific gunplay, putting up with tedious stealth exploration and plowing throguh unsatisfying hand-to-hand combat, it's time to pull the plug on this game. The most important feature for series fans will be…
There's hardly anything I could say (or need to say) about Bioshock that hasn't already been said countless times. This is one of the definitive games in the first-person genre, right alongside the original Half-Life and Deus Ex, for players who want a fully realized world to explore and riveting storyline to become engrossed with. It's so rare for a game to hit a home run across so many facets, but Ken Lavine and…
Uncharted is a fantastic adventure game in its own right, blending platforming and action with strong characters and an interesting storyline. But it's also a refreshing change of pace from the dark brooding sci-fi / pseudo-sci-fi first-person shooters that's dominating the console action market the last few years. Environments are a blast to explore -- lush, detailed and filled with realistic lighting and water…
I'm not a huge puzzle game fan, but I couldn't help but check out Puzzle Quest after seeing so much positive feedback last year. This is easily one of the best PSP games I've played and a consistently fun, addicting experience. The basic Bejeweled-style puzzle game takes on a great twist with you playing as one of four traditional RPG classes -- druid, mage, warrior or knight (paladin). Each class gets perks via…
Read the full review Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords
I'm probably one of the few people on the planet who's managed not to play Halo all this time, which is really too bad because even after all these years, the game holds up quite well. It's more of an appreciation in hindsight, as Halo has obviously been eclipsed by modern shooters like Call of Duty 4, Half-Life 2 and Crysis. Open-field battles, two-weapon fighting and regenerating shields were really popularized…
I probably would have enjoyed Patapon more if it weren't a portable game and I weren't trying to squeeze in sessions on the subway or at my girlfriend's house while she's watching TV or in situations that I typically make use of my PSP. Being a rhythm-strategy game, Patapon requires your full attention for extended periods of time (some levels 10 minutes or longer) and it's not something you can play on the go with…
Grand Theft Auto 4 is a tour de force. You'll be hard-pressed to think of another video game that makes such a dramatic first impression. A massive, vibrant homage to New York City ... some of the best character development ever seen in video game history ... rock-solid game mechanics polished to a shine like never seen before in this series. A storyline that grips you from the start with characters that engage you…
Chains of Olympus is actually the first God of War game I've played, so the criticisms of recycled gameplay elements didn't factor into my impressions. But even if I had played through the other GoW games, the core mechanics are so fun and intuitive, I doubt they'd detract much from the experience. This is pure action fun, accessible to a wide audience so you don't have to be a hardcore fighting genre nerd to…
I've had MGS3: Subsistence sitting around the apartment for a long time, untouched. I bought it at release but never got the motivation to play through it, largely because I wasn't a big fan of MGS2's over-the-top storylines and heavy cinematic-to-gameplay ratio. Now a few days before MGS4 is released, I felt a duty to actually play through Snake Eater, and all I can say is I feel really, really, REALLY stupid for…
As someone who was extremely disappointed with MGS2 and MGS: Portable Ops, I went into MGS4 with some trepidation. I've seen the good reviews of this series before. I've seen the rabid fan adulation before. And I've seen the basic MGS game mechanics before, which were always creative and interesting but ultimately a little clunky and awkward, especially compared to pure action games. As a pre-cursor to playing MGS4,…
Read the full review Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Fable is a game that does all the little things right but comes up short on the big things. In terms of little touches, Fable is quite fantastic. Day/night cycles, NPC schedules, variable in-game economy, customization through haircuts and tattoos, stylish armor and weapon design ... they've got all the bullet points you'd expect from a modern RPG. The game actually shares a lot in common with World of Warcraft --…
The last few years of The Show have been promising glimpses of how good a baseball game can be. Each iteration made stabs at overtaking EA's MVP Baseball '05 as Best Baseball Game Ever. While the core gameplay in The Show has always been top-notch, each release has been plagued by varied problems -- sub-par graphics in 2007's PS3 version, poor online performance, wonky bugs. But 2008 is the year where The Show has…
