gameranx's Reviews
An interesting mechanical conceit that does little to build on itself.
The game might be enchanting to those who don't normally play the sort of rough fan-made horror PC mystery games that dominate Desura, as I do. I strongly recommend waiting until the "real" version, the fully remade Pathologic that promises to improve the game systems, NPC AI, and graphics, comes out next year. I will give the game another chance upon the remake's release.
There's more to Layers of Fear than initially meets the eye, and I'm pleasantly surprised at its quality. Playing the preview version was a nice way to get my Halloween horror fill. I highly recommend it.
Assault Android Cactus, despite the bold colors and glowing lasers, a very unpretentious game that's mostly about having fun.
While two of Sublevel Zero's primary features (permadeath and procedural generation) tend to do the game a disservice, its moment-to-moment gameplay stands as something unique enough in the current FPS landscape that warrants at least a look. However, the incongruous nature of permadeath and procedural generation in the game doesn't necessarily make Sublevel Zero a game worth returning to for very long.
In any case, Armello is a remarkable achievement. Instead of simply transferring a board game experience to the TV or computer screen, developer League of Geeks has managed to escape the boundaries of the board game format using modern innovation. Arthur C. Clarke suggested that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, and in that light, Armello is quite definitely magical.
So I think of Armikrog as a tragic point-and-click adventure. It's sad because of what it might have been, and because it might have lent itself to further episodes set in Tommynaut's delightfully retro universe. But given the state of the game before us, I can't imagine we'll be visiting it again any time soon.
These warts considered, Might & Magic Heroes VII isn't enough of a refinement over VI to justify purchase if you already own that game. It's unfriendly to newcomers to the series, with nothing that qualifies as a tutorial included out of the box. And fans of the old games may find themselves put off by all the unnecessary visual flash. But devoted fans of the series will certainly find lots to do with the latest entry.
SOMA will scare you, no doubt, but it won't be the memory of a gnarled, disfigured mass clumsily ambling towards you in a corridor that leaves you awake and unable to sleep at night. It will be the question of what makes us human.
Having played lots of the classic adventure games in the '90s, I find myself now completely bereft of nostalgia for them. Games, I've felt, have generally moved on and found better ways to impart an experience of "adventure." But Dropsy is deftly executed and so full of genuine heart and warmth that it overcame my cold-hearted distaste for the form. It's sweet without ever being saccharine, tells a story that disturbs without ever resorting to cynicism, and ultimately is disarmingly uplifting.
It's also not a bad time to get all caught up, what with Dishonored 2 on the horizon (which is what I'm sure Bethesda intended by re-releasing the original). You may want to take a pass if frame rate is an issue for you, as the game is locked at 30 fps, but overall it's a decent game with a great price on its polished new look.
Despite game-breaking bugs, and oddly out of place, poorly rendered textures, I found King's Quest to be an extremely delightful game. The cliffhanger for Chapter One has me in tears, and I'm on pins and needles waiting for Chapter Two to come out… which unfortunately does not have a release date as I write this. To be frank, I would have rather waited longer for a complete game with little to no bugs to come out than wait months on one episode at a time that constantly freezes on me.
Dying Light is zombie-killing action turned up to 11. To say that it's "not a bad game" would be a colossal understatement. Couple all of that with a pulse-pounding soundtrack and you've got a recipe for something truly enjoyable. Buy this game.
AC:U has its problems. Some are inherent to the design, some can be rectified by patches and some will get much better in the next iteration. This game made bold changes to an established formula and not everything worked. It seems like Unity will be a great relaunch point, just like the original Assassin's Creed was. But for now, it's not what it could have been. This is going to be both a blessing and a curse to the series going forward.
Starpoint Gemini 2 isn't the most profound release in a genre that's been promising some imagination inspiring experiences in the near future. Even so, the fog of war of its vast map begs me to clear it, hiding ships and upgrades that I just need to collect. There are a lot of toys here to play with, even if the world around them is somewhat simplistic, but that might just be enough to keep me occupied for another 20 hours.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare offers some of the biggest, and most interesting changes to the series since Modern Warfare, and promises hundreds of hours of fun in its fantastic multiplayer mode and gripping single-player campaign that's the best one in the series to date. Don't miss it.
If you ever want to play another game again, this series is not for you. But, if you had to pick only one to play for the rest of your life, Civilization: Beyond Earth would be a solid choice. The various factions and Affinities will ensure multiple, robust playthroughs, each presenting unique scenarios that will encourage the player to strategize in challenging new ways with each file. I look forward to my next 400 hours with the game.
Between MyLeague, MyGM, MyCareer and multiplayer modes like MyPark and the more tradition types — all of which have functioned admirably online, I should note, though MyPark has been less busy than I would prefer, in my experience — NBA 2K15 is as fleshed out as a sports game gets these days.
The Nemesis System is an achievement, one that overshadows any faults Shadow of Mordor otherwise has through sheer fun factor, and I can't wait to see its influence spread.
That's the irony of The Vanishing of Ethan Carter in a nutshell. When you first start up the game, it declares that it "is a narrative experience that does not hold your hand," but that's true only of its mechanics. Narratively it holds your hand so tightly that once it was over I had to wait a few minutes for feeling to return.