Darren Pearce


51 games reviewed
92.2% of games recommended
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No Recommendation / Blank - Space Hulk: Deathwing Enhanced Edition
May 23, 2018

It's got the 40K atmosphere nailed to a T. It's got the sound, the sights, and the feel of 40K perfectly - but it's just let down massively by bugs, long loading times, horrible mission design and a lack-lustre campaign mode that not even the Emperor himself would condone. I feel it's a bit of a waste of old Gav's talents as a writer really and when you're dealing with a Librarian, the constant purge the xenos motivation comes across as a bit thin.

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Recommended - Watch Dogs: Legion
Nov 3, 2020

Watch_Dogs: Legion is big, it's ambitious, and it pulls off a lot of neat things with the city sandbox. The triumph is the play as anyone system, but also a weakness in that it can create a truly obnoxiously voiced character and personality. It encourages sandbox play and offers a lot to see, and to do. A strong post launch plan could see this really take off.

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Recommended - Fury Unleashed
Jun 8, 2020

Fury Unleashed is a solid action puzzle platformer, with rogue like elements and it runs extremely well. The game is short, but there's replay value there and couch co-op for two players -- which is a rarity. A good little package and well made!

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Recommended - No Man's Sky - NEXT
Aug 20, 2018

There's a story going on here, about existence, simulation, and all that. It's not a story that sits well with some folks, and I can't say it's all that well written. It's oddly jarring to see it in No Man's Sky to be honest and the delivery of the textual parts of Atlas Rises always slams me out of the immersion of the game due to its reliance on 'choose your own adventure' narrative elements.

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Sep 5, 2018

If youi're a Warhammer 40K fan, and you're a fan of Diablo-style games then Inquisitor Martyr is definitely a game for you. There are still a few bugs, and some mission triggers don't fire correctly at the end of certain missions. But, all that aside, it's a great fun game that's worth getting for sure!

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Once you have some meals to take with you, cooked using the things you grow, you can venture out in your rowboat (rowing devours your energy, especially with big waves) and explore the other islands for materials, crew, secrets and other plants/food that you can bring back with you and use in camp. This gameplay loop is fun, marred a little by the quick drain on your energy. Exploration is going to take you a long time, many repeated trips across the ocean and in some cases you'll only get a handful of materials for your troubles.

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Recommended - Shadows: Awakening
Oct 3, 2018

It's nice to see a 3d ARPG that's not made by Blizzard get the bombastic sprawling fantasy epic feel fairly right. There are a few things that grate (the purple prose for one) in the game, and there's not many bugs that I've been able to detect - no broken quest chains or triggers that failed. Everything has been smooth sailing barring the dropped frames now and then, and even they don't actually spoil the game. The dual world and puppet mechanics provide a big draw to the game for me, and I'm looking forward to seeing a lot more of the different characters as I progress through the huge game before me. There's a lot of dialogue to listen and read, so if you're into lore-rich worlds, you've come to the right place. The bonus here is that much of it is narrated by Tom Baker.

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Recommended - Vampyr
Jun 13, 2018

The Great War has ended, and London is caught now in the grip of the Spanish Flu epidemic that devastated the city. This is the backdrop for Vampyr, and thus begins the tale of newly embraced Doctor Jonathan Reid, a brilliant physician and a man who is very much blessed and cursed by his new found powers. All around Doctor Reid, the shadows move, there are vampires who pull at the strings of Britain's government, and vampire hunters that seek to shove a steak through the good doctor's newly dead heart. It's a great backdrop for a story, and provides a slower paced, interesting narrative for anyone who engages their brain rather than their 'bash things in the face' button on the gamepad. If you're going to rush through Vampyr, know that you're going to miss a lot of subtle narrative and expanded story hidden within the expansive dialogue trees of every single character in the game.

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Recommended - Conan Exiles
May 27, 2018

Conan Exiles genre-wise is a survival sandbox fantasy game, which cleaves to the ideas and aesthetic of Conan quite nicely. I've read virtually every bit of Conan literature there is to read, and seen the movies, followed the comics. As a fan of Conan in that regard I'm really happy with Conan Exiles since it brings to life part of Conan's world extremely well. From harsh desert climes, to deep jungles and frosty northern wastes, there's a lot to see and do here and many hidden dark secret places that can corrupt the mind just as much as they destroy the body.

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Recommended - Project CARS 2
Oct 5, 2017

When it all clicks, it is quite brilliant. When it all clicks that is, otherwise you're left with a game that's not quite going to win first place compared to the likes of Forza. Normally I try not to compare these things, but if you asked me to choose at the moment, even with the loot boxes - I'd say Forza 7 wins there in terms of delivering a better experience and racer out of the gate.

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Sep 24, 2017

Death of the Outsider is a great game, having new powers and new features with Bille Lurk as the central character helps shave off any kind of series fatigue. We're excited to see where it all goes next!

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Recommended - Agents of Mayhem
Aug 17, 2017

Agents of Mayhem is a fun game, it might get a little repetitive now and then, but with solid controls and a great combat system it's a delight to play. If you're missing Saint's Row and Crackdown, this could be the game for you.

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Recommended - Forza Motorsport 7
Oct 12, 2017

The Prize Crate system is the downer here, it ruins what could have been a perfect game. It doesn't put the game in the bargain bin of course, or detract from the actual game itself, but it's a nasty sour taste that doesn't really fit with Forza. Of course, this is just my opinion and you can take it, or leave it as you desire. It's not as mode rich as Forza 6 at launch but there's time for additional modes and the like post-launch, as well as tweaks and the changes coming to the VIP pass. In the end though it is pure racing fun at heart, stripped of the useless tat and dazzle of the previous games - left for people to do the one thing they bought it for. The sound of the cars, the look, the feel, the thrill of the race and of course to collect badass rides and drive them at breakneck speeds in places they might never visit.

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Recommended - Far Cry 5
Apr 17, 2018

I love Far Cry, I really do, there's something about this series that makes me smile no matter what the game. I might be horribly biased by the open world nature of the games, and like many of my favourite titles before it, it's the mix of unpredictable gonzo fun and sudden random nature elements that combine to make it such a great experience. Far Cry 5 seeks to keep that flavour from previous Far Cry titles such as 3 and 4, and push the boundary of its design a bit further.

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Recommended - RiME
Aug 9, 2017

Rime is beautiful, it's simple in a lot of ways and has some nice ideas. It's worth grabbing and especially if you enjoyed games like Ico, Journey and so on.

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Recommended - How to Survive 2
Mar 6, 2017

The atmosphere in this game is dialled up from the previous, the graphics and design are better and the music has a neat way of tracking the peril you're in. It changes based on the on screen action and provides subtle (or not so subtle) clues to the situation. The same can be said of the sound effects, though they sound mostly recycled from the first game.

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Recommended - Lego Worlds
Apr 27, 2017

Lego Worlds is super silly fun for anyone who picks it up. It's especially fun for fans of Lego and the TT approach to the Lego games. It's also fun for anyone who happens to like Minecraft-style games.

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Mar 29, 2017

This game has a ton of potential, perhaps not quite there yet, but there's always room for changes in a future patch. It feels like a remix of several Ubisoft games in one, not a bad thing per-se. A great game though, I've loved my time in the Wildlands.

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Nov 11, 2016

A solid entry into the CoD franchise, a bit different (in a good way) than the previous CoD games like AW and Black Ops 3. Worth getting for the spectacle, pretty epic campaign and has a new take on zombies.

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Recommended - Watch Dogs 2
Nov 21, 2016

Watch_Dogs 2 improves on the first game in almost all areas, adds a ton of new content and delivers a satisfying open-world action adventure.

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