Fair warning, this review might get weird. But that's sort of hard to do when you're talking about a game that is a giant metaphor for sex.
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Before Crystal Dynamics took hold of the franchise, Tomb Raider was in dire straits. The downward spiral had finally reached the bottom, and you'd be forgiven for wondering if we'd ever see Lara Croft return to relevancy again. But just like that, Legend was released and all was forgiven, with a tighter knit, better polished, and more cinematic Tomb Raider than we had seen in years.
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Even before I played it, Bastion always stood as something of a posterchild to me for indie games. Its relentless ambition and startling success at achieving it are a showcase of how much can be accomplished by a small team with a clear set of ideas for the game they want to make. It's stunning and memorable in the way few games could ever hope for, and is as mechanically solid as it is breathtakingly presented. It succeeds in every aspect, and is one of the most well rounded games I have likely ever played.
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It should only take one look at Bulletstorm's literally insulting advertisements to know the sort of game it is: a blood soaked, over-the-top story of a space pirate's revenge, it's crass, gratuitously violent, filled with more dick jokes than you can shake a stick at, and most of all absurdly enjoyable!
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I like to think of Escape Goat as "the little game that could". Launching first on the highly flawed and crowed Xbox Indie Game Market, it garnered a cult following that pushed it ahead of the seemingly endless shovelware that littered the platform, eventually making its way to Steam and even getting a sequel. Despite the acclaim, I've been sitting on the sidelines, still unconvinced by the unimpressive graphics and seemingly basic design. As is often the case though, my first impressions couldn't have been further from the truth, as Escape Goat more than lives up to its well deserved reputation.
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I said it before but I'll say it again, it blows my mind when I think about how amazing every single moment of Gunpoint is. The writing is witty yet crafts an engrossing, compelling narrative that didn't need to be complex for me to devour every line of dialog eagerly awaiting how it would all end. The mechanics fit together as if they share a cellular bond, evolving and challenging the player while keeping them in constant control and giving them the option to approach encounters however they see fit.
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Dead Bits is the sort of game I'd expect to see a student or modder put out as a first step toward something more ambitious and polished. If that were the case it might be a commendable, if heavily flawed, first attempt at making a game, but as a finished retail product there is no way I could advise anyone to pick it up, which is to say nothing of wasting your time and sanity playing it. I feel there was potential here at some point, but in the end it's about as enjoyable as banging your head against a brick wall, and could very well do you just as much harm.
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I'd like to say Woodle Tree Adventures isn't one of the most dismal games I've played recently, but there is nothing I can even partially recommend it for, and wish I'd headed the words of others and passed on it myself. It left me feeling hollow, and sad for the developer who almost seemed to have something at a point before it slipped through his fingers.
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Wipeout is a series I only recently discovered, but almost instantly fell head over heels in love with. Unfortunately, it's also a series that's been almost entirely confined to itself, with little in the way of similar games to be found on other platforms, and whose future looks incredibly bleak with the shutdown of its developer, Sony Liverpool. As such I've been clamoring to find something to fill this soon to be gap, and the unapologetic clone that is Flashout 2 seemed like a good stopgap while I waited for a more fleshed out experience. How very, very wrong I was to assume even that much.
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Let’s not beat around the bush, Electronic Super Joy was flipping amazing! A high intensity platformer fueled by an addictive electronic soundtrack, it chewed me up and spit me out, and I loved every second of it! Taking a cue from Giana Sisters: Rise of the Owlverlord, Groove City is a mini-sequel spanning slightly more than a dozen levels, as you and the pope embark on a quest to save Groove City from a giant robot stripper who’s gone on a rampage because her laser nipples have been stolen!
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It’s hard to say if I actually “enjoyed” Richard and Alice. It’s an incredibly bleak adventure that at times is hard to stomach from how emotionally taxing just being such a hopeless world is, let alone what occurs within it. It’s not a “fun” game (or really much of a game at all in many ways), but it is an immensely well crafted experience that does more with less than a handful of characters in just a few hours, than most games ever manage. It’s a captivating character study, that absorbed me from the second I set foot inside Richard’s extravagantcell up until its undecided ending, which leaves just enough unanswered to keep you wondering and filling in the gaps yourself. Some might say its lazy storytelling, but to me it was the only possible way to end a story that was never going to have a happy or finite conclusion. After all, the world is still turning, and humanity along with it, through the best and worst of times.
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It's a well know fact that dogs are man's best friend. A lesser know one is they're also pals with strange sack doll people, who don't take so kindly to having their pet kidnapped by demanding aliens. But what are friends for besides rescuing each other from extra terrestrial life, while dooming the planet in the process, and thus Gomo sets off on a mission to steal a powerful crystal and save his canine buddy from the slimy captive. Unfortunately he isn't able to save his game as well.
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In a lot of ways A Story About My Uncle left me feeling the same way as most of the stories I was told growing up; not entirely displeased with what I got, but saddened it had to end so soon.
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Far away from the teenage romance novels and goofy Dracula renditions that have come to be associated with vampires, Bloodrayne explores a darker take on the age old monsters, its titular femme fatale being something of a female counterpart to Van Helsing out to rid the world of the demons that threaten to destroy it. Betrayal from WayForward acts as a departure from prior games in the series and stands as a rather polarizing title from every angle; as instantly dismissible as it is alluring.
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Always Sometimes Monsters isn't without problems, but like the characters in it they are simply part of a whole that you can still love despite their obvious flaws. Nothing and no one is perfect, as the decisions you're forced to make in the game and your own life can hold testament, but if you're willing to look past them there's something very special laying underneath.
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For many, the graphical powerhouse Crysis is more notorious for its tendency to bring even cutting edge PCs to their knees, than for its gameplay. While it offered tons of eye candy for those that could run it, the fact remained that most were forced to watch from the sidelines as it was simply impossible to play on anything but the best hardware. But all that changes with Crysis 2, a ruthlessly optimized machine that finally lets all those wondering about the series a chance to see what it’s all about. Unfortunately, it never lives up to its reputation in any way than being a pretty face, and once you look past the visuals quickly evaporates into a game I couldn’t wait to leave.
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2D is a special little dimension. Forgoing that pesky thing known as depth, it's a world wholly unlike that which we see and live in everyday; an otherworldly place where being flat isn't a negative, but a wondrous and unique expression of the universe. The residents of Fez know this better than most, being a group in and in love with the 2D space they inhabit. But what if this world isn't as flat as they believe? What if there is an entire other dimension right beneath the surface? What if all it took to discover it, was for a tiny little guy named Gomez to put on a Fez?
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I could likely sum up this entire review by simply stating the title of the game in question: Yet Another Zombie Defense. Intended as a sideways joke at the ridiculous number of zombie themed games flooding the market, it extends beyond the name to every aspect of the game, resulting in a bland and unimaginative isometric shooter that even for the low price is hardly worth a second glance.
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Type:Rider is far from a perfect game, maybe not even a good one, but it is a unique and interesting endeavor to give a little background on a subject I'd never have bothered to look into otherwise.
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