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5 (27) 4 (32) 3 (11) 2 (5) 1 (0) 4.1 starsAverage score of 75 user reviews
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Infinite Levels, Zero Fun 0
Strafe landed on my radar a few years ago courtesy of one very tongue-in-cheek trailer. It promised a cross between two of my favorite genres - roguelikes and shooters - and poked fun at the 90s with its over the top baditude. I put the game on my to-do list, then checked out for a few years, distracted by a mountain of responsibilities. Imagine my surprise when, several years later, I logged into the PlayStation Network and found Strafe's nameless protagonist staring, blood-soaked, back at me. ...
4 out of 5 found this review helpful. -
Titanfall is a hyper-competent, bare-bones shooter with the potential to be more. 0
Titanfall is Call of Duty scored to the Benny Hill theme song. The feather-light navigation and gunplay that made CoD such a hit with twitch shooter fans has been injected with amphetamines and dumped, twitching and shrieking, wholesale into Respawn's first effort, an amalgamation of everything the team has learned from their decade-plus of experience and arguably the fastest, fiercest AAA shooter to come to market in recent memory.Everything in Titanfall operates at an accelerated pace. The def...
3 out of 5 found this review helpful. -
Even As A Pack-In, Little Deviants Isn't Worth The Time 0
Little Deviants came packed in with every Playstation Vita First Edition Bundle. At first, it's easy to see why Sony would want this to be the first experience that consumers had with their Vita; much like Nintendo's Wii Sports, Little Deviants acts as an introduction to the system's numerous features. But after just a few minutes of play, it became abundantly clear that Little Deviants had neither the focus nor the simple charm that made Wii Sports great. Worse still, the game's awful controls ...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
A Treasure In The Rough 1
After the announcement that Sony Bend was working on Golden Abyss in Naughty Dog's stead, my expectations for the game dropped harshly. It would be near impossible, I thought, for a third-party studio to capture the charm and the excitement that made the console entries such a pleasure to play. It didn't help that the game sported gimmicky-looking touch controls and played with a B-cast of unknown characters. I was pleasantly surprised, then, when I ended up not just enjoying Golden Abyss, but a...
5 out of 5 found this review helpful. -
Childish Philosophical Pondering Can't Hold XIII-2 Down 0
Final Fantasy XIII-2 is, at its core, a much better game than its predecessor. Many of the issues that fans had with XIII have been addressed in some significant way here, from the linearity to the slow-burn pacing, and Square-Enix has even made a few subtle improvements to the already fantastic combat engine to boot. These improvements make the overall experience of playing through this Fantasy a much more pleasant and coherent one, but they also serve to make the areas in which the game stumbl...
5 out of 6 found this review helpful. -
The Arkham Experience Is Still Unmatched, Even Two Years Later 0
There was a time when Batman games were viewed with contempt. Like most of the licensed drivel that publishers would pass for games, these experiences were often short, under developed, and untrue to the methods of the world's greatest detective. It is for precisely this reason that gamers were so skeptical when Rocksteady announced Batman Arkham Asylum. Of course that game released in 2009 to heavy critical acclaim and even received numerous Game of the Year nods. But was Arkham Asylum's popula...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
A Match Made In Gaming Heaven 0
Aliens: Infestation would've flown right under my radar if it weren't for the pedigree of its developer, WayForward Technologies. When the guys behind the excellent Contra 4 and Bloodrayne Betrayal put out a new 2D game, I tend to pay attention. When said game takes its inspiration from classic Metroidvania games, I'm practically stumbling over myself to fork over my cash. Indeed, Aliens: Infestation has a fantastic concept, and capitalizes on it as much as possible. A sidescrolling Aliens game ...
4 out of 4 found this review helpful. -
A Strong Case For The 3DS, But Not For 3D 0
Super Mario 3D Land is the game that should have launched alongside the 3DS. Unlike the rest of the games on the platform, it is of indisputably high quality and makes good use of the system's 3D capabilities. Although 3D Land falls a bit shy of the Galaxy games with which it shares a pedigree, it's still one of the most innovative and polished platformers on the market, to such an extent that it's almost worth buying the floundering platform just to play it.Many environments appear 2D at firstT...
1 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
Not The Treasure It Could Have Been 0
How do you follow up one of the most perfect video games ever made? If you’re part of Naughty Dog, the answer is apparently to obfuscate most of the elements that made that game so great and break the rest. That might sound unnecessarily harsh, especially because Uncharted 3 is still a great game, but it’s hard not to be disappointed by what should be one of the best action games of all time when it turns out “merely” great.Picking up a few years after Uncharted 2 came to a close, this third ent...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
The Craziest Open World Game Yet Is Also One Of The Best 0
Saint’s Row The Third is easily the most ridiculous game I’ve played in a year that has already seen its share of mass destruction, dicktits, and Big Boners. Think about that for a second. This is a game so unrelentingly absurd, it’s sometimes difficult to tell the numerous glitches apart from conscious design decisions. But where so many other games grimace seriously through their campaigns, Saint’s Row The Third sports a shit-eating grin, laughing along with the player at the madness occurring...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
A Treat For The Eyes And Ears, But Not Necessarily A Step Up 0
Quick: What's the first thing that comes to mind when I say Battlefield? For those of us who've been with the franchise since the beginning, it's massive 64-player battles and seamless vehicle integration. For others, it's the large scale destruction of the Bad Company games. But playing Battlefield 3, I couldn't help but think that there is now an entire generation of gamers who would answer that question with horror stories of an overly scripted campaign desperately trying to emulate the big d...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
It Might Be Cool To Hate On MW3, But That Hatred Is Misdirected 1
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 is a game mired in controversy, its reputation tainted by questionable business ethics and internet flame wars. Look past the lawsuits, corporate mud slinging, and accusations of stagnation from a restless fanbase, however, and you'll see that Modern Warfare 3 is possibly the strongest of the Call of Duty games and a great shooter in its own right. Is it as shockingly innovative as the original Modern Warfare was in 2007? Absolutely not, but with mechanics this refi...
3 out of 4 found this review helpful. -
An Oldschool Experience Hidden Under A Pretty Graphical Veneer 1
It's easy to have misconceptions about what RAGE really is. Word on the internet has pegged the game as a sort of bastard child in an illicit three-way between Borderlands, Fallout, and Doom, but to go into this game expecting anything resembling a role playing experience is to prime yourself for disappointment. This is an id game after all, and it's easy to see the DNA of their older works shining through the pretty new graphics. This is a post-apocalyptic world, colloquially referred to as "Th...
3 out of 3 found this review helpful. -
An Expansive And Refined Package 0
It's no secret that I held mixed opinions on Gears of War 2. It felt like the game took the whole "darker sequel" thing a little too far, injecting a somberness into characters and worlds that frankly didn't deserve to be taken so seriously. With Gears of War 3 Epic has finally hit that sweet spot between darkness and bro-ness that the first two missed, and tuned their gameplay and graphics engines to a T to boot. The resulting game is not only one of the Xbox 360's finest games, but one of this...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
Ingeniously Simple 0
The concept of Fruit Ninja Kinect is so simplistic it's almost hard to write about. Fruit gets launched up from the bottom of the screen. You wave your arms around like some kind of produce-hating Edward Scissorhands. The fruit explodes. Sure, there are permutations to the classic fruit chopping gameplay, but in general they all boil down to slicing as many of the targets as you can in the shortest time possible. But sometimes simple is better, and this XBLA release manages to pound that point h...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
The Gunstringer Is Breezy, Colorful Fun While It Lasts 0
Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I've never had as much reverence for indie developer Twisted Pixel as everyone else seems to. I found their debut effort, The Maw, to be downright boring, and while the 'Splosion Man games have a certain delirious charm to them the gameplay never drew me in. My favorite of their games, Comic Jumper, seems to be their least appreciated. So when it was announced that they'd be developing a new game for Kinect, I was doubly uninterested. But after receiving a Kin...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
So Awful It's Amazing 0
The concept of a B-movie, a piece of entertainment so bad it's actually kind of good, has been difficult to replicate in video games. Past attempts such as Swery's Deadly Premonition have nailed the cheesy atmosphere and awkward dialogue, but stumbled when it came to the gameplay. That so-bad-it's-good quality has been so rare in games because awkward gameplay is a nail in the coffin, even in a dumb game. SEGA's Rise of NIghtmares may be the first true B-game, then, because in a remarkable displ...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
A Bitter Relationship 0
I love video games. I do. We've been together for a long time now, probably bordering on fifteen years. And while those years have been filled with joy, heartbreak, and triumph, I have to be honest: Video games, you've been getting boring. You just don't live in the moment like you used to! Remember the good old days of the SNES and Genesis, when you were so eager to please with new innovations like Mode 7 graphics and crazy gameplay gimmicks? Or how about the Playstation days, when it seemed a ...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
A Fun Bit Of Forgettable Fluff 0
I'll be honest: For the vast majority of the year since its announcement, Driver San Francisco was so far off my radar it might as well have been in a completely different hemisphere. Can you really blame me, though? The last two games in the franchise, Driv3r (I still throw up in my mouth a little every time I have to type that out) and Parallel Lines, were merely uninspired GTA ripoffs, and when word of this new entry's coma hallucination plot surfaced I simply assumed that developer Reflectio...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
Something Special 0
It might be pretty obvious with the glut of 5 Star reviews permeating the site, but hey, I'll add another voice to the crowd: Bastion is good. Like, really, stupendously, inspiringly good. Even after watching Building the Bastion all the way through, I wasn't quite sure what to expect out of Supergiant Games' first outing. I was rooting for the guys, what with them making pretty much the entire game from their apartments, and myself an aspiring game developer, but I wasn't quite sure if the game...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
A Game As Crazy As Its Name Is Mundane 2
Avalanche Studios is a developer oddly in tune with what I want out of my video games. It's almost creepy how closely their games adhere to my checklist of perfect action game staples. Last year, Just Cause 2 showed us how far off the deep end these guys can go, and this year they're bringing their brand of explosive action to the download scene with Renegade Ops. Don't let the mundane name fool you; this is one of the craziest, flashiest, and overall most fun games released on XBLA and PSN this...
11 out of 11 found this review helpful. -
The Apex Of A Great Series 0
Insomniac's Resistance franchise might be the most inconsistant series of games I've played. The original game's dark and foreboding atmosphere gave way to cheesy male bravado in the second. The mechanics were significantly "overhauled," leading to fan outcry on the internet when the game ended up playing just like Halo. And then there was Resistance Retribution for the PSP, which was a third person cover-based shooter, because hey, why the hell not. Tonally, Resistance 3 is a sort of homecoming...
3 out of 4 found this review helpful. -
Making the Space Marine Cool Again 0
Warhammer 40K Space Marine has no right to be as much fun as it is. Every time I saw the game before its release, I couldn't help but find the premise generic and the gameplay redundant. Now the game is finally in my hands, and although those complaints still ring true, they are mitigated by the sheer elegance of the gameplay. This is a game that transitions between ranged and melee combat with a grace that few others can match, and while the Warhammer name might be enough to draw in the ardent ...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
From Dust Would Be Beautiful If It Weren't So Darn Annoying 0
As volcanoes spread their fiery wrath across one side of the map and torrential downpours flood the river basin on the other side, the desperate villagers march unfazed towards the large totem in the center of the world. Some of them are swept away in the floods, never to be seen again. Others are too slow, and are left burning in the lava as the stronger villagers push forward, never looking back. Finally, desperate and ragged, the surviving men and women reach the totem. They build a village t...
1 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
Being Bad Feels Pretty Good 0
When Sucker Punch released the first Infamous, I was torn. On the one hand, the combat and traversal felt great, and the story was intriguing. On the other hand, Cole's animations looked awkward, the characters were annoying, and despite being a so-called "superhero" (or villain) I never felt quite as powerful as the narrative constantly suggested I was. The Electric Man's second adventure targets many of the gripes I had with the first game, and undoubtedly it is the better of the two products,...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Small Victories 0
Duke Nukem Forever is a real product that can be purchased from store shelves. In a way, that seems like enough of a victory for the troubled shooter. The sad, but perhaps inevitable reality is that existence is one of the game's few triumphs. Everything contained within the package that is DNF can best be described as broken, boring, or bland; it's a relic from the 90s that, if anything, just goes to show how far the games industry has come since The Duke's heyday.The game gets off to a compara...
1 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
Gray and Brown (With Video Review) 1
It's been over five years since the last numbered SOCOM game, and the industry has evolved and shifted in untold ways since then. What may have been considered cutting edge in 2005 is now dated and generic. With that in mind, and fresh off the success of their massively multiplayer shooter MAG, Zipper Interactive have dragged their most famous franchise kicking and screaming into the next generation. Unfortunately, while the graphics may be sharper and the online features more robust, this f...
3 out of 3 found this review helpful. -
A Horror Game Minus The Horror 0
Dead Space 2 is not a horror game. Sure, the enemies are gooey and gross, the lighting is dim, and the ammo is scarce. But Silent Hill 2 (or even the first Dead Space) this is not. In EA and Visceral's sequel, jump scares and pulse-pounding action are the order of the day. The sense of foreboding that the original game did so well, that calm-before-the-storm feeling that made the hairs on your arms stand on end, is rarely, if ever utilized. And while a shrieking monster bursting from the wall wh...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
Slashing With Style 0
The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile can initially be a bit of an off-putting game. It centers on Yuki, a troubled young woman who, under your guidance, must exact revenge against three businessmen who wronged her. During this journey, she will carve a bloody swath through robotic ninjas, zombies, robots, teleporting secret agents, mutants, and numerous other abominations. On the moon. And sometimes she will take a break to whip out her violin, which for some reason sounds like an electric guitar, and...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Can't Go Home 1
When it comes to shooters, I'd consider myself to be pretty jaded. With the market as saturated as it is, a game really has to work to stand out in my eyes. Consider it a testament to the strength of Homefront's premise, then, that I was genuinely anticipating THQ and Kaos Studios' tale of Eastern domination. The marketing blitzkrieg supporting Homefront claimed that the game would thrust players headfirst into a desperate struggle for survival against impossible odds. The stakes? Only the furth...
2 out of 3 found this review helpful. -
My Friend Moe 2
NIS games always tend to remind me of bygone eras in gaming. Their games on the PS2, like Ar Tonelico and Disgaea, for example, bring to mind the Super Nintendo. Hyperdimension Neptunia, in turn, reminds me of the PS2 and Gamecube days, days that I consider somewhat of a golden age for JRPGs thanks to franchises like Xenosaga, Persona, and Kingdom Hearts. However, unlike many of those classics, Neptunia displays a self-awareness that separates it from the pack. The game takes place in a fictio...
5 out of 5 found this review helpful. -
Left 4 Dead Nation 0
Dead Nation was one hell of a roller coaster ride from start to finish. Gorgeous graphics and disgustingly detailed audio contribute heavily to the hopeless atmosphere of the game, and the constant swarms of enemies will leave you gasping for breath after each encounter. Despite the game's excellent production values and taught pacing, I could not shake a certain feeling the entire time I played the game. At first, I couldn't quite put a finger on it. But as waves of zombies and special infected...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
Did Littlebigplanet Need A Sequel? 4
From the moment it was announced, Sony's DIY-platformer Littlebigplanet was a shining beacon of hope for the games industry. In a market all too devoid of new and interesting ideas, LBP was one of the rare games that looked to the past for innovation. Positioning a 2D- platformer as one of its major games of 2008 was a bold move for the electronics giant, but as more and more media was released for the g...
17 out of 17 found this review helpful. -
Like A Ballet, Only With More Exit Wounds 17
Thanks to games like Heavy Rain and Mass Effect 2, interactive storytelling has taken some big steps forward in 2010. Indeed, it seems that many developers have recently been putting a great amount of effort into immersing you in dark and engrossing worlds, and gaming is overall better because of this. Luckily, PlatinumGames recognizes that not every new shooter on the block needs to be as emotional as it is bombastic, and the res...
88 out of 90 found this review helpful. -
A Brief But Charming Quest 0
Costume Quest is the ultimate childhood fantasy. The ideas of monsters being real and people transforming into vicious creatures are ones that most of us have probably entertained as children, and thanks to Double Fine and THQ, this whimsical fantasy is finally coming to fruition. Luckily, Costume Quest hits the perfect balance of intuitive game play and nostalgic subject matter to make for an excellent weekend of gaming for anyone who still holds a fondness for ...
5 out of 5 found this review helpful. -
Kratosvania 0
Way back in the day, Castlevania was a linear game. It's important to remember that while playing Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, because this is the most linear game the series has seen in years. Many fans of the series may be confused by this game's abandoning of the " Metroid-vania" structure that has served them well for years, but in this case a mostly straightforward path is indeed a better one. By taking a few hints from some recent action games, God of War and Shadow of the Colossus in par...
0 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
More of the Same 0
Valve has been really good about keeping Left 4 Dead 2 relevant. Thanks to their dedication to releasing new campaigns via DLC and the new mutation modes introduced in their previous DLC, The Passing, the zombie apocalypse has proven itself to have some pretty long legs. Unfortunately, it's been a long time since the release of the original Left 4 Dead, and the formula has seen few changes since then. Valve certainly hasn't taken any chances with The Sacrifice, and while it is ...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
An Engrossing But Flawed Journey 0
In the war zone that is the autumn 2010 video game market, it's easy to overlook a game like Enslaved. This is a shame, because although flawed, the game is also quite unique. Backed by minimal marketing and releasing amongst a slew of highly anticipated games, Enslaved came out of left field to deliver an uneven but ultimately worthwhile experience. Enslaved starts with a bang, throwing the you right into the action and seamlessly introducing the numerous gameplay elements in an engaging way....
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
The Definition Of Love It Or Hate It 0
Dead Rising 2 may be destined to go down as one of the most divisive games of this console generation. On the surface, the game is a silly zombie-slaughtering romp through a teeming adult playground. Look under the inviting surface, however, and you'll find a game that was tailor made for the hardest of hardcore. Thanks to nerve-wracking time limits, maddening boss encounters, and the hundreds of collectible items, Dead Rising 2 is a game that must be...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
Will You Remember Reach? 1
It has been a decade since the release of Halo: Combat Evolved, and still I think of it as one of the greatest first person shooters of all time. A true masterpiece of console gaming, Halo innovated the genre with regenerating shields, a two weapon limit, drivable vehicles, and console controls that didn't feel stiff and awkward. As groundbreaking as the game was, the FPS genre has come a very long way since 2000, and those features are all considered standard elements of modern games. Has Halo ...
4 out of 4 found this review helpful.
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