15 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.
In March of 2013, I played Bioshock Infinite for the first time. Immediately upon putting my controller down, I felt so strongly about it that I stayed up until 4:30 in the morning writing an EXTREMELY rough around the edges review of it. That was my first review ever and this game is solely responsible for you reading this or any of the other things I’ve written about games since. Somewhere in between the first…
Ever since 2009’s Batman Arkham Asylum , the genre of open-world superhero games has sort of been broken down into a checklist of ideas. A similar combat system as the Arkham games, jamming in as many side characters as possible, and filling the map with collectibles to keep the player invested beyond the main story, are some of the main staples of these games. 2018’s Marvel’s Spider-Man (hereby known as just…
If I had to describe Red Dead Redemption 2 in one word, it would be dense. This game is jam-packed with so many systems and things to do, that it can honestly be overwhelming at times. From big things like story missions and train robberies to smaller things like landscape photography, Red Dead Redemption 2 is vast in both scale and scope. Serving as a prequel to 2010’s Red Dead Redemption, this game has you playing…
I am conflicted about Hellblade . On one hand, I feel it is the furthest step forward video games have taken as a storytelling medium that I've seen in a long time. On the other hand, it continues a trend that I've been criticizing games for since I started writing reviews in 2013. There's too much of it. Specifically, too many puzzles. The puzzles in this game are creative and relate to the themes in some…
WARNING: This review includes spoilers for some thematic elements As someone who is rather set in their political beliefs (going as far as unironically calling myself “ The Snowflake ” when I step into a wrestling ring), the America presented in Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is downright terrifying. But not for the obvious reasons. Sure, Nazis taking over the U.S. is horrifying, but it's the way Americans are…
Unlike most people, my time with the original Destiny was short-lived. When it first came out, I finished the single-player campaign (about 8 hours) then sent it back to GameFly, never to touch it again. I was disappointed with Destiny, to say the least. It was a game that played incredibly well, but that was about it. I heard from many people that the DLCs all changed the game for the better, but I was so turned…
When I played episode 4 of 2015’s true Game of the Year, Life is Strange , I knew that I would never be the same person as I was before. That may sound overstated and kind of ridiculous, but I have written about why this game, and especially the character of Chloe , hit me the way it did (those spoiler-filled writings can be found here , here in the best new character section, here as my overall game of the year,…
Ever since I first saw this game as part of Sony's 2015 press conference, I have been excited about it. The prospect of robot dinosaurs isn't something you get in every game, and the more I saw of Horizon: Zero Dawn, the more excited I became. It won my "Most likely to be Game of the Year" award 2 years in a row and my award for best gameplay trailer at last year’s E3 and I have been looking forward to this game…
When it comes to Team Ico games, I am of two minds. Shadow of the Colossus is the second best game I have ever played meanwhile, I can only play about an hour of Ico before bouncing off it. I was slightly worried about this game because it appeared to be strongly reminiscent of Ico. However, within the first 20 minutes or so, all of my worries disappeared and I began to just let the game wash over me. From the…
The game may not be great, but damn if it doesn't allow for some fantastic screenshots. It's hard to review a game like No Man's Sky . On one hand, I can write about how it is a bad game from most standpoints, but on the other, I could write about it is one of the most awe-inspiring games I've experienced since the original Mass Effect. Every player who interacts with this game will have an experience unique to…
Everyone who has played a first-person shooter of any kind has the original Doom to thank for many of the elements that still exist in modern games. This new version manages to introduce several new mechanics that reinvents the flow of combat in modern twitch shooters. Almost all modern shooters have regenerating health, which is a mechanic that disrupts the flow of the game because the player must remove themselves…
When it comes to the Uncharted series, I’m something of an outlier. While I did enjoy my time with Uncharted 2 , I felt that the third game fully realized all of the good ideas from the second, while eliminating most of the major annoyances of its predecessor. I came into Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End , hoping for Naughty Dog to deliver a game that builds upon Uncharted 3 while introducing some elements that made The…
When I first heard of Life is Strange, I was reminded of what made me want to try out DONTNOD’s first game, Remember Me . The premise of that game was more than enough to get me interested, but it became slightly disappointing once I started playing. With this game, I was immediately drawn to the premise as well but didn’t really expect a whole lot from it. I actually forgot about it entirely until a few days after…
The hype cycle of Fallout 4 has been one of the most unique in recent memory. In a landscape where games will be announced and then appear at E3 for 3 years straight, Fallout was announced a month before E3 and then released a mere five months later to the excitement of seemingly everyone. Everyone except me. My history with Bethesda games is as follows; Dishonored, which they only published, and about 25 minutes of…
Before I get to the review I would like to address a few things: The ethical issues at Konami detailed by Austin earlier this year ( http://bit.ly/1Wb94iz ). These working conditions are unacceptable and put a black cloud over the game. Despite this, these issues will have no effect on the review of the actual game. I included this piece because it is very much worth bringing issues such as this into a much larger…
