89 public 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 think I owe Final Fantasy: Lightning Returns an apology; as much as its narrative was a casserole made from weeks-old vomit and rat droppings it had a real desire to be different. Its battle system and associated mechanics were in retrospect pretty unique and a lot of fun in of themselves. The tension in battles and the extensive customisation were great hooks to keep me motivated and there doesn’t appear to have…
With such an intense media profile it would be forgiveable to assume that Aloy, the red-headed protagonist from Guerrilla’s open world adventure, was some sort of political deity. You know the type, the kind whose portrait adorns the walls of every household to remind the citizenry of the devotion they owe to their beneficent goddess. But whilst the girl certainly doesn’t have the egomania bordering on psychosis…
Despite being intimately familiar with Christine Love's work, I find myself unable to give a definite answer as to whether I consider her to be a good writer. Her work is full of heady ideas and there is little doubt as to it being the result of a curious and intelligent mind, however their presentation has often left me struggling to get an emotional hold on them. It is conceivable that this is a question of…
If Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak were a student it would be the unassuming person in the corner of the library dutifully studying. They’re not cool or prima facia interesting, but they understand how to play life’s long game and know that the dues paid now will surely yield dividends later on when the full force of adult life comes crashing in. It’s the student that loves classic literature, not out of any attempts…
Whether it be hubris or the simple limitation of ones talent, there is a strange habit of many developers to have ideas for games that while in theory sound wonderful, yet are inevitably released as shoddy half-hearted efforts where a kinder soul might attribute such failure to lack of time, or money. More often than not it's the case with genuinely new and unique ideas, but where the fact of it not having been…
If Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak were a student it would be the unassuming person in the corner of the library dutifully studying. They’re not cool or prima facia interesting, but they understand how to play life’s long game and know that the dues paid now will surely yield dividends later on when the full force of adult life comes crashing in. It’s the student that loves classic literature, not out of any attempts…
It’s becoming ever more difficult for me to remain positive about the games industry. There exists a growing sense of alienation that has been difficult to shake and up till now accurately characterise. It’s not so much a feeling that most games these days are not aimed at me, although that certainly plays its part, but rather that the underlying design ethos that run through the likes of Dishonored 2 is…
Mother Russia Bleeds is strangely unremarkable. Despite all the gore and deviant behaviour on show the lasting impression is one of relative indifference. The clunky and repetitive combat is clearly part of a homage to brawlers of yesteryear but it does the experience no favours and ultimately negates any hope at a proper recommendation. It’s not smart enough to be subversive, nor is it nasty enough to be genuinely…
It would not surprise me to learn that if the world were to be conquered by a malevolent AI, that at some point it was the power behind Ubisoft. How they remain so successful in spite of treating video game development like battery farming, how their armies of drones create so many games to the same overarching, focus-tested schematic is just too cold and calculating to be the work genuine human beings. I certainly…
It would not surprise me to learn that if the world were to be conquered by a malevolent AI, that at some point it was the power behind Ubisoft. How they remain so successful in spite of treating video game development like battery farming, how their armies of drones create so many games to the same overarching, focus-tested schematic is just too cold and calculating to be the work genuine human beings. I certainly…
To call Dreamfall Chapters a disappointment is moot, of course it was always going to be. The Longest Journey and its sequel are over 10 years old now. When I played those games I was not the person I am now and the very industry that spawned them has changed almost beyond recognition. Whenever a story is left for so long the expectations for its conclusion will almost never be met. That Dreamfall Chapters was made…
Salt & Sanctuary isn't so much Dark Souls in two dimensions, but Castlevania as one would hope to imagine it in 2016. Ska Studios, up until now synonymous with anarchic 2D fisticuffs, have produced their most ambitious and complex title to date. Through the filter of From Software's dark fantasy franchise, Salt & Sanctuary effortlessly combines elements of 2D platformers, brawlers, character action games and RPGs…
Salt & Sanctuary isn't so much Dark Souls in two dimensions, but Castlevania as one would hope to imagine it in 2016. Ska Studios, up until now synonymous with anarchic 2D fisticuffs, have produced their most ambitious and complex title to date. Through the filter of From Software's dark fantasy franchise, Salt & Sanctuary effortlessly combines elements of 2D platformers, brawlers, character action games and RPGs…
Refreshingly archaic is how I’d best describe Resident Evil Zero. For all the ridiculously contrived puzzles and heroically awful line readings there remains an interesting mix of adventure, exploration and combat that appears to be somewhat of a rarity these days. Originally released on the Gamecube back in 2002, the 2016 remaster is an odd throwback to the days when the series was more classic adventure game than…
There is unique sadism in the way Darkest Dungeon tries on the one hand to make you care about its heroes and yet at the same time does everything in its power to mercilessly slaughter them. You can rename them, tweak their abilities and the process of developing them is fun and rewarding. It has all the things that help you get attached and yet all it takes for everything to come crashing down around you can be a…
I had a ritual when it came to most driving games; sit back, put some music on, and roll around the track for however long it took to win. Be it Forza, Gran Turismo, or the much missed Project Gotham my approach was one of relaxation and taking in the amazing graphics that racing games are so often the vanguard for. There was always the potential for challenge; to turn things up and test the limits of my modest…
Browsing the screenshots prior to purchasing and indeed playing Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse it was difficult not to notice the amount of cleavage on display. Now whatever one may think of this, and I must admit to being impressed by the imagination that decided to use a bra and trousers to create a monster’s face, it’s hard to deny it can be somewhat distracting, and after multiple patches it’s hard to find any…
Rise of the Tomb Raider is a well oiled machine, where it’s many moving parts all fit together nicely and the whole thing runs smoothly doing exactly what it was meant to. Many years of practice and expertise have clearly been invested in the project, and yet, in spite of all the technical craft on display, it’s oddly soulless, and but for a few arresting visuals feels like an almost academic exercise in generic…
Upon reflection there isn't anything particularly original about Jotun, and yet its majesty is unmistakable. The way it portrays its classic take on Nordic mythology is near peerless in its execution. The art design, the music, and especially the voice acting give the entire experience a heightened sense of immersion and create a strong feeling of authenticity around its subject matter. Now whether or not that…
It always makes me wince when qualitative descriptions are used by developers and publishers when marketing games. Whilst I understand the necessity to promote those aspects of the experience that will likely attract the most attention, any talk about how impressive the world, or in the case of Dontnod’s Life is Strange, how well written the story is, has alarm bells sounding in my head almost immediately. The…
Xenoblade Chronicles X was an alienating experience. As a fan of the 2011 predecessor on the Wii, and as a grown up, it was really quite painful to witness the discarding of so much of what made the previous game worthwhile. That sense of journey, the growth and development of its characters, the romance and the beautiful score, all now thrown upon the scrap heap and replaced with open world tedium and sub-George…
One has to wonder about the life of all those incredibly talented artists that work on video games; often having to see all their hard work mangled into polygons that really don’t do justice to their vivid imaginations. One only has to look at the artwork for the likes of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 or Deus Ex: Human Revolution to see the discrepancy between the concept and the on-screen actuality. No matter how…
Vlad the Impaler is not a visual novel, a visual short story perhaps? It seems conceivable that if you know what you’re doing in this grisly little tale that you could finish within 10 minutes, provided you did not take the time to actually read it. But that of course would be to miss all the fun, and if you are into stories about vampires, ritualistic killings, and self-mutilation, then there is potentially fun to…
Ah, BloodRayne, one of gaming’s many butchered IPs. There could have been some future for its b-movie gore and sexy half vampire frolicking, but alas it somehow made its way to being largely associated with movies about one level up from digging your eyeballs out with a pencil. For the longest time I thought I would never even actually finish BloodRayne: Betrayal. Having originally played the 360 release some time…
A certain friend of mine has always said that he wish he could get into adventure games. He claims that although he is into the stories and writing he cannot get over the hump that is the way in which puzzles are often shoehorned in at the cost of pacing and sometimes logic. His other issue is how adventure games never seem to give you direct control and instead ask you to click the desired destination for your…
A certain friend of mine has always said that he wish he could get into adventure games. He claims that although he is into the stories and writing he cannot get over the hump that is the way in which puzzles are often shoehorned in at the cost of pacing and sometimes logic. His other issue is how adventure games never seem to give you direct control and instead ask you to click the desired destination for your…
The Cat Lady is a messed up video game. Everything you encounter is ‘off’ in some way or another. It is a dark and twisted little adventure game that explores some incredibly sensitive subject matter and yet somehow manages, within all its brutality and weirdness, to handle them with care and insight. You play as Susan Ashworth; a 40 year old woman suffering from severe depression, who, at the game’s opening, has…
Does George Lucas moonlight for Square Enix? That was one of the questions I was asking myself after the 50 or so hours I had thrown at their latest and (hopefully) final entry in the Final Fantasy XIII series. There truly is something uncanny in how both this and Lucas’ embarrassing prequels follow a similar trajectory; a desperately poor first attempt, a slightly better but still quite rotten follow up, and now…
David Cage is not a very good writer. For all the efforts he has put in with Fahrenheit, Heavy Rain, and now Beyond: Two Souls, he seems incapable of delivering a consistent story that does justice to his admittedly noble ambitions of genuinely emotional storytelling. In previous outings he has failed in this endeavour pretty spectacularly, regaling us with the sort of bottom drawer fiction that would embarrass even…
It is somehow fitting that Blood Knights should be so concerned with vampires, for it mirrors many of their attributes; the off-colour skin, the hollow eyes, the lack of a heartbeat, and yet somehow it retains an allure, something that intrigues you to linger and take a closer look. It offers you an action-rpg with loot, moral choices, co-op (albeit only local), and whispers romance in the ears of those who long for…
There is a strange mix of cowardice and arrogance within the DNA of Insomniac’s first multiplatform title. As a third-person cover shooter it is solid, but nearly everything beyond the competent shooting mechanics are largely uninspired or lazy, yet seems to presume that you will be happy to tolerate it. Originally announced as Overstrike, the colourful and cartoony styling of its first announcement was overhauled…
Memoria, when placed in the pantheon of adventure games, may not ever sit with the greats, but it is nevertheless a solid and, for the most part, engrossing tale of love, the power of memory, and the ambition to rise above one’s own origins. In what is essentially a sequel to The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav , Memoria tells the tale of the previous game’s hero, Geron, and that of Sadja, a princess from 450 years ago…
Defender’s Quest: Valley of the Forgotten isn’t the prettiest game, but as we all know, graphics does not a game make. This tower defence and RPG hybrid by Level Up Labs attempts to ram that point home with some considerable force by combining various mechanics and subtle innovations to create a very unique experience, and one of the best games this humble reviewer has played in some considerable time. Defender’s…
Read the full review Defender's Quest: Valley of the Forgotten
Dust: An Elysian Tail was by in large made by one man, but perhaps more important than that, it was made as a labour of love. From the biggest AAA titles down to the lowliest freeware games, often the key element to greatness is the sense that it was made with care and attention to detail, and that the heart of its creator, or creators, is present within the final product. That this game was designed and coded by…
The former head of the UN, Kofi Annan, once said that war is always a catastrophe, and even though that was the general view of World War 2 stealth title Velvet Assassin, the game itself has much more in common with this view of conflict than nearly all other games set between 1939 and 1945. Developed by German outfit Replay Studios , Velvet Assassin is the rarest of things; an anti-war game. Much has been made of…
There is something wrong with Soul Calibur V, be it the stench of something rotten, or a general feeling of unease, there is something at the heart of this 3D fighter which causes me to move around its slightly barren game modes with a vague disgust. What could it be I wonder? Certainly not the graphics, as they are like before; nice and bright, colourful, and despite not looking the best of what the genre can…
It goes without saying that anyone reading this would already be well acquainted with the Gears of War series. Epic Games' flagship cover shooter hasn't changed all that much from outward appearances, but anyone who has played the first two games in the series will understand that subtle changes can have a larger impact once a controller is in hand. It is thus the same with the latest and by far the best game in the…
£42.99. That was the price for Final Fantasy XIII-2 in my local game shop when it was released. If it had been the standard £39.99 I may have well bought it, but this slight but clear attempt to fleece me after the appalling waste of time which was Final Fantasy XIII , went too far, and I left, leaving thoughts of buying the game on the shop floor. Fast forward several months and after many none too surprising price…
Catherine is two things; a puzzle game and an interactive anime, and in my 15 hours or so with it I was forced to conclude that in both these dimensions, Atlus have produced something of a stinker. Catherine tells the tale of Vincent ; a relatively charm-free and rather witless young man, and his peculiar love life. I say peculiar as it baffled me as to how any sane woman would be interested in this way-faced little…
This is a rather messy review for the single player – I have no friends :’( (on 360) Fear 3 is a first person shooter from day 1 studios and is the third full game in the Fear franchise as you take the brothers, Point Man and Paxton Fettel , on a final jaunt to find and deal with their mother, Alma Wade . This happened to me a lot. Those who have not played any of the previous games, such as myself, may be a little…
Knights Contract is a third person hack and slash, and the last game by Game Republic , the now closed Japanese studio responsible for the likes of Folklore and Majin & the Forsaken Kingdom . Now if you played either of those games and felt they showed potential, but were frustratingly hamstrung by design flaws, then you’ll know exactly what goes on in Knights Contract. For everyone else though, the game is just a…
