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jjrage's Reviews

18 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.

Outer Wilds2019

5 out of 5 stars

Good works of fiction, no matter the medium, are the ones that can create an emotional response from a person. Fear, sadness, joy, anger, confusion, horror, anxiety, calmness, awe. Triumph . Even when video games were nothing more than a handful of pixels moving on a CRT television, the end goal for the designer was almost always to evoke a feeling of triumph in the player. From Pong to PUBG, we play games to…

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Darksiders II2012

4 out of 5 stars

The original Darksiders truly was a surprise to many when it hit store shelves in January of 2010. It was quickly applauded for delivering a game not unlike the ones seen in The Legend of Zelda series, albeit with a darker tone and combat more akin to God of War than anything seen in latter-day Zelda titles. That was two and a half years ago, and Darksiders has gone from cult hit to full-on franchise. However, not…

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Sleeping Dogs2012

4 out of 5 stars

Even before Activision dropped it, it was hard to imagine that Sleeping Dogs -- a game once set to be a reboot of the True Crime series -- would actually be good. The series itself is perhaps best known for trying (and failing) to capture the lightning in a bottle that is Rockstar's open-world juggernaut Grand Theft Auto series. Couple that with developer United Front Games whose only video game credit comes in the…

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Left 4 Dead 22009

5 out of 5 stars

Melee weapons like frying pans, crowbars, and ninja swords will replace your default pistol Let’s get one thing out of the way right off the bat: Left 4 Dead 2 . It has everything it’s predecessor had, just more of it. More guns, more campaigns, more multiplayer, and of course, more zombies. Rest assured, this is no expansion. So all you L4D2 boycotters out there, feel free to begin eating crow, because in many…

Read the full review Left 4 Dead 2

WET2009

3 out of 5 stars

Meet Rubi Malone It’s hard to talk about WET without talking about Max Payne , Devil May Cry , Stranglehold , or a half-dozen other action shooters for that matter, simply because it borrows so heavily from it’s predecessors in the genre. As WET ’s heroine, Rubi Malone (voiced by Dollhouse‘s Eliza Dushku), you’ll find yourself shooting and slicing through endless waves of fodder in the name of vengeance. What could…

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The Beatles: Rock Band2009

5 out of 5 stars

The Ed Sullivan Theater is one of the many classic venues that appear in The Beatles: Rock Band When Rock Band debuted in 2007, if someone had asked me what I thought I’d be doing on 9/9/09, I likely would’ve told them that my night would be filled with Shenmue, Power Stone, alcohol and tears while celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Sega Dreamcast. “Playing a Beatles-centric music game” probably wouldn’t have…

Read the full review The Beatles: Rock Band

Madden NFL 102009

5 out of 5 stars

"Not the face!" Let me first preface this review by saying that I was never a Madden guy. Even back in the SNES and Genesis days, my sports games of choice were always NBA Jam and EA’s NHL games. When consoles moved away from sprites and into polygons, I often times found myself enjoying the Gameday and 2K games more than Madden . But Madden always stayed on top, even when the series was inferior to it’s…

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Halo 3: ODST2009

4 out of 5 stars

"Does this armor make my ass look fat?" In the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that I’m somewhat of a Halo nerd. I’ve read the books and the comics, spent hours on end investigating the I Love Bees ARG and searching for skulls with fellow Dibcaster Jeremy, and of course, I’ve played all of the games countless times over. Either I’m the best person to review this game, or the absolute worst. I’ll let you…

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Ghostbusters: The Video Game2009

4 out of 5 stars

I feel I need to be up front and honest with you guys here: Bustin’ makes me feel good. Real good . Innuendo aside, there wasn’t an elementary school recess that went by that my friends and I didn’t spend catching invisible ghosts with a pretend proton pack. I watched the movies constantly, the cartoon was on a short list with the X-Men and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles of shows that I simply could not miss on…

Read the full review Ghostbusters: The Video Game

WWE Legends of WrestleMania2009

3 out of 5 stars

BROTHER! I love pro wrestling. Well, let's back up a bit. I loved pro wrestling. The World Wrestling Federation was just as much a part of my childhood as The Ghostbusters , Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , and Mario . Perhaps my earliest wrestling memory is watching Hulk Hogan eliminate Earthquake from the 1991 Royal Rumble match. But it wasn’t until Wrestlemania XII, where “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels…

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MadWorld2009

3 out of 5 stars

"Hey guys, check out my sweet goggles." Style . That’s a word you’ll see pretty often in regards to Platinum Games’ MadWorld . It’s not an unfair assessment, given the game’s cel-shaded comic book aesthetic. Not surprising either, since Platinum Games was founded by several key members of the now defunct Clover Studio, the guys responsible for Okami and the Viewtiful Joe series. But those titles also brought…

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MLB 09: The Show2009

4 out of 5 stars

To be as forthcoming as possible, I must admit that I’ve not spent significant time with a baseball game since EA’s stellar MVP Baseball 2005 . Sadly, this was also EA’s last professional baseball outing, as Take Two bought the rights to produce Major League Baseball games that same year in response to EA’s purchase of the NFL license. Lucky for us baseball fans, Take Two’s deal with the MLB does not apply to…

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Street Figher IV reignites my love for fighting games

5 out of 5 stars

El Fuerte is definitely one of the more eccentric new characters. I have to admit, rather begrudgingly, that I have not always been a big Street Fighter fan. Like many people my age, sunkmany a quarter into those Street Fighter II machines in my younger days. I wasn’t terribly good at the game, but my competitive nature drove me back to the machine every time. I remember begging and pleading my mother for a copy of…

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GTAIV: The Lost and Damned revs it's engines

5 out of 5 stars

If I'd given out awards to last year’s games, my vote for Game of the Year would’ve most certainly gone to Grand Theft "Anybody else smell smoke?" Auto IV . So it was with much excitement that I fought off sleep to download The Lost and Damned , the first downloadable content available for my favorite game of 2008. The Lost and Damned comes in at a cool $20 - or 1600 magical Microsoft Points if you prefer thinking…

Read the full review GTAIV: The Lost and Damned revs it's engines

Afro Samurai2009

3 out of 5 stars

Afro Samurai is a super violent action game based on the just as violent anime series of the same name. Admittedly, I "Have you seen my samurai sword? It's the one that says 'Badass Motherfucker' on it." was not very familiar with the source material for Afro Samurai prior to picking the game up. However, I felt it a disservice to the game if I didn’t at least arm myself with bit more knowledge. So I at down and…

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Skate 22009

5 out of 5 stars

2007’s Skate was, by no exaggeration, groundbreaking. EA’s decision to compete with the mega-successful Tony Hawk Bolts, baby. Bolts. franchise wasn’t all that surprising, but the method in which they chose to enter the fray. Rather than mimic Activision’s powerhouse, they instead chose to take a more realistic approach. There would be no tailslides across power lines, vert sessions at Area 51, or 1080 degree spins…

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The Lord of the Rings: Conquest2009

3 out of 5 stars

I suppose it says a lot about Star Wars Battlefront II that it still sits right behind Halo 2 as the most played original Xbox title on You shall not play this game! Live. It took the class-based gameplay of Team Fortress and Return to Castle Wolfenstein and wrapped it up with a nice Star Wars bow on top. With The Lord of the Rings: Conquest , Pandemic has hoped to recreate that magic, trading Luke Skywalker and…

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Rogue Warrior2009

1 out of 5 stars

Even after being highly disappointed with Rogue Warrior after getting my hands on it at E3, I had still some hope that the Luckily for the guy on the right, he'll never have to play this game. very rough game that I played in July could be polished up enough to be worth playing come December. Unfortunately, I was mistaken. Rogue Warrior is an ugly, broken mess. Rogue Warrior is loosely based on the autobiography of…

Read the full review Rogue Warrior