krazilec's GameSpot Friend's Reviews krazilec's GameSpot Friend's Reviews krazilec's GameSpot Friend's Reviews en-us Copyright (c)1995-2013 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved. http://www.gamespot.com 20 Wed, 22 May 2013 14:46:43 -0700 GameSpot krazilec's GameSpot Friend's Reviews http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/shared/promos/misc/gs_logo.gif http://www.gamespot.com 135 40 Fri, 15 Mar 2013 19:27:09 -0700 nutcrackr reviewed Tomb Raider for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/tomb-raider/user-reviews/808871/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

Tomb Raider is a reboot to a well established, stale franchise that was in need of an overhaul. It aims to tell the origins story of Lara Croft, the well known archaeologist heroine. It's grittier and more gruesome than any of the series previous games. Crystal Dynamics have made some big changes to the combat, platforming and puzzles. Almost all of the modifications are improvements to a franchise that has been stuck in a rut for a while. Its biggest source of inspiration comes from the Uncharted series, but it manages to put it's own spin on the action-adventure third person shooter genre. This reboot has young Lara Croft facing dangers she was never prepared for.

Lara's journey begins on the ship Endurance with a small crew in search of the lost kingdom of Yamatai. Lara's intuition sends the Endurance through a mighty storm that breaks the ship in two. While some of the crew escape on lifeboats, Lara washes up on a mysterious island and is taken captive by crazed inhabitants. The Solarii inhabitants have been trapped on the island for decades. Lara's adventure will unearth a sordid past of gruesome sacrifices and remnants from World War 2. Anyone who tries to leave the island is killed by powerful storms. Lara and her friends must find the source of these storms before they can escape.

The atmospheric beginning of the game centres on survival. Lara escapes the Solarii before isolation drives her to shelter. She is tasked with finding food using a newly acquired bow. After apologising to a dying deer, she skins the creature for its meat. This is the only time in the entire game, spanning several days, where Lara needs food or water. Her ankle even gets caught in a bear trap, yet she moves freely minutes later. There is massive schism between the survival narrative, told through cut scenes, and the action game design. The engrossing atmosphere is preserved until the conclusion, but survival aspects are mishandled or tossed aside. Tomb Raider is not a survival game and rarely tries to bridge the gap that indicates otherwise.

You may become attached to Lara through the hardships she faces and not because of her subdued personality. Lara gets battered and bruised more than any other hero in recent history. She endures a monastery exploding in flames, buildings collapsing, zip-lines breaking, planes falling and winds ripping walls apart. There is very little revealed about Lara beneath her scratched, muddied exterior. The back story is limited to a handful of flashbacks that don't lead anywhere. Lara's campfire journals offer brief, predictable insights into a character that you desperately want to know. Camilla Luddington has a great voice, but her timely moans are more prominent than her conversations or monologues. Lara stands tall during adversity but you are seldom exposed to a deeper personality.

The design of combat is separate from the survival themes. It is the most improved aspect of this reboot and very different from previous Tomb Raider games. It clearly takes inspiration from the Uncharted series with fast aiming, nimble movement, close over the shoulder view and melee importance. Platforming during combat is carefully managed and exploited by foes. You take cover behind boxes and walls automatically. You crouch behind cover and peak out naturally when you aim. Exploding red barrels are found almost everywhere and enemy grenades force you from cover. Your arsenal is fairly balanced and you'll rarely need to worry about ammo. The vastly different combat is a wholesale improvement over the previous games and matches many modern shooters.

When enemies get close, you can use Lara's agility to perform sneaky moves. Your melee weapon, a climbing axe, is not a great option unless enemies are weakened. Instead, you scramble on the ground to avoid attacks. You can throw dirt at nearby enemies to make them vulnerable or give yourself time to retreat. It is possible to counter melee attacks and carefully plant an arrow in an enemy's knee. Certain skills produce horrific finishing moves on injured Solarii. The scramble and melee counters make the action even more fun when enemies get close.

Stealth occurs naturally when nearby enemies are oblivious to your presence. You can get close to foes, as their vision is very fair compared to the size of levels. You are able to silently choke enemies from behind and avoid detection without firing a weapon. The bow is most useful during stealth; silent headshots are easy to achieve and arrows distract enemies. Certain scenarios craft wonderful stealth experiences. One such scenario has you moving through a forest under darkness while Solarii guards scour the area with flashlights. You can use the trees for cover, wade through the central river or use the zip lines to come from behind. Most sequences don't give you the chance to sneak around. Given the quality of the stealth, it's a shame there wasn't more of it during the game.

Platforming is more forgiving and pleasurable than its predecessors due to its brevity. Lara can scale ledges, slide over zip lines and swing on banners. A climbing axe is used to latch onto visually unique rocks and clamber around perilous cliffs. Zip lines allow for faster movement between areas and often replace tedious back tracking. Lara's movement requires less ruthless precision, unless you are dropping from one zip line to another. You won't be redoing many long platforming sections because the game saves frequently. There are no lengthy sections where Lara uses her upper body strength while you stare at walls. The platforming is less important, but Lara is still nimble and strong when she needs to be.

Most puzzles have been relegated into the optional, basic Tombs. The campaign has puzzles, but they rarely hold you up for more than a few seconds. The puzzles in Tombs are not dissimilar from those in Half-Life 2. They might involve weighing down a seesaw to leap towards climbable rocks. Or you may need to drag a pontoon across electrified water. Tombs only take a few minutes to complete and much of that time is spent crawling into them. Completing Tombs is not very fulfilling partly because you open identical chests which provide treasure maps of nearby collectables. Tombs are optional and easy, but they should have been more involving to give a sense of accomplishment. Crystal dynamics have proven themselves proficient in puzzle design, so it's a shame the puzzles are brief and hidden away.

You have access to varied tools that are used to progress or find hidden collectibles. From the opening sequence, a torch is used to set objects on fire to create explosions or release salvage. Salvage is then used to upgrade weapons with more damage or faster reloading. Once you get the shotgun, it can tear down barricades exposing hidden relics. The rope arrow can latch onto objects and create zip lines. The ascender provides rapid movement on zip lines or a way to pull heavy objects. These tools are steadily exposed to you so you can unlock areas you may have spotted minutes before. Having the entire tool set makes exploring the beginning areas quite liberating.

Tomb Raider is a pleasure to continue playing after you've finished the game. You are free to fast travel to campsites in each of the areas. It's not an open world game but you can explore to finish tombs, find relics or do other side tasks. Some areas, like the beach, are brimming with visual splendour and wildlife. The game repopulates areas with oblivious enemies that you can shoot or stealth your way past. This increased opportunity for stealth will make you wonder why there wasn't more during the campaign. Instinct mode highlights collectibles but isn't required. Tomb Raider is a relaxing game to play, even on the hardest difficulty, and returning to the world is more fun than you might expect.

Tomb Raider is a good reboot because it reinvigorates a constrained and predictable series. It's a shame the survival aspects are not perpetuated when the premise is ideal for it. Lara's personality is also hidden under her toughened and beaten exterior. It's fortunate that the game is so delightful to play, whether you are jumping, shooting or exploring. The brevity of puzzles and platforming is the special recipe that pulls the series from it's over reliance on those aspects. Puzzles could be more prominent though, especially when most are optional. The combat is smooth and stealth is the perfect complimentary element. Tomb Raider might not be a game about survival, but the changes it introduces will keep the franchise alive for years to come.

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"nutcrackr reviewed Tomb Raider for the PC..." was posted by nutcrackr on Fri, 15 Mar 2013 19:27:09 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/tomb-raider/user-reviews/808871/platform/pc/ Tue, 29 Jan 2013 14:52:51 -0800 nutcrackr reviewed Assassin's Creed III for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/assassins-creed-iii/user-reviews/806898/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 7.0.

Assassin's Creed 3 is a step backwards for a franchise and a game that rarely exploits its greatest strengths. It continues directly from the end of Revelations, as Desmond and his Assassin team are headed for a remote cave to save the world. The Sun is about to unleash its fury on Earth. A powerful defensive shield, built in part by an advanced, extinct civilisation, is the only chance to save Humanity. Desmond must use the Animus to relive the 18th century and assume the role of a Native American named Connor. With his predecessors' knowledge, he can to unlock the secrets of the device and prevent Armageddon.

AC3 has the slowest and longest introductory phase you will ever see in a game. The first 5 sequences are rigid, leisurely and feature more cut scenes than action. It takes a good while before you are even controlling Connor. Instead you control an interesting man called Haytham. He is searching for the key to unlock the cave that Desmond is using in the future. These opening 5 hours are very heavy on exposition with frequent elements that involve doing little more than walking. Once it establishes a core group of characters, you then control Connor.

The early parts of Connor's journey are a challenge to get through due in part to their gameplay insignificance. You'll start as Connor by playing a game of hide and seek with friends. This is a poor tutorial for hiding from enemies, if that was the intention. You'll then hunt animals using conveniently placed clues. You only ever need to do once for the rest of the game. The hunting mission is very similar to the one in Call of Juarez. Connor hunts some rabbits and then tries to find some feathers on a mountain. This does introduce you to the tree climbing. You only get access to the horse whistle in sequence five These slow intro sections do a terrible job at bringing you back into the franchise.

Connor is exposed to spirits; the translucent predecessors that showed themselves to Ezio. They tell him to seek the Assassin's symbol that leads him to an ex-assassin named Achilles. The ageing Achilles refuses to train Connor and perhaps he should have taken his first answer. Connor wins his respect by thwarting a convenient attempted robbery, and Achilles agrees to train him in the ways of the Assassin. Unfortunately you never actually perform any kind of training with Achilles. Months pass in seconds and you become a learned master because the game says you are. New tools are dumped on you and explained through the HUD rather than through the characters or examples. You've seen many of these devices before but some of the controls have changed and the lack of simple explanation is disappointing.

AC3 has a few new tricks up its sleeve but they are mostly smoke and mirrors. The biggest of those seems to be controlling the large sailing ship, the Aquila. This broken down wreck is left in the bay near Achilles' Homestead. After recruiting some lumberjacks, who incidentally play no further part in the game, the game skips ahead six months (again) and the ship is ready to sail. You can take side missions that have you fighting boats, wrestling harsh winds or protecting vessels on the high seas. The Aquila has a tactile feel and turning to align your cannon fire works rather well. Although an interesting and functional aspect, the significance of sailing is lost beneath the sea.

Free climbing has been changed to make the whole process less involving. It requires very little input from the users to scale the buildings. Large leaps don't require button presses and all you'll need to do is hold the forward and sprint buttons to climb. This removes a good deal of fun out of finding the right route to a viewpoint, as zero skill required to reach the top. It also means that you might get stuck on buildings as you are running from or chasing enemies. The free climbing in the previous games was fine, and this change brings no improvements.

Even climbing viewpoints are no longer satisfying. Not just because the free climbing is unskilled, but because the viewpoints are repetitive. Churches of similar structure are copied in towns. The very same tree viewpoint you already climbed in another part of the open forest is waiting for you to ascend again. There are no truly high climbs to viewpoints and the only reason you'll be compelled to reach the top is to unlock the map of the surrounding area. A map which shows a lot of uninteresting side missions and shops you'll never need to use.

Regular tree climbing is limited because many trees can't be climbed. The ones that can are linked together by perfectly placed branches to direct you over specific areas. Careful attention was paid to ensure that it doesn't look odd, but it still looks odd. It would have been better to make all of the trees climbable so that nothing looks out of place. However, this would require a complete redesign of the open areas, because they are very empty aside from mostly placid wildlife. The tree climbing is a half finished aspect that receives little attention during the game for that reason.

Ubisoft have changed the combat so that three movies and one weapon work for the entire game. All you need is the hidden blade, counter, break and attack. Against regular enemies you don't even have to worry about breaking their defence. The only new challenge is that enemies will occasionally distance themselves to shoot you with slow loading rifles. You can quickly run to stab them or just run perpendicular to their attack vector and remain undamaged. The game only lets you grab enemies when the firing squad lines up to attack. Connor loves to play with his victims too, as unarmed foes can take around ten stabs before dying. The hidden blade proves less useful, killing enemies in close proximity can result in immediate detection. The inconsistent nature and simplification leaves only the animation to provide the satisfaction.

AC3 reverts back to the bad old days for core mission structure. This means a return of the awful eavesdropping and tailing missions. These horrible tasks were outlawed in the amazing Assassin's Creed 2 for good reason, now they are back to haunt us. As you tail an unsuspecting enemy, he will turn around at specific times. You need to hide behind objects or a crowd or the mission restarts. One mobile eavesdropping mission caused mission failure when a group of children bumped into the targets and knocked them so they faced my direction. These are not good stealth pieces and bringing them back from the dead in worst state that before is a true achievement.

There is a great emphasis on variety, but the result is a series of micro gameplay elements that never amount to anything substantial. The game frequently feels artificially padded with long walks and cut scenes. When it does have the opportunity to extend the game play naturally, through training, it instead chooses to leap forward months. The game only really wants to alternate between winter and summer to bring regular environment variety. It's interesting to see a game world change seasons but it doesn't add much to the game. When snow covers the ground, Connor has a hard time moving around and it's difficult to distinguish features your poor horse will crash into.

At this stage you are probably thinking that the open world mechanics are the true savour of this third major release. Unfortunately they don't do nearly enough, and the elements that worked in the previous games are disfigured. In the towns you are able perform short, pointless side tasks. One of those is chasing almanac pages that are almost invisible, a terrible replacement for rooftop races. Another is trying to plant some information on a civilian who can see through the back of his head. Could you believe that I didn't care how much money I had through the game? Would you be surprised if I only once bought weapons that I didn't even need? Doctors are gone because health regenerates. You can't buy shops anymore and money is useless.

As strange as it might sound, the parts I enjoyed the most were those involving our bar tending champion; Desmond. In the present day he and his team are searching for power sources to unlock the secrets of a cave. He acquires one power source from the top of a sky scraper that he scales using free climbing. Another mission has him moving through a stadium while avoiding guards. Juno speaks to him in this cave and gives him cryptic information about their failed attempts to stop the end of the world. These sci fi elements are refreshing diversions from the 18th century and tickle the grey matter.

The most impressive elements of AC3 are the presentation qualities of the cut scenes and world. There are many pre scripted in engine cut scenes. These are amazingly synced and well animated. Unfortunately they further blur the line between game and movie and not in a good way. In some sequences there are just enough gameplay elements for it to be classified as a game. In those cases though, the gameplay is rather ordinary. AC2 also had many great cut scenes, but they never replaced the gameplay as they do here. They were carefully separated and gave you plenty of free time to go about your business during missions.

AC3 is the result of a huge number of man-hours, but it has not resulted in a good game. Most of the work has gone into micro elements, a huge empty world, animations and cut scenes. Gameplay is secondary and a return to some of the worst features in the original is unforgivable. Assassin's Creed 3 needed more focus, less rigidity, better gameplay elements and more enjoyable side tasks. AC3 is the worst game in the series because it ignores the successes and failures of the other games.

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"nutcrackr reviewed Assassin's Creed III for the PC..." was posted by nutcrackr on Tue, 29 Jan 2013 14:52:51 -0800
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/assassins-creed-iii/user-reviews/806898/platform/pc/ Mon, 21 Jan 2013 21:41:32 -0800 miracalious reviewed RPG Maker VX Ace for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/rpg-maker-vx-ace/user-reviews/806575/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

Good:
-Extremely easy for others to download and play games you create thanks to the ability to create standalone application files.
-Ability to import any graphics, sound effects, music.
-Slightly better art included with the standard game than previous RPG Makers.
-Use of .ogg audio files cuts down on disk space usage.
-Comes with a world map tileset and some additional features such as boats and airships.
-Community support for this game is just as good as it is for other RPG Makers. There is a plethora of resources and scripts you can find on the internet.
-New features such as parallax scrolling, improved weather effects, and double image battlebacks/title screens.

Bad:
-I don't know what they were thinking by forcing you to use autotiles for everything and making the tileset too simple to create varied graphics yet too complicated to understand without some difficulty. There's only 2 layers now! RPG Maker XP's tileset system was far better than this one.
-They removed fogs. Must use scripts for better lighting.
-Combat system is extremely dated and should be revamped to more traditional sideview RPG battle systems. Fortunately, there are many 3rd party scripts that can be used to do just that provided that you have the graphics for it.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"miracalious reviewed RPG Maker VX Ace for the PC..." was posted by miracalious on Mon, 21 Jan 2013 21:41:32 -0800
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/rpg-maker-vx-ace/user-reviews/806575/platform/pc/ Sat, 08 Dec 2012 11:55:22 -0800 miracalious reviewed Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/baldurs-gate-enhanced-edition/user-reviews/804418/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 7.0.

Good:
-Everything that made the original Baldur's Gate a classic is still intact.
-Improved interface and high resolution screen support is really the most worthwhile improvement over the original. It's also nice to freely zoom in and out with the scroll wheel.
-A couple extra characters and side quests. They don't add much to the experience, but at least it's something.

Bad:
-I really don't understand what they were thinking with the Black Pits. It's nothing more than a series of generic and mildly difficult battles. It doesn't even really tell a story. A very unnecessary addition.
-Multiplayer support is slowly getting better but they should've had all the kinks ironed out long before now. It's pretty bad when they've boasted about improved multiplayer functionality and yet all of my friends and I had to download Hamachi and type in IP addresses just to get going. I've also seen a lot of complaints that only two players can connect to each other, but thankfully this wasn't the case for me.
-New cutscenes add very little value. They look okay, but they could have added a lot more detail over the originals or been used to propel the story forward a little more. It's also annoying that there is only one cutscene for resting and it's outside next to a campfire every time (even if you're 200 feet below the surface of the earth).

If you have some friends that are interested in replaying this classic game and the patience to get multiplayer working then it might be worth your money. Otherwise don't bother because there's basically nothing new.

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"miracalious reviewed Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition for the PC..." was posted by miracalious on Sat, 08 Dec 2012 11:55:22 -0800
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/baldurs-gate-enhanced-edition/user-reviews/804418/platform/pc/ Mon, 19 Nov 2012 23:07:44 -0800 miracalious reviewed Defender's Quest: Valley of the Forgotten for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/defenders-quest/user-reviews/803454/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

Good:
-Interesting combination of tower defense and RPG with level-ups.
-The story was written by an English major and while some of the dialogue gets a little too goofy for me at times I think they did a great job and it's good that the game doesn't take itself too seriously. There are also a few branching paths in the story that may compel you to replay it.
-Excellent map variety that keeps each battle fresh and unique.
-I felt that the end of the game came a bit soon (12 hours or so for me), but was happy to learn there is a NewGame+ mode with increased difficulty, more maps, and some neat extras.
-Quite a few things to unlock like equippable books that can greatly affect gameplay and more challenging battles (beware of sheep).
-Boss battles are a nice touch and a strong addition to the traditional tower defense formula.
-Excellent music.

Bad:
-I didn't feel all that attached to my characters and I think there are a couple of ways they could address this issue: 1) force the player to commit to one path on the skills tree per character, 2) make character death permanent, 3) add a few more appearance customization other than just (some) colors, 4) add "hero" classes where you can't have more than one of each.
-The game could have used a couple more classes.
-Could have really used a co-operative mode.

Defender's Quest is one of those gems that will probably go mostly unnoticed by the gaming community but if you're on the fence about buying it you should try out the demo on Steam. Chances are you'll enjoy it and end up sinking 20-30 hours into it.

Get the full article at GameSpot

]]> http://www.gamespot.com/defenders-quest/user-reviews/803454/platform/pc/ Sat, 10 Nov 2012 16:18:51 -0800 miracalious reviewed LIMBO for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/limbo/user-reviews/802920/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 7.5.

Good:
-Excellent sound design and atmospheric riffs. Subtle changes in the background sound helps to vary the environments where graphics normally would. At times it feels like you're in an expansive factory of some sort, at other points it's much more of an oppressive nightmare.
-Black and white graphical design looks great and it's nice to see another game with a minimalist approach to things.
-Doesn't push a plotline on you and it doesn't need to.

Bad:
-Puzzle design is very intelligent but doesn't leave any room for error and forces the player to use reflexes rather than thinking things through. I did not enjoy most of the puzzles in the game because even if you know what to do, actually doing it takes way too much trial and error.
-PC controls are horrendous. Accidentally jumping off of chains and other upright objects is far too easy.
-I liked that the ending looped back to what appears to be the start of the game and the boy finds his sister (or whoever the girl is) but it didn't really do it in a way that makes any sense or that showcases the game's graphical strengths.
-Would've liked more appearances by the spider or another recurring nemesis.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"miracalious reviewed LIMBO for the PC..." was posted by miracalious on Sat, 10 Nov 2012 16:18:51 -0800
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/limbo/user-reviews/802920/platform/pc/ Thu, 08 Nov 2012 15:41:59 -0800 nutcrackr reviewed Botanicula for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/botanicula/user-reviews/802805/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 8.0.

Botanicula is a delightful adventure game from the developers who brought us Machinarium. Amanita Design craft another appealing universe with a variety of bizarre creatures living within the ecosystem of a tree. You play as a group of creatures and their home is under threat by a dark creature capable of sucking the very life from things. As you journey through the tree branches you'll find new friends and solve simple puzzles. Botanicula rewards players who want to click their way to success.

Puzzles in Botanicula are not as hard or involving as those found in Machanrium. Some puzzles are trial and error, but these are rarely a chore. Most puzzles are just a few simple steps with the occasional need to bring items to the correct characters. You might play a game of Pong against a creature to acquire a bird. Alternatively finding seeds in a cavernous area will allow you to progress. Much of the game is a standard pixel hunt but the hunting is enjoyable.

The land of Botanicula is full of wonderment and interaction. Clicking on objects or characters may set off a chain reaction of animations and delicious melodies. You'll want to click on everything even though you won't need to. Some trial and error puzzles produce some interesting results each time. Admittedly there were only two spots in the game where my progress was stalled briefly from the smooth flowing adventure.

Almost every click and puzzle results in some audio-visual payoff. Botanicula is a great looking game produced entirely using Flash. It has a distinct flavour with strong contrasts between creatures, interactive elements and backgrounds. The music is also great, just as it was in Machinarium, meshing beautifully with the visual design. The adventure in Botanicula is a short one, as you'll have seen everything in four hours. But it's hard to fathom being disappointed with the end result. What you get with Botanicula is a relaxing adventure that will surely bring a smile to your face.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"nutcrackr reviewed Botanicula for the PC..." was posted by nutcrackr on Thu, 08 Nov 2012 15:41:59 -0800
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/botanicula/user-reviews/802805/platform/pc/ Mon, 29 Oct 2012 16:33:44 -0700 nutcrackr reviewed Dishonored for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/dishonored/user-reviews/802209/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 7.5.

They say revenge is a dish best served cold. In Dishonored, revenge is served by teleporting behind a guard, stabbing him in the neck, sending a swarm of rats to devour his friend and slowing time so you can escape. Dishonored can be brutal or stealthy, depending on your preference and patience. It borrows ideas from many great games including BioShock and Deus Ex: Human Revolution. While Dishonored succeeds in several areas, it fails to fully realise its own potential.

You play as Corvo Attano, protector of the Empress and trusted ally. You return to the city of Dunwall after trying to find aid for the vicious rat plague. While talking to the Empress, you are interrupted by teleporting assassins. They manage to incapacitate you and kill the Empress before your eyes. They also take the young Lady Emily, the true heir to the throne and last hope for the city. Conveniently you are left alive to take the blame. After escaping your prison cell, you must track down the perpetrators and rescue Emily.

Your first task is to meet with a group of loyalists who believe you are innocent. This ragtag group has associations deep within the corrupt military. With their help, you will kill or disrupt those who have turned your life upside down. The loyalists provide you with supplies and a place to sleep. The Hound Pits Pub, their base of operations, allows brief respite and simple exploration between missions. The structure of the world is a linear series of sandbox missions woven by a thin and clichéd narrative.

The world of Dishonored is well designed and enticing. The city of Dunwall feels similar to City 17 (Half-Life 2) with grey, oppressive structures associated with the overwatch forces. Good use of lighting, swarms of rats and detailed architecture produce a distinctive atmosphere that can draw you in. Audio logs and journals provide additional story much like they did in BioShock. A talking heart provides further contextual information and is probably the most interesting member of the entire cast. This heart locates Runes and Charms, scattered within the levels, which are used to acquire powers.

Blink is the first power you obtain and one of the most memorable features in the game. It allows you to teleport short distances, along the ground or on rooftops. You can teleport across an open area to avoid patrols or appear directly behind an oblivious guard to choke them to sleep. Blink can place you atop a street light, so you can knock out isolated guards with sleep darts. Reaching heights with Blink and surveying the area is not unlike the Assassin's Creed series.

Blink doesn't always work as advertised. It can ignore climbable ledges especially when looking directly up. Odd detection can result in situations where you miss ledges that should be climbable. This means Corvo can land ungracefully in the middle of irate guards several floors below. If you wish to avoid guards completely, Blink can make this trivial. The game is still largely improved by the inclusion of the Blink power, enhancing both stealth and action.

A handful of mostly unremarkable powers provide offensive and defensive capabilities. One power gives you control over small animals and later humans. This possession can be used to avoid guards or score easy kills. Freezing time can be useful although you'll rarely need it. It's probably impossible to grow tired of sending rats to consume or distract guards. Being able to see through walls is handy too. The passive powers that increase health or agility are docile in comparison. There isn't a huge variety of powers and you can't upgrade them all during one play through.

The non-lethal stealth options are limited when compared to similar games. Most of your actions involve sleep darts, choke holds, x-ray vision and the Blink power. These are no distraction devices and firing arrows near enemies sometimes goes ignored. You can't disable lights, not that there are many shadows to hide in anyway. There are security devices to rewire but they pale in comparison to the options in Human Revolution. It's a pity that you can rarely talk your way out of situations. Most weapons aren't designed for the non-lethal approach. Ten sleep darts is all you have for each mission and you cannot sell the deadly ammunition you never plan to use. Non-lethal stealth clearly comes second to the action.

Artificial Intelligence is crucial in stealth games and here it is merely adequate. The transition from guards seeing you to entering full kamikaze attack mode is extremely short. If they notice something at range, you can usually avoid full detection. If your boot sticks out from behind an obstructed railing, you will likely have the entire area of bad guys swinging swords in your general direction. Escaping initial detection isn't hard and enemies might go back on patrol within seconds. On the highest difficulty, guards are twitchy and have greater sensory awareness. Messing with the AI is never as enjoyable as in Thief: Deadly Shadows.

The AI has a tendency to glitch if you happen to be in the wrong place. This issue was most obvious during an assassination. After entering the target's room, a scripted sequence began in the adjacent room. My target slowly made his way to my location and I dashed into this nearby room to take down idle guards. After returning, my target remained outside never to enter. This forced me to reload my last save. With no logic to account for non standard solutions things can fall apart. While rare, this type of AI glitch happened enough to be disruptive during stealth.

The non-lethal, stealthy approach is not necessary, unless you want the morally superior ending or unique achievements. As an action game it shares similar mechanics with Dark Messiah, Arkane Studios last game. Direct confrontations are over quickly and there is less sword play than in Dark Messiah. There are fewer hilarious spells or environmental traps that send enemies flying too. No need to be patient or conserve ammunition with plenty of bullets from guards. Dealing with enemies is effortless thanks to sword block and capable weapons.

Combat can be creative if you want to fool around with the powers and weapons. Sending flesh eating rats towards guards and lobbing a grenade is a quick way to clear an area. You can even throw explosive whale oil drums or set razor mine traps to startle daft guards. Performing drop assassinations on Tall Boys is also rather satisfying. Creative action is its own reward because the most effective method requires minimal brains and fewer reflexes. The action is proficient but never competes with the naturally creative execution seen in BioShock.

Dishonored's defining moment came during a costume party mission. After identifying the target, you are told to bring her to the cellar alive. A brief conversation has you both in an occupied music room, unsuitable for non-lethal takedowns. The target quickly becomes bored of you, the mute protagonist, and walks off. However, she walks directly into the cellar alone and the nearby guards ignore the Corvo "lookalike" following close behind. On replay, after killing the guards, all three potential targets make their way to the same isolated room. This sequence highlights some flaws; superficial options, poor balance and silly contrivances.

After enacting my revenge, the resulting dish was a little cold. Dishonored never quite matches the many games it borrows from. Stealth is restrictive and AI problems hurt the cat and mouse gameplay. Luckily it still has some fun moments, especially when Blink and rats are involved. Being able to play the game in stealth or action is a good thing even if it isn't perfectly balanced. Significant differences to the final level, based on the chaos you generate, are certainly appreciated. If only the rest of the game was consistently excellent. Just like the act of revenge, Dishonored is a flawed solution that may leave you feeling a little empty.

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"nutcrackr reviewed Dishonored for the PC..." was posted by nutcrackr on Mon, 29 Oct 2012 16:33:44 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/dishonored/user-reviews/802209/platform/pc/ Sat, 15 Sep 2012 12:41:22 -0700 miracalious reviewed FTL: Faster Than Light for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/ftl-faster-than-light/user-reviews/800045/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

Good:
-Excellent music draws you in and fits the game perfectly at all times.
-Huge variety of ships, crewmates, and abilities to find and unlock.
-Highly strategic gameplay that can end very quickly if you're not careful.
-Combat and targeting/repairing ship components is frantic and a lot of fun.
-Graphical design is 2D, but the artwork and animations look great, especially when things are exploding.
-Difficulty steadily increases as you go and it's a challenging game even on easy mode.
-Good variety of scripted events and various ways of responding.

Bad:
-Some aspects of the game are just a tad off balance. For example, Ion storms cut your entire ship's power in half. I believe this may be a little too harsh.
-Sometimes trying to navigate to the sector's exit leads to a dead end and you're pretty much screwed at that point.

Overall an excellent indie game and well worth $10! Give it a look if you enjoy RPGs or Sci-Fi.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"miracalious reviewed FTL: Faster Than Light for the PC..." was posted by miracalious on Sat, 15 Sep 2012 12:41:22 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/ftl-faster-than-light/user-reviews/800045/platform/pc/ Fri, 27 Jul 2012 17:21:35 -0700 miracalious reviewed DayZ for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/dayz/user-reviews/797879/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

Good:
-Finally, an open world survival horror game! Yes, there is a market for this!
-Zombie animations and sounds are for the most part pretty terrifying.
-The game is patched often.
-Suspense stems from persistent deaths. If you die, you lose everything and must start over. Player location is also persistent between servers.
-One shot kills from other players will definitely keep you on your toes and make you rethink running carelessly through the open.
-Wide range of guns and equipment that is found in certain locations with a frequency that was well designed.
-The base game (Arma 2) provides an enormous, realistic, and visually appeasing Russian backdrop in which DayZ is set. You'll find houses, hospitals, warehouses, supermarkets, military bases, and airports in addition to a swath of open wilderness to explore. The draw distance is spot on as well.
-Repairing cars and helicopters is a nice touch.
-Total darkness at night is brilliant, even with the game's gamma turned all the way up it looks somewhat similar to how your eyes would perceive things after adjusting to the dark. NV goggles make nighttime play even more interesting.
-Surviving out in the wilderness is entirely viable with the right equipment.

Bad:
-Extremely cumbersome setup and patching process.
-The majority of buildings are unenterable (the only downside to Arma's map).
-Zombies tend to zigzag far too often and are difficult to shoot as a result.
-Not much incentive to befriend strangers, might be better if shooting them was more of a dilemma.
-Stealth mechanics are often harsh and buggy, I've been crawling as slowly as possible through a dense field only to have a zombie run at me from 200+ meters away.

I hope that this mod serves as an inspiration for more developers to capitalize on such a fantastic genre. Indeed, they've already begun - check out War Z.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"miracalious reviewed DayZ for the PC..." was posted by miracalious on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 17:21:35 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/dayz/user-reviews/797879/platform/pc/ Wed, 25 Jul 2012 21:16:38 -0700 miracalious reviewed Amnesia: The Dark Descent for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/amnesia-the-dark-descent/user-reviews/797806/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

Good:
-Why aren't there more big name horror titles like this?! I suppose companies have gone overboard with pursuing more casual family oriented gamers?
-Focuses on scares and NOT on action like so many franchises today. If you're looking for a game that will scare you this is top of the line.
-Excellent atmosphere and insanity effects. Exploring this game's maze of rooms and items often felt frantic, claustrophobic, and dizzying.
-Sound effects and music are both oppressive and shocking.
-A decent story with multiple endings, requires some reading.
-Sneak, insanity, health, and lighting mechanics work well.

Bad:
-Some of the details from room to room are repetitive such as paintings and various pieces of furniture.
-Would like to see a horror game of this caliber with more realism - I don't think there are too many real world dungeons with prisons, sewers, laboratories, torture chambers, morgues, etc, etc. Horror is usually more powerful when it is presented in an immersive and realistic setting. They've relied just a little too much on brewing magic potions and messing with arcane devices that nobody understands.
-Graphics are just slightly dated.
-Ending felt a bit tacked on.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"miracalious reviewed Amnesia: The Dark Descent for the PC..." was posted by miracalious on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 21:16:38 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/amnesia-the-dark-descent/user-reviews/797806/platform/pc/ Sun, 15 Jul 2012 02:43:20 -0700 nutcrackr reviewed Mass Effect 3 for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/mass-effect-3/user-reviews/797349/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

Nobody saves the Galaxy quite like Commander Shepard. Mass Effect 3 is the conclusion to the cinematic epic spanning three amazing games. The Reapers are beginning their eradication of all technologically advanced life and Earth is right in the firing line. Shepard must unite the galaxy, resolve disputes and take sides to end the extermination. After the great success of Mass Effect 2, this finale has lofty goals to achieve. Thankfully this conclusion proves to be an immensely enjoyable game.

Earth is attacked by the Reapers within minutes of starting a new game. Shepard's prediction of the invasion has been largely ignored. You experience the ramifications of this ignorance first hand when Shepard fights his way off Earth. After escaping from the chaos it's no surprise that the fate of the galaxy now rests on your shoulders. You will take the spaceship Normandy to the far corners of the galaxy in search of help. After this shaky start on Earth, the game builds momentum until it reaches critical mass.

Familiar faces from Mass Effect 2 make important, emotional appearances throughout your journey. The crucial choices you made, some from the previous game's suicide mission, determined which squad members survived. These surviving squad members reappear at logical locations within the universe. Character histories become much more than just dialogue trees. A weaker Normandy squad and some poor emotional ploys are the only missteps when it comes to characters. The return of friends is the true triumph of the third game.

Seeing old squad members while building a galactic army is superbly executed. Continuing from where you left off, by using a save game containing crucial choices, will make the experience far more personal and enjoyable. An emotional scene at the midpoint made me realise how easy it was to care about these characters. The third game is the wonderful conclusion to character story arcs that have been years in the making.

Almost all events involving characters are resolved. Topics dealt with include the Genophage, Thane's son, Samara's daughters, Jack's responsibility and the Geth / Quarian conflict. Some situations call for tense and poignant moral decision with electric repercussions. Characters may sacrifice themselves or you may have to kill an old friend during a stand off. It might be as simple as saying goodbye to a major character after a pivotal moment in their digital lives. When all the pieces slide into place the complete picture becomes a beautiful mosaic of your adventures in this universe.

Mass Effect 3 is focused more as a third person shooter than the previous games of the series. They have improved scenarios with better pacing and level design. There are fewer sequences of knee high walls and enemies lazily entering the opposite door. Using a flashlight in a dark space station might feel a bit like Dead Space. The variety of enemies, weapons and missions is far superior to the previous games. The transitions are more natural and it could stand on its own as a third person shooter.

Mass Effect 3 is linear progression with a few side missions that impact on "War assets." This numerical figure tallies the total force Shepard has acquired. Planet scanning is one significant, optional source of war assets. This tedious element returns with few redeemable qualities. Tiny Reaper ships chase the tiny Normandy around star systems before you jump to light speed. This new Reaper harassment element might have worked better with some Benny Hill music. Once you have enough war assets you can finish the campaign or jump into multiplayer.

Multiplayer makes its debut in the series and is intrinsically linked to your military force in the single player. Effective military strength (EMS) is your total war assets modified by Galactic Readiness. Galactic Readiness starts at 50% and increases the more you play online. The catch is that it will drop everyday if you don't play. It is difficult to get the choice between all the endings without playing multiplayer. Linking the planet scanning and multiplayer components to the ending was a strange decision.

Fortunately the multiplayer is rather capable, well at least for a few hours at a time. Four different characters using varied powers and weapons engage in horde mode against Reaper, Geth or Cerberus forces. Six maps at launch was disappointing but additional maps, available for free, extend the lifetime of the online component. Connecting the single player component may actually ensure more people are playing online for longer. The replay value in the multiplayer is good with random missions split between the attack waves.

The multiplayer component is more enjoyable than you might expect. Earned credits are spent on packages that distribute medigel, missile launchers or bonus items. These items will give you an edge during the harder enemy waves. Occasionally my character would stutter when moving. This sporadic issue, relating to connection quality, fixed itself when going into cover. Four average players should have no troubles with the base difficulty, but there is plenty of challenge in the harder modes. Multiplayer is a competent online subset to the single player campaign.

The end of Mass Effect 3 may be a disappointment to some but the extended cut improves the weak finale. The original ending is abrupt and Bioware released the Extended Cut DLC in June 2012 with the goal of providing more closure to fans. The new endings add clarity, cut scenes and voiceovers that improve the original conclusion. The artistic vision was preserved with minor adjustments that improve continuity. The Extended Cut endings are more satisfying and certainly preferential over the original endings.

Mass Effect 3 is an incredible game because characters are brought back into the narrative with exquisite finesse. Thought provoking decisions have lasting effects on prominent alien species. Bioware even improved the finale and multiplayer components with free DLC. This astounding, controversial science fiction journey has made a big impact over the last six years. While the evolution of the series hasn't always been for the better, it maintained quality with each release. Saving the Galaxy with Commander Shepard and his remarkable friends has been an outstanding experience.

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"nutcrackr reviewed Mass Effect 3 for the PC..." was posted by nutcrackr on Sun, 15 Jul 2012 02:43:20 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/mass-effect-3/user-reviews/797349/platform/pc/ Wed, 13 Jun 2012 03:01:13 -0700 nutcrackr reviewed Max Payne 3 for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/max-payne-3/user-reviews/795751/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 7.5.

Max Payne is a tortured individual. He lost his wife and baby child many years ago. His femme fatale companion, Mona, was killed in the second game by the dearest of all his friends. Even after all of this agony the series continues under developers Rockstar. Remedy created the first two games that, despite excellent critical reception, lacked the sales they deserved. A collaboration of numerous Rockstar studios has taken Max to a new location with new characters and a reason to keep killing. Max is headed to Sao Paulo as private security for a rich family and he learns that trouble is quick to follow.

A Mafia problem in New York, explained during two nostalgic chapters, ultimately drives Max to Brazil. No characters from the previous games return and only a handful of references exist outside the snowy New York levels. Thankfully Max, his voice and signature bullet time moves are frequently on display. It's a shame the story hangs onto narrative threads for too long and is generally less interesting than one of the TV shows from Max Payne 2. The graphic novel from the prequels is gone, replaced by frequent cut scenes.

Cut scenes are numerous and they tell the story between chapters, break up the action and mask load times. They will feel familiar if you have played GTA 4 but flashing dialogue and seamless transitions help identify them. A large number of cut scenes during the first half consist of Max getting drunk and feeling sorry for himself. This tiresome trend, along with minimal humour, makes it hard to get behind him as a character. During the action it's not uncommon for cut scenes to take control from the player for minutes.

It's rare to deal with a group of bad guys and not have a filler cut scene that takes you to the next section. It retakes control as you near a door and shows Max moving to the next area. It's tiresome to lose control when nothing remarkable is added to the narrative. It's annoying to exit some cut scenes only to be removed from cover, repositioned and pitted against enemies who know your exact location. To make things worse the cut scenes will always switch back to your right handed weapon. You might be killed instantly as you exit a cut scene, depending on your health status

Perhaps it's lucky that when you do die, and you will die often, your health is fully restored after reloading the auto save. When the game feels like you've had enough, which is three kills after you've actually had enough, it will toss a few painkillers your way so you can deal with the ridiculously armoured foe that ends the sequence. The combat is different from Max Payne 2, perhaps not as straightforward, but it is still enjoyable.

Bullet time is changed and the prevalence of cover alters your approach. The longer, more spectacular shoot dodge is a great upgrade. It is hurt by cramped locations, poor recovery and enemies over-utilizing cover. If you have spare painkillers and take fatal damage, you'll be given a short time to postpone death by killing your attacker. This "Last Stand" manoeuvre is helpful but your target can be obstructed.

Bullet time never quite feels as slow or satisfying as the last game. There is no cascading effect into slower bullet time and you rarely spend a long time in slow motion. Carefully prepared scripted sequences almost makes up for this. Although there are several, a personal favourite was being knocked by a vehicle and shooting enemies while spiralling in the air.

Cover is standard for third person shooters and it makes its debut in the third game. It works as you might expect although not having a crosshair until you aim is somewhat disruptive. Most cover isn't destructible and you actually gain bullet time while enemies suppress you. Staying in cover and peaking out to pop enemy heads is a valuable option to gain bullet time and reduce harm. Killing from cover pales in comparison to the satisfaction gained from slow motion kills.

The third game handles weapons differently to engage in a more realistic, tactile approach. For series fans this means two things: no grenades and no huge pockets to hold guns. You'll only be able to carry two small weapons and one large weapon. Should you dual wield Uzis you'll have to drop that auto shotgun. Enemies throw grenades and it's disappointing that Max doesn't even have Molotovs to throw back. The experience could have been more enjoyable with a wide selection of weapons available at all times. Movement animations for Max are superb though; he feels weighty but is only slow after shoot dodging into a wall.

One of the best qualities of the previous games was the replayability. Unless you are a collectible addict there is little appeal to replaying this new campaign aside from unlocking infinite bullet time and painkillers. Dead Man Walking, the survival mode from Max Payne 2, is replaced with Score Attack. Here you go through the campaign and rack up points based on accuracy, chained kills and technique. This mode cuts the story between chapters but still leaves in many annoying cut scenes. It demonstrates how little the story adds to the experience, a sharp contrast to the previous games. The combat has excellent potential but is rarely allowed to break free outside the multiplayer.

For the first time in the series, Max Payne gets multiplayer. You'll play as a gang member from the Favelas or maybe a member of Punchinello crime family in Hoboken. Team Deathmatch is standard but there is also Paynekiller and Gang Wars. In Paynekiller two players take up the roles of Max and Passos from the campaign. This mode is hard to enjoy when you aren't playing as one of the powerful duo. Gang Wars is a mix of many different, familiar modes with some narration by Max. Domination, Bomb defuse and even capture the suitcase are present but the chain of events lasts too long and lacks consistency.

Bullet time works in multiplayer by slowing everybody within line of sight. This does result in a few situations where bullet time turns on and off as you pass windows but for the most part it works. It is rather satisfying to jump from a building and shoot real players in slow motion. Ragdolls do all sorts of weird things in multiplayer as characters feel clumsier than Max, people will try to shoot dodge only to clip a railing and tumble to the ground. Other problems include failure to join games, getting shot while in cover, quick deaths and pauses before spawning.

Multiplayer is clearly not a lazy addition but it's hard to see it providing dozens of hours of entertainment. There are funny moments with characters, like when a mob character screams "lets dump this in the river" after killing an enemy. Grenades are present in the multiplayer but they are horrendous to throw. The online portion is full of customisations of clothes and loadouts, like many recent shooters, but they take a lot of time to earn.

It would be nice to say that Max Payne 3 is a good port because of the vast array of configuration options. Unfortunately it gave me an infuriating mouse problem that doesn't appear to be very common. The crosshair skipped across the screen at random times, making the shooting about as fun as playing tennis with a bowling ball. A combination of low settings reduced the problem. On the multiplayer side of things, there is text chat but the connections are peer to peer with no visual display as to the quality of connection. It's worth noting that the game implements a few aim assists by default when using a mouse.

If there was one example that could demonstrate the change to the franchise, it would be the sniper section. In Max Payne 2, Mona covered Max with a sniper rifle as he ran through a construction site. In the new game, Max protects Passos from one side of a football stadium. The setup sounds similar but the difference is that the third game locks the sniper scope on Passos and only allows you to shoot after he runs between cover. In Max Payne 2, your view is never locked and you can use any of the weapons at your disposal. Max Payne 3 doesn't give you control of the experience for long enough. It doesn't trust you to dictate the action and that is the real crime.

After a long development and almost two years of delays, there is only about 4 hours of gameplay in the story mode. Max Payne 3 is a missed opportunity more than it is a bad game. The combat is slightly different but still enjoyable when given time to breathe. The visuals are nice and, despite the mass of hair on his face, the star is still Max Payne. The multiplayer will generate more value but the campaign might be more fun to replay even with the unskippable cut scenes. Max Payne 3 doesn't match the pacing or wit of its predecessors, but there are still good qualities to enjoy.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"nutcrackr reviewed Max Payne 3 for the PC..." was posted by nutcrackr on Wed, 13 Jun 2012 03:01:13 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/max-payne-3/user-reviews/795751/platform/pc/ Mon, 04 Jun 2012 12:19:33 -0700 miracalious reviewed Max Payne 3 for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/max-payne-3/user-reviews/795300/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

Good:
-An action packed single player that does away with some of the more noir-like elements found in Max Payne 1 and 2 in favor of a more modern style reminiscent of movies like Scarface or Die Hard. Luckily, I found the Max Payne narrative and writing quality to be intact and was not disappointed with most of the storyline/thematic changes Rockstar made.
-In addition to the story, Max himself has undergone some interesting changes and you get the sense that he's REALLY at the end of his rope this time as he struggles to overcome his regrets and his ever-present drinking problem. Some of his psychological/behavioral changes manifest themselves in his appearance, which we see many variations of as the story progresses. This is top notch character design and development.
-MP3 introduces some welcome new mechanics to the series: use of cover, last man standing, dynamic kill cams, and fluid melee attacks.
-Most of the environments look fresh and full of detail, although certain graphical aspects such as facial animations and water splashes are just average and won't give you anything to write home about.
-Multiplayer was well implemented with a variety of modes, maps, and unlockables. There is enough here to keep you busy for dozens of hours.
-Rockstar sacrificed the ability to backtrack for seamless gameplay with no loading screens. It was a necessary sacrifice.
-The music was noteworthy, I especially liked the track at the airport and credits by "Health." That said, I would have definitely liked to hear the Max Payne theme a little more.
-Good voice acting.

Bad:
-A lot of the menus, controls, and game mechanics were blatantly intended for console play.
-My first playthrough took about 10 hours, too short for my liking.
-Most cutscenes can't be skipped immediately because the game is loading.
-Extremely annoying that your equipped weapon(s) get automatically changed out for a handgun after almost every cutscene. This is even worse when you die because you're out of handgun ammo.
-Cutscenes lack interactivity and often drag on for too long. The game would have been improved by taking some cutscenes out or through some simple pacing changes.
-Cutscenes would have been better if flashy elements like color blurs, fades, and cross-cutting had been dubbed down. They wanted it to look cinematic and stylish but it really just became increasingly annoying.
-Savepoints are often too far apart and there is only one or two approaches to certain situations that won't result in your death. It's also a bit wonky that they just give you more painkillers and bullet-time for repeated deaths.
-Sat through some frustrating last-man-standing deaths because my attacker was nowhere to be seen within the small area that the camera literally forces you to shoot within. I understand that they want you to know where your attacker is, but was this really necessary?

Get the full article at GameSpot

"miracalious reviewed Max Payne 3 for the PC..." was posted by miracalious on Mon, 04 Jun 2012 12:19:33 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/max-payne-3/user-reviews/795300/platform/pc/ Wed, 23 May 2012 16:12:57 -0700 miracalious reviewed Diablo III for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/diablo-iii/user-reviews/794534/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 7.0.

Good:
-Cinematics, while very few of them, succeed at meeting expectations.
-Environmental backdrops are pretty good. Always nice to see angels getting impaled in the distance and have enemies leap down from above, etc.
-A decent amount of abilities for each class along with a variety of item stats.
-Easy to drop into and exit a game with friends.
-Team-based gameplay is both encouraged and a necessity.
-Old and familiar musical themes are great, the newer music is usually just okay.

Bad:
-11 years of development, a big budget, endless marketing, one of the most hyped and anticipated games ever andé They don't even attempt to do anything new or groundbreaking (as Blizzard has admitted publicly).
-A horrible launch that had players waiting for 2-3 hours without any kind of a queue, in addition to a dated P2P downloader. You would have thought Blizzard had learned from its mistakes with WoW. They did not.
-An extremely problematic storyline. It's short, becomes repetitive as you advance in levels, contains far too many easy-to-miss plot points, and just won't give players much reason to care, especially when charging through the game with a noisy group of friends as the game should be played.
-No PvP yet.
-Too easy at the start and ridiculously difficult and repetitive throughout hell and inferno. You run in, you land a few hits, you run out -- sometimes without dying, repeat. It's like popping bubble-wrap.
-I know people have complained about this already, and yes I know they made a cow level in response. But the atmosphere of the game really does lack the scare factor that earlier games had. Remember the first cinematic of Diablo 1? There were crows pecking corpses, a creepy gravesite, and oh yeah é pretty much the most bone-chilling demonic screech that's ever been heard. If video gamers are aging, why is Blizzard treating us like we're getting younger? Come on.
-Elective mode is not enabled by default. Why did they do this? Who has ever heard of elective mode anyway?
-Bad interfaces that reek of a desire to release the game for consoles. Does it really get any worse than this?
-An out-of-game auction house that's slow, won't allow you to place more than 10 items, and aside from item names makes it impossible to see what you've sold.
-Several balancing issues between classes and enemy abilities in addition to a few exploits such as archon recharging.
-Too much on-screen clutter makes it extremely difficult to determine what is happening.
-No offline gameplay whatsoever.
-No followers unless you play by yourself.
-No hero appearance customization other than gear.
-No permanent level up/skill decisions, resulting in a total lack of long-term strategy and personalization typically found in good RPGs.
-Bosses were made easier than mobs to prevent farming.
-I could go on. Please think twice about buying this game. They've done well in the past, but after D3 it's obvious that Blizzard's reputation is out the window.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"miracalious reviewed Diablo III for the PC..." was posted by miracalious on Wed, 23 May 2012 16:12:57 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/diablo-iii/user-reviews/794534/platform/pc/ Mon, 07 May 2012 17:30:09 -0700 miracalious reviewed I Am Alive for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/i-am-alive/user-reviews/793289/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 8.0.

Good:
-Exceptional portrayal of a post-apocalyptic cityscape, there should really be more games with this type of setting because it sets up a resource management kind of thinking that works well with games. While the graphics aren't groundbreaking, as a whole the game looks and feels stark and believable. It reminds me very much of "The Road."
-Original and challenging combat system that forces you to think rather than button mash.
-You can choose to help people out at your own expense, or be more cutthroat and the game does a good job of keeping this dilemma ever prevalent and interesting.
-Genuinely suspenseful moments both in combat and while climbing.
-Well-done level designs and locales - trains, boats, bridges, subways, hotels, construction sites, and fairgrounds.
-Visual blur, lack of color, lighting, and tense sound effects made the game cohesive and atmospheric.
-Decent voice acting with a bad line here and there.

Bad:
-I felt that the ending, while befitting of the tone of the game, was anticlimactic and has convinced me that Ubisoft cut things short. (Why are so many games falling victim to this lately?) I won't go into specifics for the sake of spoiling it, but let's just say that a lot of questions were left unanswered.
-The characters are fairly underdeveloped and we never really get a good idea of who they are, either before or after the event.
-Dust mechanics and having to move above the cloud to rest are a nice touch, but it's just too harsh in my opinion. You really only have about 30 seconds on the street before you die, even with a gas mask. Sure, he'll climb skyscrapers, perform death defying leaps, eat a total stranger's rat meat, even take a few to the chest, but when it comes to standing in a cloud of dust for half a minute it's lethal.
-A lot of the climbing does not work well at all with an analog controller, compared to games like Assassin's Creed, Uncharted, or even Tomb Raider, it's unimpressive.
-I found myself wishing that there was more animation variety when stabbing people, and I'm usually not the type that complains about this type of thing either.
-The interface is static and clumsy.
-Warning us about boundaries is a major blunder.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"miracalious reviewed I Am Alive for the PlayStation 3..." was posted by miracalious on Mon, 07 May 2012 17:30:09 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/i-am-alive/user-reviews/793289/platform/ps3/ Mon, 26 Mar 2012 21:21:29 -0700 nutcrackr reviewed Alan Wake for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/alan-wake/user-reviews/790852/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

Alan Wake is a psychological action game created by Remedy. Announced as an open world game in 2005, it was going to push the PC platform to extremes. Instead it launched only on the Xbox 360 in May 2010 thanks to an exclusive deal with Microsoft. It morphed into a linear experience back when Remedy had trouble with pacing and storytelling years before release. After pleading with Microsoft, they were able to self publish a PC port. Alan Wake was coming home. That port hit Steam less than two years after it landed on Microsoft's console. You'll want to savour every minute as you step into the role of novelist, Alan Wake.

Alan is a bestselling author who is having trouble writing. He and his wife, Alice, decide to take a holiday in Bright Falls, located in the American Pacific North West. Bright Falls is surrounded by the beautiful Elderwood National Park and the town is preparing for their annual Deerfest celebrations. A strange lady in the local diner gives Alan a key to his holiday cabin on Cauldron Lake. After reaching the cabin, the married couple share a disagreement and Alan gets some fresh air. Screams from the cabin draw him back. Alice is gone. Has she been kidnapped, did she drown in the lake or was she even alive to begin with? Alan will battle humans imbued with darkness as he tries to find the answers.

Much of Alan Wake is set during the night when the local population is far from normal. Darkness has taken over Bright Falls and people in the area have turned into psychotic killers. These unstable humanoids, called Taken, wield axes, chainsaws, sickles and knives. Protected by the dark they harness unnatural speed and strength. Only light can stop them. Alan Wake has combat that differs slightly from standard third person shooters. Remedy has opted to use light for protection and harm.

Combat in Alan Wake feels unique, which helps it remains satisfying for much of the game. The basic principle is to use light to burn the darkness from enemies and use conventional weapons to finish them off. You typically have a flashlight in hand, serving as your crosshair and main light source. This flashlight can be focused, draining battery power and providing damaging light. Not only does light burn the darkness, making enemies vulnerable, it slows their progress. You'll have to focus on multiple Taken to keep them from getting close.

What makes the combat interesting is how there are moments of vulnerability and great strength during each battle. If you run low on batteries or ammo you will need to manually reload as Taken close in. Alan has the ability to dodge attacks, producing some cool slow motion sequences. Although dodging is hard to perfect, it helps avoid several fatal blows. He's certainly not nimble, unable to run far or break from multiple attacks. Should a few Taken corner you, it's lights out for Alan.

Once you burn away the darkness, you turn enemies into sparks with standard weapons. The revolver, shotgun and hunting rifle are well balanced and feel great to use. Ammo can be limited early but there were only a few spots where it dropped to worrisome levels. You'll have access to a flare gun, which behaves more like a rocket launcher than a tool of safety. Hand-held flares provide seconds of protection for reloading or running to a nearby light source. Flashbangs emit powerful light that can disintegrate multiple enemies at once.

Light plays an important role outside immediate combat. Light heals Alan and any Taken chasing you will disappear back into the forest when you reach a well lit area. Lamp posts also mark the point for checkpoint saves. You will feel like you have achieved something each time you get to one after tough battles. Your flashlight, or car headlights, will also reveal luminescent graffiti pointing you to hidden stashes. These stashes, located in side areas, spawn enemies to keep you on edge as you acquire more supplies.

Most enemies are deranged humans who run at you with a variety of melee weapons. They speak with a devil voice, "have you called 911 yet," and hurl objects in your direction. There are a few basic varieties, ranging from the quick to the heavy. You also have to deal with Ravens attacking in large groups from the air. The Ravens make good use of the flare gun although battling them is not as fun as the humanoid enemies. Possessed objects fling themselves at you with force, so standing behind cover is often your best defence. Perhaps more types of enemies could have been used from the wonderful environment.

The real star of the show is the Elderwood National Park and its surrounds. Mist settles around the base of trees as light tries to pierce the darkness creating a fantastic atmosphere. Cabins, ranger outlooks, farms, mines and even the town of Bright Falls all make effective appearances. You aren't scared to go forward because you will be searching for more combat, locations and story. You will be uneasy about darkness, looking for the next light source and scanning the forest. You'll know when danger is close: the wind picks up, the forest gets blurry and darkness swirls. It's an effect mix of survival horror and action adventure.

The engine powering Alan Wake holds up very well on the PC platform. Although there is low resolution textures and simplistic geometry, most of it looks wonderful. The lighting effects are incredible, from the flashlight shadows to flares. Enemies react well to light, holding their arms up and creeping forward. What's most impressive is the lack of loading times, as starting a new game has you playing in seconds. Levels twist and curve around themselves, so you will see your destination in the distance across a chasm or valley.

The story in Alan Wake features a lot of exposition. It's an attempt to narrate the game so you feel connected with the story. It works but the dialogue can be bland and reveals little of strange happenings. Rather than giving you glowing objects or a huge arrow, you get a voice over telling you about a simple objective. Fewer words could have said a lot more. Still it's not bad, the weirdness and exaggerated characters fit perfectly with the world.

There are a several key characters that continue through the six episodes much like TV characters. Many of them are first seen in the Bright Falls diner at the start of the game. There's a pair of aging rockers and the waitress, Rose, is mildly obsessed with Alan. Sarah Breaker, the sheriff, is probably the most normal of the entire cast. Barry Wheeler, Wake's agent, will give the most laughs. He's also voiced by the same man who brought Vinnie Gognitti to life in Max Payne 2. It's an interesting selection of characters.

The story is presented via six distinct episodes over about 10 hours. This makes it feel like a TV show, each episode has an objective and climax. It breaks the narrative into separate chunks, giving you a summary of events between each episode. It's also the perfect time to take a break and come back to the game the following night. The middle episodes are exquisite in terms of presentation and length. They offer great pacing, interesting locations and the motivation to find out more. The game stumbles on the final episode because it's repetitive, has little story and most characters are absent.

The two DLC episodes, The Signal and The Writer, are included with the PC version. They produce an additional three hours of gameplay and are presented in dream like sequences. The combat can be harder, as you deal with more Taken in close quarters, but ample supplies level the playing field. The DLCs revisit areas, with The Signal feeling lazy by design. The voice of Max Payne (James McCaffrey) is most prominent in both episodes, serving as a beacon of light. The Writer DLC is particularly good toward the end with a great final battle. These episodes won't give you answers to story questions you may have, but are definitely worth playing if you enjoyed the original experience.

The flaws in Alan Wake are subjective as to the quality of the overall experience. The lip syncing and facial animation systems are sub standard. Improving them would have enhanced character likeability when watching the pre-rendered cut scenes. The cut scenes themselves are lower resolution and look different from the game, sometimes jarringly so. The collectibles are useless and silly additions to the world, demonstrating Remedy's infancy with achievement systems. Still it would be remiss if I claimed I didn't enjoy Alan Wake very much.

Alan Wake arrived on PC seven years after it was announced. The saying, better late than never, certainly applies here. Technically it stands up very well despite the loss of the original open world vision. It excels in areas of atmosphere, combat and pacing. Remedy has created a combat system that remained engaging from start to finish. The intriguing story ensures the desire to continue forward is strong. The biggest downside to playing Alan Wake: knowing that it ends.

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"nutcrackr reviewed Alan Wake for the PC..." was posted by nutcrackr on Mon, 26 Mar 2012 21:21:29 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/alan-wake/user-reviews/790852/platform/pc/ Sat, 24 Mar 2012 18:23:22 -0700 miracalious reviewed Diablo for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/diablo/user-reviews/790670/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 9.5!

Good:
-Practically defined the hack-and-slash genre by successfully implementing a random dungeon system, endless hordes of monsters, and a wide variety of loot.
-One of the best video game soundtracks ever. The song for Tristram in particular is very chilling and underscores the apprehension of heading back down into the dungeons below.
-Monster variety is excellent and at times unpredictable. It's easy to be walking around carefree one minute only to be suddenly ambushed and surrounded by a horde of horned demons the next. This also lends to the overall suspense and fear associated with the game. A fairly scary game for it's time. The boss design is also excellent.
-Three very different classes to choose from, each force you to develop a different set of tactics when fighting.
-Isometric graphics paved the way for Diablo 2 and a lot of other great titles.
-A few simple quests make the gameplay a little more interesting.

Bad:
-I found the warrior class to be much easier to learn and beat the game with over the rogue and particularly the wizard. The problem with the wizard is that many monsters in the lower levels have strong magic resistances or complete immunity, rendering you virtually helpless.
-Spamming the button for heal potions can easily become a bit overused.
-The story is a little underdeveloped, but who are we kidding, players love this game for the combat and a complex storyline isn't necessary.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"miracalious reviewed Diablo for the PC..." was posted by miracalious on Sat, 24 Mar 2012 18:23:22 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/diablo/user-reviews/790670/platform/pc/ Tue, 20 Mar 2012 14:59:18 -0700 miracalious reviewed Minecraft for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/minecraft/user-reviews/790316/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

Good:
-Fascinating blocky 3D sandbox graphical style.
-Brief but good music.
-Day/night cycle leads to a perfect balance between adventure and creativity.
-No-so-obvious combinations and arrangements of blocks and items yield amazing results. People have built functioning digital clocks, elaborate vault doors, lava traps, pork processing plants, all sorts of creative stuff.
-The perfect type of game to play with friends, personalities tend to become obvious within Minecraft. More aggressive types will spend their time raiding and plundering whereas the more meek might stay within their own fortress walls and bake bread. Collaborating on building cool things is also a lot of fun.
-Notch's updates to the game will continue to improve it over time. The game is already an amazing achievement for one indie developer.

Bad:
-No in-game direction or tutorial.
-Some sound effects could use tweaking or more variation.
-Several graphical bugs and bugs that will cause the game to crash.
-Extremely limited AI. Enemies and villagers tend to do one of two things: look at you, and move towards you. There is also a fairly limited number of enemies that you have to worry about and only one boss.
-Multiplayer is rather difficult to setup.
-I got the feeling that there are several elements still missing from the game. I found myself wishing there were more block types, more animals to domesticate, more food to grow, and higher level items to obtain. But I do hope that Notch will continue to respond to player requests and evolve the game into something extraordinary.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"miracalious reviewed Minecraft for the PC..." was posted by miracalious on Tue, 20 Mar 2012 14:59:18 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/minecraft/user-reviews/790316/platform/pc/ Fri, 09 Mar 2012 19:45:41 -0800 nutcrackr reviewed Dear Esther for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/dear-esther/user-reviews/789479/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 8.0.

Dear Esther begins with you on the shores of a desolate island overlooking the coast as waves caress the rocks. An abandoned lighthouse is only a few steps away, and this is where your journey begins. It's a journey full of visual splendour and intriguing dialogue. No quick time events, no puzzles and no weapons to kill vicious monsters with. The first words you hear are from a man reading letters addressed to a person called Esther. It is the simplest form of exploration and adventure. The island comes to life with perplexing dialogue and classy visuals.

The island isn't open for free-form exploration. There are discrete paths along cliff sides or beaches. You'll proceed through luminescent caves and enter abandoned shelters. There are branching paths and you can head backwards to explore if you desire. Some dark areas require the automatic flashlight but you'll never have trouble seeing the beauty of the island. There is very little back tracking and several points of no return. Along the way, small objects scatter the landscape from those who came before you. You are walking in the footsteps of the man who is bringing the letters to life.

Intrigue is produced through the well voiced dialogue that is triggered as you move through the island. Many of these audio cues are directly related to what you see. The words are perfectly enunciated with balanced emotion. Toward the end you may be startled by some of the dialogue as it changes in tone to give urgency. The core behind this adventure is deciphering the confusing dialogue. It's a mixture of multiple different story threads. Your goal is to connect the story with the visuals that surround you

Dear Esther uses the Source engine to great effect, pushing the tech that powered Half-Life 2 to new highs. Wonderful cavernous areas, wind swept crests, haunting beaches and rusted ship wrecks are some locations you visit. The ambient audio does a great job to complement the environment. Wind circles through an enclosed path and water flows gently down a stream. Consistent textures give an earthy feel to everything. A wonderful music score helps connect it all together. Perhaps the final scene demonstrates the raw visual achievement if you haven't already noticed it.

There is no conventional gameplay in Dear Esther. This world seems the perfect fit for puzzles and interaction, but there is none. The closest in terms of mood and atmosphere would be the Penumbra games. Those games had puzzles and many interactive elements, all absent here. Instead you will walk, explore, swim and listen to dialogue for around 90 minutes. It may sound boring but the experience is far from it. The world hooks you in and compels you forward. You need to approach Dear Esther with an open mind to get the most out of it.

It's almost inevitable that you will ask yourself whether Dear Esther is really a game. Is it a form of art, an interactive story, a tech demo or a mixture of all of these things? Does it really matter? Dear Esther is a visual and auditory journey through a wonderful world. It's captivating experience that you won't soon forget. While the story may not make much sense when you finish, it won't stop you thinking about what has just transpired. It's a unique experience, one I recommend to anybody who can spare 90 minutes. The change of pace, visual accomplishment and thought provoking dialogue is worth it alone.

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"nutcrackr reviewed Dear Esther for the PC..." was posted by nutcrackr on Fri, 09 Mar 2012 19:45:41 -0800
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