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Joshua Kowbel

Syracuse, New York
Boss Kowbel
Boss_Kowbel

Favorite Games:
  • Resident Evil 4
  • Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
  • Too many to name (Portal 2, BioShock, The Last of Us, etc.).

37 games reviewed
58.1 average score
60 median score
21.6% of games recommended

Joshua Kowbel's Reviews

@WikiGameGuides Reviews Editor | We Got This Covered (@wgtc_site) staff writer. I say things on the Internet.

Whether you watched Yu-Gi-Oh! a decade ago or still enjoy the card game today, Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist is a nostalgic goldmine of memorable characters and monsters.

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Aug 26, 2015

Beyond Eyes is an art showcase – beautiful to behold, undoubtedly – but I dreaded the majority of my time playing it. Unless you need to know what happens to a stray cat, don't feel guilty for keeping Beyond Eyes in your blind spot.

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A neo-noir aesthetic, gruesome investigations, and pending showdown between Eliot Ness and superhuman cultists separate "The End of Peace" from its genre rivals. However, awkward dialogue pauses, no worthwhile choices, and an inexplicable alternate timeline stop this episode from surpassing them.

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Sep 7, 2015

Mad Max's fondness for never-ending upgrades and tedious open-world quests stymies the exceptional car combat and compelling characters.

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Sep 11, 2015

The lenient difficulty, procedurally generated levels, and promises of plentiful loot prove that Quest of Dungeons has something for any roguelike or dungeon crawler fan.

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Sep 16, 2015

Whether you love fretting over turn-based shoot-outs or watching people become mutant food, Skyshine's Bedlam is an apocalypse of considerable intrigue and polish.

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Sep 17, 2015

Cross of the Dutchman's "based on a true story" narrative is neither accurate, nor are its battles a substitute for action RPGs like Diablo. I would rather read Pier's Wikipedia entry again, which offered greater entertainment at zero cost.

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Shovel Knight is still an unrivaled audiovisual homage to Sega and Nintendo consoles. If you like ruthless platformers and already own Shovel Knight, enjoy Plague of Shadows. It literally costs nothing. If you prefer precise controls, however, slightly altered levels and bomb crafting may not justify Plague Knight's momentum-heavy play style.

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Sep 22, 2015

Eradicating ghosts that mimic your preceding actions is an inventive notion, but the rest of the gameplay hooks meant to keep Extreme Exorcism players happy embody the saying "been there, done that."

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Assault Android Cactus – between its twin-stick gunplay, dialogue, and ample modes – exhibits a rare polish among its peers, but the atrocious HUD, useless unlocks, and local co-op that's actively better without friends keep Witch Beam's debut from rivaling the genre's titans.

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Oct 5, 2015

The Beginner's Guide is not lightning in a bottle like The Stanley Parable, nor is it a checklist of graphics and sounds that players should run through. For people that want a taste of the hardships that indie developers endure, however, you can do no better.

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Oct 11, 2015

Caffeine: Episode One stars game-breaking glitches and scenery that acts of its own free will, sabotaging this walking simulator's serviceable atmosphere.

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Oct 11, 2015

I envy Sony fans that get to experience Super Meat Boy for the first time. Hundreds of levels, pixel-perfect controls, and a brand-new soundtrack cement the game as a must-play 2D platformer on the PlayStation 4 and Vita.

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The Escapists: The Walking Dead brings a normalcy to the franchise, with methodical routines and chances to explore, better yourself, or help others at will.

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Oct 14, 2015

Contrary to its looks, Crimsonland still delivers frenetic fights that are impossible to reproduce in web browsers. But bigger and more beautiful twin-stick shooters rose to fame during the game's decade-long slumber, leaving 10tons playing catch-up.

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With its minimal content and cars that prove impossible to control, Rock 'N Racing Off Road DX butchers the arcade action that Super Off Road perfected in the '90s.

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Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide seems like an eerie, well-done Left 4 Dead mod on the surface. But players that soldier through disheartening dice rolls will find a replacement for their co-op and loot-driven needs, Warhammer fan or not.

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Jan 8, 2016

Hardware: Rivals provides exploding jeeps and tanks aplenty, but in this online-only game, the small player population will end your car combat fun before it gains traction.

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Jan 18, 2016

The rough-around-the-edges menus and price might pose problems for some people, but The Bug Butcher breaks convention. The cute and vivid insects put phobias to bed, and because anti-hero Harry only fires his weapons vertically, the gameplay reinvents side-scrolling shooter mindsets.

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Jan 18, 2016

Resident Evil 0 HD is a relic of the period before Amnesia's helpless protagonists and Resident Evil 4's over-the-shoulder camera. But that makes Resident Evil 0 an exotic history lesson for horror developers. It takes the right sound cues, splendid visual framing, and one mechanic that most people hate (i.e., inventory management) to produce a game this timeless.

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