20 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.
Shadows of the Damned , in which Garcia Hotspur ventures through Hell to save his girlfriend Paula from the demon lord Fleming with the aid of his trusty sidekick, the flaming, talking skull Johnson (capable of transforming into a torch, a motorbike and a variety of guns for Garcia to use), is a very disappointing third-person shooter. Its primary problem is simple: Garcia is overpowered. His dodge roll is quick and…
Vanquish is no ordinary third-person shooter. It has most of the things you would expect from a game in the genre these days – walls you can attach to for cover, regenerating health, a limited number of weapons you switch between with the D-pad – but whereas games like Gears of War and Uncharted are about being a badass right from the get-go, Vanquish is about becoming one. You see, in Vanquish everything is…
Shadow of the Colossus is, essentially, one long action-adventure boss rush. The only enemies in the game are sixteen gargantuan colossi the main character has to kill in order to resurrect a dead princess, and the only times at which you aren't fighting one of them of is when you're riding to the next. It's a great concept. A particularly well-designed boss fight is often the highlight of an action title, and an…
Most people know of God Hand for the PlayStation 2, developed by the late Clover Studio, not as one of Shinji Mikami's masterpieces ranking alongside, or perhaps even above his Resident Evil 4 in quality, but as either a stiff, ugly mess of a game not worth anyone's time, or a game whose main appeal lies in its abundance of ridiculous, referential cutscenes and its hilarious ending theme. This is one of the most…
Portal could have been great. The concept was ingenious: a gun that shoots portals is a very cool thing indeed, and allows for some amazing level design. Unfortunately Valve screwed up by making the puzzles way too simple – the whole game felt like a long tutorial for a set of harder, better puzzles that didn't actually exist. Enter Portal 2 . It's got a plethora of new puzzle elements: tractor beams, cubes that…
Flower is what happens when a bunch of no-good hippies learn how to utilize the Playstation 3's power. ☆ (out of five) For years, indie developers have tried to convince themselves -- and, by extension, others -- that conventions are a bad thing; that challenge and complexity -- the cornerstones of any mechanically outstanding video game -- are harmful ; that the " experience " -- whatever that's supposed to mean --…
Ah, Limbo . It has been called this year's Braid ; a masterpiece; perfect , even. Let's have a look-see, shall we? Limbo is a puzzle-platformer. And I'm going to address the game's largest problem immediately: Both the puzzles and the platforming are completely devoid of any challenge. The former virtually never require more steps than can be counted on one hand -- move a box, pull a lever, climb a rope and you're…
Introduction: Shadow Complex is a side-scrolling action-adventure in the vein of the Metroid and Castlevania games, and was developed by Chair Entertainment . The game was released on Xbox Live Arcade for 1200 Microsoft Points($15). Players take on the role of Jason Flemming, who stumbles upon a secret underground base -- a Shadow Complex, if you will -- while hiking with his girlfriend. The girl is taken captive,…
Introduction: Tales of Vesperia is the first in the long-running 'Tales' series to appear on current-generation consoles. It's a Japanese role-playing game(abbreviated as JRPG), and was developed by Namco Tales Studio . The game puts the player in the shoes of ex-knight Yuri Lowell, who sets out to retrieve an aqua blastia core -- a magic device that provides water -- that was stolen from the lower quarter of his…
Introduction: Prince of Persia is an action-adventure with heavy focus on acrobatic platforming. It was developed by Ubisoft Montreal, and was released for the PC, XBOX, GameCube and Playstation 2 back in 2003. At the beginning of the game, the titular Prince makes a horrible mistake and unleashes the Sands of Time upon the world. The game follows the Prince and the Indian princess Farah on their quest to undo the…
Introduction: Prince of Persia is an acrobatic platformer, developed by Ubisoft Montreal . The premise of the game is simple: Ahriman, the God of darkness, has been freed from his prison and corrupted the land. The Prince(whose real name never is revealed in the game), along with the magic-wielding princess Elika, must heal the land and reimprison Ahriman. Good Stuff: Beautiful Prince of Persia is a beautiful game,…
Introduction: God of War: Chains of Olympus is the prequel to the critically acclaimed Playstation 2 games God of War I & II . You'll once again take control of the merciless Spartan Kratos, serving the Greek Gods to rid himself of his nightmares. Chains of Olympus is a 3D action game with hack 'n slash elements, and was developed by Ready at Dawn Studios . Good Stuff: The Art of War Chains of Olympus looks really,…
Good Stuff: Looking good Wipeout Pure is a beautiful game. While the graphics are pretty good for a PSP game, what makes it stand out from other racing games is the art style. The game takes place in year 2197, and instead of racing with cars, you control hoverships. There are 10 different ships in the game, and all look really cool. But the ships aren't the only things that look good - the game's 16 tracks(12…
Introduction: Tales of Eternia was originally a PSone game - it was released in North America under the name Tales of Destiny II(the real Tales of Destiny II , however, was never localized), and has now been ported to the PSP for release in Japan and Europe. It is a JRPG, and was developed by Namco Tales Studio . Good Stuff: Great battles The battles in Tales of Eternia play similarly to a fighting game - you've got…
Introduction: Viewtiful Joe is a 2.5D beat 'em up, developed by Clover (makers of Okami and God Hand ). While it sports 3D graphics, the game plays like a 2D side-scroller. Now that you know what kind of game it is, let's move on to the review. Good stuff: Viewtiful world The game looks really, really good. The cel-shaded graphics strongly resemble the fantastic-looking Okami, albeit with more of a comic-book feel.…
Good stuff: Awesome threesome You get not one, not two, but three games in one. At first, only the 2.5D remake of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood is available, but after finding two secret items you'll be able to play both the original RoB, and the PSone classic Symphony of the Night. If you're worried about not getting enough bang for you buck, stop worrying right now. A foot-massage for your ears The Castlevania…
Good stuff: The sound design is brilliant. While walking through the dark corridors you'll hear the distant roars of monsters, eerie singing and ominous crying. The screaming of a Necromorph jumping out of a nearby air vent is accompanied by a suitable crescendo, only to be replaced by an unpleasant silence when you've reduced it to a pile of bloody limbs. The roars Isaac let out while desperately flailing his arms,…
This is a spin-off from the Tales series and features a lot of characters from other Tales games, which is a good thing if you're a fan of the series. If not, this game is probably not for you. Gameplay: This could have been a lot better. It's just quests, quests, a mediocre boss fight, quests, quests and quests. The quests vary from making sandwiches of delivering cakes to defeating a certain number of a certain…
Portrait of Ruin is the second Castlevania for DS, and while I'm surprised that it's worse than the first one, it's still a really good game. The main change from Dawn of Sorrow is that you have two characters, Jonathan and Charlotte. Jonathan is the warrior-type, while Charlotte is a magician. You'll probably stick with Jonathan, just pressing the R-button every once in a while to have Charlotte use a spell before…
This is the sequel to Aria of Sorrow and the DS debut for the Castlevania series. I expected great things, and great things I got. Gameplay: The classic Castleroid that we know and love. It still feels as good as it did back in Symphony of the Night, if not better. The tactical soul system from Aria of Sorrow returns without major changes. If you haven't played AoS, the tactical soul system allows you to equip the…
