Prioritizing ambiance and mood over high scores or game mechanics, this Xbox Live title is an exercise in meditative curiosity, an ethereal float through subterranean caverns, spreading pollen and plant life, with some puzzle solving mechanics thrown in for good measure.
Posts tagged Reviews
The Charge:
A new world will rise from the ashes of the old.
Opening Statement:
Square Enix once again attempts to bring their long running giant robot series to North American shores, this time with an American developer at the controls, and a pretty huge shakeup in the gameplay department. Does their gamble pay off?
Continue reading REVIEW: Front Mission Evolved (PS3/Xbox360/PC)
The Charge:
When speed is not enough.
Opening Statement:
For racing game fans, getting a digital fix comes in three flavours. Hardcore simulation; along the lines of Gran Turismo or Forza Motorsport , Arcade racers such as Burnout; with faster paces and much looser physics, and Kart racers; which deal out Mascot characters, and crazy course layouts. While at heart Split/Second, the newest racer from Black Rock Studios; the developers of last year’s phenomenal Pure, is very much of the arcade variety, it possesses qualities which blur the lines that separate it from the other two.
The Charge:
In darkness, fight with light.
Opening Statement:
It’s been near a full 7 years since Max Payne last graced us with his presence in 2003. Remedy have finally returned, bringing with them a new protagonist in Alan Wake. Trading rain soaked New York streets for fog enshrouded pines, and two-fisting colt 45’s for heavy duty Maglites and road flares, does Wake live up to Payne’s pedigree?
Facts of the Case:
Alan Wake is a writer. He’s had several hit novels, and is generally a well regarded Stephen King-like figure. Unfortunately Alan is suffering from some severe writer’s block, and his public image is less than perfect. Alice, Alan’s wife, takes him to the sleepy little Midwestern town of Bright Falls, her plan is to get Alan’s creative synapses firing again. Unfortunately for Alan, Alice has disappeared, he’s missing a week, there’s an FBI agent in hot pursuit, and he’s awakened behind the wheel of their crashed vehicle with one hell of a nasty bump on his noggin. On top of that, he’s finding pages from a manuscript he supposedly wrote, and the weirdness on the page has a way of bleeding into reality. It only gets stranger from there.
The Charge:
Wake up in a dark cave with no memory and just a gun. Take control and learn a world power, stop a delusional villain!
Opening Statement:
Playing Cave Story (Dōkutsu Monogatari for you hopeless purists out there) on the Wii will most likely conjure up strong feelings of nostalgia within gamers who were around in the 8-bit era. It’s like discovering a great NES title for the first time, or stumbling across a slice of fried gold long since missed. The only difference being that Cave Story is no retro throwback title, it’s not a series relaunch, or a cheap cash-in on the success of Mega Man 9 or Dark Void Zero. Cave Story, if you must know, was doing the old school thing before old school was even in vogue. This game is a labour of love, crafted by a single gamer back in 2004. It enjoyed cult success as a freeware PC title, but does that mean it’s not worth forking over 12 bucks to play it as an actual console title? That’s a question for Will Smith.
The Charge:
Your Smallest Decisions Can Change Everything.
Opening Statement:
The latest from French Developer Quantic Dream (Indigo Prophecy) has been hyped and heralded as a boon to the PS3’s growing library of top-drawer exclusives since it was first announced way back in 2006. Does this latest experiment in cinematic gameplay deliver an experience worthy of two thumbs up?
Facts of the Case:
In a terrorized city, the hunt for a missing child will lead four disparate people to ask the question: How far would you go to stop a killer? Heavy Rain puts you in the shoes of each of the four characters as they piece together clues and attempt to track down the latest target of The Origami Killer, a ruthless serial killer who abducts young boys and drowns them in rainwater, before he becomes another casualty.
The Charge:
Hunter. Survivor. Prey.
Opening Statement:
Everyone’s favorite extra-terrestrial Cuisinarts are back, and as per usual, mankind is caught in the middle. Can Rebellion, the studio behind the original PC classic, manage to get it right this time around?
Facts of the Case:
The Weyland-Yutani Corporation has found something beneath the surface of BG-386, a discovery so valuable that even Karl Bishop-Weyland (Lance Henriksen, of course!) has taken an active role in the excavation. When the planet side colony goes silent, the USS Marlow is dispatched on a search and rescue mission. The Marlow however isn’t the only ship in the stars above Freya’s Prospect; a group of Predators has made one hell of an explosive entrance. They’ve got some time to kill, and more than enough prey (of the soft meat and hard meat varieties) to keep them occupied.
Continue reading REVIEW: Aliens versus Predator (PC/PS3/Xbox360)
The Charge:
The Horseman Cometh.
Opening Statement:
At the risk of sounding terribly cliché, I’ve been patiently awaiting Darksiders since it was announced to little fanfare and the earliest concept art found its way onto my internets. That patience vanished into the ether once it was announced that major video game publisher THQ had picked up Darksiders, and pumped enough cash into wee little developer Vigil Games to allow them to expand beyond a four man operation into a full fledged development team. Whenever the topic came op on Pixel Verdict asking us what new franchises or games am was I most looking forward to in 2010, my answer was always the same; Darksiders. It’s been a long few years, and I’ve converted a small cadre of gamers along the way from indifferent onlookers, to genuine followers of its development. Now finally, the wait is over, and Darksiders has ridden onto the battlefield. Is this a well deserved victory for the dreamers at Vigil Games? Or is this an apocalypse for gamers that has long been foretold?