Rundown (3/02-3/08) Expect Delays and Fan Game Reviews
Lately I’ve been playing through RPG Maker made Pokemon games, and have made spreadsheet separating nearly every Pokemon into two versions. I have no justification, but that’s my reason if the Metro LL review is late in the week, because I was too busy playing Pokemon Godra. Now I’m suppose to finish this, but I just got off of filming a middle school play where I had to stand on concrete for 2.5 hours.
Valdis Story: Abyssal City Partway Review
It’s been about a month and a half since I decided to stop playing a game after investing enough time in it in order to form a solid enough opinion for a review. Yet after about five hours with Valdis Story: Abyssal City, I reached a point where I do not wish to continue playing, and feel the need to justify to myself why I did not find this game to be all that enjoyable. If that sounds a bit odd, consider the concept of somebody going out of their way to transcribe their opinions and place them on a website they’ve spent time customizing.
Saints Row 2 Review
I really do not have an explanation for what I decided to replay Saints Row 2, let along the vanilla version of a not very good PC port. I am aware that there is a supposedly awesome mod by the name of Gentlemen of the Row, but I forgot about it until I was nearly done with my 45 hour playthrough where I did just about everything I could do that wouldn’t be easily viewed as mindless busy work. However, this is not a review where I look back and question why I did not see faults with a title, but one where I actually come to terms with how I probably should have loved this title even more than I thought I did. Also, I want to review something happy on Christmas, unlike last year… (more…)
Ys: Oath in Felghana Review
Note: I re-reviewed this game in 2020. Please disregard this original review.
Well, it’s been a good while since I touched the Ys series with my review of Ys Chronicles, but I ended up buying the other half of this franchise that I can buy on Steam. With Ys: Oath in Felghana being a remake of Ys III as much as Metroid Zero Mission is a remake of Metroid. In fact, arguably less similar as Ys III was a side scrolling RPG that looked completely alien to me when I looked up gameplay of one of its many versions. Where as Oath to Farharad is something far more distinct.
Outlast Review
Well, I happened to pick up a new toy at the toy shop during Steam’s pre-Christmas blowout sale. A survival horror first person title by the name of Outlast that was at the right price for me to try. Though I was very close to actually giving up on the title before sitting down once more and finally beating it after writing a section of a Partway Review. So it’s time for me to call a game people like a game I do not like and explain why in a somewhat disjointed analysis of what I found to be lacking in the final product. With research papers being the scapegoat for my quality or lack thereof.
Brutal Legend Review
I remember back when I was a wee lass, er, sorry, wrong reality, when I was a wee boy and bought lots of big titles on the regular because I wanted to see what the fuss was all about. Brutal Legend was one of them, and I promptly forgot nearly all of what entailed in it. So I got it again through a Humble Bundle. Not because I wanted to review every Doublefine title before they began making Kinect Titles, that just sorta happened. (more…)
Mark of the Ninja Review
Mark of the Ninja is the last game I played on my Xbox 360 before I put it away for the foreseeable future. Not this version, I bought this after I let the console stay dormant for two months before getting a free copy in a Humble Bundle. Which means I own three versions of this game, something I can’t say about anything aside from the first three Sonic games, which I actually own about four copies of… Damn, I didn’t even realize that until just now! Okay, okay, let’s talk about them Ninjasks named Mark.
Jade Empire: Special Edition Partway Review
There comes a time when games are long, have problems that become apparent early in playing them, and feel like a time sink that will amount to the same conclusion, more or less. Jade Empire is one of those titles, and as I’ve hit 13 hours in the game and chapter three out of five, I no longer wish to continue, and feel as if I have a good amount of things to say about the oft forgotten Bioware title. As part of a new segment that will hopefully survive through my very spur of the moment decision making, called Partway Reviews. In which I review a game after getting to the point where I no longer wish to continue playing it, but still feel like saying things. (more…)
Bastion Review
Do I want to begin this review with a spiel about how some indie games blow up while others are eternally a mystery to people across the universe? Or perhaps how easy it is to get behind on the list of games that arise from the ether? Maybe mentioning how random my collection of games is becoming so that I have nearly 100 games on Steam, mostly due to Humble Bundles? Nope, I’d rather just start about talking about the Bass-tion abyss.
Guacamelee! Review
Note: I re-reviewed this game in 2018. Please disregard this original review.
How to make my favorite game: Have things to find and collect that boost the main character’s abilities in order to get even more things to find and collect while going through big and little baddies in a colorful, but consistent world. Also, throw in some RPG mechanics while you’re at it. Something which Guacamelee! does not do, but it seemed to get the most important parts. As the only reason why I was not excited for its debut being my inability to play it, or willingness to buy most games at full price. Oh, but it just had to be one of those games I’m glad to have played, but never want to play again.
Gone Home Review
Note: I re-reviewed this game in 2016. Please disregard this original review.
Gone Home was something intriguing from the moment I noticed nines and tens being awarded by numerous critics, but the consumer backlash being more or less the opposite. Throw in the claim that the four developers were pretty darn involved in my favorite Bioshock game, Minerva’s Den, and it is not surprising I decided to pick this game up for $10. Also am doing it as a Halloween bound review, as Anna was just too crap to bother getting past the first hour.
Fallout New Vegas Review
So after their owner ended up losing almost all their money, Black Isle reestablished itself as Obsidian Entertainment. Working on sequels to games that fit their specialties, only to eventually be able to pick up the license they had been working with before Black Isle got the axe? With the countermeasure likely involving them having a fraction of the budget to a game they were essentially modding in hopes of using up ideas gathered over the years. Which is essentially the backstory for New Vegas’ development, or so I believe.
Rayman Legends Review
Note: I re-reviewed this game in 2017. Please disregard this original review.
So after years of working on and developing a franchise, you tell its creator to more or less reboot it, while trying to make it flop as hard as possible. What with your terrible timing for its release, where it’s first week sales in five digits was not surprising. Oh, but by the end of the year the game managed to make money because it was made by a small team. So you plan a bigger and better sequel, only to tell the creators to spend another six months on it before finally releasing it in a manner to maximize profit by putting it on everything. Is it good? Yes. How good is it? Let’s find out. Ready, one, two, three go!
Bioshock Infinite Review
Ah, nothing like playing catch up with games that were released, debated, and ultimately put aside until the December of decisions where the various outlets decide upon their favorite game of the past year. But I feel as if I can get a bit of traction while nobody is talking about it, but namely know what the blazes I’m talking about when I’ll say Saints Row IV or Rayman Legends is my GOTY. Even though Bioshock Infinite is still quite good, but it is another Last of Us for me.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent Review
Part of me feels a bit redundant when reviewing a game like Amnesia. Well, more so than any other game, if only because pretty much everybody knows the game to be a scary good time, and I don’t have much in terms of an argument to that. Heck, I only own it thanks to a Humble Bundle I threw $5, and decided to play it because I like to have a diverse order of games to play so I am always feeling different flavors of the good stuff. Actually, the mostly unrelated sequel is coming out in a few days, so I can just use that justification.
Ys Chronicles+ Review
It is customary to do a bit of research when doing a more underground game for a series that is fairly sizable. Yet, Ys is one of the odder ones I’ve seen. With the entire series only spanning about 10 games in reality, but 25 or so years. While the prospect of obtaining the entire collection would cost a couple thousand easily, due to how often the core group of these games have been remade and re released. Hell, the one I’ve got right here is the repackaging of two originally separate NEC PC-8801 games, which I’ve never even heard of. That was remade for the Turbografx, PC, PSP, and is now the compilation of two of the remakes because of reasons!
To The Moon Review
Note: I re-reviewed this game in 2016. Please disregard this original review.
Games can just go out and be whatever the blazes they want to be. As far as I’m concerned, as long as there is a margin of interactivity and form of an objective, games can expand into any entertainment programming processed by some form of computer. I bring this up, because after playing the title this review is very clearly named after, I can already hear the potential excuses, and I feel the need to address them in any game that doesn’t involve combat or some other very prevalent form of gameplay. (more…)
Evoland Review
Note: I re-reviewed this game in 2017. Please disregard this original review.
It’s no question that games have changed dramatically over the thirty plus years they’ve been in the popular culture. Sure, that can be said about nearly every medium, as time alters and most often enhances it as it grows bigger and attracts more and more creators to reshape the medium into something nobody would ever think of back during its birth. Which is the best introduction I can think of to talk about a game about video game evolution, creatively called Evoland. Which I’ve got about a page of things to say about.
Recettear: An Item’s Shop’s Tale Review
Steam sales, Steam sales, lovely lovely Steam sales! Yes, there were many an interesting title on sale, and I decided that the quirky title about running an item shop in a JRPG asking for five of my dollars and about 17 hours of my time. Was it worth it though? Short answer, undoubtedly, but… I feel like I did this opening recently. Either way, On with the actual review. (more…)
Thomas Was Alone Review
Steam is both the best thing to happen to the game industry within the past few years and the worst. I’d be surprised if more than 10% of people who actively use the service have a fully up to date collection of games with no backlog whatsoever. But with my already decent library, I picked up a few games I hope to trail blaze through. So here’s what I think about the 2012 title, Thomas Was Alone. (more…)
Hotline Miami Review
I didn’t like it. Yep, that sure is a fine way to begin a review, but at least it is effective, though a bit misleading. But I’ll not dawdle, seeing as how I have lotsa games to review now that I have a PC. Alternatively, I could just edit my Jet Set Radio Review, because my issues are rather similar. But I wrote that in September of 2012, and I’ve revised stuff newer than that. (more…)
The Walking Dead Review
Okay, okay, okay. I realize that I should not get into the habit of redoing everything I’ve ever done, but sometimes I want to replay a game after a while, and look back at my past review of said game and view it as lacking. Yes, I said mostly nice things, but I don’t think I said them very well, and this will hopefully amend that. That, and I wanted to get a refresher for 400 Days, which I’m not gonna review, because it would be two rather annoyed paragraphs. (more…)
Dishonored Review
Oh yes, the ever awkward sensation of attempting to review something old enough to have been played by most people who would care about the title, but not old enough to be nostalgic to those who played it. Well, screw it, I had this game on the shelf for six months, was originally waiting for a DLC sale so I could have the whole package, but decided to get done with it and give my thoughts.
Singularity Review
As I state with half of my reviews for games, most of my stuff is randomly picked by a birdie telling me it is worth however many dollars is slapped on it, and my not very valuable time. I mean, why wouldn’t I pick up a title with a relatively positive reception, poor sales, and an eight dollar price tag. No clue, but it certainly was worth what I paid. Oh, and no Multiplayer will be mentioned because who the blazes would be playing it?
Metro 2033 Review
I hate it when titles take me forever to get around to, and this one was hanging in the balance for about two months. But after using an extended weekend to plow through this title that I would expect 5+ million people to own due to how it was $0.00 for a few days. Still, I am insane and can’t go through something and not write about it unless my thoughts are totally indifferent, so here’s what I thought of the title, and two months before the sequel.
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Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition Review
To stop beating around the bush, and immediately light it on fire, I did not like The Witcher 2 any significant amount. In fact, after I got to the second of three chapters, the only reason I continued was so I could label this as a review rather than a first impressions piece. However, seeing as how adorable the box back is, I’m going to use that as the centerpiece of the review, if only because I think it’d be more fun than I got from the actual title.
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Sleeping Dogs Review
I literally choose everything I review by looking at something and saying, “That one’ll do for this week or given time period.” And I decided that the best way to wash out the taste of a cold deconstruction of a genre I am unfamiliar with, is with an urban sandbox game! One that I would’ve probably never cared about, if not for the fact that it was one of the handful of cancelled games to be revived completely, and it got an ill fitting name. Really? There are no dogs in this tale of Sleeping Dogs!
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Spec Ops: The Line “Review”
Note: I re-reviewed this title in 2014. Please disregard this review.
Y’know, other than the amount of dissatisfaction when you realize that you are not putting out anything that people actually care about. The feeling of not having much to say is the worst part of my self imposed hobby/job. Its not just that people have said a lot after it was given a far closer look, and I’m late to the metaphorical party. It’s because how they clearly have more experience, since I’ve never even touched what one would consider to be a, “Modern Military Shooter”. So I’ll try something less conventional, and structure this review in accordance with how I was introduced to this game.
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Telltale’s The Walking Dead Review
Note: I re-reviewed this game in 2013. Please disregard this original review.
The surprise popularity in The Walking Dead game was something that I originally presumed to be something that everyone would forget about come the fourth of the five episode. Not that it was bad, because that is what I remember about every Telltale game, a general decline in interest with an end product that people ended up getting a bit too excited for. Not to put them down, I never actually played one of their previous games beyond a demo or two, with my reactions being positive. But them bringing a game of the year? That not only blew my mind, it made me snatch it up, and ignore my backlog just to get around to it. And, well, I can certainly see why so many people liked it.
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Stacking Review
I mentioned doing some sort of Double Fine review string in terms of their first wave of smaller downloadable titles. And since I am dreading going back and trying to review Xenoblade, with only notes of the first 90 hours to guide me, I’m going to talk about the other two titles they made in that time period. Starting with Stacking, an Adventure/Puzzle game about Russian stacking dolls and child labor… It is really hard to dislike your game ideas, you silly billies!
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Deus Ex Human Revolution Review
A part of me feels more than a little awkward for bringing up a game that is 15 months old, the right amount of time for the game to be forgotten, and not necessarily looked back on by most. However, part of the creation of this blog was to organize my thoughts on pretty much every game I currently own, something that I am bound to regret when I need to do some the lengthy RPGs I have lying around. But I had the DLC for this, and due to an odd decision plan, it was either this or Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga, a sixty hour game. So, not even acknowledging the original Deus Ex, here’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution, one of the more conflicting games I’ve played in recent memory.
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Costume Quest + Grubbins On Ice Review
October is probably my second favorite month of the year. Even though I am not so much into horror, I really do enjoy the atmosphere that comes with this season. However, I also do love themes, so I might as well squeeze three titles that are at least Halloween-ish for this week. Or at least three reviews within three days. Granted, I do not own many, but I figure that these titles would not be talked as much as others, so let’s dive into some that I happen to own. Starting with Double Fine’s first downloadable title, Costume Quest!
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Bioshock 2: Minerva’s Den Review
I do not normally do reviews for DLC, but I bought and played through some and feel like I should talk about it. If you couldn’t tell from the header, its Bioshock 2’s single player DLC, Minerva’s Den. And it is one of the most pleasant surprises I’ve seen in a good while.
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Bioshock 2 Review
I thought Bioshock was a very nice game, other than the save system that encouraged you to try and try again with no consequences for messing up other than a load screen. How it included revitalizing chambers in case you do not use the save system. The pointless morality system, and a crappy ending. So the sequel took into account to not improve most of those things, and just creating plot holes and a product that lacks was filled with one of the first big gaming controversies that I saw within the medium. But this is a place for my opinions, so let’s do it with Bioshock 2.
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The Maw Review
I love Twisted Pixel, from their creative and amazingly designed games, to their almost constant guarantee of quality. Or at least that’s how I remember their games. Being on a budget, I’ve been going through titles that I enjoyed back in the day, and trying to get a new perspective on them, or just organize my thoughts. So let’s do it with four of Twisted Pixel’s five titles, I am unable to even play Gunstringer, so let’s just look into their first title, The Maw.
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Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit Review
As I try to make clear in most of what I do, I love things that are weird, odd, unique, eccentric, or just plain old different. So when I see a game that looks to have a unique angle from it, with a studio whose previous Xbox Live Indie Games I enjoyed, it makes sense for me to schedule a review slot for it. But does this wild looking title shine through, or is it just a nice coat of paint that makes the titles sound even stupider? Let’s find out and also see if my quality of reasoning degrades under a deadline!
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Jet Set Radio HD Review
I have heard that it is a better stance to be indifferent toward everything from the start, in order to prevent disappointment. However, if you are indifferent towards entertainment from the initial standpoint, why would you ever bother purchasing it, when you are not able to portray an emotion towards it, good or bad. I say this because I was fairly excited for this game and it did indeed let me down, yet by how much? When I break down this game on paper, it sounds like a prime contender for one of the best of all time, so by default it must be a disappointment, but how so and how much? Let’s dive on in!
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Rayman Origins Review
Note: I re-reviewed this game in 2017. Please disregard this original review.
Ubisoft, what the hell were you thinking with this title? It is odd enough that you would decide to release a 2D platformer, a sub-genre that has been reduced to downloadable titles unless it stars an Italian plumber, at retail for $60. But you release it on the busiest day of the busiest month in the industry? On the same day as your own Assassin’s Creed Revelations? You developed an engine to make this game, so you were trying to toss it into the lion’s den? Well, joke’s on you, this game not only survived the lions, but it crashed into your office looking for more work. This is Rayman Origins, my favorite 2D platformer of this generation, if not all of time! (more…)