25 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.
Bionic Commando: Rearmed is the redo and update of the classic 8-bit franchise from Capcom that, if you're 'old school' enough, most likely holds a special place in your heart. If not, then this game is a prime introduction to how things used to be in a bygone era. For some the game may ultimately feel archaic and overly difficult, but for those who remember, Rearmed feels a lot like riding a bike. After about a…
Star Wars: Republic Commando is one of those games that may actually surprise you. As of this moment it's the first and only attempt at an FPS set in the new Star Wars universe since the Dark Forces series. It's a super solid shooter with a dash of squad tactics mixed in, and once you've played it for awhile you'll be wondering why Lucasarts hasn't made a sequel by now. The game is set just before the events of…
I honestly ended up receiving exactly what I expected from Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness. It's a very proficient turn based RPG, with a layer of PA's crude humor wafting around and thru the entire proceeding. If you like old school RPGs (especially Chrono Trigger), and you like the humor found within the PA comic strip, then you're going to find a lot to love. If you don't like…
Read the full review Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness - Episode One
I don't do tens very often, and I haven't actually written a review for a game I have considered a ten, but Shadow of the Colossus is an absolute ten when it comes to the important things. Personally I have never played a game (including ICO) that has presented itself with such a clarity of vision. The mood, tone, and overall experience seems to be exactly what the developers wanted it to be, with zero compromise,…
The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass is latest entry in the very long line of the Nintendo adventure franchise, and although this game doesn't fundamentally break much new ground, when it's all over you're not going to care that much. The same old "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality is there, but it's such perfect formula and executed with such flair that you'll barely notice that PH is the same game…
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune for the PS3 might be what some would call "derivative" of other games in the action genre, and in its way it is, but to brush it under the rug as derivative would be short sighted because you would be passing up one of the prettiest, most fun, engrossing, and addictive games ever created. Naughty Dog has polished this game to a sparkle and it's my current favorite game for the PS3…
Mass Effect is the newest "pick-a-path" game from the people who almost built that style of game mechanic, BioWare, and while the exterior of the Mass Effect house may look pretty, it isn't really standing on the sturdiest of foundations. The game has you playing as "Fill-In-The-Blank" Shepard. A customizable character that can be male or female with a couple of different options that affect his/her back story.…
God of War: Chains of Olympus is the first God of War game for the PSP system, and from a technical and visual stand point it just might be the greatest handheld game ever made...and I'm not making that claim lightly. The story follows the ever tortured Kratos in a story that seems to take place just before the events of the first God of War game for the PS2. Kratos is still an undead killing machine with the powers…
Bully for PS2 is a sandbox game made by the mother of all sandbox game makers, Rockstar. At first this game may feel like Grand Theft Auto "goes back to school", but once you get under the hood and give the game a few hours, you're going to realize that Bully has its very own unique style, heart, world, and a Trapper Keeper full of humor. You play the game as Jimmy Hopkins, a bit of a rebel without a cause who is…
Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat, I mean, really, what else can be said? This is easily one of the best FPS games of last year, one of the best FPS games ever, and a new high water mark for the genre. COD4 takes a detour from the other games within the franchise by forgoing the WWII setting, and placing this game in the present day. A modern day Middle Eastern conflict that has international players including U.S.…
Bioshock , by now, is a game that really needs no introduction. It's a game that absolutely knocks the door down and brings about the real "next-gen" that both Microsoft and Sony have been touting about since 2006. Easily one of (if not the) best games of 2007, and worth the purchase of a 360 in order to play it. The game is a first person shooter that puts you in the role of a man in search of his lost identity,…
Dead Rising is an action-adventure/survival game by Capcom which would make you think that it's a wannabe Resident Evil clone, and you'd be wrong, "dead" wrong. The only thing about Dead Rising that resembles RE is, of course, the zombies, but Dead Rising takes a much campier, more "Americana", approach and a very different gameplay approach. You play the game as Frank West, an investigative reporter looking into…
After having just finished God of War 2 on Spartan mode, it sounds cliché but my ultimate reaction to this action/puzzle game is just a very humble, "Wow". God of War 2 has been defined by a few as "more of the same" and "doesn't tread much new ground", but few can really deny that this is game is a jaw droppingly polished and incredibly more focused sequel to one of the GREATEST games of all time. I, for one, would…
Lost somewhere in the shuffle of the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy IX had the unwanted privilege of coming out near the end of the PS1's life cycle and only days after the release of the PS2. Being pushed to the back burner by many players still doesn't take away from the fact that FFIX , in the end, is a great game for the series, the pinnacle of the FF series on the PlayStation platform, and easily one of…
Or at least that's what I've been told. Hotel Dusk is a point and click adventure done in a gumshoe-noirish style for the DS that, when it's hitting on all cylinders, is a real joy to play. When it isn't, it may just lull you to sleep. You play the game as Kyle Hyde, a door-to-door salesman with a secret. That secret being that Kyle is actually an ex-NYPD detective hunting for clues about his possibly dead, most…
I mean this game, not my review. :) Black is a first person shooter by Criterion , the developers of the excellent Burnout series, and for all the eye candy that these guys can throw out there, Black is, ultimately, a very "by-the-book" FPS. One of the very first things a player is going to notice (and love) is the utter chaos that Black feels like during those first two or three levels. As destruction is reaped…
Here it is in very few words: Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy is a must play game for ANY and ALL fans of action-adventure games. It's a one of kind experience that really rewards creative play. You play the game as Nick Scryer, a psi-agent who has had his memory erased. He has great, untapped, psychic abilities that he is unaware of and as the game rolls out, these powers are regained and so too are his lost…
And what I mean by that is more fun, original, pick up and play franchises like Kingdom of Paradise that really shine a light on the features that make the PSP a worthwhile system to own. Kingdom of Paradise is, at it's core, an action-RPG that runs pretty steadily along side similar games like Castlevania: SotN or Dynasty Warriors, but it has more than enough sense of self and style to make it feel like something…
Freedom Fighters is, for lack of a better word, more fun than it would initially have you believe. An innovative concept wrapped in a very intriguing storyline. A storyline that very nearly carries the game all on it's own. The storyline is one of an alternate Earth where world history has favored the communists of the USSR during the Cold War and not the capitalists of the USA. The Russians have slowly taken bits…
Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay is a game that does something that no game before has ever done, it actually makes me want to watch a Vin Diesel movie. From beginning to end, this is one of the Xbox's most engrossing and best looking experiences, period. The player is the role of Riddick, the macho sci-fi tough guy from the "Pitch Black" universe of films. Riddick begins the game captured and taken to…
Read the full review The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
24 is the game that is based the popular television show on FOX. You play the game primarily as 24's lead super agent Jack Bauer, but will sometimes get to take control of supporting characters like Tony Almeida, Chase Edmunds, Kim Bauer, or Michelle Dressler in a variety of different game types. Being a HUGE 24 fan, I had high hopes for this game, but walked away only slightly satisfied. The games lowest aspects of…
What can be said about Gears of War has been said, and will be repeated, I'm just here to give my own impression of my likes and dislikes of this system selling worthy title. Gears of War, at its core, is a over the shoulder shooter with a tactical cover twist. You play as Marcus Fenix, a bad ass, super tough, (and did I mention uber-cliche) space Marine type. Fenix is living on a world that has been invaded from…
Indigo Prophecy is a very "outside the box" gameplay experience, with a very adult, semi-interesting storyline, but is ultimately killed by overly repetitive play and one too many plot twists. The plot starts out with the player taking the controls of Lucas Kane. Lucas Kane has found himself watching his own possessed body kill a man that he has never met. It's an odd setup for a storyline and game, but it works. As…
Ratchet & Clank have, over the past 6 years, become one of Sony and Playstation's cornerstone franchises. Playing the original, for the first time to completion, it's very easy to see why. The game has all the qualities that a gamer should love about platforming and it throws more than a few new curve balls at the player that only enhance the experience. The positives are many and deep. The graphics and sound are…
Perhaps it's taken me forever, perhaps I just missed the train, or perhaps I just moved onto other games and forgot to, but I'm finally of the club that has played GTA3 to it's finish, so here goes the review... What needs to be said probably already has, and better, but lets just say that GTA is one of the most singularly enjoyable games of all time. Even when you really delve into each aspect of the game, none of…
