89 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.
While I do consider Valve to be a very consistent developer in the vein of Bioware and Bethesda, the one thing the company doesn't do for me is have every franchise be something that I love to the core. While I'm a huge Team Fortress 2 fan and will defend any naysayers of Portal, stuff like the Half-Life series I just plain cannot get into. Sections go on longer than they should, the shooting is adequate but not…
After the Lair of the Shadow Broker came out, it seemed Bioware's streak of delivering mediocre to decent DLC's for their games was over. After delivering rather bland releases for the first Mass Effect and okay-but-not-exceptional ones for Dragon Age, in came Shadow Broker and blew away everybody by being really awesome...and then it stopped. No more DLC but then news started appearing that what's supposedly the…
Read the full review The Reapers are coming, but you knew that already
Last month, I played and reviewed Killzone 3 which had a campaign that I thought exemplified my problems with Guerrilla Games: they make great looking games but the "game" part is lacking. Crytek to a certain degree has been called this by others and while I don't have a computer that can run the original game (or Far Cry for that matter), Crysis 2 seems intent to being the developer's first major console release…
If you browse the wiki page for Homefront's basic premise, it's kind of hard not to get very intrigued and get a desire to find out more. A convincing and eerily plausible scenario, a Hollywood writer and a campaign geared towards actually building emotion out of the player rather than just living out your action junkie fantasies was quite intriguing. But whether it's lack of faith or a case of "I call 'em as I see…
I've come to a weird realization recently when it comes down to Guerilla Games and their Killzone series: aside from their multiplayer, which tends to be exceptional, Guerilla seems to have a really hard time making good games. What I mean by that is their games have large amounts of technical prowess and graphic power but when it comes down to their gameplay, there's just something...lacking. Killzone 3 to me feels…
In a sea of realistic, military and usually very dull looking first person shooters, here comes Bulletstorm trying to inject some fun - and most importantly, color - into the landscape. If you're a fan of non-serious FPS's like Serious Sam, Duke Nukem or Painkiller, then Bulletstorm's right up your alley since it's crass, brash, violent and is apparently so filled with awesome, if it were a chick, you'd wanna fuck…
By now, everyone pretty much knows Batman: Arkham Asylum was not only a big surprise but that it became a serious contender for GOTY of 2009. A comic book character who's never really been in an actually good game, an unknown developer and they somehow managed to make not only a great comic book game but a game anyone can enjoy even if they didn't know Batman's comic book roots. Graphically gorgeous, well-told story…
Normally, I tend to scoff at gamers who say a game was a big disappointment. A lot of them expect the moon and even the slightest fault and the game is seen as inferior or not quite what they thought it was going to be. Every game (for the most part) tends to have its merits; its shining moments that break through the other idiosyncrasies the game can carry. So it was a good position I was in that I wasn't massively…
Some developers tend to have excellent track records with nary a misstep in their portfolio while others release average games then put out a huge titanic megahit the following year. Insomniac is not victim to this because you can't really say outright that there's been one bad game that they've made; sure some may not be your taste but they're far from terrible. That said, nostalgia and time doesn't always equal…
Any online shooter can get additional legs based on the oh-so-popular/hated form of "map packs", additional maps that players can shoot and/or stab their friends and random folk online. When I say "hated" though, I mean how people always have an issue with it one way or the other whether they feel way too pricey for the amount of content you're getting, the quality of the maps themselves or the frequency and even…
Read the full review Maps, they don't love you like I sort of do
Let's face it: first-person shooters is the game-du-jour and many will come out and attempt to take on Halo, Call of Duty or more story-driven games like Half-Life 2 and Bioshock. Some succeed while others fall completely flat on their face so when the E3 video of Killzone 2 blew everyone away, people saw just how powerful the Playstation 3 can be, but then we waited....and waited. And just for a change of pace, we…
Despite the fact that we've already seen DC Universe Online and LittleBigPlanet 2 (an MMO and lighthearted platformer), Dead Space 2 is really 2011's first big "hardcore" game, one with the story, gameplay, graphics and production values that will appeal to a large demographic. Last year's big releases kind of bummed me out so I wasn't really anticipating this as heavily as others were but the team's solid and they…
Castlevania as a franchise was in dire need of some kind of re-imagining. While the DS games were fun, it was literally 6 games in a row where the series tried its best to replicate the awesomeness that was Symphony of the Night and while results were frequently excellent (with Ecclesia being my personal favorite despite the fact its damn difficulty), too much of the same thing can be a bad thing. So Konami is…
I can't think of a single developer that has had more backstage drama and issues then Obsidian. Obsidian's track record so far has been spotty at best with them producing what should be great games but they're continually hampered by either delays or publisher problems. Not to mention on a technical level they're all over the place with bugs, hit-or-miss graphics and even outright crashes so I got to wondering: are…
That score of 4 stars is one that I think I'll constantly think about more than other reviews. Why? Cause anything lower would undermine the quality and production values of the game yet the wide range of issues I have with it don't seem to warrant a 4. Which is why I sort of feel like that guy right now: you know..., the one guy surrounded by people who love a certain something and everyone going "man isn't it…
Warning: potential spoilers for Dragon Age: Origins There was a certain moment in Dragon Age: Origins where the characters actually started to endear to me more so than I thought and I didn't even notice. First, I was in a relationship with the supremely sarcastic and cynical Morrigan, only to leave her for Leliana. But over the course of the game, Morrigan started to change and actually start growing affections for…
Read the full review Leaves not with a bang but with a "huh?"
Let it be known that not all indie games, visually striking or not, are going to be good games in the end. While it's probably something people know already, making a game with your own wallet and without major publishing backing does not equal the next "Braid" or "VVVVVV". Available on Steam at the low price of 2.50$ thanks to its holiday deals, I saw screenshots and a couple of paragraphs describing "Winter…
Probably the one review I was not looking forward to. Not the game itself which I'll get to but rather my opinion of it. Just like Braid and Limbo, Super Meat Boy's review have been through the roof with people outright loving the game, putting it on their GOTY lists and even putting it with the platformer heavy hitters of Mario and Sonic but after playing it and my opinion of the game started to set in, I started…
Thanks to its episodic nature, Tales of Monkey Island has a bit more narrative drive than if the entire story were available to you in one game like the previous ones. That also means though that each chapter can be more reviewed critically than part of a larger whole which makes it slightly easier to criticize. Whereas chapter one was all about getting our hero his own ship and getting back to Elaine, chapter 2…
Read the full review Tales of Monkey Island Chapter 2: The Siege of Spinner Cay
While it's not my first adventure game, Tales of Monkey Island is probably the first one that I've actually begun getting into. Kind of a shame too since I always prefer a good story yet I ignore one of the main genres that focuses heavily on story. With pretty simple gameplay, adventures are mainly known for the storytelling so I figured "alright that does it, time to get into one". So missing the Steam sale but…
Read the full review Tales of Monkey Island Chapter 1: Launch of the Screaming Narwhal
There's really no other way to say it: if it wasn't for Kirby's Epic Yarn, Recettear would probably take the crown as one of the most charming games of 2010. A vibrant and colorful look with attractive character models and some lighthearted (and occasionally hilarious) dialogue and one of those simple game systems that gets more complex as you go yet never becomes to overbearing, it's just a shame people may not…
I'm not really sure why Oblivion, the 4th game in the Elder Scrolls series, didn't click with me the first time (or the 5th, for that matter). Fallout 3, the game Bethesda made afterwards, is one of my top 5 games ever and that's not something I throw around lightly either so Oblivion, with its roughly similar gameplay should be a perfect fit, no? After all, the "it's Oblivion with guns" description was often thrown…
On the making-of documentaries for "the Lion King", one of the filmmakers remarked that they felt that the "B-team"; they're the team that's making that other Disney film they just happened to be making but rather their main focus was on "Pocahontas", their next prestige picture. Funny how Lion King became a massive hit (and oddly one of my top favorite movies ever) and Pocahontas was very warmly received. Even…
What other figurehead in gaming other than Bobby Kotick can get so much criticism and badmouthing as Peter Molyneux (well except for that guy who sues anybody who uses the word "Edge" but he doesn't count). A man known for making huge promises or just confident claims regarding the games he makes and the features that are in them, or not in them. This makes the "Fable" series a lightning rod for detractors since not…
Prior to the Spike Video Game Awards last year, it was confirmed one of the new reveals would be a game in the Star Wars universe. Fans, to put it mildly, went crazy as debates and theories about what it could possibly be ran rampant. Would Bioware finally make a long and emotionally involved third installment to Knights of the Old Republic to coincide with their MMO? Would....whoever decide to take up the…
The announcement and hype leading up to its release made Fallout: New Vegas kind of a strange beast. Despite being one of Fall's biggest games, there was one thing that people couldn't get past: Obsidian's the developer. So far, they're known primarily for being almost like a hired gun, the team somebody hires to get things done when somebody else can't do it and the results have been rather mixed. Their sequel to…
You really got to appreciate a game like Vanquish coming out around this time. From the realistic military workings of Medal of Honor to the apocalyptic doom of New Vegas, here comes this game that basically says "we do what Michael Bay can't do on his best days: deliver a rousing summer blockbuster", only this time it's in video game form. The action's over the top, it's frenetic, runs at a very smooth pace and the…
Oh poor Medal of Honor, seemed like you were doomed from the start. You come out a month after the sales juggernaut that was Halo Reach and that's not even counting Call of Duty: Black Ops will pull considering the popularity of that franchise. But also, there was always this kind of..."off" feeling about the game, from its severely lackluster beta to the controversy concerning the use of the Taliban, I wasn't…
I have to tip my hat over to Ninja Theory and their new game, Enslaved, as it seems to do something that a lot of the big franchise games now are failing to really provide: a meaningful and emotional story. Most of the time the games are fun to play and there's enough variety to the gameplay or it has a multiplayer component to provide countless hours once the single player's finished. But in the case of Enslaved,…
In one of my reviews for a Bioware DLC, I mentioned that a lot of what they do feels like they love having a ton of content out there for the masses for the download, quality up for debate. Not that they're "bad" per se but they don't feel that worthwhile in that DLC is supposed to enrich and enhance your game experience but Bioware's so far has been lots of content but not much in the way of anything substantial.…
As far as IP's go, there's very few developers that contain the most powerhouses than Capcom (except maybe Nintendo but I mean more 3rd party ones). From Street Fighter, Mega Man, Resident Evil, Devil May Cry and Monster Hunter, they've certainly got many a franchise with huge appeal and the same goes with sales. It's just their new IP's that tend to be hit or miss as for every Phoenix Wright and Dead Rising you…
There's times where I don't quite like what Bioware does with their downloadable content. Ever since the original Mass Effect had 2 pretty mediocre DLC releases, it's like they almost got offended and they went crazy bringing out one after another not only for Mass Effect 2 but for Dragon Age: Origins. However that created another issue: their new DLC plans haven't been exactly stellar since they just come out with…
And so it arrives: Halo Reach, Bungie's last game in the massively popular (and some argue way too overrated) franchise concerning mankind's struggle against the alien race known as the Covenant. Huge sales, books comics and action figures litter the stores and young kids everywhere are trash talking you and/or your mom on its addicting multiplayer. You knew Halo Reach was going to sell huge no question but the…
Unlike Batman and Superman, Spider-Man has at least more than one good game under his Spidey belt but it also has a weird history of going back and forth between good games (Maximum Carnage, Spiderman 2, Ultimate Spider-Man) to the bad and/or mediocre (Separation Anxiety, Spiderman 3, Web of Shadows). But thanks to Batman and his exploits in Arkham Asylum, comic book games have now gotten a new standard: you can't…
The Dragon Age DLC has been getting a slightly bad reputation in that it continues Bioware's current idea that lots of DLC for their games come out, however they're not exactly that long. So far, Leliana's Song is the 5th out of 7 that they've put out and it's another roughly hour and a half DLC that gives you a nice reward in your Origins game or your Awakening game but is the DLC worth it? Well it's certainly…
Shank starts off with a rather cool animated intro of the titular character entering a bar and having to dispatch dudes while gaining his arsenal in the progress to be used in the game. It's stylish, it looks stunning and it immediately sets the tone: wild, crazy, gorgeous and violent....and then the game starts. It's not enough to be immediately apparent the problems the game has but it feels like the most it goes…
While I'm sure Nintendo's swimming in their pool of money to really notice, I kind of feel sorry for the company at times. Home to some of the game industry's most beloved franchises, they're also targets for some of the more finicky fans and like Capcom, I bet it's tough for them to figure out what to do with these franchises. If you make the same kind of game every time, fans cry that they're just milking the…
Music can be argued hasn't really been completely innovative for awhile. With Pro Tools, keyboards and synthesizers and samples, the days of old where the Beatles and Queen had to experiment and somehow cram all their tracks is kind of gone. Likewise the days of movies and their relationship with digital effects when the days of Jurassic Park, Terminator 2 and Star Wars which generated "holy ****, how'd they do…
Note: in light of the DLC and updates, I decided to rewrite the review entirely. Like Pokemon, Nintendo's beloved critter-collecting franchise, Castlevania has all the popularity in the world yet the least progression from game to game. The same "Metroidvania" style of using abilities to access other rooms way across the map has still been a staple of the series yet not offering much changes aside from the…
Let's get one thing straight: yes indeed, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game is heavy on the references and many a past video game will be mentioned or at the very least illicit a "hey I remember that!". 3D Dot Game Heroes, released earlier this year, did the same thing although its focus was primarily on one thing: Legend of Zelda, and specifically the first one. Scott Pilgrim's on the other hand come from all…
How quirky it is that the official opener to Xbox Live's "Summer of Arcade" event is a creepy and enigmatic 2D platformer that can either have people say it's one of the best games of 2010 and others will think that it's just simply a great game and nothing more. In fact, Limbo's kind of the odd man out in that nearly all of the games are bright, colorful, have multiplayer or their very essence of gameplay is having…
