12 public written reviews
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I am a big fan of the western genre. Consequently I have been continually disappointed by the lack of quality western themed games on the market. My hopes were raised when I heard about Red Dead Redemption since an open world, third-person, mission based game from the makers of Grand Theft Auto sounded very promising. Red Dead Redemption is a fantastic game. It perfectly nails the look and feel of the western genre…
Video games based on super heroes have never appealed to me in the past, but I heard so many good things about Batman: Arkham Asylum that I had to give it a shot. Overall, I was very impressed with this game. The gameplay style is similar to some of my favorite games: combining exploration, combat, and mild role playing elements with great storytelling much like the Legend of Zelda & Fable series. All of these…
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves does everything a sequel to an already good game should do. From the story and graphics, to the stunning level design, Uncharted 2 nails the action-adventure genre. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune was a solid game but I wasn't blown away by the experience. Uncharted 2 , however, packs in so many great story and gameplay moments that it is impossible not to be wowed. Everything that worked best…
Killzone 2 is a fun, solid shooter with fantastic graphics. I really enjoyed the pacing of the game which allows for a great ebb and flow to the action. While certainly not reinventing the shooter, Killzone 2 hits all the important points: great weapons, excellent cover system, and a good variety of missions. I especially liked the grenades which are very effective and easy to use. While Killzone 2 's graphics are…
Infamous does a lot of things right, but unfortunately it does enough wrong to keep it from being unique. As a platforming action game, Infamous is fantastic. It has a Prince of Persia type feel to it and there are a fair amount of fun platforming and collection challenges to keep the act of navigation engaging. The electrical powers mechanic is also well done and the amount of variety and upgrades for each power is…
This game was universally hailed as being very innovative with a first class story. While it is a very good game, Bioshock really seems like the developers had a lot of great ideas and couldn't quite decide how to put them together. They give you the ability to modify yourself with plasmids (genetic power ups, a substitute for magic) and gene tonics. They also allow you to upgrade these abilities throughout the…
This game is not only original, but a great reminder of the potential of video games. Portal is a game in which you generate portals (wormholes) in order to solve puzzles and get from one area to another. It is a simple concept, go in one portal come out another, without any loss in momentum. When this is implemented using Valve's excellent physics engine, the results are spectacular. Portal has tons of things going…
This is a fantastic platformer with the right mix of easy, challenging, and infuriating levels. The galaxy theme is somewhat of a gimmick, especially since several levels take place on only one planetoid, but for the most part it serves as a fantastic way to break levels into sections which can be wildly different from one another without feeling forced. Graphically Super Mario Galaxy gives me great hope for the…
Team Fortress 2 is perhaps the strangest shooter I have played but it is also a lot of fun. The multiplayer shooter I had played most recently online was Day of Defeat: Source which is good but has some annoyances, such as giving each player a minuscule amount of health and never allowing the player to gather any additional health. For the most part though it is a fairly balanced and entertaining shooter, especially…
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune can best be described as a mash-up of Gears of War and Prince of Persia . It combines the 3rd person cover and weapons system from Gears with the environmental puzzle platforming of PoP . Add in the fantastic visuals, music and story, and Uncharted is a lot of fun to play. In some ways Uncharted is almost too similar to Gears . The weapons system especially is almost a verbatim copy;…
Fable II is the right type of RPG for someone like me. It has a larger amount of customization and scope than the Legend of Zelda games (which I love), while at the same time not overwhelming you with options like Elder Scrolls: Oblivion . Fable II has a lot of positives: great art style, fun combat with a surprising amount of depth, large game world, decent story, and a fantastic sense of humor. The art style is…
After completing the single player and trying some level creation, I have to say this game is great. The amount of creativity afforded is astounding as each level is more ingenious than the next. I absolutely love how everything has a hand-made look, a very distinctive departure from virtually every platformer ever made. LBP reminds me in many ways of Super Mario Galaxy because they both surprise you with their…
