Alex Stinton


80 games reviewed
69.0 average score
70 median score
45.0% of games recommended
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Oct 16, 2017

RAID: World War II apes the Payday series so intentionally that it's pretty hard not to view it as an ill-advised spin off. With dated presentation, tedious combat, and a consistently low player count, it actually feels like a step back when compared to Payday 2. Perhaps the biggest nail in its coffin, though, is just how buggy it is, with frequent crashes and broken scripting fanning the fires of your disappointment until it resembles the haunted look in John Cleese's eyes during the atrocious FMV cut-scenes.

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Mar 5, 2018

Fear Effect Sedna represented an opportunity to bring a well-remembered series – albeit not always for the right reasons – back to life. As is the case with many games arriving via Kickstarter, though, the ambition of the project fails to translate into the final product.

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3 / 10 - Blue Estate
Jul 3, 2014

Crude, sexist, and borderline racist, Blue Estate aims low in search of laughs – and still misses the target by a mile. Even fans of the source material will be disappointed as it fails to capture the spirit of the comic, instead squandering its roster of interesting characters in the worst possible way. Should you manage to cut through its juvenile veneer, you'll actually find a competent rail shooter – the problem is that the complete lack of originality will ensure that your interest will derail well short of its destination.

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Jul 24, 2016

Boring is not an adjective you expect to use when talking about an arcade racer, but somehow Carmageddon: Max Damage manages to be so tedious that you'll struggle to keep yourself interested enough to see out all of its events. The disappointing car handling, aimless AI, and basic visuals all come together to make a real clunker, which even with its few interesting aspects, doesn't come close to being classed as roadworthy.

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May 24, 2018

With a dearth of decent games based in the Warhammer 40k universe, Space Hulk: Deathwing seems at first glance to be heading in the right direction. With a reverence for the source material that'll appeal to Warhammer 40K aficionados, it successfully evokes the space hulk setting and the relentless battles at its heart. While the basic building blocks of a decent experience seem to be here, the undeveloped gameplay, and repetitive structure – that degenerates into tiresome battles of attrition – mean that even transplanting it into the co-op multiplayer mode and adding more unlocks and rewards won't be enough to keep your finger on the trigger for long.

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Aug 25, 2015

Improved visuals and a few more quests just aren't enough to turn the tide of opinion on this wreck, and with other RPGs since its initial release raising the bar even higher than before, it would have been better if – unlike the game's hero – this title had stayed dead.

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5 / 10 - State of Mind
Aug 13, 2018

State of Mind offers an intriguing near-future tale that doesn't quite deliver on its initial mystery. While it's cast of flawed – and in some cases unlikeable characters – are interesting to get to know, the plotting ultimately lets things down by failing to get you invested in the story, and asking you to suspend your disbelief a few too many times. While the unique presentation proves to be an excellent fit for the setting, and helps distinguish it from the crowd, the price of entry will scare off anyone who isn't actively seeking out this type of experience.

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5 / 10 - Rad Rodgers
Feb 27, 2018

Rad Rodgers struggles to find its difficulty sweet spot. Spending far too much time being either too easy or frustratingly hard, the inconsistent pacing means that neither those looking for a fun romp nor a hard as nails platformer will leave satisfied. While the gameplay at its core is decent and the design of each stage provides an enjoyable variety of challenges, the crass outdated humour and the radically varying difficulty mean that Rad Rodgers falls way short of being an excellent adventure.

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Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin delivers a passable tale that manages to capture the quirky aesthetic and humour of the original game. But its high price point, pedestrian puzzles, and failure to do much of interest with VR makes it something of a letdown overall.

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May 17, 2014

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is stuck so far in the shadow of better superhero games that it's difficult to see anything which makes it stand out from the crowd. While the traversal of the open world remains really enjoyable – in spite of some shortcomings – the rest of the release comes off as an inferior copy. While there's nothing horribly wrong with the experience, there's just not enough here to recommend it, especially when there are more engaging and polished experiences readily available.

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Dec 16, 2014

Secret Ponchos feels like a glimpse of what could go on to be a great game. Its comic book art style looks good, and the actual game plays well – but the slim roster of characters and stages mean that you'll quickly burn through what's on offer. With only alternative costumes available to buy at launch, the hope is that more content will be added further down the line. For now, though, unless you're already a PlayStation Plus subscriber, you're better off hanging up your six shooters.

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5 / 10 - Pillar
Mar 4, 2015

Pillar should be applauded for its hand painted art style and atmospheric soundtrack, though ultimately it doesn't deliver on the promise of its unique setup. While the gameplay ties into various personality traits in some interesting ways, the puzzles are nowhere near challenging enough, allowing you to power through most of what this title has to offer in just a few hours. As a result, unless you have a penchant for unique indie titles, you won't need to take a test to work out that this probably isn't the game for you.

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Oct 29, 2019

While some nicely designed environments, and a scattering of enjoyable puzzles stop this ship from sinking without a trace, Close to the Sun doesn’t manage to reach the lofty heights of ambition it’s clearly aiming for.

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Oct 29, 2018

Call of Cthulhu's successfully evokes Lovecraft's Mythos by delivering an eerie story that ultimately doesn't stray too far from some well-trodden ground. While anyone expecting a terrifying horror title or an RPG packed will player choice and decisions will need to check those expectations at the door, there's at least a half-decent adventure game lurking under the surface.

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Jun 26, 2018

With the ups and downs of the many licensed LEGO titles having been well documented by now, you'll know exactly what you're getting with LEGO The Incredibles. Even knowing full well you'll be contending with dodgy controls, and occasionally repetitive gameplay, you'll somehow find yourself propelled through the story by an overwhelming compulsion to pick up literally millions of studs along the way. Even stretching The Incredibles source material close to breaking point doesn't put too much of a dampener on your time with the Parr family, and while it doesn't come close the best the LEGO games have offered over the years, there's just enough here to make you reach for your super suit.

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6 / 10 - The Crew 2
Jul 4, 2018

While it's disappointing to see The Crew 2 fall into some of the same pitfalls as its predecessor, its open world remains one of the most impressive playgrounds, in terms of scale, out there. Sure, there's very little reason to explore its vast road networks outside of its visual appeal, but the sheer variety of different events, from nerve racking aerial races to coast-to-coast endurance runs, will still get your heart racing.

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6 / 10 - The Station
Feb 19, 2018

So called "walking simulators" live or die on whether they deliver an engaging story, and while The Station appears – at least at first glance – to have this covered, it misses the mark in a number of important ways. It's not bad by any means, but its characters and themes feel light and underdeveloped. While it stumbles narratively, it does at least successfully craft a tense atmosphere, but neither this nor its modest number of enjoyable – if somewhat easy – puzzles are enough to make this a prime candidate for first contact.

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6 / 10 - Kona
Mar 17, 2017

While the overarching story in KONA will no doubt leave you cold, the tense atmosphere at the centre of its snowstorm setting will warm your desire to see it all the way through to the end. It should also be applauded for trying to add a surprising number of mechanics to what's ostensibly an adventure game, and while the survival gameplay ultimately feels superfluous, it at least works well in service of developer Parabole's presentational aspirations – which is more than can be said for the pointless combat and distinctly average collection of puzzles.

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Feb 14, 2017

Kitty Powers' Matchmaker is a frequently enjoyable dating sim that nails its charmingly campy tone while providing a refreshing change of pace for those who fancy making love not war. It comes close to being a keeper, but the high cost of this version over its mobile counterparts, and a gameplay loop that struggles to keep it up for more than a couple of hours, means that Kitty Powers' Matchmaker just isn't quite relationship material.

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Sep 27, 2016

The Dead Rising Triple Pack represents the perfect opportunity to revisit this divisive series. While it's a bit disappointing to see only a cursory effort being invested into presentation improvements, it feels as if enough time has passed since the titles were originally released that series evangelists will enjoy returning to the zombie mayhem found in these faithful ports. Newcomers, however, must be warned that any enjoyment you find here may be regularly overrun by a shambling horde of questionable design decisions.

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