Join the journey of a man as he attempts to work 60 hours a week at a public accounting firm, maintain his marriage/social life, and attempt to reduce a backlog of over 100 games. This list will be longer than last year's list because (1) I plan to include games I'm finished with even if I haven't "finished" the game (2) I plan to play more this year (3) and I hope to stick with keeping this list updated for the entire year.
Let the fun begin.....
I really enjoyed this game, once I started playing I simply could not stop. The story is complete and total insanity and made me want to stick around to see how things turned out. The gameplay isn't anything special, although it is rather unique, but it allows you to experience one of the deepest, engrossing, and confusing, tales I've seen from a video game in a long time. (4/5)
If I had one word to describe Mafia II- it would be "odd." The 3rd person cover mechanics were unacceptable for a game released in 2010 and the story was predicable. That being said, I still enjoyed by time with the game and would recommend it. I'm a sucker for Mafia stories so I may be letting it off a little easy but every game doesn't have to be full of action packed fights and unpredictable twists and turns. If you go in expecting an average re-imagining of Goodfellas then I don't think Mafia II will let you down. Plus, Playboys. (3.5/5)
I feel that this game was largely overlooked by the gaming media in anticipation for God of War III. The amount of disturbing content that is included in this game is overwhelming. From the unbaptized babies to the myriad of writing bodies, everything works together to create a robust experience of traveling through hell. There are a few rough spots, but overall I enjoyed this game as much as God of War.
All of the previous information applies to the first 90% of the game. The final portion of the game has you going through extremely annoying (and unnecessary) challenge rooms in order to get to an incredibly frustrating and unfulfilling boss. I still strongly recommend this game- especially since you can pick it up for about $10 - but be prepared to be baffled by the decisions the team made at the end of this game. As an added bonus make sure you pick up the PS3 version of the game for a few interesting documentaries on making the game and about the epic poem the game is based upon. (3/5)
This is a really well made game which expands upon the fiction in the first Dead Space. There are multiple (4) difficulty settings, 6 episodes of a comic mini-series, and a challenge mode. It still feels great to dismember aliens and Extraction does a great job of working within the confines of the Wii to still create a tense experience. Unfortunately, it is still a on-rails shooter and, due to the nature of the genre, cannot create the same immersion and dread that exist in the core Dead Space games. (3.5/5)
There isn't much to say about this game that hasn't already been covered. It is an extremely well crafted game. Dismembering aliens feels great, the environment truly feels like a place that people called their home, and the tension of playing this game alone in the dark is overwhelming. There isn't much more you could ask of a action-horror game. I haven't tried the multiplayer but even without it I think this game is the best (so far) of 2011. Don't let anyone ruin the story for you but the final scene is great for fans of the original Dead Space. (5/5)
(3/5)
(4/5)
(3.5/5)
(4.5/5)
I was in the mood for something very Japanese and I didn't feel like continuing to sludge through Final Fantasy XIII so I picked up Yakuza 3. I'd previously played most of the first Yakuza but never played 2 at all. This really didn't matter since there is an excellent recap feature for Yakuza 1 & 2 and the gameplay was almost completely unchanged from what I remember playing on my PS2. The city is gorgeous and the voice acting is pretty good too (even if it is entirely in Japanese) but overall the game just felt old. I stuck it out until the end because the story was genuinely interesting but fighting dudes was old before I even got to Tokyo. I think I may skip Yakuza 4 and hope for a more updated formula in 5 (assuming it makes it to the US). (3/5)
The best thing I can say about this game is that it was functional, I never experienced a bug, lock-up, or serious glitch. On the other hand: the story gave me a headache from all the eye-rolling it caused, the voice acting was grating, the bosses over powered and obnoxious, and it was a FPS instead of a strategy game. I mainly purchased this game to (hopefully) increase the sales figures enough to show that the Front Mission name is still known to some group of gamers even though it was a different style of game. I regret this decision. The entire experience was totally lifeless almost as if the game was designed by a computer instead of actual people. I never felt like I was controlling this huge mech and I might as well have been shooting Super Soakers for all of the kick the guns had. Overall, I wouldn't even say that this a competent third person shooter and is not even worth a rent. (1.5/5)
(4/5)
(4/5)
