Chris Brown's Reviews
Shadow of Mordor is the single best Lord of the Rings adaptation to date, and one of the very best third-person action games in many years. By taking some well-known mechanics and adding their own special twist with the Nemesis system, what Monolith has created is much more than the sum of its few borrowed parts.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a compelling interactive novella that draws players in with its beautifully atmospheric setting. The slow burn narrative doesn't quite land the final emotional punch it's aiming for, but it more than satisfies on every other level.
Like Bastion before it, Transistor is a pleasure to play and an involving experience from start to finish. Its mature story and evolving combat will keep you engaged to the very end, and have you longing for more.
Admire Spiders for their ambition, but as with its prior efforts this is again a case of reaching too far and spreading too thin. The result is a game that feels incomplete despite its comparatively short length for the genre.
This time around, From Software has nailed the PC version of its beloved franchise, leaving absolutely no doubt as to which platform gives players the best experience.
Daylight incompetently piles on the clichés and delivers an experience that is far more likely to induce boredom than anything resembling fear.
An inventive and outlandish puzzler that executes with bloodthirstily aplomb.
1954 Alcatraz fails to deliver. There is a lot to like, the narrative and setting are exceptional, but the constant shortcomings of almost every other aspect of the game quickly saps enjoyment and replaces it with frustration and disappointment.
To the player willing to take the game at a slower pace, with a focus on pure stealth and without the artifice of in game assistance Thief will deliver the goods. For everyone else the reward may not be worth the effort.
Episode 2 contains all the elements we've come to expect and deeply admire from a Telltale series, but it's too thinly spread to achieve top marks.
Might and Magic X is an unabashedly old school RPG experience that, despite one or two high notes, often only serves to remind us why so many of these mechanics were relegated to history.
The Banner Saga is an absolutely gorgeous, engrossing RPG that features well-balanced and pleasingly tactical turn-based combat. It's a linear journey, but one that's definitely worth taking.
The focus on action for the first half of the episode takes away from what makes this series great, but the exceptional tone, and excellent storytelling still deliver. Clementine promises to be a unique and compelling protagonist, and Telltale has the potential here to make the most important game in the zombie sub-genre. [THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS]
One of the best RPGs of all time returns. This new edition succeeds not because of any enhancements added by Beamdog, but because the game BioWare created is still as strong as it ever was with only dated design and mechanics holding it back.
By adding more content, more depth, and more choice, Enemy Within enhances rather than alters the core XCOM experience, and in doing so makes a great game even greater. A must-have.
A gleefully tongue-in-cheek throwback to shooters of yore, Shadow Warrior offers fantastic melee combat and a truly beautiful world to discover and then slaughter in.