Having recently played ODST for the second \r time, I can still say with confidence that it's my favorite Halo simply \r due to its narrative. Of course, if you were to ask me the before to \r explain why, I'd honestly be stuck in just saying the structure. I \r couldn't tell you why the structure worked so well, the theme it \r carried, and what it does for the player. I'd almost leave the \r impression that you could impress me with that kind of narrative \r technique despite its use. Now, after about five years, I can do all of \r that. But in doing so, I can't help but see where it fell short of being\r something more than just the beatnik of the Halos.

In ODST, the main character is Rookie, the newest member of the \r squad. He is silent through the entire game, and only becomes a vital \r role to the game's sub-plot at the end. Even then, however, his role is \r to simply act as another gun or driver for the more important characters\r in the sub-narrative.

Early on in the game, the squad gets scattered as they drop into an \r invaded city. The Rookie is knocked out for several hours, and wakes up\r lost and alone in the city. The plot, at this point, is simple: reunite\r with the rest of the squad.

As the game begins, the player, as Rookie, is introduced to the city \r they came to. Being several hours after the initial invasions and \r battles, the city is dark and generally silent. Deep neon lights dot \r along buildings in a jazzy green or red that stand out along a lot of \r black, and dark iron. It's a color combination I can only describe as a \r war-torn poetry club. The music adds to this, by clashing with the tone \r of being alone in a warzone with a dreamy piano tune accompanied by low \r brass and strings.

The low tension, yet mysterious atmosphere almost feels disneyesque. \r There's a sense of wonder that comes over the player- a child like \r desire that demands to slowly stroll through the streets and take in the\r low lightning and dark towers as just another mystery to solve. The \r idea of being attacked or harmed is almost out of sight, and the player \r feels more relaxed. They end up craning Rookie's head around, not \r minding the lack of action or speed as they soak in the world around \r them, a world that's all too inviting to tell you a wonderfully \r fantastic tale.

This is when the theme is starting to get pushed. Rookie isn't a \r desperate, scared, and battle hardened vet looking to find his squad \r and save the day, he becomes something smaller and more naive. Rookie \r becomes a child lost in the expansive and dark woods behind his \r backyard. He's lost, but unafraid. He's focused, yet curious. Little \r trinkets he finds, become artifacts from a great warrior from long ago. \r Shadows are mysterious woodsmen or monsters, hiding and watching him as \r he travels through, but scared and hesitant of the strange thing in \r their woods. Everything he finds tells a fantastic story, despite how \r trivial the object may be, and that's where the rest of Rookie's plot \r comes in.

As Rookie wanders the rest of the city, he comes across items of \r interest that relate to his squad. He uses these items to follow\r their trail and eventually reunite with them. Whenever Rookie does find\r an object of interest, the player is temporarily taken out of the shoes\r of Rookie as one of his squadmates to experience what \r happened to them when they were scattered. This tells the story of how \r they came together, and then accomplished their mission from each \r member's perspective. While this does well to serve the purpose of \r fleshing out the squad, and organically giving players the typical Halo \r experience, this could also be interpreted as a part of Rookie's own \r character.

When Rookie finds an object, his interactions with the object can be \r seen as somewhat childlike. He'll get scraps of metal to poke at a \r hanging rifle, he'll jump on a broken turret and aim it around, as a \r child would play pretend. The idea here is Rookie is drawing his own \r conclusions, and while what the player sees during the flashbacks to the\r teammates could be very well how they transpired, they are also in huge\r contrast to Rookie's own situation. There's a lot more shooting, \r explosions, bravado, and drama. The term unreliable narrator comes to \r mind when thinking of these sections. Like how many children would over \r dramatize an object they find, the Rookie could very well be doing the \r same. Maybe his squad didn't kill that many aliens, or had so many close\r calls. Maybe one just took a fall and got hurt, or tripped and lost his\r gun.

It's a journey of discovery where a person can only understand so \r much thanks to the little they find, and due to these findings, their \r imagination runs wild. The game feels less like a war simulator, and \r more of just a lost simulator. Discoveries carry a lot of weight, and \r constantly bring you towards something familiar that's buried in all the\r mystery the city holds. It's a story that illustrates value on what we \r know, and how it can affect our perception of realities. These realities\r can be very fantastic, and exciting. Maybe not true, but the point is \r they cause us to create our own narrative and expand on what may or may \r not be real. And sometimes we need those fantasies to keep moving, and \r to hold out hope for finding our own familiar security- to find home.

Rookie could have assumed at anytime that his squad had died on \r arrival, or killed in action, but he didn't, because he created \r narratives that kept him motivated. They kept him alive.

Now with all of that said, you might be in agreement that Halo: ODST \r did have quite the story to tell, right? Well, it's all the more sad \r that the game abandons this approach as soon as Rookie does find his \r squad. Nothing is talked about, but the currently front-running sub-plot\r of saving a specific alien due to its knowledge. While this plot \r doesn't necessarily come out of nowhere, it does undermine all of \r Rookie's story before hand. Rookie's experience never truly feels \r complete and concluded, despite him achieving his goal. The focus is \r quickly changed to a very forced and cliche love story, as well as the \r rescued alien. And this focus is so strong, it makes me feel like that \r Bungie only did it to remind the players that ODST was a Halo game.

It's such a shame that such a much more interesting narrative had to \r be sacrificed for the sake of the source material, which did well to \r simply act as a base for the rest of ODST and Rookie's story. It's \r almost offending how quickly Rookie is tossed aside for two much less \r developed sub-plots.

If Bungie had somehow kept to Rookie's story of simply finding his \r way home, I think they would have been able to make ODST stand out more \r in the Halo crowd. It was the first game to not feature Chief, and \r instead emphasized on the struggles of the human characters. This let us\r get closer to Rookie already, and his journey felt much more human than\r anything else in the franchise. Maybe it wouldn't be considered the \r best game in the series, but I believe many more people would appreciate\r it, had it stuck to the path.

It's a bit ironic, and also quite sad, that a game about being lost, ended up lost in the shadow of it's older brothers.

November 4^th marked the release of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, the most innovative of the franchise, and in turn one of the worst of its series. Sledgehammer Games has made some changes to how players move in Call of Duty via what is called an Exo Suit, but have failed to tap the potential of these new movement options.

Before in Call of Duty games, players could only walk, run, duck, crawl, jump, and climb. Advanced Warfare expands on these movement options by giving players what is called an Exo Suit. The Exo Suit more or less acts like a jetpack, reinforcing the futuristic setting the game is in. On top of what has already been stated, players can now slide in any direction, double jump, hover, and dash in the air.

• By expanding the movement players have by so much, the rest of the game should be built around these new movement options. Maps should include more verticality, be wider, and give players several paths both vertically and horizontally to encourage the use of the Exo Suit. The size will also allow players to plan their approaches. However, the maps in Advanced Warfare feel as small and congested as ever.

• The Exo Suit seems only allows players to find each other and kill each other even faster than they already could before. While maps have generally lower buildings now for players to jump up to for vantage points, they are also very open. Teams can move across the map, getting around and behind defensive positions so quickly that players are more inclined to keep running in circles to try and keep up with the chaos rather than hold back and let it come to them. Also when players respawn after dying- spawning being the act of being replaced in the map after being killed- they usually are immediately greeted with more conflict, having no time to strategize their next move.

• Despite how conflicting the elements are, the goal is more or less achieved. The Call of Duty franchise does highly value constant high impact action. The Exo Suit makes conflicts almost impossible to avoid, appealing to audiences who love the constant engagements. However, this can also turn off a lot of players who want to take the military genre more true to its name with tactics, strategies, and a playstyle that emphasizes survival over kills.

• After several hours of trying to adapt to the new movement and ever increasing speed of the game, I find myself turned off by the emphasis on reaction and lowered value on strategy. Due to this, I believe Advanced Warfare's addition of the Exo Suit was bold, but hardly considered when creating the rest of the game. I just hope that Sledgehammer will make maps in the future that will better utilize the changes they've made.

The mechanics can be a bit rough without any prior knowledge, since the game can overload you on information. The tutorial can help, but you may find that it's easier to learn on the go, playing a few practice games is the best way to understand the mechanics. Don't be discouraged right at the start. The game is rewarding to learn, and eventually you'll find yourself managing an entire empire AND an army at the same time with a few clicks. 

Endless Legend possesses a fairly powerful non-player AI at its disposal. Past the normal difficulty the AI expands quickly, and falls into their preferred victory type quickly. You'll find that the more militant AI will expand and build armies quickly while the more political will send you compliments or peace treaties, hoping to win by forging good relations with all other players. The competent AI provides an enjoyable and challenging option for players who cannot play online or chose not to. For those who look towards the challenge of real players, you might find that online matchmaking is poor, so you may have to do a bit of searching looking for players. This is a problem all 4X games possess, the time requirement for games such as these means you cannot knock one out in an hour, games can span days or even weeks, depending on settings. Building up a friends list and setting times to play is crucial, since most evenings will end with a save to be picked up later. 

It would be remiss not to mention the flaws in the game. It contains some minor glitches and bugs, such as quests not working properly or minor crashes, but considering the quality compared to more recent releases, they are only minor inconveniences. Considering this, the overall quality far outweighs this tiny issues. The online works fantastic, and rarely do you experience crashes or internet issues that would impede gameplay. 

Easily a top 5 game of 2014, it was easy to miss Endless Legend if you don't actively monitor alphas or 4X games. But I highly recommend anyone interested in joining the 4X genre or just looking for a fresh start try out Endless Legend. The developers are still actively patching and updating the game with new content, and I see a bright future for the series. 

The narrative of the game is you are Ikk, who is on a journey to cheer up his only friend, Sally who is a giant landbound whale. While being mentored by Death (who supplies you with multitudes of abilities, along with an arsenal of guns, and ammo) you traverse an ever-changing land full of unwieldy creatures who don't appreciate your trespassing or Sally the whale.

The definition of insanity is doing the same exact thing and expecting different results. GoNNER definitely embodies the insane; just like The Binding of Isaac there is no ‚ÄúCareer Mode‚; though there are randomly generated levels that gets progressively harder as you vanquish your enemies one by one.

If you think you're getting the hang of the game, knock yourself down a few pegs as you try the latest daily challenge. I've made it a few levels in on a good day though there are some days that are just ragetastic where I can't even get past the first level. This game will leave you embarrassed, while crying live on twitch to a thousand followers retweeting the clip of you punching your green screen.

If you thought Edmund Mcmillen or Bennett Foddy where the only sadists in the indie game business well meet Ditto; he has been making indie games at his gaming studio Art in Heart for what looks like a good while now. With eight games he self released on itch.io, GoNNER is his first game being released with (Un)publisher Raw Fury getting it to the masses. If this Ditto’s Super Meat Boy or Qwop, I can't wait to see what he follows this amazing piece of art up with which has become one of my new loves and hates.

GoNNER is definitely one of the best indie games on the Nintendo eShop that went under my radar; And from what Raw Fury is putting out, they are the publisher that could be putting out my favorite Indie games for the Switch. 2018 is looking like another great year for the small developers making great games.

INITIAL THOUGHTS-

For those who loved the original resident evil this game is a god send! For those who never played it, even more! The game is new and improved, featuring updated sounds, graphics, lighting and even some new puzzles.

VISUALS-

The game looks stunning, the lighting is gloomy and fits the tone well. This is the type of game I would love to get an art book for. The redone textures look amazing and the player models look great too.

CONTROLS-

When starting a new game, players are given the option to play with the original controls or the remastered controls. People have described the original controls as 'tank like' and I agree, but don't think it's a bad thing. You adapt to the controls and the it puts you on edge during intense situations. The new controls allow for easier use of the joystick and I feel take away from the experience. It allows for faster and more precise turning and overall more accurate movement. However if you were put off from playing because of the original controls are recommend using the new controls, so you can still enjoy the experience.

COMBAT-

Scary. The encounters with enemies are few and far between until later in the game. Making every new room you enter your possible final resting place. You may think you've got the controls mastered, but when you hear the sound of a zombie shuffling towards you, your hands will become a water park of sweat, and the controller will slip and slide around in your hands like no ones business. You will be on edge. And when you think you're safe. Ka-POW! You're dead.

COMPLAINTS-

- The addition of new puzzles might confuse fans of the original.

-Lack of understanding at the beginning of the game can have major consequences later, and this might turn players away.

-Zombie models repeat each other (not really a complaint but could have been easily changed).

OVERALL VERDICT-

Excellent game. Fans of the original will want to replay it, new players will love playing it. Would recommend!

I'm typically not one to review games, or to read a whole lot of reviews unless they're from people that I value the opinions of. These are people that play a lot of games and know when something is good and well, when it isn't. 2014 was a slow year for video games in my opinion, and Titanfall stands out as one of the few "diamonds in the rough" that we were gifted last year.

Now, let's get on with the actual review. The multiplayer, (which is all this game is) is an overall solid experience with a nice amount of variance in weaponry and loadouts, albeit reminiscent of the "Call of Duty" franchise that the dedicated gamer community loathes. But hey, in a game that literally boasts "Crafted by key developers behind the CALL OF DUTY franchise..." on the back of the box, what more can you expect?

Game Modes

Titanfall has a number of different Game Modes to pick from when you initially load up the game, some of these are well known, such as "Capture the Flag" and "Hardpoint Domination", but others are a bit more unique, such as "Last Titan Standing", and "Pilot Hunter". Attrition, which is the main mode that you'll see played, is very simple and basically "Team Slayer". Using your standard loadout weapon or Titan mech, you kill enemy pilots, grunts, or titans to earn points. These points go towards your overall team score, and the first team to reach 300 is the winner.

Another Game Mode featured is "Campaign", although it hardly lives up to the name. Campaign mode consists of cooperatively playing with other players as well as against enemy players. You play as one of two teams, The IMC, or The Militia. This is where the story really shows its thin, underdeveloped plot. Basically, the IMC is the big-bad government that wants to have control over all of the colonized planets, and the Militia is primarily made up of those on the frontier that want to have their own independence. Not much more to it than that, unless you attempt to externally dig deeper for the lore. All I could think of while playing was the Insurrectionists vs. the UNSC from the Halo franchise, but maybe that's just me.

Anyway, Campaign places you into a battle on one of these two opposing sides, as well as giving you a very brief explanation of what purpose the battle holds. For example, one assault by the Militia on an IMC refueling depot was to prevent the IMC from having the capacity to refuel their warships, thus being unable to make the jump into the frontier effectively. Hardly anything new or inspiring, but hey, it is what it is.

Gameplay Mechanics

Gameplay is where Titanfall really shines. Your pilot is given a standard loadout at the beginning of each match. This can vary from your Automatic Carbine or SMG, to a Semi-Auto Rifle or Sniper. You're also given a sidearm, explosive ordinance of your choice, and a pilot ability, which range from increased running speed to cloaking. Perhaps the unique part of this loadout is your Anti-Titan weapon, such as a massive homing rocket-launcher or a slow-yet-deadly laser. These are the weapons that give you a fighting chance against the behemoth mech-suits called Titans that fall out of the sky when you've earned enough points to acquire one.

Speaking of Titans, this game is called Titanfall, and the real reason anyone evem bothered to play this at all.

Titans

Titans are large, mechanical suits constructed for pilots to battle in. There are 3 basic chassis in which Titans can be built from. Atlas is the All-Around body, with a balance of both maneuverability and durability. The Ogre is a slow moving tank, able to take massive damage before going down. Finally, the Stryder is the fast-moving hit-and-run mech, able to dish out serious punishment, but is taken down easily with concentrated fire due to a lack of armor. Which you choose is up to you. Titans can also be custom-built to suit your playing styles with main weapons such as electricity-cannons and rockets, we well as abilities like nuclear ejection and temporary shields.

Overall Judgment

There's more to this game than I can personally fit into this review. To experience what Titanfall really has to offer, you're gonna have to play it yourself. The Game is available for Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC This gives you a wide array of platforms in which to enjoy the title. Overall, Titanfall is a solid title that will give you hours of mind-numbing entertainment, but at the end of the day, what is does is cool, but not revolution. It feels like a recipe with all of the ingredients taken from other existing titles like CoD, Halo, MechAssault, etc. Still, it's fun to play, and that's what I truly value in a game.

FINAL SCORE: 8/10. Fun to play. Lack of campaign story and originality are drawbacks.

The game plays almost exactly the same as the God of War franchise so if you know how to play those games, you'll be able to pick up and play this one without much trouble. However, while the game is virtually the same as God of War in terms of gameplay, the environment and atmosphere is vastly different and where this game really shines. The music is one of the most atmospheric details about this game. It has a very demonic feel to it and it sends chills down my spine when it starts to crescendo at the right time and place. And don't get me started on the environment. The depictions of the various levels of Hell and the eldritch horrors that occupy them is extremely detailed and imaginative, ESPECIALLY with the fight against Cerberus. I have never seen such a unique interpretation of the 3-headed hellhound in my life.

In conclusion, I had a lot of fun with this title mostly from the atmosphere alone, but if you want to play it for yourself, I highly recommend that you get one of the console versions as the PSP version has quite a bit of content cut from it in exchange for a digital comic which really isn't worth the amount of game that was removed. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

Console Score

PSP Score

While attending this year’s New York Comic-Con, I\r had the rare opportunity to use the Oculus Rift for the first time. The Oculus\r Rift is a three dimensional video gaming device that tracks the motions of your\r head in order to control your character’s movements. The game system’s technology utilizes a\r strap-on visor and headset in order to immerse the player into the world of the\r game with a full range of vision and surround sound capabilities. The game I played was a flight simulator\r based on Dreamworks’ “How to Train Your Dragon.“ As my character flew over the ocean, I was in\r awe of the spectacular graphics and accurate motion tracking capabilities of\r the visor as I looked in all directions.\r The experience was so immersive that an attendant had to tell me to “take\r it easy on the controls.“ In those two\r minutes I spent playing, I had become more immersed in a video game than I had\r ever experienced in the countless hours I have spent on other console and\r computer games. This technology heralds\r a new era for the gaming industry. In\r only a few decades, video games have gone from 8-bit graphics to complex three\r dimensional worlds. With the Oculus\r Rift, the concept of virtual reality gaming now seems feasible, and with it, a physical and mental evolution of the gamer.

I feel that the goal of gaming has always been to\r immerse players in a new world, inhabiting another person’s body, and\r experiencing physical and mental challenges that may not be possible in their\r own lives. Games as they are now rely on\r joysticks, buttons and triggers in order to carry out an array of functions\r such as running and picking up items.\r These factors ground the player in reality and keep them detached from a\r heightened experience of gameplay. Basic\r motor functions are carried out by pre-programmed functions and animations\r within the game. What if these functions\r depended upon the player’s own physical actions in order to be performed (beyond the motion sensor capabilities of the Wii and Kinect)? What if video games immersed the player\r through senses such as touch, instead of just sight and hearing? Any person is sure to notice a distinct\r difference between swinging a sword using the B button on a controller, and\r holding the simulated weight of a sword in their own hands. Physical stimuli evoked from a video game\r would have major health benefits for players.\r Playing video games would no longer be limited to problem solving and\r hand-eye coordination. It would be an\r experience that requires players to engage their minds and their bodies in\r order to complete challenges, resulting in a new form of exercise. The adrenaline released from this exercise\r would serve to increase a player’s overall physical health and mood. Enjoying all of the fantastic experiences\r some games would have to offer would be dependent upon how much a player is\r willing to improve upon themselves both mentally and physically. "Achievement unlocked" would no longer be a generic means of praise for the players doing what they are supposed to do in the game, but a true sense of achievement from pushing their minds, bodies, their entire being, in order to accomplish their goals. Eventually, this same feeling will inspire gamers to push their limits in other parts of their lives, such as their careers.

However, I believe it is important to remember that\r games such as this must also be designed to accommodate physically challenged\r individuals, as basing a game’s functionality on complete body control would be\r discriminatory toward the handicapped.\r While some might like the idea of complete physical control of a\r character in a game, there might also be individuals who enjoy the prospect of\r complete mental control of a character.\r What this would entail is using a person’s brain activity and thought\r patterns to control video game characters.\r Joysticks only have so much accuracy when aiming at a target or changing\r direction, but future technologies might be able to calculate a character’s\r movements based on factors such as a player’s eye movements and focus, creating a new level of\r precision control. Complete mental\r control would also provide handicapped individuals with realistic simulations\r of physical functions that may no longer be available to them, since thoughts\r would dictate actions. There is always the fear that individuals might become dependent on this type of escapism, choosing to experience simulations of a fully-functioning body more often than experiencing life in their own limited ones. However, if video games can be programmed to react to brain stimuli, who is to say they cannot be programmed to respond to the brain with stimuli of their own? The clash of swords could replicate the feeling of an amputee player's arm tightening. The sensation of running could simulate the feeling of weight pressing on the feet of a paraplegic person. Eventually this technology might yield advancements in the production of prosthetic limbs, electronic eyes, etc., allowing the brain to recognize these appurtenances as part of it's organic makeup.

But I can hear your clamor, "It has a seamless storyline, so what? It's a video game, there's more to it". I couldn't agree more my hypothetical straw-man gamer, but would you believe me if I told you that wasn't all there is to this game? Gamers of old had to have started playing somewhere, and if you were like me it was with Jumpman 'Mario' Jumpman; And if you remember playing that game, don't worry, we're not that old yet. The controls of this game are as clean and simple as they get, you can jump, you can dig and hit things with your shovel. Gathering treasure is still important to shovel knight apparently because there's a tonne of it wherever you go, and you'll want to pick it all up; because who doesn't .There's some extra power ups, but otherwise there are no combo's you need to memorize. It feels clean, plays like a charm on any platform (and every platform). Shovel knight has made it to pc on steam, to the 3DS, to OS X, Linux and will be coming to playstation 3, 4 and vita (I'm looking at you xbox one).

These days, platformers have made a return through indie games. A strong return too, as well as pixel art. So if you like that, this will blow your mind. The art is easily one of the games strengths. Each level is crafted with awesomeness, from the plague infested castle of the aptly named plague knight, to the icy landscapes of polar knight. It's glorious in all it's pixely splendor. The music on the other hand, is amazing. Every tune is beautiful, and the best thing is their collectible. They really set the atmosphere for every level, its like actually being there; and if you stayed for the retro art style then you'll stay for the chiptune goodness that is crammed into every second of this game. The music is easily my favorite aspect of this game and I think Yacht games hit this nail right on the head.

So if you find yourself with a couple of hours with nothing to do, and have an affinity for retro games and a flair for odd weapons. Then you'll love digging yourself into this game.

Indie games are quite unlike any other genre of games. They can take an idea that would sound crazy in any other format, and turn it into a compelling, immersive game. 'Lets make a game where the players move giant blocks, to survive', sound familiar? That's because I just described Minecraft. One thing I like about games like this is that it has so many different aspects that don't seem like they would mesh well, but somehow they manage to conceive a game that does exactly that. Sounds a little like a chef just throwing random ingredients into the pot. Some rhythm, a little dungeon crawling, RPG, and rogue-like for good measure. Eh, Voila Crypt of the Necrodancer.

   The music, it compels me to WRECK SLIMES! The game play in CotND (Crypt of the NecroDancer) is most interesting in the fact that everything revolves around the music. Why? Because you're a zombie whose heart is controlled by a NecroDancer. The story is simple, Candance (you) is looking for treasure, but when she enters the dungeon she falls to her death. When she awakes she finds that her heart beats as if it were a drum, eager to get her heart back she goes in search of the NecroDancer.

 Move over WASD

The game uses only four keys, the arrow keys. These control where you move: up, down, left or right. They also control what items you use, which are selected by inputting two keys at once (for example left + right). There is nothing else you need to remember in terms of controls. But don't let the simplicity of the controls fool you, the dungeon is anything but safe. The game doesn't try to hold your hand too much. There's a short tutorial, but that's about it. Mostly you've got to figure it out on your own.

But is the music good?

For a game based completely and utterly around music, the music needs to be good. That depends, for instance, is the color purple your second favorite number? It's a matter of opinion, as it always is with music. If you're asking my opinion (and I hope being a total retro head has some merit), then yes, the music is bloody terrific. No tune is a pushover, each one is absolutely amazing in its own right; and they never grow old. You might have to replay a level hundreds of times because you are a scrub and you need to 'git gud' (i know that feel), so replaying a level with the same song will happen. I found that no matter how many times I had to replay a level, it was always amazing to listen too.

If you do somehow get tired of a song (no idea how that would happen), the developers added a truly magnificent option. The ability to add your own songs, indeed. Ever felt like cracking skulls to Daft punk? Perhaps stomping wraiths to Prince? The possibilities are as endless as your music library. You'll have to have mp3's however. So perhaps not endless.

Pixel art? What's that?

So as you might be able to tell, I enjoy pixel art. So let me tell you that this game doesn't disappoint, but then again its nothing spectacular. There are no wondrous views like in Dark Souls and the dungeons aren't as atmospheric as Shovel Knight. But it fits sooo good. I honestly have a hard time thinking of a different art style that would work, plus, pixel art, am I right?

Mod it till it crashes.

Maybe you get bored with playing as Candance, or you want the shop keeper to be that creepy old man who gives you the sword in legend of zelda. Well guess what, you can. I love games that allow for modding, and actually encourage it. You don't limit your game to whatever you put in, but you give the community free reign to craft as they see fit. The amount of content in that game skyrockets, as does re-playability. Some mod for the 'kek', others for creativity's sake. Don't ask whether you should, ask if it'll look alpha when you wield the master sword.

Final say:

I am enjoying every second I play this game. It looks amazing, feels amazing, and sounds like the gods had synthesizers instead of lutes. The game is still in early access in steam, but with the amount of content already in the game, and the active community, there's a whole lot more game to look forward too. So if you don't mind paying up early, this game is definitely worth it.

            So hold on to that dagger son, and what ever you do. Don't you drop that beat.

HOW IT LOOKS-

The game uses a much more realistic and dark style, and while Majora's Mask had dark themes mixed with playful imagery, Twilight Princess incorporates melancholy themes with dark visuals. The world is open, not necessarily big, but open to explore at your own pace, and as the story progresses it changes around you. The enemies all have similar dark looks, with twisted physiques and human like qualities, it only draws you deeper into the world. Graphically the game looks excellent, and playing it on the Wii helped to refine it. 

HOW IT FEELS-

Themes are important in video games. If The Last Of Us had inconsistent themes then it would be much harder to take it seriously. Twilight Princess incorporates Majora's Mask's time element in a much more subtle way. From the time you're introduced to Hyrule Castle you can see it off in the distance surrounded by a barrier. Having it there, since you start the game, is an excellent way to have it in the players minds while playing. The game keeps the strange characters that have become a staple of the series and makes them feel fresh and exciting. I mentioned that the world changes around you and I fully believe that. Although you may not see physical differences, the way you perceive the world changes while you play. You feel like you're making progress and the story drives you forward.     

The game feels like a combination of Majora's Mask and Ocarina of Time, (Ocarina's exploration and Majora's dark world).

HOW IT PLAYS-

As I am filth and don't own a GameCube I played the Wii version of the game. This was back when Skyward Sword's precise cutting wasn't around, so frantically swinging the Wiimote was just like mashing the attack button (although this became troublesome later). Moving and exploring is easy and fun. Combat is beautiful. Each enemy has it's own style of fighting and you have to adapt to fight that enemy. For example, there's this one enemy that, at certain points in the story, will surround you in a barrier and you'll be forced to fight it. If you don't know when this is going to happen it can be quite nerve racking. The only way to beat them is to transform into Link's wolf form. 

Every temple is fun. Yes, there is a water temple. No, it doesn't suck. Every temple in the game will make you think, and puzzle you. You'll need to go back and think hard about the puzzles. Every boss is unique and requires a special way to beat it. Even the "shoot it in the big glowing eye" boss still felt like a challenge, and added another level. I would recommend not touching a walk through for anything, because you will feel like you'll want it.

LINK'S WOLF FORM-

I honestly think this needs it's own sub-heading because it sounds really silly at first. Link is transformed into a wolf whenever he enters a Twilight Zone (haha). This restricts his access to items and forces you to solve puzzles, in a way that is unique to Wolf Link's ability's. I felt like this was a really cool part of the game, and once you're able to transform whenever you want the game felt like it had really taken it up a notch. Wolf Link's combat feels unique and he is necessary to complete most temples. 

FINAL THOUGHTS-

The game looks great and feels great. I remember getting really frustrated with Ocarina even though I love that game. I got frustrated while playing Twilight Princess but only because I was frustrated with myself. The game gives you everything, you never get confused unless the game wants you confused and it does this consistently. The world is so varied and interesting. Going to the desert for the first time is incredible and filled me with the kind of wonder that I don't really get any more. 

If you haven't checked out this game yet, please do. For your sake.

I'm going to be straight with you, horror games are not for\r everyone. I've noticed that while people will almost indefinitely play out\r RPG's they are quick to give up on horror games after a few good scares, and\r while it's not proven (by any means), I suspect that this is because the\r average player cannot identify with many of the protagonists of horror games in\r the same way they can relate to the hero's and anti-hero's of other games. This\r is completely reasonable as much of a games enjoyability comes from the player\r being able to project aspects of who they are, or aspire to be, onto the main\r character. This is also why Among the Sleep stands out as a\r horror-adventure. In Among the Sleep you play as a young child who is searching for his mother. This is one of the most fascinating aspects of the game because everyone knows what it is like to be a child who is scared -and maybe a little lost. 

One of the first points that I'd like to make is this: the narrative in this game, while a little on the short side, is pretty good. Granted, it is nowhere as in-depth as say Amnesia: The Dark Descent, but it is fairly compelling despite its simplistic nature. As previously mentioned, you are a toddler, 2 years old to be exact, who has woken up in the middle of the night to find that something is amiss in your house. Like any scared child you stumble through the house (keeping your faithful companion, Teddy, close by) and eventually make your way to your mothers bedroom to seek comfort and reassurance that there are no monsters in the closet. Unfortunately, upon making it to her room you find her bed empty; this is where the story truly begins.

Playing through this Among the Sleep with the unique perspective of a child lends an added creep factor to the game. While on your quest you find yourself in various strange dark places; many of which appear to be distorted memories of the child protagonist that have been overcome by nature. The scenery in this game is an eerie amalgamation of unsettling and whimsical and works well as a metaphor for the themes of destruction and loss that are present though out the game. 

Some of the core game play is also driven by the petite stature of the playable character. Toddlers are not particularly adept at walking and so they occasionally revert back to crawling; in this game you can switch between the two at will. The two methods of movement also offer different benefits and weaknesses. While walking you are able to interact with objects and hug teddy (which provides a little bit of comforting light), walking, however, is slow and makes you more visible. Crawling, on the other hand, is fast and allows you to hide under things. You also have no way of fighting, well... what ever that thing is, you are only 2 after all.

Most of the "horror" that comes from this game is rooted in the environment, there is a thing eventually, and a few jump-like scares here and there, but ultimately it will be the little noises and movements that send chills down your spine. As a bit of a side note: this game is oculus compatible. I have not yet played Among the Sleep on oculus (though I might try to get around to it within the month) but I have played a few other horror games/demos on the oculus and I believe that this game would be infinitely better on oculus. The atmosphere developed through the maps is what really shines about this 

Overall this game is a great introduction to horror games. The puzzles are not overly complex, nor do you have to dedicate too much time to finishing the narrative. At $21.99 CDN Among the Sleep is a little bit expensive, considering the quantity of content (and I've never been a fan of characters body parts passing through walls either), but aside from some minor flaws with the character models the quality of this game is great and I would strongly recommend it to anyone, horror and non-horror fans alike.

As the title suggests, rupees play a very large part in the game's mechanics, so much so in fact that they also act as your health. Because of this, the standard shop system from the normal Zelda titles was removed in favor of a haggling system which punishes you for going too high or too low with your offer. An easy way to get large sums of rupees is to find a map and fill in the landmarks that are missing from it. Selling the completed map back to the old woman at the end of the town strip will net you some easy money. Extremely large sums of rupees are also needed as offerings to Uncle Rupee who will open up the way to Rupeeland and also gradually opens up the new areas of the world which contain progressively stronger and more annoying enemies and increasingly more difficult dungeons.

Now since Tingle isn't exactly a fighter (with the exception of Hyrule Warriors), he can't really defend himself effectively, so to protect his hide, you need to go to these taverns called "Salons" and hire a bodyguard to help you fight and collect treasures. Bodyguards range in 3 different sizes and 3 different AI patterns and as such, their fee for hiring them also differs significantly. Bodyguards also have unique abilities dependent on their size: Small ones can enter tight places that Tingle cannot enter, medium ones can open locked gates, and large ones can break boulders. Almost all areas that only a bodyguard can access usually guarantee a Rupee Good of which there are 30 to collect.

Now the combat system is extremely simplistic. You walk into an enemy to engage the fight and the entire ordeal is played out in a cartoon dust cloud. You can round up more enemies to fight and even your bodyguard for help while the battle is happening, but the way to win is to rapidly tap the cloud on the screen to help tip the scales in your favor. The more enemies you run into and defeat at once, the better your rewards are after the fight, many of which can be sold or used for cooking in Tingle's kitchen which in turn can be placed in empty jars for use on the field or to be sold for some extra cash later.

Now come the words of warning: This game was rated PEGI 12+ when it was released in Europe. The reasoning behind this is because of the suggestive and somewhat homosexual tone a small handful of characters emit. If this might damper your decision on getting the game, then I would suggest you watch Vinesauce's stream of the game on YouTube instead before you make a final verdict. If it is the region where it was released that is causing a problem with your decision, then I should probably note that Nintendo DS games are region free meaning they will play on any DS regardless of the country you bought it in. If it some other reason, then I honestly think you would be missing out because I had a lot of fun with this game and I think you all would have fun with it too if you gave it a chance. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

Game Score:

Minecraft is a powerful sandbox video game that has really impacted gaming history.The game was conceived by a Swedish programmer by the name of Markus "Notch" Persson, who founded the game. The idea was to allow player's to build anything they wanted out of 3D textured cubes among neat things. The possibilities are endless,  such as slay zombies, ride pigs, make mansions, even make music. 

The game Is widely popular and very well known for its capabilities. Like fun with friends, real life building designs, and just to play when you're bored.  Some schools even use Minecraft as a way to teach kids about design and creativity. This game can and has been used for many different purposes.

There are many Blocks, items, and resources in this game, also including several modes that can be played. Survival mode is the most basic, that you can play.  The player will get a health bar, hunger bar and an experience bar where the player can level up and use those levels to enchant his or her weapons and armor. This help increase the destruction they inflict upon their mortal enemies. A key mechanic is the hunger bar, which slowly depletes as the player does actions such as running, mining, chopping, fishing, or even walking, all except for just standing still.  This can easily be filled back up by making food such as bread from wheat, steak from cooked cow, cooked pork chop from the pigs you kill, and many other wonderful dishes.

The next game mode is the Creative mode which was made for players who don't want to spend hours on end mining and collecting resources; and  instead want everything handed to them for easier and faster building.  The player also gets the power to fly and instantly break blocks which players do not get outside of this mode.  All this for the main purpose of testing designs and building things quick and easy.  But of course using this mode is less prestigious due to the fact that everything is just given to you.  

Lastly the Adventure mode where the player is in a survival type game but has many restrictions to their player.  This mode was made for the purpose of playing on adventure maps that other people have made such as Mario party in Minecraft, or an arena game, or perhaps some Zelda related games.  This mode helps give the player a lot more to do since they can experience.  More than just vanilla Minecraft.

Minecraft is a wonderful game in my own opinion and in the eyes of millions as well.  This game has grown from such a small place and has grown a long time into something so beautiful its almost blinding.  Overall this game is very fun and needs to be played, at least for the experience. Having played the game and seen what it can do, I give Minecraft a  9/10.

Along with watching movies, I found myself playing video games in the same vein. I was introduced to them by my buddy Dylan who had become a YouTube gaming content creator. One of the games he made a series on was Layers of Fear from an indie studio called Bloober Team out of Poland.

If you didn't know the gaming industry is really big in Poland. So big in fact that the Prime Minister gave President Obama a copy of The Witcher II as a gift. Some of my favorite indie games like Layer of Fear, GoNNer, and Butcher have been ported to the Nintendo Switch are from Polish developers.

Bloober Team solidified themselves as a studio who could sit at the adult table with Layers of Fear. Now with Observer, there are talks that Bloober Team could be one of the studios to remake Silent Hill. That's only if Konami wants to follow the trend set by Capcom with the Resident Evil 2 remake.

Observer takes the theme of a futuristic Poland where cybernetic enhancements are a common medical practice after the last world war. You play as Observer detective Daniel Lazarski (voiced by Rutger Hauer of Blade Runner) who gets a strange call from his estranged son Adam. Like in most horror games taking place in one place. You find that Adam has been living in a rundown tenement building (which is a real building that one of the developers live) where drug and hologram addicts live.

(Screenshot taken from Nintendo Life's video on making the Observer)

You get yourself in Adam’s apartment, which has been ransacked. You find a body with its head cut off, which triggers a security shutdown to the building. Without being able to get a positive ID on the body Dan has to find a way to get out of  Adam’s apartment to find the killer. This starts the more core mechanics of the game. Opening and scanning everything you can, searching for clues, and hacking into keypads. Once you override the security system to the apartment you roam the halls trying to find a way out. Along the way, you have the opportunity to interview the other tenants.

With clues leading you to other dead bodies, you use your title as Observer to link into their memories to find out who and where the killer might be. Though linking up doesn't just give you access to the victims past, your past with Adam as a boy mixes in with those memories. The way these memories play out is where the horror and puzzle aspects of the game shines. With winding hallways, and puzzles where if you take the wrong turn you are back at where you started. Observer builds on what Bloop Team learned with Layers of Fear and ramped it to 11. This time around you have villains, the murderer and this rag doll monster that looks like something out of the movie 9 that you have to sneak by while trying to find an exit.

The story is well thought out. You have multiple people this time telling their side of how they either fought against Chiron (the mega-corporation that took over Poland and started the Fifth Polish Republic) or those who were apart their cybernetic experiments and the people who are addicted to drugs and/or holographic stimuli. If Layers of Fear deals in psychological horrors of a painter in the 1920s, Observer deals with the psychological choices made in a future where we can be anyone and have anything, though it may cost us our life.

That is the real horror about this game. That this fantasy could someday be our reality. This game may have been overlooked, but this game is just as brilliant as Detroit Become Human, and if you just own a Nintendo Switch longing for an immersive thought-provoking game, Observer is that game. This is already a cult classic, why not let us make it a critical success.

Have you ever completely failed to make a jump from one platform to another, again and again? Well Wings of vi will kindly reintroduce you to that feeling you get when you do. The game is no joke, supposedly opting for a complete 'skill based game play' over pixel perfect jumps and luck. If you have some serious focus and mad reaction speed then you'll do fine. If you're not a super human warrior, then you might find yourself having a struggle once in a while.

Mechanically this game is smoooooooooooth. It plays and feels like a glove, so there's very little input lag. Not that there's much to input. Akin to earlier platformers Wings of Vi has simple controls; up, left, right, down bound to their respective arrow keys. In addition to a jump, action and restart (or suicide) button. Getting used to the controls won't be tough, mastering them is another thing however.

If one thing can be said about Wings of Vi, is that they don't shy from fleshing out their characters (if ya know what I mean). Or the rest of the game for that matter. Another flashback to platformers of old is the pixelated art style that Wings of Vi sports. The style is akin to the megaman series in the way area's are designed and given filling. You won't be focused on whats around you most of the time however. The little angel sprites are cute, as well as the many other things you may come across (except the demons, not cute). One thing I might add as well is that you can customize your character; but if you want them, you'll have to work for them. Flawlessly beat that boss and maybe you'll get a hat to wear, who knows, it might look badass.

Lets\r face it, we all hate chores, running errands, and pandering to the needs of\r annoying neighbours, but for some reason we just can't stay away from\r games that incorporate these aspects of life into game-play. Fantasy Life, for the Nintendo 3DS, is\r essentially what you would get if Final\r Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles and Harvest\r Moon had a baby; it's a magical RPG packed with quests, weapons, fishing, flower\r picking, crafting, and monsters. Like Harvest Moon before\r it, Fantasy Life allows you to explore and\r immerse yourself into a colourful world filled with a wide array of charismatic\r NPC's and their never-ending requests. 

In many\r games the class you choose during character creation is the class that you are\r stuck with, one of the key features that Fantasy\r Life offers is the opportunity to have your character switch between 12 unique\r classes at almost any point during game-play. This allows the player to embrace\r their inner miner while living the peaceful life of a fisherman but still being\r able to kick-ass as an adorably ruthless mercenary. Additionally, each class\r has unique goals which will no doubt keep the player occupied for hours. One of\r the more disappointing qualities of the 12 class system is that the fundamental\r game play does not change in any way when you switch between classes, and aside\r from gaining new skills and quests when you switch classes (which are retained\r when you switch again) there is no real change in how the game is played. In\r some respect this makes the 12 class system unnecessary, but at least the class\r specific costumes are cute. 

Fantasy Life also offers a main quest\r that involves the player running about, defeating monsters, and saving the\r world. Despite following the standard RPG archetype the story line it is quite\r charming, and besides, if you're already venturing out into the world to\r improve the rank of your life-at-the-time you might as well get some of the\r main quest done too.

The\r majority of time spent with this game will involve forging swords, sewing hats,\r and mining gem stones for NPC's, and aside from being able to purchase a few\r different homes and a wide array of items there isn't much to work towards\r financially. That being said Fantasy Life\r is a game that you will either love or hate; if you enjoy games like Animal Crossing you will no doubt be\r hooked on Fantasy Life after an hour.

Recent years have been good to indie games, with recent releases like Transistor, Shovel Knight and Freedom Planet becoming more than just diversions from our big-budget entertainment; these games are now commonplace, and many see them as a breath of fresh air in an era of developers who, despite deploying decent products, might be playing things a little too safe. Risk is the key element to an indie game. A smaller development team means a more unified vision, and that means an indie game can take risks.

That brings us to a very niche genre of indie games: Dating simulators. Immediately, some people will groan. Dating sims are often associated with an exaggerated portrayal of perverted young men looking for an easy, vicarious solution to romantic issues. Distaste for this genre of games is not unwarranted, as dating sims go against almost every standard of gaming. 

In the mind of this author, most games are based around both escalation and reward. Escalation can come in the form of a growing world (sandbox games), increasing difficulty of levels (platformers), or character growth (RPG). The standard dating sim normally plays scene-by-scene, with little conflict other than the goal of dating (and potentially sleeping with) one or more romantic interests. Reward can be something as simple as beating a level or boss, but more and more games have a player's actions rewarded with in-game money, experience points, items, concept art, and so on. Dating sims, more often than not, do not reward the player with much more than what is expected (bow-chicka-bow-wow), and that is only gained by playing through the scenarios provided, which usually don't require more than a few dozen clicks of the mouse.

There have been two dating sims in recent years that have included both dynamic change and rewards for your troubles, and as such have earned their popularity among gamers who don't often play dating sims. Katawa Shoujo included escalation and reward in its story, in which the player must be cautious in what they say and do, seeing as only one love interest can be pursued, and every single one has a physical disability. Good players are rewarded with a sensitive and heartfelt story, while less successful players will meet a depressing ending. Another dating sim to break the mold is HuniePop, which makes escalation and reward part of its gameplay.

Nikki likes Talent (blue tokens) and dislikes Sexuality (red tokens). Better plan ahead.

The fact that HuniePop even has gameplay is one of the reasons it stands above most dating sims. While it is, at first glance, an average dating sim, it's actually a puzzle game, not unlike  Bejeweled and (Blargh) Candy Crush. In the game's dating portions, the player must fill their date's affection meter by performing matches of three or more of the same tokens. While that alone is simple enough, HuniePop manages to up the ante by cleverly integrating dating sim elements with the puzzle elements. For instance, each token represents a particular trait, and each girl you meet in the game has a most desired and least desired trait, giving the player incentive to match up certain tokens while avoiding others. Further, special tokens will earn the player sentiment points, which can be used as currency to give the girl a present. Every present gives the player a different perk, which can make the puzzle easier, making a successful date more likely.

What gives HuniePop an edge is that the player has to make a genuine effort to succeed. Between dates, the player is encouraged to get to know each girl on an individual level, learning about their daily lives, their goals, their occupations, and their personalities. These girls aren't cliched archetypes, either. While they aren't overly complex, HuniePop's roster of girls are three dimensional, some with surprisingly subtle traits that are fun to analyze (most of them, anyway). It's important for the player to pay attention, as they will be regularly quizzed for facts on each girl. If the player does well, they are rewarded with experience points called Hunie, which can be spent on upgrades for the puzzle segments.

Don't worry, Jessie is only twice as slutty as she looks.

It's a continuous cycle. The player must upgrade themselves to do better on dates, which become harder as the game goes along. Doing well on dates gets the player a higher money reward (ironically), which allows the player to buy food and drinks for the girl between dates. A well-fed girl can have more conversations with the player, and drinks can be used to earn extra Hunie, as well as a sentiment bonus during dates. The player has to summon their inner strategist to ensure they do well in HuniePop, and in doing so are rewarded with the necessary assets to do well in later gameplay. The ultimate reward for succeeding in repeated dates with a girl is, well... Let's just say it's a bonus round, and even those segments provide a reward. For best results, play the non-Steam version.

HuniePop is a winner because it takes risks with the dating simulator formula, without abandoning the qualities that dating sim fans love. It strikes a fine balance between fun puzzle gameplay and the thrill of getting to live out a romantic fantasy. Combining a form of escapism with gameplay that challenges the mind has earned HuniePop overwhelmingly positive reviews on Steam. As such, even if either puzzles or dating sims don't appeal to you, you should at least give this one a try. It's an example that many dating sims should follow.

Rather than the deluge of Mountain Dew and Doritos filled Bro-filled shooters available for every console, Adr1ft aims to be everything Alien:Isolation was not. Rather than a horror-survival sim everyone expected A:I to be it still contained many action sequences that put a gun in your hand and told you to shoot your way out of a situation rather than building up the tension as Alien did. Adr1ft aims to change that by presenting space as it really is; A horrifying void of death and silence.

You start of in the shoes of a cosmonaut staring across space at the stars and of course the debris of your newly destroyed space station, this visually stunning opener is quickly forgotten as you make your way to the bulk of your once safe home through the eerily silent void of space with a pinch of dead friends scattered along the way. With the lack of communication and setup in play during the first few minutes of this game, it looks as if 505games have put a lot of effort into making this a proper FPX (First person experience) without the compulsive need to put a gun in your hand and slaughter waves of seemingly endless grunts.

The Aim of Adr1ft is to make it back to the surface in you EEV ( Emergency Escape Vehicle) While collecting canisters of oxygen scattered around to supplement your rapidly deteriorating supply in your broken EVA (Extravehicular activity) suit. All this combined with the eerie soundtrack should make for a powerfully frightening puzzle adventure game with the enough tension to keep you on the edge of your seats at all time.

Hopefully the visuals and soundtrack aren't there to distract from a lack of substance a large portion of games released onto next gen consoles seem be suffering with at the moment.

I have a bit of an unconventional taste when it comes to video games. I'll play almost anything as long as it plays well and how it looks is often unimportant. Yoshi's Story falls under that category. Sure, it looks like it was designed for younglings, but looks can often be deceiving.

All in all, I had a lot of fun with this game. While the music is overly happy and cheerful and the environments literally look like cardboard and felt, the gameplay is what really matters and I think it plays extremely well for what it does. If you want to legally play it for yourself, the game is available on the Wii's Virtual Console service. You may find that looks aren't everything as well. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

Score:

Metro 2033 is where the bulk of the remastering went. It looks almost as if it were built from the ground up using the updated 4A Engine similar to that of Metro Last Light, but a more realistic idea is that the textures and placements of some objects were given a fresh coat of paint that still looks absolutely fantastic. Unfortunately though, the best comparison image I could find was a compressed YouTube image that doesn't do it as much justice as I would have hoped it would, but I think it still gets the point across. 

As well as a graphical upgrade, Metro 2033, also gets an upgrade to it's HUD and menus. Now it's exactly like Metro Last Light where you hold down a button or key that brings up all your tools. This is a million times more convenient than the older Metro 2033 HUD and menus though I can see why some people may not like it feeling like the same game, but i like it being two different games feeling like one huge video game ride. 

Some times you will be given a small side quest for money or a karma point towards the good or bad though it doesn't really matter because Last Light will always pick up after the bad ending. I can not say enough good things about this game. It's really more like an experience because even after you've finished the game you will never forget the experience you had with it. Since you can buy each game separately I give this game on it's own merit a 9/10. 

Metro Last Light picks up right after the bad karma ending to 2033 where Artyom launched the missle strike against the Dark Ones' nest, but only after it's revealed to him that the Dark Ones were actually good and mean't no harm to humans and actually wanted to help them rebuild humanity. Khan, from 2033, visits Artyom and reveals to him that one Dark One survived so now it is race to get the last remaining Dark One. You will fight against the Fourth Reich, the Soviets, and bandits as well as everybody's favorite mutated dog things; Nosalises. 

Artyom also gets a love interest named Anna whom the developers spent more time modeling her boobs than her face (you'll see what I mean in a minute). Anna actually goes through a bit of a character arch. She starts out as a real bitch to Artyom then through a set of events she respects and becomes attracted to him. Anna isn't given a lot of screen time though. She's at the beginning of the game then disappears for more than half the game to show up towards the end. Artyom still only speaks during loading screens and remains silent during gameplay which makes me wonder how he ever gets Anna. 

This is what I meant when I said that the developers spent more time modeling Anna's boobs than her face. I have to note that the breasts and nipples are the most realistic I've ever seen in a video game (which is warrant enough for a 10/10 amiright, guys??) The nudity is kind of strange in this game though. Both times it happens you are in a really intense fire fight then less than 5 minutes later you get boobs in your face. I'm not really complaining for that reason, but it did hurt some of the pacing for two really intense parts.

The first time you on a raft with another survivor fighting off mutated water monsters called "Shrimps" to get to a nearby station then you get a bare breasted lap dance. It is optional though. The second time you shooting your way through a metro station that is burning down and are trying to get to Anna because she was captured by the Soviets in the last mission. At the last moment the enemy breaks you gas mask and you are exposed to a biological weapon that the Soviets tested on the metro station with. You and Anna are then both saved and quarantined by Khan and his men because the biological weapon was Ebola. In the face of uncertain death Anna gets partially naked and Artyom and Anna make a baby. 

There are less side quests to do in most of the stations though. You'll still see your typical bum in the corner asking for a bullet and you can still give him one for a good karma point. Metro Last Light also has the ability to get a good ending and a bad ending except this time one of the endings implies a sequel to this game and the other ends the series. You'll see which is which depending on the ending you get. 9/10.

So, I'll stop gushing for a moment and get down to it. Metro Redux isn't flawless. Stealth is some times way too easy. There are some minor animation hiccups here and there. Last Light has minor pacing issues, but overall these games are amazing. The story is well told, the atmosphere is incredible, the gameplay is rock solid, boobs, and you get to kill Nazis. What more could you possibly want. Both Metro 2033 and Last Light have both been remastered and it shows (more in 2033). You also get both games for the price of one. I highly recommend you pick this one up on any platform of your choosing. I know that it should average out to about a 9/10, but I'm taking into account you get two games for the price of one. Overall I give Metro Redux a 9.5/10. It's that good. 

Alice: Madness Returns is what happens if Tim Burton had made a GOOD interpretation of Alice's Adventures In Wonderland. Madness Returns was developed by American McGee and his development team, Spicy Horse, and published by everybody's favorite publisher, EA. Alice: Madness Returns is a Third Person Action Adventure Platformer that puts a dark spin on Lewis Carrol's original source material. This is actually a sequel to American McGee's Alice originally released in 2000.

When Alice arrives back in Wonderland, the world, is bright and colorful, but the deeper she goes into Wonderland the more dark and sinister it gets. On her journey, Alice, is accompanied by the Cheshire Cat whom may or may not be a figment of Alice's imagination. In fact, the entirety of Wonderland may or may not be a figment of Alice's imagination and that is what Alice's story revolves around; her sanity.

After Alice's adventure to Wonderland in the first game she had been declared clinically insane and spent a majority of her life in Rutledge Asylum. Madness Returns takes place a year after her release at the age of 19 and she now resides in an orphanage under the care of a psychiatrist named Dr. Angus Bumby. The gameplay begins when Alice relapses into Wonderland.

The second story is Alice returning to Wonderland. Hence "Madness Returns". Wonderland is now falling apart. It is being destroyed by a mysterious train dubbed by the inhabitants as "The Infernal Train". Alice may be the only one able to stop The Infernal Train from completely destroying Wonderland, but is Wonderland as real as she believes it to be? I personally found Alice's story in the real world dealing with her sanity to be far more interesting and meaningful.

Out of combat, Alice: Madness Returns is a platformer. Again, not much new here, but at least it isn't flawed in anyway. Alice can now jump not once, not twice, but four times whilst in the air. She also will float if the jump button is held down to help guide Alice down onto a platform.

Though, there is one thing everybody seems to agree upon....

Alice: Madness Returns really is an underrated gem because it sets up nicely a sequel, but sales didn't meet their goals so it was cancelled which is a shame. There is hope though. In 2013, American McGee started a Kickstarter to fund a concluding chapter in the Alice series called "Alice: Otherlands". There was a catch though. It wouldn't be a game, but rather an animated mini series. The Kickstarter met it's goal and now Alice: Otherlands will be released some time this year. Again, there is more hope. American McGee still wants to make Alice Otherlands into a game, but it depends on the success of the animated mini series.

Alice: Madness Returns isn't perfect. The gameplay is pretty stale and the middle act has a lot of filler fetch quests, but I'd be lying to you if I said that I didn't like this game. I actuallygenuinely love this game. The art style, the story, the soundtrack, and Alice herself are all so well done that it is sad that this game isn't more well known. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up. You won't be disappointed. 8.5/10

Returning from Super Smash Bros Brawl are the challenges. Challenges are in both versions of the game, but they are split up into three separate pages on the 3DS version with a total of 105 relatively easy ones to complete whereas the Wii U version has 140 moderately more difficult ones all on one page. Completing a challenge will give you a reward and a special picture to view as a little bonus.

Classic Mode also makes a return in these games as it always has since the series' beginning, but this time it has gotten a drastic overhaul. On the 3DS, you go through branching paths of varying difficulty (Blue = Easy, Green = Normal, Red = Hard) and it feels very similar to how Classic Mode has been in past games, but in the Wii U version, Classic Mode is more based on your actual skill level as there are multiple groups of fighters each with a varying number of opponents and the occasional rival and surprise ambush.

Now for the mode everyone knows about, SMASH MODE. This is the game's basic free-for-all versus mode in which you choose your character and beat the crap out of your opponent on one of dozens of different stages inspired by a game in Nintendo's MASSIVE repertoire of franchises. The types of battles that can be done include Timed, Stock, and Coin battles and each can be played in teams. Smash mode can also be played online in modes called "For Fun" which has all items on and uses every stage except for Final Destination, and "For Glory" which all items are turned off and the only stage available is Final Destination or a visual variation of it.

Stadium mode also returns from the previous games, but with some slight alterations. Break the Targets has been completely removed and a new mode called Target Blast has taken its place. The 3DS version only has one stage while the Wii U version has three and if you want an idea of what Target Blast plays like, think Angry Birds but instead of a slingshot, you're launching a large bomb with a character's smash attack. 15-Minute smash mode in the Stadium has also been replaced with a new mode called Rival Smash in which you have to knock out more opponents than a CPU controlled rival character. The Fighting Alloy Team from Brawl in Stadium has also been replaced with the Fighting Mii Team. I find this to be pretty humorous as the Mii's faces are taken from the system's internal memory (I have some pretty low brow ones on my systems).

Now, here is what is exclusive to each version.

Returning from Brawl are the Event Matches, but these are exclusive to the Wii U version of the game. Event Matches are special battles with very specific win conditions. Some examples would include defeating a specific character before a computer controlled rival, or even preventing a hoard of slowly falling enemies from landing of the stage. Each event also has a secondary win condition that will reward you with a special prize should you succeed.

Also returning from Brawl and are exclusive to the Wii U are the Masterpieces. Masterpiece are demos of classic games that last anywhere between 1 to 5 minutes in length. If you happen to like the game's demo by the time the timer runs out, you are given the option to buy the game from the eShop which is a very nice convenience.

New to the game and exclusive to the Wii U version is Special Orders mode. Special orders gives you randomized rules and opponents to fight with a guaranteed prize should you succeed. In Master Orders you pay a small sum of coins to take one of three challenges and the options reset with each win or loss. In Crazy Orders however, you can either pay a fairly high sum of coins or pay with an Orders Pass which can be won from Event Matches or from the roulette in Classic Mode. In Crazy Orders, you go round after round with most damage kept after each round until you feel like you don't have the confidence to continue any further. Whatever damage you accrued from the previous rounds will be then calculated into health for the final battle with Crazy Hand and any minions he may have helping him.

Now comes the verdict. The controls are tight and responsive, the music is fantastic, and everything else will keep you occupied for a very long time like collecting trophies and betting coins on the online spectator mode. If you're like me and enjoy playing games with other people in the same room, then get the Wii U version. Almost all the game modes in the Wii U version can be played in co-op mode with friend which is very nice. However, if you aren't the person who spends a lot of time playing TV games or if you travel a lot, then I would recommend the 3DS version as the game can be taken over to a friend's house for use as a controller for the Wii U version or you can play the 3DS exclusive Street Smash game mode when you encounter a random person with the game when out and about. I guess you could also get both if you have the money, but until then, I'll be seeing you.

3DS Score:

Wii U Score:

Story:

In Life is Strange you play as Max Caulfield. A socially awkward girl that has a passion for photography. While in her photography class, Max discovers that she has the ability to rewind time. but only so far. Max is the definition of socially awkward and is constantly shit on by other people who go to her school; which brings me to the first problem of the game.

Everybody is either a bully or a socially awkward victim. There is no in between apparently except for Max's friend Chloe who is introduced later on in the episode.

Writing:

It's blatantly apparent that the developers have no idea what real schools in this day in age are like. It genuinely feels like tumblr's idea of high school is. And unfortunately, that's what this game feels like. Tumblr: The Video Game.

Now, you could chalk this all up into "Maybe it's only this one school that is like this." Well if that were the case I wouldn't have a problem with it, but the dialogue is written so poorly that all the bullies' dialogue might as well have been written like "You're dead meat. I'm gonna pound you." And on top of that, the acting is just as poorly executed with the exception of one character. All the dialogue is acted out in such a stale manner. Like all the voice actors wanted to go home or something. Lip syncing is just as bad. Not one piece of dialogue matched up with any of the character's lips.

Decisions:

Just like in Telltale's TWD, Life is Strange, contains an actions and consequences element that happens through actions and dialogue. In addition to this, Max's rewind ability lets her change a decision she made on the spot. Saving you from a second play through. I actually like this because, more often or not, you're going to fuck up a timed event and with this you can save yourself the frustration of loading a previous save.
One problem I have with this actions and consequences system implemented is that so seem comical. Like, in one part of the episode, if you water a plant in your room you will get the notification that "Your action will have consequences." What's the worst that will happen? The plant hunts down and kills your mom for not watering it properly?

Graphics:

The graphics confuse me. Scenes like this one in the picture can look pretty pretty (?), but I still can't tell if the devs are going for a stylized approach like TWD or if they are trying to be realistic. It's like the developers stopped half way through making the decision and said "Fuck it. Just do both."

Opinion piece:

One thing I'd like to add that really bothered me (but probably wont bother you) is Chloe's step dad, David. Obviously this dude is going to be a huge antagonist further down the line and he's just a huge asshole the entire episode. Bulling people on campus and the lot. But it's his background and the way he's portrayed that bothers me.
David was in the military and is a huge asshole. Which I don't mind, but it's the way that his and Chloe's dialogue is written that bothers me. "I was in the military." "He was in the military." "You're paranoid." "War does that to you." It's like the developers are trying to imply really negative things about the military. And they just keep going on and on about how he was in the military and he's an asshole. But that's just me. So if that doesn't bother you, then more power to you.

Before I wrap up this review I'd like to talk about Max's friend; Delsin Rowe... I mean Chloe. Chloe's voice actress sounds like the only one in the entire episode actually trying. You can tell that she has some pretty intense demons under her tough punk exterior. She's genuinely interesting and I want to know more about her and her missing friend Rachel Amber.
Why the fuck aren't we playing a game about her?? Max is so stale and boring. It would be a lot more interesting to see Chloe change into the rebellious punk she is in Life is Strange. But that's just me.

I tried so hard to like this game. I really did. I brushed aside all the preconceived notions I had about it before playing and tried to get invested, but in the end I just couldn't. To me: the only one redeeming factor in this game is Chloe's character. I'm probably going to buy the rest of the episodes when they come out just to find out what happens to her.
Overall, it's lackluster to say the least. I was hoping for a deep story which game like from the likes of Telltale, but what I got was Gone Home meets The Walking Dead. Sound on paper, but was executed poorly. I wasn't going to recommend this, but given that it's only $5. So if you have the extra cash and have already bought every Telltale game; you should try it. Maybe you will get engrossed in it. Unfortunately, I didn't.
And if you want a numerical score: 6/ 10

*This review is written improperly because I originally posted it on FunnyJunk. The reason that I basically copied and pasted it from their is because I'm really proud of this piece. I've never had anyone else read my writings so constructive criticism is much appreciated so my writing will improve in future articles. I hope you have a wonderful day.

Now, unlike the show, the game actually has a plot. Because of how good Arino had become at classic games, he becomes a god-like demon called the Retro Game Master and sends the player into the 80's where you must complete gaming challenges in his domain. Now because of the licensing issues with making a game like this, eight brand new NES styled games were created instead. These titles replicate the look and feel of of the era they represent extremely well and could even be considered legitimate individual titles in their own right.

• Cosmic Gate (a space shooter inspired by games like Galaga and Space Invaders)
• Robot Ninja Haggle Man (an arcade platformer styled after Ghosts 'N' Goblins and the many ninja themed games of that time)
• Rally King (a racing game modeled after titles like Super Off Road and Bump 'N Jump)
• Star Prince (a space themed shmup designed after games like Gradius and Star Soldier)
• Rally King SP (a more difficult reskin of Rally King meant to parody "special edition" games given out as contest prizes)
• Robot Ninja Haggle Man 2 (the sequel to the first Haggle Man, it has the same gameplay, but levels are much larger and more difficult)
• Guadia Quest (an RPG inspired by games like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy)
• Robot Ninja Haggle Man 3 (the sequel to Haggle Man 2, this game parodies how many games underwent a drastic redesign for their sequels. It is modeled after Ninja Gaiden)

All in all, this title replicates the games and magazines from the 80's extremely well. Each of the eight games are responsive, the music is well designed for the games they are made for, and after all of the challenges for a specific game are finished, you can play the game in its entirety from the title screen without any of young Arino's commentary. If you buy the game and happen to like it, I would also recommend the show from which it is based. Most of the episodes have been getting subtitled by fans and are being posted here. I think you might enjoy them too, but until then, I'll be seeing you.

Score:

• Unite Hand can turn gears and ignite itself to throw fireballs
• Unite Sword can cut cables, unlock diamond shaped keyholes, repel lasers and act as a lightning rod
• Unite Gun can hit distant and unreachable targets
• Unite Hammer can pound switches, break floors and protect against arial fire
• Unite Whip can be used to swing from certain points and can rip spikes from their mounts
• Unite Claw can be used to scale walls, pry open doors and can occasionally freeze enemies
• Unite Bomb can temporarily slow time to a near standstill in a given radius

Now my favorite part, the Boss Fights. Each of these fights are unique and interesting, sometimes even being dramatically overdone to the point where it keeps trying to top its own wackiness. A couple of these fights even play homage to the Punch-Out!! series of games which amused me to the point of laughing. I just wasn't expecting anything like that at all. All of these fights also start with a cutscene of Wonder Red initiating his suit's Infinity Form which greatly increases his power and endurance for the duration of the fight. Whenever this scene happens, I always find myself mimicking Red's movements. It's just one of those things that made me feel like I was a kid again sitting in front of the TV watching Power Rangers and eating some sugary cereal.

All in all, this game has been an invigorating experience for me. The controls were great, the music was fantastic and each level was extremely well made and had something unique to offer from it. The camera's isometric view might cause some viewing issues during close up shots, but it can be zoomed out in some cases where that happens. Still, I highly recommend you pick up this game because this underrated title has been one of the most fun games I've played in years. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

Score:

Scott Pilgrim Graphic Novel

Scott Pilgrim vs The World (Film)

Scott Pilgrim vs The World: The Game

Well, that's all I can say about this. If you wish to buy the books or the movie, you can get them from Amazon for pretty reasonable prices and if you wish to buy the game, you can download it to the PS3 and XB360 for about $15USD. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

Graphic Novel Score:

Film Score:

Game Score:

The controls for the game are fairly simple, but also complex enough to require a fair amount of skill to be good at it. B is Jump, Y is Shoot, A is Dash and X cycles through your weapons. Holding L locks the position of your gun in place so you can move without readjusting your aim. Hold R to use your shield and this is quite critical to know as your shield can block almost everything in front of you. If this control scheme doesn't suit you just right, you can change the controls in the options from the title screen.

All in all, while the game is hard, it is also very rewarding. Since the controls are tight and responsive, it is YOUR fault if you mess up, not the game's. Its music also gives the game a sense of actual accomplishment if you happen to do well. I personally felt very pleased with myself when I finally beat the game almost fifteen years after getting it as a child. So, if you want a difficult but rewarding game with tight controls and badass music, then Cybernator is your game. It is also available on the Wii's and Wii U's Virtual Console service. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

Score:

Welcome to "Early Access Impressions"!

One of the great things about PC Gaming is the amount of games in Early Access.

For those not familiar with Steam's Early Access system, developers release their unfinished games at a reduced cost at both benefit to the user and the developer.

The user is essentially an In-Dev Tester(yes that means broken games) and they get the game once it becomes full release. This series will feature games in Early Access as I get to them. And there's a lot.

Onto the show!

Killing Floor 2 is a first person co-op shootin' wave survivin' gore fest.

Developed by Tripwire Interactive Killing Floor 2 is kind of like Left 4 Dead and Call Of Duty's Nazi Zombies had a Super HD and over the top cRazY baby.

The gameplay is solid. Running around the maps aiming down sights and blowing apart heads feels very satisfying. Teamwork is made very essential in KF2. While a solo mode is available I wouldn't suggest it, even on Normal difficulty, you're gonna have a bad time. These are very similar characteristics to the original Killing Floor although I'd say KF2 is a more fluid experience.

                                                                                                                                                                                    Visually this game is amazing. If you told me this was developed by a AAA developer I'd believe you. Above you can see me blowing apart the head of a Siren in Slow Motion. The picture really doesn't do it justice but the gore effects are very very nice.

The enemy types is something else to consider. At this point in the early access stage the game features the standard Zed, Scrakes, Fleshpounds, Sirens, Crawlers, Stalkers, Sirens, Bloats, Gorefasts, Stalkers, Ranged Zeds(who I cant find the name of) and  the newest addition, an end level boss.

Going by the name of Hans Volter, this is one boss you should not take lightly. Multiple times I've been blown up, shot or poisoned by Hans Volter. While difficult to defeat Hans is that much more rewarding a kill. The difficulty in KF2, I think, is just right.

After you and your team destroy those enemies that have spawned, after each round you are then prompted to go to head to the trader with all that Dosh you've earned. 

Weapon variety is something Tripwire definitely needs to work on. 

Being the crazy over the top gory shooter this game is, my commando class felt no love in the crazy weapon department. Although there is decent variety, it got boring very quickly knowing that every time i played I just had to save up enough Dosh for that SCAR-H to be destroying zeds effectively. Keep in mind, this is early access, so there's a very good chance more content is coming. Map variety also needs to be improved at this point in time.

Glitches?

I didn't see any. Other than the fact that the matchmaking doesn't seem to be 100% working yet (sometimes I'd get thrown into games outside my search preferences) this game is virtually glitch free. This is probably one of the first times I've looked at an Early Access release that is actually very stable. Good on ya' Tripwire!

Final Thoughts

-Killing Floor 2 is just great. As far as an early access release, probably one of the best.
 
-The gameplay is solid feeels great and offers enough variety in weapons and enemies at this point in time to be satisfying.

-It's visually amazing with great lighting very high quality water and gore effects that are all so shiny I couldn't wait until the next Zed exploded.

-I think what makes this game even more amazing is how impossible they made winning, without a team. This is a real co-op survival shooter.

If you are the kind of gamer who likes blowing apart zombie heads with shotguns or slicing them off with military shovels, Killing Floor 2 is a must buy. I would suggest getting it soon, as the price will only go up. Just pray Tripwire adds more content before the full release.

Monkey tries to get into an escape pod, but Trip takes it and ejects it with Monkey hanging on for dear life. After they crash land, Monkey wakes to find that Trip has fitted him with a slave head band that will inject him with a neurotoxin if she either dies or he tries to escape. Making him Enslaved. Monkey now must help Trip get home. The story is fairly simple and easy to follow. At first you dislike Trip, like Monkey, because she essentially makes him her slave, but as the story progresses you begin to care about her just as Monkey does. It's very similar to the likes of BioShock: Infinite and The Last of Us, but Enslaved did it before them.

....at least for about half way through the game. Then the developers completely forget about this interesting piece of gameplay and just stick to the hacking and slashing and shooting and covering. It's sad that the distraction part of gameplay eventually disappears because it's the only thing that keeps the gameplay fresh. Even the platforming is really scripted. Monkey can only climb on certain objects in the environment. It's definitely apparent after playing games like Tomb Raider and Uncharted. Enemies are also pretty stale. Just rush-in-and-melee mechs and annoyingly-shoot-from-afar mechs. There is a few boss fights, but they are only with 2 or 3 of the same bigger mechs.

After clearing out an area of mechs you can walk around the environment and see a once booming city now nothing more than dying buildings and streets. Even being 5 years old this game still looks pretty good. Obviously, it's not on par with games like Metal Gear Solid V and The Order: 1886, but it still looks pretty good. Especially when Monkey and Trip look off into the distance.

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is very underrated. The story is good and the graphics are really good. It's a shame this game was overlooked because it sets up a sequel fairly properly, but due to low sales the idea was scrapped. Yes, I will admit that the gameplay was interesting at first, but about half way through they disappear in favor of VERY safe and rather stale gameplay. But overall, I still very much like this game. Andy Serkis and Lindsey Shaw give it their all and it shows because it is very convincing. You should definitely check this one out 8.5/10

Unturned is in early access. Normally I'd steer clear of that too, but this is a great example of how Early Access should be used. The developer is constantly updating the game and keeping the players up to date with what he's doing with the game and what tweaks he's making. Believe it or not, but Unturned is actually also free. So if you are at all interested you can get it on Steam.

Unturned's map is of decent size. Consisting of small towns, waterfronts, a military base, and airport. You can repair cars to travel to these locations faster. Items also respawn after leaving your game so it's really easy to farm for more important items to fight off zombies and other players. Unfortunately, because famous YouTubers have played this game on their channels, you will find an abundance of little kids running around killing everyone. But you can still find normal servers or you can play by yourself in single player.

Unturned also has a fatigue system so you will need to regularly eat and drink to stay alive. This seems a bit extreme in game though. You will constantly have to be looking for food and water because you character begins desperately needing them after only about 5 to 10 minutes with out eating or drinking. 

Unlike Minecraft, textures aren't very detailed. They are usually only one color; even on the highest settings. This is upsetting, but again, Unturned is in Early Access so that can easily change somewhere down the line.  Unturned also doesn't currently have in game music. You may or may not like that depending on your preference. Walking around in the complete darkness of night with no music of sound can be pretty atmospheric, but some dark and lonely music in a setting like that would have been preferable. But right now, the only music is the main menu music. 

Most computers shouldn't have a huge problem running it either. Unturned is very well optimized. You can customize just about everything in terms of graphics settings. There's even an option to enable a nifty little FPS counter to show you how many frames per second you are getting so you can change your graphics settings accordingly. 

Unturned also has a pretty good crafting system. Though it's mainly only used for creating structures like player made homes and forts. There isn't any in game recipes on how to create items so you will more than likely be consulting the Unturned wiki pretty often to make a basic house. 

Typically the best place to find any attachment is in the military base. So as soon as you find a map in game you should head there and stock up on guns and ammo.  Scopes are especially varied starting with improved iron sights to red dot sights to scopes that can practically see across the entire map. While guns with no attachments can still get the job done, it's still nice to have attachments to make the job easier.

While the game is free, there is a optional "Gold Upgrade" that gives you some improvements in game. They aren't anything that make the game insanely different or make you over powered, but they are noticeable. It's only $5 and a one time charge. I recommend that you get this with the game. Not for the upgrades, but to support the developer.  The developer of Unturned is a 17 year old kid and he's offering the game for free. In his own words when asked if the price of Unturned will ever change, “It will remain free, but the abilities provided by Gold may change. Nothing that will make the game pay to win, however.“

Unturned is a solid game that has a lot of potential and this potential may be realized since it is in Early Access. You have nothing to lose by checking this game out. 

I hope you all have a wonderful day :). 

Basis

Shadow Warrior is a wonderful ride through humor and gut wrenching fun where you play as the geeky lovable mercenary Lo Wang, working currently as one ofOrochi Zilla's right hand and reliable mercenaries' with his new side kick Hoji, a demon banished from his home world. Together combining both of Hoji's demon magic and Lo Wang's amazing katana mastery, they power their way through the demon hordes in this unlikely duo's journey for the Nobitsura Kage.

Game-play

Game-play in shadow warrior is quite fun. You can hack hack slash and shoot just about anything in the entire game and, yes the demons of course! you will obtain more weapons through out your adventure, such a the quad barrel shotgun. all of these attainable weapons all have upgrades to make these weapons even stronger than they already are but, be careful with your cash you will not be able to upgrade everything just like in previous games like Bioshock. When in combat your are scored for every move you make and how that move effects your enemy's body. So for example if you pull out your revolver and score a flawless head shot on a standard demon you shall be rewarded with more karma which is used to upgrade Wang's combat abilities (but not Hoji's demon attributes). Combat is broken down into;

• Small Encounters
• Large Encounters

  

• Boss Fights

1. Exploration
2. Scavenging
3. ADT (attention to detail)

Story

(This is where the very minor spoilers I mentioned are at)

Closing Statement

Overall, Shadow Warrior is a hell of a lot of fun and really deserves a lot more credit that what it has received over the course of all most two years since it's first release on PC. The game hits it all. Shadow Warrior plays with your emotions makes you laugh and could at times make you feel like an absolute badass and, I would STRONGLY recommend this game to any one who enjoys first person action with a deep and meaning full story with lovable and interesting characters. FINAL SCORE: 4.5/5

Before I begin, I'd like to explain that I previewed/played the Xbox One version of The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited beta. So any and all problems I found within the beta may be resolved before the game's official release date of June 9, 2015.

That being said, I found the controls to be fine. I never found myself tripping over the controller trying to remember which button does what. You still use the left stick to move, the right stick to move the camera, Left Trigger blocks, and Right attacks. Those are the controls that need to stay the same to keep the game playable, and they are the same. 

I couldn't shake the feeling of how strange the first person camera feels. It feels....wrong. Like it isn't meant to be in the game. It's clear the developers put more time and polish into the third person camera, which works well.

The graphics for ESO on Xbox One can be very pretty at times, especially far off vistas. Standing on a mountain over looking Tamriel is a good example of that. ESO definitely has the look of a Bethesda Game Studios Elders Scrolls entry. The textures are a bit of a different story though. 

If you run up to an NPC or any texture in the world too fast then you have to wait a second or two for that texture to fully load. This is especially apparent when you run up to an NPC to open up dialogue and turn in a quest. And even with the texture fully loaded it isn't as pretty as the Elder Scrolls has been before. 

Though, I suppose this is excusable considering it is an MMO with a huge world and dozens of players with you at times. If ZeniMax Online tried to implement Skyrim level graphics into a game of this magnitude then it would more than likely run very poorly. Fortunately, ESO runs rather smoothly. One thing I have to commend ESO for is that there are no load times going into major cities. Similar to Morrowind. This was minor annoyance in Oblivion and Skyrim so it is nice to see it ironed out in ESO. The load times going into buildings is near instantaneous, which on console is a rarity so it's a nice touch. 

Magic also isn't as streamlined as it was in Skyrim. Your melee attacks are interrupted to use any magic attacks which are mapped to the face buttons. I found myself not using magic attacks at all really. Strangely enough, magic doesn't seem to be as important in ESO as it was in previous entries even though the game still encourages you to play with a magic style. Though, this didn't bother me very much because I rarely use magic in Elder Scrolls games; a lot of players still enjoy playing in the Mage class, but here it feels watered down.

In there attempts of being WoW, ZeniMax Online, have watered down the Elder Scrolls experience to the point where it, sadly, feels like a generic MMO with an Elder Scrolls coat of paint. 

Some things are strangely taking out of ESO that were in previous Elder Scrolls game. Like being able to loot all bodies, not in ESO. Only certain bodies can be looted. I suppose it's to help preserve the economy of the game so players can't farm the same types of enemies for hours. Not being able to read every book is gone too. Now, you can only read "lore books" which, yes, are still nice to read if you are into the lore, but there aren't many of those. Also, how is "The Lusty Argonian Maid" in ESO when it was written by an Imperial in the Third Era? I know this sounds like I'm really nitpicking, but it just furthers my concern with how canon this game is when the developers can't even get Bethesda's original lore right. 

You can't loot every object in the world either anymore. So no more stealing goblets and plates to sell for a few gold each. Strangest yet, no more sitting down on chairs and benches. Why this was taking out? I have no idea. Why couldn't the developers go for a more original experience rather than a WoW clone? It's the Elder Scrolls. It was one of the most original games back in the day.

If you aren't an Elder Scrolls fan, this isn't going to be the game that converts you. I am, however, a huge Elder Scrolls fanboy so I can still see myself getting lost in this game for hours upon hours when it officially releases despite these flaws. But again, like I said, this was a beta so everything I just said could be completely different when the final game launches. Maybe, and hopefully, all these issues and concerns are ironed out in the final product. 

I also recorded some gameplay if you are interested in watching the beta in action:

A big thanks to ZeniMax Online Studios and Bethesda Softworks for allowing me to participate in the limited access beta of The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited for Xbox One.

The Cat Lady is a point and click adventure game developed by Harvester Games and published by Screen 7. This is genuinely one of the creepiest games I've ever played. The atmosphere and art style are so spooky that this feels like one of those haunted games in Creepypastas. Most point and click games in this day and age are underrated, but The Cat Lady takes the cake for the most underrated point and click game.

The story is very well told and you a genuinely begin to care about Susan and the people you encounter on your journey. Though, some people may not be who they say they are; thread lightly...

Other developers really should take notes from this gem on how to tackle depression in video games. The Cat Lady is really an emotional roller coaster that will leave you in tears during more intense moments of the game. Two things I got from this experience was a new found appreciation for life and a stronger will to live. You know when a game can do that to you that it did something right. That wasn't until I had finished the game though so if you don't finish it quickly while you're depressed it may make you even sadder so head my warning.

The Cat Lady is unlike anything I've ever experienced. It manages to capture the horror atmosphere of the earlier Silent Hill games and what made point and click games like The Secret of Monkey Island. There really isn't another experience like the one found in The Cat Lady. Even if you aren't a fan of point and click games you will still get enjoyment from this game. Same goes for people who aren't fans of horror. Another thing to note is that there aren't any damn jump scares which is as rare as Gearbox making a good game that isn't Borderlands.

In the end, I can't say enough good things about The Cat Lady. Horror and point and click adventure games have never mixed together so well before. The Cat Lady is not for people with weak stomachs though. There are some pretty intense moments and imagery. That same, "What the hell am I looking at? All I know is that it's horrifying and I want nothing to do with it" imagery that you got with early Silent Hill games. Play this gem in the dark and with headphones. 9/10

All in all, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale tries too hard to be something that it's not. The visuals and music are great, but that doesn't forgive the fact that the gameplay gets drawn out for too long due to the fact that the only way to knock out your opponent is with a finishing move. The game isn't great, but this doesn't automatically make it a bad game either. I enjoyed the time I had with it, but the novelty of the game started to wear thin after a while because it felt like it was desperately trying to be Smash Bros instead of trying to be its own thing. Overall, the game is pretty average, but that shouldn't stop you from playing it a few times in your life. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

Score:

Now because of how new this app is and because no-one knows whether or not more game demos will be added to it in the future, it's only really best used as a "try before you buy" type program, but you can't really "try" unless you have enough amiibo to unlock everything so you can play them "before you buy." All in all, it is only really good for people like me and have a large collection of amiibo to use. Maybe you'll get some amiibo yourself so you can use this app, but until then, I'll be seeing you.

Score:

Unfortunately, I can not say the same for the plot. It's the common consensus that nobody plays Battlefield games for their story. So I went into Hardline with my brain "off" to try and enjoy the story to it's fullest. Even that didn't work. Even with my brain "off" I still saw every twist and turn come from a mile away. I'm more impressed with how Visceral was able to fit every cliche from every crime drama into Hardline.

The main hero is a new goody-two-shoes cop, His partner and friend turn out to be dirty and both stab the main hero in the back, main hero tells captain cop but turns out that the captain is dirty too, main hero is blamed for all the dirtiness, now main hero has to team up with dirty friend and a criminal to take down dirty captain.

And that's just a brief synopsis. You should count just how many more cliches the story is riddled with. I'm not sure if this was intentional or not, but I wouldn't be surprised either way.

You can level up Nick, our main hero, by playing certain ways, though playing stealthily rakes in more experience points. There is even a neat feature that allows Nick to raise his badge, announce he's a cop, and arrest the enemy. This is vital if you want to arrest enemies with warrants for an XP boost. The gameplay is the best that I've seen in a Battlefield game to date. Take notes Battlefield 5 (or Hardline 2, which is inevitable.)

I was surprised how much I actually felt like a cop (aside from the Michael Bay explosions). You don't just feel like a guy running around shooting people that happens to have a badge. I also found it fun to use Nick's phone scanner to analyze evidence, put together clues, and learn back story on this fictionalized take on Miami and L.A. and the enemies with warrants.

Environments can be such a pleasure to look at, but these are mainly for scripted events. So that may be a turn off to some people. The games run at a pretty solid 60 FPS on Playstation 4 and Xbox One. It's the resolution that's different. On PS4, Hardline, runs at 900p and on Xbox One it runs at 720p. Whilst, Hardline runs at 1080p and 60 FPS on PC. But doesn't every game?

The graphics did have to get toned down a bit in multiplayer on all systems to accommodate the large maps and frantic action. It's not THAT noticeable it's to be expected with how chaotic the multiplayer can get. So I can't knock off points for that.

What you won't find is Battlefield 4's large assortment of weapons. Hardline trimmed the fat of the guns in BF 4's multiplayer, but at the same time made the selection of guns feel really restricted. You also can't use all of the same guns on each team (unless you get over 1,000 kills with each gun). Cops have their own selection of guns and so do the criminals. Only the primary weapon and pistol you start with can be used on either team. This is a huge let down for an otherwise extremely fun multiplayer.

The destruction also feels lacking in multiplayer. Other than a few small buildings that can be blown up, the destruction feels even more heavily scripted than Battlefield 4. You can blow up a giant crane in one map that crashes into a building and changes the map a little. Wow...whatever happened to the days where destruction felt dynamic and you really feel like you are blowing up buildings like in Bad Company 2?

Now some may argue that cops and criminals wouldn't be causing the same amount of destruction found in Battlefield 4, but Visceral and EA are marketing this as a BATTLEFIELD game. If it were just "Hardline" then I would understand,but gamers know Battlefield as almost a destruction simulator. Why take that out?

The story coulddefinitely use work. And I don't mind the crime drama cliches, just don't use them as the main story. Use them in an entirely new and unique story ironically. Also, if it couldn't hurt, drop "Battlefield" from the title. The game would be better without it.

I would not recommend that you pick this up at full price, but rather pick it up when it is down to around half that price or even cheaper. You will enjoy it for that much. 7/10

If you liked the fast paced, retro, ultra violent challenges that the first Hotline Miami had to offer then I assume you'll love Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number even more. Hotline Miami 2 comes with a revamped soundtrack that still holds the style of the prequels music and it gets you super pumped at times. The most notable thing about Hotline Miami 2 is the expansion on the game's lore. In the first Hotline Miami the player was left to make inferences and the only real bit of story occurred towards the game's ending. The story in Hotline Miami 2 gives insight on the first game and expands even more and ends up becoming a crazy existential crisis that leaves you feeling like you just got round housed by your own mother, assuming yo momma is fat. In Hotline Miami 2 the story is in depth and takes place over many different characters, locations, and time periods. The levels are also a lot bigger so if you like challenging fast paced game play Hotline Miami 2 delivers even better than it's predecessor. The story in this game is one of the things that kept me motivated to keep playing. Even after all the dying in each level finding out what came next in the story compelled me to keep trying.

A sample of the awesome soundtrack.

If there was anything negative I had to say about Hotline Miami 2 it would be that sometimes the rooms within the level are far too big and cause a lot of stress and anger. But with a cool head you can still enjoy the game.For those of you who are new to Hotline Miami I have one tip for you, and that is to not get angry. Dying is a very big part of this game and there's no health bars. One bullet and one hit can kill you faster than you can say, "What the hell was that?" One more thing that slightly upset me would be that the creators of the game got rid of masks and replaced them with the multiple characters. There is still variety, and even more depth to the game because of the new characters, but it still doesn't have the classic Hotline Miami feel without the multiple masks that added more of a challenge to the game and allowed you to mix up your play style. Another thing that let me down personally is that the main character from Hotline Miami 2's prequel : Jacket is only shown briefly and is not playable.

If you do find yourself looking for more of a challenge you can try out the hard mode that unlocks after you beat the game for the first time. Hard mode adds in extra special enemies, and gives them a better reaction time which is harder to get around than it sounds.  Hard mode also flips each levels layout which makes each level feel refreshed and new. There's also an added secret in hard mode that will put things in perspective. For those of you reading who have played Hotline Miami 2's prequel you should keep your eyes peeled for secrets and Easter Eggs to get more of an insight on the game's story line.

A small peek at the game's play style.

All in all I'd give Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number an 8.5/10  As no other game has made me feel like more of a badass killing machine than this one.

Developer: Lag Studios
Price: FREE
This game will cost you nothing, so why not try it? If you want to know what you are getting into, read on

(Spoilers Probably)

Spooky’s House of Jump Scares is exactly as it’s name states. This indie horror game throws you into a retro styled mansion, with a graphical style that reminds me of Wolfenstein 3D. Your objective, to get to the farthest room you can. The game is advertised as having 1000 rooms, I was only fortunate (and brave) enough to make it to 200.

The game begins with the main character, Spooky herself, talking to you and challenging you to traverse her house. Once inside the narrow corridors and creepy music don’t seem like your typical horror game.

Before I mention Gameplay, this game has some weird resolution issues. I usually screenshot through steam overlay but this causes weirdness. Being early access it’s fine to have technical issues, I just hope they do get fixed. Technical issues, especially getting resolution correct, is very important. In this version of the game there is a fix resolution option in the settings that you need to activate every time you play.

As you sprint down the halls little cardboard cutout ghosts, skeletons and other creatures unexpectedly pop out from the walls accompanied by cute sound effects.

It’s scary I swear.

Controlled with mouse of keyboard feels fine in the first person perspective. As you run through the rooms and are eventually chased by monsters, you will find challenge in having to manage your sprint and being aware of your health. There was one situation where I had to take a hit to make it through a room.

Even though some may find traversing hundreds of small rooms lackluster, I found the story and the mystery of why things are the way they are enough to keep me going.

For example there are random notes scattered around the house, from an unknown source who, in the past took the same path as you. Additionally, there is a random chance for little arcade machines to generate which feature 2D arcade games to play.

Below is one of the arcade games, where you play as Spooky herself and stab shoppers in a mall.

The variety of rooms and the way the gameplay changes is enough to keep me interested. Some of the different rooms feature blindingly white environments with audio puzzles while others are dark paths falling into darkness.

One of the things I cannot capture in writing is the sound. This game has fantastic sound design. While the voice acting of Spooky at the beginning is poor at best, the rest of the game sounds great. The monsters moans and screams and this one demonic track you are going to fear, as it just unsettles you and lets you know of danger being near.

Final Thoughts

Spooky’s House of Jump Scares is good at what it does. One second you’re laughing at the cutesy art style and the next you’re running for your life as demonic music plays.

-Its got a great graphical style
-Fantastic(and spooky) sound design
-Interesting backstory
-Surprisingly lots of gameplay variation

-Needs to fix resolution issues and steam overlay issues though

I suggest trying this game out!
Beware, this is not for the faint of heart.

Storyline/features:

          Mark of the Ninja is a 2D platformer that focuses on stealth and otherwise being ninja. The story is set in the modern day, where ninjas have perhaps become slightly outdated. You play as a ninja (go figure) who's clan was ruthlessly attacked by mercenaries. Your task is to strike back at the man who ordered the attack, and regain your clans honor. However, to do it you accept the burden of the mystical Mark, giving you mysterious abilities; but these powers come at a horrible price. The marks powers hail from a mysterious plant, who's origins I will later discuss. Besides giving you superhuman abilities, it turns whoever accepts it mad, in time. Turning on anyone and everyone, killing with the only intention to end lives. To ensure the safety of the clan the bearer of the mark kills themselves, turning themselves in before becoming to powerful to stop. 

        One thing that you catch on quite quickly is that the game strives to keep elements of the ninja authentic, point in case is that you don't know who you are. Your name, and anything about you is shrouded in mystery. Perhaps the only information you have is Ora, your companion throughout the game, and the name of your clan, the Hisomu. This approach to a character, especially a main character is not a common thing. Even in other games where the main protagonist is a ninja, it's more common that his/her name is one of legend (or infamy). However the fact of the matter is that the identity of a ninja was completely secret. So much so that it would be quite common that ninja's from the same clan would confront each other in battle (1). This was the case because ninja families were born to serve lords, for honor of their lords and clan.

      I will admit that the storyline is not the most complicated, nor is it a epic that spans several hundred hours; but for the narrative it tries to tell, it is well done. Not only from what happens during cut scenes, but during the game too. Now in most cases I don't really enjoy collecting, running every which way to find small things that give you an arbitrary 100% that don't really affect the game and its story. In Mark of the Ninja there are collectibles in the form of scrolls, and artifacts. Artifacts only give you points that count towards your final score, where the scrolls contain Haiku's. There are three a mission, and together they tell a short story about the clans history. Here's an example:

       On a starless night,  An unkindness of ravens,  Lands along a wall

Drunken, laughing guards ,  Spill outside with joy to meet ,  The eyeless faces

A thick liquid drips ,   Down a silken thread that hangs ,  Above a pillow

This particular set of scrolls tells of a mission. One that brought the Hisomu clan into legend. Reading through them really gives you an idea of how things were back in the day. When ninjas were feared, for the unknown power they wielded with deadly precision, and how it has all changed in the modern day. This is a major theme in the games storyline, and drives the majority of the plot. The death of the Baron, who ordered the attack on you from out of nowhere. To the well kept, dark secrets of the ink plant. These events simply act as a story, a children's tale. Because the whole game leads to its finale quite literally, and figuratively. 

       Throughout the game, it feels like you are alone in your mission to save the clan. Like you have been knowingly abandoned to your death, and the only 'light' is your one companion in all this. Ora, who is that companion seems to follow you through the thick and thin. Through the castles, deserts and back home. During development, it was decided that Ora would have a big speaking role. Which is hard to imagine in a game about stealth. So what you'll notice is that she only shows up at select times during a mission. Most often at the beginning and end, with some exceptions. So she's a constant factor in how you see the different situations, always lending a couple quips to give you some perspective. One thing I don't like, is that it's a narrative you have to listen to, and her reasons are never explained. All you know is she's a 'friend'. It feels like she has no other use in game than to push an idea. Thankfully, or at least true to the games varying gameplay, you make the finale decision. Figuratively and literally.

Game play:

Mark of the ninja is a particular game in the sense that its a 2D stealth platformer with emphasis on lighting dynamics. It uses a number of small mechanics to make the game play .It also uses sound quite effectively in its design. Stealth is often based on being able to see the mark and in some cases hearing them move, there are also some instances where you can sense the unseen. Mark of the ninja's game play makes use of them all. In general game play, not standing in a spotlight's or flashlight's gaze means you are in the shadows. 

       The lighting system is really interesting, and I'll explain. All light in this game comes from a source: lights, chandeliers, spotlights, floodlights, flashlights etc. Each has a one of a few 'gazes', as in it propagates outwards from the source in a particular way. Chandeliers give light out in about a ~150degree radius, and the light reaches as far as the outline shows. Flash lights have a smaller ~25 degree radius but can be shown anywhere the guard points, so are flexible in their direction of gaze. However if the guard is looking for you it's much harder to move around. So being caught out by them will happen more often. Another example of a source are the floodlights. They are similar to the the flashlight and ceiling light, in that it is staitionary and has a smaller AOE; but it has a protection from another small game mechanic, which i'll get too soon. Being able to skirt light sources is key in staying hidden, and you'll have too look out for a number of different types too. Because as soon as you step into the light you'll know. If you take a look at the photo to the side, paying particular attention to the to left you'll see a small icon of the ninja. This is your stealth indicator, and the icon will become lighter, as well as your character model if you step into the light.

       This is when you know you can be seen. Which is interesting because it doesn't mean you will be seen. The guards that populate each level have a small area in front of them that they can 'see'. This is indicated by a light outline that propagates out their eyes. If you come into this area they'll see you, and being sighted is its own little mechanic. You can in fact stand right in front of them, if your in the shadows, without being noticed. Get too close though and you'll be spotted out from the flashlight. So here two mechanics come together to create a game play experience. If you're standing in the light, and a guard happens too look towards you, he or she will instantly spot you. Which means a light source effectively extends the guards sight range. I think this is a really cool because of how it mirrors real life, as light tends to help you see stuff. In game play it keeps you on your toes, as just because there aren't any guards on screen to spot you doesn't mean one won't. As far as I know the range is pretty big, but not infinite. So avoiding lights becomes immensely important if there are guards around, especially if they are looking towards you.  

       The other way you can be found out is by sound. Being a ninja, you were trained to be as quiet as possible, so moving around generally makes very little noise. Running however will make quite a racket, and anyone nearby will hear it. In the first play through of the game you can see how far the sound travels out from its source. The game indicates this by a transparent white circle that moves outwards from the source. So its omnidirectional, but in a 2D space (if that makes sense); and I think it does because if you think about it, the idea feels right. It makes sense when you play the game and hardly needs explaining, it's easy to grasp. Which is a recurring theme around Mark of the Ninja's game play, and this why I think the game does very well.

       Now its all well and good that you can see the sound visibly, but how does it affect the game play? I'll use an example; in the image to  

the left. Here you'll see two guards, and our ninja protagonist perched on a hanging platform just above. By the feet of one of the guards is the source of the sound (I'll explain later what it is). Now you can see by the outline how far the sound went, and that the guard is in that area. The smaller yellow circle around the guard indicates that he has heard something, and the fainter yellow circle is where he thinks he heard it. So you can imagine how this works now. Using something that makes sound you can get a guard to turn away, so you can slip by, or murder him.

         One thing you'll have to remember though is how much sound you make, because if you noticed, the sound in this game travels through everything. Its one of the slight gripes I have with the game but its fairly minor, and actually makes game play better. In the picture above you'll see the outline goes into the floor. In another case perhaps its at a wall; the sound would go through it and into the next room for anyone to hear. Thus the real life physics of sound absorption is omitted (its not the only time this game does that). You'll find though that this has very niche but effective game play uses. For example getting the attention of a guard behind a door, so that he comes outside and you can sneak into the building without being spotted. Its a peculiar interaction, but its quite cool to think about.

       Now for actual gameplay, the how do I ninja bizz. Controls in Mark of the ninja are really quite simple, left analog for moving and right for looking around. A button for jump, X to punch/kick, and Y to use your tools (if you haven't noticed I used a xbox controller). Other buttons do things but i'll get to that in time. In the beginning of the game you don't have much, in fact you have nothing. So everything is 'vanilla' and as the game progresses more tools are added, more powers tapped, and techniques learned. Each level is story driven so there's no generic kind of mission, but I'll use the first level as an example. The first mission is to free your ninja brethren from the mercenaries, and is quite simple as most first levels are. In order to do so however you need to stay hidden, or you get caught and there's no one to free anyone else, logically. 

        So you have to hide, and there are a lot of places to do so. Much of each levels design is centered around how you can move through them. For example a hallway will have doors that you can hide behind. Allowing you to avoid detection by sensors and patrolling guards.  Simply done by pressing A next to one. There are many other things to hide in and on, trash dumps, garbage cans, pots, statues etc. For a normal person, hiding behind one of these isn't too hard, if whoever is looking for you isn't trying very hard. So a ninja with superhuman abilities should have no problems. 

      Suppose however you can't hide. There's a guard who just won't look away long enough, what do? In Mark of the ninja you have to often think about 'how can I get past this, and what can I use to do that?' In most cases your tools are immensely helpful. They allow you to distract and kill, depending on how you feel. Historically a ninja would not kill anyone but his/her mark, to avoid being caught; and it is possible to end every mission without killing anyone (save a select few). If you do choose to kill, there are many ways to do it. A wide variety of tools, and death blows are at your disposal. Assassinations are sometimes necessary, and they work like a combo. Input the combo correctly and the mark dies silently, but mess it up and whoever is dying will make a lot of noise.  It's oddly satisfying to flawlessly take down an entire task force alone. But it also comes at a cost. A cost to your score.

       Now it might be odd to think, there's a score system in a ninja stealth game. What the diddley doo for? To create balance, and options for the player. You could kill everyone and hide their bodies (for extra points, plus safety) or just leave them be. Not killing them is harder to do, if your plan is to stay unnoticed, but also gives greater reward. At the end of each mission your score is tallied, and the points come from how you interacted with the guards. Either he/she never noticed anything, got distracted by a noise or something you did, or died at your hands. For the system to be balanced, each has a different point value. Untouched give the most while dead give the least. Additionally extra bonus points come from not killing anyone, and distracting no one. They are much harder to achieve but are possible. 

      Most of the fun in the game play for me was being able to choose. It felt like I chose my own path. If a particular area was too hard to get by without killing, then I would go find a different way past. And my favorite thing about the games is its vast array of possible plays. There is absolutely no reason to play a level the same way ever, if you wanted to. It was also a lot of fun to be a ninja, in the way ninja's really were.

Audio + visual:

The game looks like a cartoon, there's no denying this. The visuals are bordered with a small out line to make it easier to see, which is nice in the relatively small amount of light. Only the foreground, and things you can interact with have these visible outlines. The rest of the scenery though is very much beautiful. Mark of the ninja makes use of multiple layered backgrounds, and I think its a cool way to depict a city. There are 5 different areas, with completely different visuals, and its a treat to just look at them sometimes. 

It's not generally a thing to do, but if you stop and look once in a while you can see how much detail goes into this game. Especially when you listen a bit. In a game with patrolling guards, most of their dialogue is simple and repeats over and over. In mark of the ninja the guards have a huge repertoire of lines, and they hardly ever repeat something you've heard before. I mean they don't exactly say anything that has any particular importance to the game, but its that level of detail they put into the little things that count.

     The music is also quite dynamic. Each level has some ambient music that's played in the background, but there are many occasions where it transitions out. For example if you get seen and the alarm goes off, the music becomes energized and really helps give that atmosphere of panic. And generally I enjoy the music, and how atmospheric it is.

      The art style in this game is amazing and is definitely one reason you should play it.

Final Thoughts:

      For me this game is amazing. There's so much option, and each play play through can be different from the last. There just so many small mechanics that just mesh together so well, and its clear the developers really spent a lot of time building the system. Plus the finale is just amazing, the atmosphere is just amazing.

     This game definitely for me deserves a spot in my top 10 favorite games, and I highly recommend anyone playing it regardless of whatever type of games you enjoy. 

If you asked me i'd give it a  9.5/10

Like every other game in the series, Dr. Mario Miracle Cure keeps the series tradition of eliminating viruses by matching them with like-colored pills (called Mega-Vitamins) in rows or columns of four or more. The pills can be rotated to better fit into certain areas, and if the entirety of the pill isn't vaporized, the remaining half will drop down toward the bottom of the bottle if it isn't blocked by an obstacle in its path. As you play, the bottle will fill with more and more viruses in each subsequent stage, with the drop speed of your pills increasing in later stages. Now if this were just a simple game of Dr. Mario, then I'd be done with my review right now, but it's not, and now I'll explain why.

This iteration of the series actually includes quite a few features from previous games in the series and even throws in a few brand new gameplay elements in order to keep things fresh and exciting. Starting by order of additions, we have the game mode called Virus Buster which actually first made its appearance in the DS game Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day as a bonus minigame. Virus Buster still goes by the same gameplay staple of connecting four viruses and pills of the same color to remove them from play, but the major difference is that the game is played with the stylus and two or even three pills can be dropped into play at once, although they fall at a fairly slow pace. Next is the Online mode which was introduced in Dr. Mario Online RX on the Wii. All it does is let you face a random player from somewhere around the world, or play against a friend on your 3DS's friend list. Then we have the game mode Dr. Luigi, which was introduced as the Operation L game mode in Dr. Luigi on the Wii U. This game mode drops two pills at once in the shape of the letter L with the long side of the shape often being comprised of all one color. This forced the player to think of new strategies as the unusual pill configuration and its large size made it difficult to maneuver in the confines of the bottle.

All in all, Dr. Mario Miracle Cure is a great entry to the franchise. It includes enough game modes to keep you busy for a long time to come and its new Miracle Cure power-ups make for a fine addition to the series. Hopefully we'll being seeing more of them in future installments, but until then, I'll be seeing you.

Score:

For today, I bring you The  Plan, by Krillbite studio. You may recognize Krillbite studio as the makers of Among the Sleep. If you've played Among the Sleep you probably have a pretty good idea of what this game is like and whether or not you will like it. Nonetheless I bring you the very first Free to Play Sunday: The Plan

Gameplay

To be frank, the gameplay is lacking. You need nothing more than wasd to play and there is no strategy or thought required to reach the end of the game. In fact, you could likely just hold w (while occasionally switching it up and going for d) and successfully reach the end. There are a few events, if they can even be called that, that lead you to believe that there are going to be more obstacles in your way, but I found myself disappointed when I realized that failure was not an option. Playing as a fly, I expected to have to handle a few tricky spiders, and while there were spider webs, there were no enemies to be seen. There is no way to lose this game and so technically there is no way to win this game; your only real options are to complete it or to quit.

Story

In all honesty I am not sure how I feel about the story of this game. I am stuck somewhere between "this is deep (I think)" and "that was boring." It makes me think back to high school when an English teacher of mine would insist that there was some deeply significant meaning behind the presence of oranges before all of the death scenes in The Godfather (maybe Francis Ford Coppola just had a thing for oranges). I won't give any spoilers, just in case you really want to play this game, but if I were being forced to write a paper on the meaning of this game I'm positive I'd get an "A" for discussing mortality and the finite nature of life. Though I have to admit that the ending made me chuckle, and then briefly question whether or not I was a bad person for finding humour in the situation when surely the feeling I was supposed to have was one more akin to melancholy.

Aesthetics

Despite the disappointing lack of gameplay, and my mixed feelings on the story, I found both the visuals and audio in this game to be spot on. I'll start by saying that the visuals were nothing entirely special. The art style was basically the popular artsy-indie-shadowy style, similar to what you would see in Limbo,  or Grimind, or even Never Alone, that being said the graphics suited the game well and I believe that any impact that this game has would have been lost if another style had been adopted. My favourite part of this game was hands down the audio. It was altogether lovely, relaxing, and atmospheric.

Final Thoughts

Once again I find myself with mixed feelings towards this game. I'm not sure if it's brilliantly or boringly simple. This game has very little replay value, but it takes under 10 minutes to complete and you can even get an achievement (if you're into that sort of thing). If you enjoy laid back games that are more like poetry than like epics then you may genuinely enjoy this game, but all in all it's a free game available on Steam so at the very least you should give The Plan a play and see for yourself. You don't have anything to lose after all!

Beyond Earth is what I found easier then V to get a grasp of; the tutorial is just a little bit more user-friendly and it is perfect for any new Civ players. Other then that though I found it not much better then V. It's somewhat shorter and easier to win with only a small amount of corporations and the "large" map not being as big as in the previous game. There isn't much advantage to being one race over another which is okay and the choices you make affect the outcome a lot more then any choices you would make in V but there are no mods, nothing strange like being able to be a facist dick to everyone and that is where Beyond Earth just doesn't shine like the other Civ games. Beyond Earth is V with a fancy coat of paint, different enemies and a more intuitive tutorial. If you're new to Civilization, buy it, but if you're a Civilization veteran and you don't have too much money to spend then leave it be and just get some more mods.

Besides, it's fun being a Nazi Russian warlord on Earth, and you can't do that in space....right?

• Shooters: Continually sprays ink as long as the fire button is held down. Comes in several different varieties that have different firing patterns and effects.
• Chargers: Long range weapon that fires further the longer the gun is charged from holding the fire button. Some of these also come with scopes for more accurate aiming.
• Rollers: Paints the ground with ink as you run as long as the fire button is held down. Can also throw ink a short distance in front of you so you can get higher platforms.
• Sloshers: Hurls large quantities of ink in an arcing pattering an average distance in front of you. Can be used like a mortar to aim over barriers that an opponent is hiding behind.
  
• Splatling: A gatling gun type weapon that rapidly fires ink an incredible distance in front of you after a short wind-up period. Not all that effective at spreading ink, but very useful for crowd control.
  

• Splat Bombs: Tetrahedron-shaped ink grenades that explode shortly after landing.
• Burst Bombs: Ink filled water balloons that explode on impact.
• Ink Mines: Explodes when in close proximity to an opponent.
• Disruptors: Hinders the speed and abilities of the affected target.
• Point Sensors: Tags an enemy with a tracking marker for a short time.
• Splash Walls: Acts as a wall and shield that only you and your teammates can pass through unaffected.
• Seekers: Can lock onto a target and chase them down trailing ink of your color behind them.
• Suction Bombs: Works similarly to the Splat Bombs, but can latch onto walls and ceilings with its suction cup.
• Squid Beakons: Gives you up to three one-time-use jump points so you can quickly get back into the fray.
• Sprinklers: Sprays a small area around it with ink until it is destroyed or until a new one is thrown.

• Bomb Rush: Allows you to throw bombs repeatedly without spending ink.
• Bubbler: Activates an impenetrable shield that can be shared with your teammates if they touch you.
• Echolocator: Tags ALL opponents with a tracking marker no matter how far away from each other they are.
• Inkzooka: Powerful rocket-launcher type weapon that fires mini ink tornadoes that plow through multiple targets.
• Killer Wail: Spreads no ink, but obliterates any opponent in a straight line in front of it.
• Kraken: Transforms you into the invincible Kraken which lays ink behind it as it swims and changes its jump into a strong attack.
• Inkstrike: A powerful nuke-like weapon that creates a towering cyclone of ink at wherever you tap on the Gamepad's screen.

• Regular Battles (For Fun)

1. Turf War: The purpose of this game mode is to cover the ground with as much of your own color of ink as possible in three minutes. Any ink sprayed onto walls and any opponents knocked out do not count toward your final score and your win/lose ratio is not recorded at the end of the match. This game mode is also the primary way to gain money for purchasing clothes and weapons, and experience that levels up your currently equipped clothes and your character allowing you to equip higher-leveled weapons.

• Ranked Battles (For Glory)

1. Splat Zones: This game mode is much like a territories match where you and your teammates try to take control of an area (or two) by spraying the enclosed area with ink and keeping control of it until your timer runs out or whoever has the least time left when the match timer runs out. Losing control of a zone to the enemy team adds a penalty timer onto your main one and it must run out before you can start lowering your time again.
2. Tower Control: This game mode is more like King of the Hill, but with a twist. You need to take control of a tower in the center of the map by standing on top of it, but once you gain control of it, it will start to slowly make its way to a location near the opposing team's spawn point. You win once the tower reaches its destination, or whoever got the tower closest when the time runs out.
3. Rainmaker: A Capture the Flag style game mode where you need to free a powerful dragonfish shaped weapon called the Rainmaker from an orb in the center of the map and carry it to a designated platform near the opponent's base. As long as you are carrying the Rainmaker, you cannot super-jump, your running and swimming speed are reduced, and you are visible while swimming. You are also subjected to a sixty second timer in which if you fail to deliver the weapon to the opponent's base before the timer runs out, you will explode in the opponent's ink color. However, you can use the Rainmaker like a stronger, chargeable Inkzooka to help you get to the opponent's base a little more easily. Secondary win conditions are the same as in Tower Control.

Two maps for each mode are only available to play at any one time and are rotated out every four hours according to an online clock that the game pings when connected to the internet. While the Regular Battles are a lot of fun to be had, the Ranked Battles (which can only be played after you reach level 10) are more geared for hardcore players as your rank will go up or down based on your wins and losses. The cash and experience you receive if you win the match is based on your score in the match and much better than in the Regular Battles, but if you happen to lose, you receive absolutely nothing. This game mode would probably best be played after you max out your inkling's level and equipment so you would have less to ultimately lose. Also, once your level reaches 20, you can add more bonus slots to weaker pieces of clothing that you like by talking to Spyke and paying him 30,000 in cash, or with a Super Sea Snail that you can win from Splat Fest.

Overall, Splatoon was a very nice surprise from Nintendo. They don't make many new big-name IP's any more, but when they do, they never seem to fail. Everything about the game is so perfectly polished and well designed. The gameplay is easy to pick up, the music is unique and fun to listen to, the game modes are varied enough that it rarely gets stale, and in order to improve the pacing and to artificially inflate the length of the game, content locked away on the disc (like new weapons and stages) gets released for free at specific dates along the game's lifespan via an online calendar. While this is a bit unorthodox, it is a smart way to keep the game from getting stale early in its life. SO, now I have one final question to ask you.

ARE YOU A KID, OR A SQUID?

But until then, I'll be seeing you.

Score:

So you've got no money. Your Steam library is crying out , "Gimme a new game pleaaassee". Well, I've got a free to play shooter like no other. These guys took some simple parkour, great shooting and a fair model and have created what I think is one of the best free games you can play right now.

The game I'm talking about is Dirty Bomb. At the time of writing this Dirty Bomb is in Open Beta. Which means that everything I say may not be representative of the final product. I however find the game finished enough to get a good impression of it. Any drastic changes at this point would make no sense anyway.

Played from the first person perspective, Dirty Bomb is a fast paced objective based shooter. 

The game features different Merc classes which are pretty traditional as far as team shooters go. Characters like the Commando, Sniper and Medic should feel familiar. All with their own abilities each one can turn the tides of battle in different situations. For example Skyhammer has the ability to call down an air strike which can effectively wipe a team if placed correctly. He can also resupply allies with ammunition when need be by throwing down an ammo bag.

This is the main screen when you get into the game. It shows your progress along with daily quests as well as whatever is going on in the world of Dirty Bomb. At the time of reviewing the Phantom was the featured Merc and is sold for real money. This is probably a decent time to talk about the game's Business Model. Dirty Bomb is built around classes which are represented by different Mercs. To start there are a couple free Mercs to let you play and then one can either invest time to earn in game money or spend real world money to acquire other Mercs. Frankly quite a fair model considering the amount of content you get for no cost. Additionally you will not be at a significant disadvantage playing the game without paying money, the characters are quite well balanced.

Once you've bought your Mercs and played a few games you will come into contact with cases which contain random load-out cards. Sorry there are no customizable load-outs. This system however works well and motivates me to play even more. After playing a fair bit I feel the need to get golden load-outs and get better guns for my Mercs. Also the suspense of opening a case is a feeling I can't describe but thoroughly enjoy.

Combat is fast and bloody, shooting can be long distance or close up and accuracy is rewarded. A few successful headshots will take down enemies quickly while body shots will prove almost useless in a lot of cases. Additionally enemies are only put into a crawling mode after initially taken down, they need to be damaged more to be actually killed. This allows time for allies to bring them back into the fight or for the medic to use her instant revive ability. 

 Here I am playing the Fragger class, who brings a heavier weapon to battle along with 2 grenades. He is used mostly for defending objective as throwing a grenade into an enemy diffusing your bomb will probably help a bit. Ill be honest, haven't played a lot of the other classes, mostly because I haven't purchased them or they aren't on the free rotation but also due to the attraction to blowing stuff up. I've also unlocked a gold class for the Fragger, so it can be cool to show that off in lobbies.

Unfortunately, Dirty Bomb isn't always great, it's something they need to work on. 

Remember how I told you about the free rotation of Mercs? At the time of writing the least balanced class(the phantom) is only available via purchase.   Now while the paywall makes it so that the character isn't super common in matches the fact that you can be an invisible sword wielding maniac is kinda OP. Imagine combining the Demo Knight's damage and the Spy's invisibility. Yeah, it's crazy. On another note the menu can be randomly glitchy at times. Now remember this is still a Beta build, but sometimes while matchmaking I will get booted from the screen even though I'm queued to join a server. 

Overall, I really like Dirty Bomb.

This twitchy tactical FREE shooter is the kind of thing I'm into. The collectability of cards and the leveling system motivates me to play while the rewarding gun play keeps me amused in games. While Dirty Bomb definitely isn't perfect(due to a few glitches and the business model being close to the best ever in free games) but i can look past all it's flaws for the combat just feels too dang good. The free experience as well, just rocks. I have spent no real world money at this point in time and I honestly don't feel like there is anything to be sought after(except maybe playing the temporarily OP character).

So yes, I am suggesting Dirty Bomb. Go play it. It's free of course. Put a few matches in, see if you can get friends to play or at least randoms who communicate and the experience is amplified by a lot.

Just remember to play the objective and all will go well!

When I first opened up the box, I noticed that the console itself is extremely lightweight; it feels like it could break very easily. Although, it looks very nice with its glossy sheen and it is well put together. The controller has a very unusual design however; it doesn't feel quite right in my hands and it has a digital joystick instead of a standard directional pad. Now as I went to boot up the system, I found that the controller wasn't synced with the console by default. Luckily I had a spare SNES controller that I could use to access the menus which allowed me to sync up the controller that came with it. After syncing, I browsed the menus and discovered that the system could be updated with a new version of the existing firmware. So, I grabbed an SD card, plugged it in to the back of the console, followed the onscreen instructions, took out the card, went to the official site, downloaded the update onto the card, put it back into the Retron 5 and finished the update. THIS is an egregious flaw in the system's design as this could easily have been done via WiFi. That being said, this tediousness was the biggest problem with it and everything else flows a little more smoothly.

The first game I decided to test on this thing was EarthBound for the SNES. Everything worked really well and the controls did what they were supposed to. Plus the system saves a state the first time you start a game up. So I played for a little while until I got far enough to save my progress and I discovered that the system has the ability to save a backup of your progress to the internal memory or the SD card if you so wish. So I did, and quit the game, but this is when I ran into my second problem: the Retron 5 doesn't have an eject switch for any of the five cartridge slots. While this usually isn't a problem in and of itself, but it was in this case because the console had one helluva death grip on my game. I'm sure that if you need to use excessive force in order to remove a game from its slot, then that is an indication that an eject button would have been sorely needed. It wasn't until later when I found out that the games come out more easily when you gently pull them out from one side at an angle.

Now because of how much force it took for me to remove my game from the cartridge slot, I feared that I might have damaged my precious copy of EarthBound. So as a second test, I tried out the game again on my SNES, and (unfortunately) I saw that my save file had been wiped clean. This pissed me off until I remembered that the Retron 5 saved a backup of my save file. So I reluctantly put the game back into the system and had the Retron rewrite the file onto the cart. Then came the moment of truth; I CAREFULLY removed EarthBound from the Retron 5, booted the game back up in my SNES and lo and behold, everything was all peachy-keen. Despite the problems I had, this is an extremely nice feature that I think all future cartridge-based consoles should have.

Next thing I tested was the built in Game Genie with the NES game Little Nemo: The Dream Master, at least, that's what I would like to say. As it turns out, the Game Genie codes had to be downloaded separately from the firmware update. I had to do all of that downloading crap again and it doesn't even work when there are too many cheats active at one time. There were some games that weren't even compatible with it as it was an early version of the list. At least the process is much more user-friendly than the firmware updates. The last thing I tested was the screenshot tool with the Famicom game Summer Carnival '92 RECCA. Not really much of big feature, but it is nice to able to save screenshots as a jpeg or png file.

Now I bet you're wondering, "This sounds a lot like a glorified emulator that can play cartridges," and well, you'd be half right. While it does emulate the console specs of the NES, SNES, Famicom, Sega Mega Drive and Game Boy Advance (and the Sega Master System with the help of Sega's Power Converter), it CANNOT play ROM files of any kind. "Then what's the point when I can just download an emulator and connect it to my TV?" you may ask. Well, my valued readers, let me ask you this: Can you backup your cartridge data from an emulator? Well no, but honestly, that feature of the Retron 5 (while nice) really isn't all that worth it since it can't even use any hardware features that might be built into the cartridge. If you get it as a gift, great. If you buy it with your own money though, don't spend more than $100 on it. I guess the new firmware update that allows you to patch games with ROM-hacks or translations might be nice. I would need to test that first though, but until then, I'll be seeing you.

Score

Submerged is minimalistic "relaxporation" adventure developed by Uppercut Games that puts you in a post-disaster world where you mosly scavenge for supplies to save a dying boy's life. Submerged is completely combat free and, instead, focuses all it's efforts on story and gameplay. With the post-apocalyptic art style of Enslaved: Odyssey to the West and the beauty and relaxed gameplay of Journey, will Submerged sink or swim?

Submerged begins with Miku and her wounded brother, Taku, arriving in a flooded and abandoned city in order to find supplies to keep Taku alive from his injuries.

The story seems simple enough and it remains that way until you begin finding story art cards that provide backstory on Miku and Taku before arriving in the city, and the flooded city as well.

I never really found myself caring all that much about Taku, but I did find myself very much caring about Miku and the city itself. I cared more about Miku's safety than Taku's, but that's probably because Taku spends the majority of the game lying on a bench and not doing anything. Though, to be fair, he is dying, but Miku's safety came first in my eyes.

The city's story and what happened to the people is also quite interesting. It's also quite interesting with how these stories unfold. You have to boat around the ruined city and collect story art cards that piece everything together, but you won't find them in order of story events. The story won't become completely clear until all the story cards have been collected.

Also, the developers created an entirely new language to further emphasize just how far society has fallen. If that's not impressive then I don't know what is. Though, I do have a gripe with the story. (The next tidbit isn't REALLY a spoiler, but rather, a broad statement with no specifics.) [spoiler]Over the course of Submerged, the game, begins heavily implying that there's going to an emotionally devastating ending that will leave you in tears, but there's a complete cop out. I wish it had gone with the course it was going because it was shaping up to be one of those endings you're going to remember forever; like Telltale's The Walking Dead and The Last of Us.[/spoiler]

Made with the Unreal 4 engine, Submerged, can look downright beautiful. The beauty is especially realized when the day becomes night and rain begins to pour down.

It's clear the developers knew just how beautiful the game is because there's a "Make Postcard" option that allows the player to stop time and rotate the camera around Miku and create absolutely gorgeous screenshots.

Allow me to put it like this: Submerged is so beautiful that I ended up using the "Make Postcard" option to take beautiful screenshots every time I was in game. Every time I started up the game; I saw something new and beautiful. Unfortunately, though, the graphics aren't perfect.

Upon closer inspection, some noticeable textures seem blurred and a bit dull. The framerate will even drop quite frequently and, seemingly, out of nowhere. At one moment, the framerate dropped so low that the entire game stopped and I thought it had crashed but, fortunately, it came back in a split second.

The gameplay in Submerged mainly consists of climbing and navigating the city streets with your boat. This creates a strong sense of relaxation.

Watching waves roar around as whales and dolphins swim by feels so relaxing. From an artistic standpoint, it's great, but from a gaming standpoint; not so much.

Sadly, the gameplay in Submerged gets redundant pretty quick. Gameplay in Submerged can be summarized in this order: boat, climb, collect ration; rinse and repeat. This was something I was afraid of and my fears were realized.

At first, I didn't think this would be an issue, but it slowly began feeling tedious and I realized that I wanted to do was sail around and admire the beauty. You can do just that, but you have to boat, climb, collect ration to progress the story. Once you complete the game, you unlock an "Explore" mode that allows you to explore the game world and collect missed story cards and boat upgrades free from distractions. This was my favorite aspect of gameplay.

The soundtrack is where Submerged REALLY shines. Composed by BAFTA-Award Winner Jeff Van Dyck, Submerged's soundtrack is hauntingly beautiful and intensely elevates the sense that you are alone in this post-apocalyptic world.

From somber melodies to more uplifting tracks, Submerged's soundtrack is one I hope to purchase and listen to whenever. It's quite amazing to stand on the edge of a decaying ruin with nothing but the wind and a quiet song playing evoking many emotions.

Submerged is just one of those games that help further the proof that video games are capable of becoming high art, but the redundant gameplay and weak ending hold Submerged back from realizing it's true potential. This beautiful apocalypse accompanied by gorgeous visuals and a haunting soundtrack makes Submerged an experience I won't soon forget.

If you care for the artistic nature of Submerged then I highly recommend it to you, but if you don't care about any of that then this may not be for you. Otherwise, Submerged is an experience worth checking out.

Sigma Star Saga is a dual genre RPG/Shoot-em-up developed by WayForward Technologies and released for the Game Boy Advance in August of 2005. In it, you play as Ian Recker, a skilled fighter pilot for Earth's forces, who is tasked with infiltrating the ranks of an extraterrestrial species known as the Krill who attacked Earth by boiling away its oceans killing almost all life on the surface. While undercover, Recker meets Psyme, a female Krill that outfits him with a parasite suit that gives him enhanced strength and speed and allows him to interface with the Krill's living spaceships, which is where the game's main mechanics come into play.\r

The RPG part of the game works in a very unusual, but surprisingly logical way. In order to make sure the Krill (and Recker by extension) are safe during a mission on another planet's surface, the Krill scramble the battleships in low orbit above the planet to scout for intruders, but because the ships are unintelligent living beings much like cattle, they scare very easily. As such, they warp in a nearby pilot to help them rid of whatever is causing their distress a la Random Encounter. While piloting a ship, the game plays like a side-scrolling shmup much like Gradius or Sky Kid, but once all of the enemies in the battle are destroyed, you are rewarded with some experience points and the ship will quickly warp you back to the overworld shortly afterward.\r

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The overworld map on the other hand plays VERY different than what I was expecting for an RPG endeavor. Unlike most RPG's, your character does not engage in battle while walking around the map. Any and all enemies shown in the overworld are nothing more than obstacles that block your progression forward and most can easily be taken out with Recker's gun. Another thing that makes this very different is the fact that Recker can find permanent power-ups on the map for both himself and whatever ship that may beam him aboard. While Recker's abilities stack in the fashion of Metroid, your ship's power-ups are customizable allowing you to better fit your play style.\r

All in all, I had fun with this game, but it isn't for everybody. It is a very nice change of pace for fans of the shmup genre, but RPG fans may have a hard time getting into the battle segments due to them being much more action oriented, and the fact that the story can be overly complicated at times. But if you're the kind of person that plays through a game multiple times, then you'd probably enjoy the multiple endings and New Game +. It even has an extra secret ending if you manage to complete it 100%. If you have the time, you should definitely check this game out, but until then, I'll be seeing you.

Score

Blues and Bullets is a story driven episodic adventure that puts you in the shoes of Elliot Ness, a retired cop that gets dragged back into the life he thought he left behind. Developed by A Crowd of Monsters, Blues and Bullets is a unique blend of Telltale's The Walking Dead's gameplay and L.A. Noire's tone and themes while still maintaining it's own identity.

Blues and Bullets' story is very well executed that takes some of the common cliches found in Noir drama and adds a new spin on it.

The overall plot deals with the heavy subjects of murder, mutilation, torture, and revenge – topics that can only make a good story if executed perfectly.

The story follows Elliot Ness, a former cop and now diner owner, as he gets pulled into a job by Al Capone. The story isn't as straight forward as it seems with curveballs being thrown at you to keep you on your toes.

Elliot himself is surprisingly charismatic and likable with realistic motives and the personality of a retired law enforcement officer just trying to live the rest of his days happily. Though, not everyone's life can be so happy and it seems Elliot's can't be either.

The developers have done a fantastic job of keeping the Noir story in balance with the tone and atmosphere they have created with the soundtrack and visual style. This looks to be one of those stories that sticks with you long after you've experienced it all the way through.

The graphics in Blues and Bullets are rather impressive considering the engine it was made with, but boasts an even more impressive art style.

If you are a fan of the Sin City films, then you are going to love the visuals in Blues and Bullets. The game mainly features a black and white art style, but with accents of red to show off smaller details – and blood, lots and lots of blood.

The graphics just ooze with Noir mystery that will make you want to investigate every item of the environment to unlock back story and reveal more about the world the game takes place in, but the graphics aren't without their own flaws.

Some of the animations within the game are stiff and robotic, and lips won't always match up to some character's dialogue. Blues and Bullets isn't very well optimized either, with only 4 changeable graphical settings; Resolution, Full Screen, Quality, and Visual Effects. Because of this, I had trouble playing through Blues and Bullets at a stable FPS.

Don't expect to be just walking around and talking to people like similar games of this genre. Blues and Bullets does a fairly well job of including exciting action set pieces that don't feel tacked on with no rhyme or reason.

On top of investigating and shooting, you will also piece together a gruesome murder to figure out how to proceed with Al Capone's task. This was a gameplay element I was pleasantly surprised to see and I hope it is used again in future episodes.

There are also quick time events with Blues and Bullets. It's understandable to be turned off by this element, but there aren't many and they are fairly easy to accomplish once you've encountered them.

The soundtrack of Blues and Bullets fits the tone of the game perfectly.

Ranging from more lively upbeat songs to more quiet and somber tracks.

The same can be said for the voice acting. No one phones it in here and all the actors make this feel like you are actually watching a Noir film drama.

Also, the voice of Geralt from The Witcher series voices Elliot Ness, which is a great addition. Elliot's sort-of-not-really sidekick who accompany's him throughout the majority of the game has a more softer and down to Earth voice which is a great contrast to Elliot's gruff monotone voice.

Overall, I very much enjoyed my time with Blues and Bullets and will eagerly await the release of episode 2. The developers were able to succesfully blend everything great about Noir mystery dramas and turn it into a fantastic game.

The story, the graphics, and the gameplay tied up neatly with great voice acting and a stellar soundtrack make for an incredible experience that I won't be forgetting anytime soon, regardless of it's minor flaws.