110 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.
Machinarium is from small Czech indie developer who have previously released Samorost 1 & 2. Both Samorost games are traditional point&click games running on Flash. The special thing about the Samorost games is their unique art style. Machinarium follows the same game-play and stylish art style. Bridge As the name implies there is lot's on machines in the game. The main character is in fact a small robot . Not much…
While doing a recent cleanup this exclusive found it's way to my PSP. Was easy decision since got really fond memories of SWAT 3 and of course Sierra who was the publisher. SWAT is a tactical shooter. A genre which sadly is absent from today's shooters. Of course one can use tactics on any today's Halo or COD but not in same depth as in the early Rainbow Six or SWAT games. This PSP game is from 2006 and sadly the…
There are not many games my anti-gamer wife enjoys. It is usually the violence that puts her off first. Strangely that was not the case with Limbo. Developed by Danish Playdead Studios . Despite Limbo's (at times) grotesque violence she admitted really liking the game. Game-play for this moody title can be described as a platform game with some puzzle and thriller elements. Only action button's are pull/push and…
Chances are that if you have played a lot of video-games you have played Ninja Bros before. Or at least it will feel like so. This simple XBLA indie puzzle/platformer was released in 2009 and can be purchased for mere 80MS points. Ninja Bros as the name implies consist of several ninjas controllable ninja s, four to be exact. One ninja for each of controllers face button (red, green, blue and yellow). The movement…
I remember a friend hype-ing this game when it was first out. Seemed like yet another generic anime fighter. Since that I've finished Killer 7 . Which is another game from same guy Suda51 (guy behind No More Heroes). Which in fact was Suda51;s breakthrough game and that in many ways can be considered as is a spiritual successor to No More Heroes. Franchise s popularity is shown with a sequel that came out less than…
Gravitron 2 is retro style shooter ala Asteroids and Thrust . Developed by indie developer: Dark Castle Software . Game idea is relatively simple. You are in control of a small spaceship that needs to go through 40 levels. Target on each level is to destroy a building of some sort. Worlds are filled with cannons, tanks and laser 's making the opposition harder. Controls are simple with directional and one weapon. As…
Turba is Latin word meaning crowd. Other than the online leaderboard there is no other relation to world Turba in this indie puzzle. Game-play for this silly titled game is lifted from Bejeweled where three blocks are matched to make way for more blocks. Difference with Turba is that the game boards are generated randomly based on the music file loaded in the beginning of the game. This might sound like a perfect…
A fitting movie to get a own 8-bit game. Not in sense that the movie is something spectacular. Instead fitting based on the video game references the franchise does. That again is based on Bryan Lee O'Malley comic books. As with the movie I feel that the game doesn't hit the target audience properly. Licensed game based on a teenage movie which again is basically a 8-bit brawler game. One would think that the…
Demon's Souls was a sleeper hit that is considered to be one the best games of Playstation 3 in 2009. Right after Uncharted 2 that is. Year later we Europeans get this fine title over here as well. The waiting has been rewarded in form of Black Phantom edition which throws in a art book, soundtrack and strategy guide. What this game is most known for is no doubt the difficulty. If the player is not prepared the…
Playing original Playstation 1 game in year 2010 is a strange thing. Especially when plaing a title as highly regarded as the first Driver game. There is still no game today that captures the 1970's car chase movies such as The Driver or Bullit as well as this game does. Driving in Driver 1 is as fun as it looks like in these movies. And probably the reason why many considered Driver to be the best game for…
Dangers with digital distribution are evident with this game. When Sega 's and Ferrari 's license expired this year the game had to pulled from both XBLA and PSN . PSN version already has been removed. The Xbox later this year. For people who have purchased the game can of course always download the game from the download history, this at least the case with XBLA version. Origins of Outrun Online Arcade lie in the…
Read the full review Get it while you can. Or actually don't
Let's start dissecting this title by looking at the name first. Blue Dragon of course is a IP that got started on Xbox 360 . The game was standard JRPG fare with some really impressive character models, as well as deep combat system. Blue Dragon Plus is a direct sequel for this game. Platform has moved from Xbox 360 to Nintendo DS. And the game has gotten a plus title attached to the name. Which would imply that…
Bit Trip 's fourth installment in their rhythm game series is being looked at here. Platform for this retro-like game is Wiiware . This is a boss fight Game-play is simple 2D platform type. Where the main character Commander Vide o is trying to reach goal line by running from left to right. The actual running is not controlled at all. Only a simple moves to dodge obstacles are given. Such as jumping, dodging,…
Apologies for the daft name play on the subject. Exploding squirrels is the best description for title. Urban Space Squirrels is a puzzle/platformer XBLA Indie game. Not too different from N+ or Splosion Man . Some relations to Portal 's puzzle can be seen as well. Masked Rodent The tiny creature in hand here is a super power squirrel that can withold explosions and use these for longer and higher jumps. Which is…
Some combination on the title? Unfortunately this is not a freak Atlus version of Dizzy's Adventures or anything. "Just" a simple puzzle game. Game is developed by Blitz , more accurately their arcade department. Atlus was the publisher for this 2009 title that recently has been on Steam sale for ridiculous low price. To best describe Droplitz one could compare this a mixture between Lumines and Pipe Dream . The…
The very first JRPG for Xbox 360 by Mistwalker / Artoon that was released in 2007 for the western audience. Since then Blue Dragon has become a franchise with two additional Nintendo DS games. Story is a epic fantasy and steampunk aspects. The main characters Shu , Jiro and Kluke live in a small village that gets tormented by purple cloud and nasty land shark. One day Shu throws a hissy fit and decides to put a stop…
Indie games are cool. We all agree on that, right? Often these titles can be picked up for almost nothing. In Hero Core's case it is excatly that. Game can be downloaded freely from developer Daniel Remar's site . Game-play is a combination of shooter/platformer action. Protagonist Flip Hero flies around in a asteroid base in his jetpack . Story is simple, his nemesis Cruiser Tetron must be stopped. He encounters…
BIt Boy is a Wiiware game from Austrian Bplus that tries to charm with its retro feel. The player is controlling Bit Boy Kubi who is a cube living in the 128bit world. A time machine incident gets him in contact with a monster from the 4bit world. The pixelated monster takes all of Kubi's friends through the time machine back to its time. And it is Kubi's task to go through time and rescue his block friends,…
XBLA Indie games are a strange thing. With no quality control the good games get buried beneath all the releases. Such as this. Giantbomb's Related Games comes to rescue here. The nice people who have better knowledge of Indie games have created these fine links. Having just finished the great VVVVVV . The related games pointed to Platformance: Castle Pain. Game play for Castle Pain can be descibed as a mixture of…
Samorost 2 is a Flash based point and click adventure for PC / Steam . Game has won multiple awards and was included in the Humble Indie Bundle earlier this year (2010). Game is also sequel to Samorost 1 which can be played free: here . Samorost games are developed by Czeck developer Amanita Design , also known for Machinarium . Samorost 2 has currently a kind price tag of $5. Wikipedia finely states that Samorost…
Funnily named VVVVVV is a Flash based 8-bit platform game. VVVVVV was released earlier this year for PC . Just this month the game got a Steam release as well, which is looked at here. Game-play is a odd combination of platform and puzzle . The control schema has only three buttons. Left, right and action. This might sound simple, but trust me it is anything but that. The action button used to reverse gravity. For…
Before starting I'd like to point out to my Mafia 2 review . I really liked the game and gave it full score. Majority of the reviews have complained about lack of things to do in the game and wrongly described the game as open-world sandbox game. Well those cries have been answered with this DLC. Jimmy's Vendetta came out only two weeks later than the main game, which is nice for us who really liked the game, but…
Read the full review Jim'll Fix It - Jimmy's Vendetta Review
skip. Ltd , the developer behind Art Style: Rotohex are recycling their Dialhex from GBA 's Bit Generations series to Wiiware here. These awesome bit Generations games have never been released outside Japan before. They attached the Art Style name to these games and released these on Nintendo's Wiiware/ DSiware services to the western audience. Rotohex is really simple little puzzle game. This can be seen in all…
Dead Rising: Case Zero is a taster level for for Capcom 's Dead Rising 2 . Which is released later on this year. Game is in many ways similar to Gran Turismo Prologue games. Except that this game has a more friendly pricing. Game is a third person perspective zombie murder sandboxes with a high comedy factor. The humor is visible on the creative ways the games items can be combined. Which then are used for almost…
Art of Balance is physics based puzzle game as the name indicates for Wiiware . Objective is to stack blocks to build a structure in small pedestal/platform. Not too different from Jenga . Difference being that the pedestal where blocks are place is on a cup of water. If any of the blocks fall to water game ends. Once all the blocks have been added to the structure the construction must stay intact for three to five…
The first Mafia was a great game despite it's flaws. The squeal, that is review here improves in every front. In first game the settings was in Lost Heaven , a fictional American city where the action took place in 1930's. The sequel takes place between 1943 to 1951 in city of Empire Bay . Yes officer, what seems to be the problem here? Game play has been described as open world sandbox game. Which I don't think is…
Foreign Legion: Buckets of Blood is a simple first person shooter with cartoon graphics for Steam. Game is developed by indie developer Sakari Indie. Game was released back in 2008 and has been going for a less than fiver in Steam recently. Starting with the biggest flaw of the game. This is only a single-player game. At this day multiplayer in a FPS is almost mandatory one would think. The simple look and maps…
Africa, where Far Cry 2 is places is the second most populated continent. And you can really tell why, after seeing the amount of action in Far Cry 2's jungle. Joking aside Far Cry 2 is story driven first person shooter in based in open world Africa. Far Cry was a generic shooter that was mostly recognized for its beautiful graphics, Far Cry 2 is not too different. In the beginning of the game you pick you character…
Playing and reviewing Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood after release of Red Dead Redemption is not fair thing. Especially when RDR is in every way better game than this. I don't have much recollection of the first Call of Juarez other than I know that I finished it. Call of Juarez 2 (COJ2) is a story driven first person shooter in a western skin. Game levels or chapter as the game calls them are mostly shooting waves…
Gran Turismo for PSP was announced at 2004 E3 , but was released 6 fivers later at 2010. And what a disappointing wait it has been. Polyphony Digital , the company behind Gran Turismo franchise has done good job ruining what could have been a brilliant game. Starting with negative to leave the few good to say about this game in the end. I can imagine Kazunori Yamauchi and his team went through the plans on how to…
World play on the title is supposed to refer to N+ which is a similar platform game. Other similarities games share is the difficulty level. Both games are brutally challenging. Instead of Ninja' s in 'Splosion Man you are guiding a scientist who has been in part of experiment gone wrong. Or at least this how I interpret the story from introduction movie. This and the ending is all you get to the plot. This is not a…
Magnetis is a simple puzzle game for WiiWare and Steam from 2009. It is hard to talk about puzzle game and not mention Tetris . Magnetis is no different here. Far from a clone but some similarities. Blocks fall and spaces are left open for bigger combos. Controls for the game are simple. The conveyor belt is steered either left or right. Falling blocks can be rotated around. Well, it is hardly rotating since the…
Dark Void was a allegedly a disappointing Xbox 360 / PS3 game that I really don't know much about. Other than it has jet-packs and that the game is not really good. This game: Dark Void Zero is a spin-off of this "main game" that started off as a Aprils fool. Originally got released as DSiware and now later on Steam and iPhone versions have been released. My chosen version of Dark Void Zero is Steam on PC. Take that…
Mirrors Edge that was released back in 2008 has enjoyed huge popularity for being a new and innovative game. Developed by Swedish Dice who are more known for their Battlefield games. Mirrors Edge must the first ever proper freerunner simulator. Game uses the same formula as Portal . Takes a known 1st person formula and uses this to create a unique platform/puzzle game twist to it. There are occasions where Faith,…
Sega had high expectations for Madworld. Madworld can be bought in most UK game outlets for a less than a tenner. For such high profile game as Madworld this is a low price. Unfortunately it represents the overall quality as well. Madworld falls under beat-em up category. The violence is extreme and more creative and brutal one is the more rewards are given. Creativity can be shown by creating kill combos such as…
Transformers Animated The Game is The Lost Vikings type puzzle platform. You are in charge of three Autobots : Optimus Prime , Bumblebee and Bulkhead . Each with their own unique abilities. Optimus can throw a axe according to the line drawn on touchscreen as well as a grapple to certain levels. Bumblebee's unique ability is to be able jump and use electrical switches. Bulkhead can break certain walls and move big…
Mike Powell is the current world record holder for long jump in case you didn't know. If Uncharted 2 protagonist would compete in such a track and field event's he would surely be world record holder in no time. Luckily for Mike, Nathan is in to a modern day treasure hunting and probably does't care too much about such things. Nathan Drake was already after his ancestor Sir Francis Drake 's treasure on the first…
Monster Jam: Urban Assault is title you probably will find from a bargain bin. If you do, grab a copy since this is not actually a bad game. I remember one of my first PC games that was Monster Truck Madness by Microsoft Game Studios . This before the first Xbox even. Ever since this awesome game I've hoped for a third sequel for this series and have tried to check most of monster truck games during the years if…
Monkey Island 2 is considered by many to be best of Lucasarts adventure games on SCUMM engine. The first Monkey Island has already been redone with updated graphics and released on XBLA . Monkey Island 2 follows the same path here. Amiga was the platform I played both of these back in the day. Nostalgia trip is always a sure for getting me to dish up for such releases, so in this case this is not definitely not…
Aquaria has lot's of things going on. It looks beautiful and has a nice melancholic mood. It is also challenging and some what original. Game loans lot from Metroid type action and Ecco underwater adventure type games, but still manages to relay a unique feel. Aquaria takes place underwater as the name implies. Protagonist is called Naija and she is a mermaid suffering from amnesia . Story is scarcely told with a…
To a RPG fan, it is hard not to like Golden Sun: The Lost Age. Golden Sun itself was a major blockbuster for GBA back in 2001. Golden Sun: The Lost Age follows the same. Golden Sun: The Lost Age was released for Gameboy Advanc e in 2003. This game is a direct sequel to the first Golden Sun. Story continues right after the first game with a different sets of character that intertwine with first games characters. I…
Here is my attempt of reviewing a 30 year old game that only has two colours and no story what so ever. Red Baron is of course the nickname for a German fighter pilot Manfred von Richthofen . Who was World War I pilot that is known for his 80 air kills in a simple and crude Fokker planes. Red Baron was arcade title from 1980 that utilizes vector graphics in mono-graphic colors. Not too different Battlezone . You are…
On a Game Room Quick Look of Game Pack 00 6, Atari 2600 finest game H.E.R.O caught my eye. I never played this game on the original platform but remember this game being one of my first Commodore 64 games from mid 80's. And a game which I used to play over and over again. So what better way of getting a retro fix than this. You are Roderick Hero and your job is to rescue trapped miners in Mount Leono. This is done…
Bionic Commando Rearmed was one of the top Arcade titles of 2008 which I somehow managed to miss. In recent Inventory Blowout Microsoft halved price for the several better quality Xbox Live Arcade games including this title. So for 400 points can't really say no to this. Bionic Commando was a NES game from 1988 that got ported to every possible platform . 20 years later the IP got rebooted in form of this Bionic…
Final Fantasy II is notorious in Final Fantasy franchise of having one major make or break flaw in game mechanism. My chosen platform for this was Gameboy Advanc e and the Dawn of Souls version. Having not played this game for the original platform NES in 1988 I can not compare the differences between that and this Dawn of Souls version. Biggest difference here being the ability to save anywhere. This is actually…
What has African savannah and artic circle to do with each other? Probably not a lot, except for this game perhaps. Lead the Meerkats is developed by Lapland Studio /Inari Interactive who are developer based in Rovaniemi located on arctic circle latitudes. Lead the Meerkat is a simple RTS/simulation game where you need to lead your group of meerkats back to green Savannah. After rather turmoiled event between two…
I have faint recollection of playing this back 97-98 but don't remember getting too far. Ever since finishing Fallout 3 I wanted to get back to the original games. Finally managed to do that and here is my take on how the original Fallout 1 stands. For many, like me, who have played Fallout 3 first will feel right at home with the post-apocalyptic world. Basis of the story goes by you being assigned a task of…
Here is a review of latest masterpiece from Rockstar. Yes masterpiece. Rockstar is of course most known for their open world Grand Theft Auto game's. Which interestingly enough started as more of a racing game and which each iteration, and especially with the jump to 3d on the brilliant Grand Theft Auto 3 that series has been more a sandbox game build on the car stealing factor. Red Dead Redemption is a similar…
