Cam Shea
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Writing For
IGNLatest Reviews
It may be a very short diversion, but Donut County is a delight. It’s absolutely brimming with personality, has a killer soundtrack and visual aesthetic, and is based on an irresistible gameplay hook. I’d have loved more, but I guess I’ll just settle for playing through it again.
SteamWorld Dig 2 retains the original’s addictive resource-gathering gameplay, but supplements it with a gorgeously detailed, handcrafted world. Its heady mix of exploration, combat, platforming, and puzzle solving, alongside an expansive set of abilities and mods gives it plenty of variety and a great gameplay rhythm. I wish there was more to do once the campaign ends, but that’s a testament to the fact that what is here is just about pitch perfect.
Assault Android Cactus is an energising shooter experience. Each level, character and enemy brings something fresh to the game, and the end result is chaotic, polished, packed with variety and effortlessly charming. I had a huge amount of fun just trying to top my own high scores and experimenting with the different protagonists, let alone making an impact on the global leaderboards, so it really does feel like there's something for everyone.
From a distance, Crypt of the NecroDancer seems like a very mathematical game. The logic used to dispatch enemies should ideally play out like a neat algorithm, flawlessly executed once you know their patterns and how to manipulate them. That’s not how it works, of course, as the dungeons are complicated, chaotic things, and players are forced to move at the whim of the soundtrack’s tempo, with little room for error. Logic meets chaos. It’s a tension evident in many games, and it’s exemplified wonderfully here.
There’s essentially no limit to how good you can get at OlliOlli 2. Just when you’ve mastered beating levels in a single combo and timing every single grind and manual perfectly, there are a host of other mechanics to integrate into your skating to bump that high score even further skyward. Why land in a boring old manual when you could revert into it? Why do a standard trick or grind when you could add a rotation or pull off something more complex with a longer – and riskier - animation? And hey, are you grind switching on every rail you can? It’s an impressively layered game, and does a great job of tapping deep into the skater psyche, where an obsession with tricks and effortless style intersect.
Hohokum is the latest title in a long lineage of artistically inclined, thoroughly unique PlayStation exclusives. From Vib Ribbon through to LocoRoco, Flower, Tokyo Jungle, Sound Shapes and more, it’s in good company, and deserves to be uttered in the same breath as those much-loved cult classics.
Rogue Legacy is one of my favourite games of 2013 so far. It’s a hugely compelling mix of 2D action-platforming and Roguelike game design, with excellent pixel art and just the right level of challenge. It’s the wildly inventive traits system, however – and the fact that it’s meaningful – that really elevates Rogue Legacy. This is a game with a genuinely unique hook, and the gameplay stones to back it up. Clever, creative, and addictive as hell.
It's a shame that Dishonored's story isn't greater than the sum of its decidedly memorable parts, but its gameplay absolutely is. Each mission is built as an elaborate network of choices for players to explore, and the same can be said for Corvo himself. Each player's selection of powers, perks and other upgrades will inform how they see and interact with this world, and no two play-throughs will be exactly the same. Dishonored is a game you'll talk with your friends about, and that you'll want to play multiple times. In this game there are always other paths to be taken and other challenges to conquer, and that's a refreshing thing indeed.
Brotherhood is a great game, but it’s hard to wholeheartedly recommend. This is really a title designed for fans of Assassin’s Creed II, as it’s a continuation of that story, but the reality is that people who finished that game want something new – or that at least represents a clear step forward. Brotherhood doesn’t deliver that. The game doesn’t advance the wider narrative very far, the new mechanics don’t really add a great deal and the mission designs rarely explore new gameplay possibilities. That said, Brotherhood really looks the part, with a step up in the graphics department – particularly on PS3, and a massive and varied city to explore. It also introduces an innovative multiplayer suite, for which the team(s) should be applauded. At the end of the day, it depends what you’re looking for. If you’re new to Assassin’s Creed, this is a solid entry, but picking up the threads of the convoluted story may be a challenge. If you’re an experienced assassin, on the other hand, expect to tread pretty similar ground to the last title.
Brotherhood is a great game, but it’s hard to wholeheartedly recommend. This is really a title designed for fans of Assassin’s Creed II, as it’s a continuation of that story, but the reality is that people who finished that game want something new – or that at least represents a clear step forward. Brotherhood doesn’t deliver that. The game doesn’t advance the wider narrative very far, the new mechanics don’t really add a great deal and the mission designs rarely explore new gameplay possibilities. That said, Brotherhood really looks the part, with a step up in the graphics department – particularly on PS3, and a massive and varied city to explore. It also introduces an innovative multiplayer suite, for which the team(s) should be applauded. At the end of the day, it depends what you’re looking for. If you’re new to Assassin’s Creed, this is a solid entry, but picking up the threads of the convoluted story may be a challenge. If you’re an experienced assassin, on the other hand, expect to tread pretty similar ground to the last title.