Dan Stapleton
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Writing For
IGNLatest Reviews
Homeworld: The Remastered Collection does a fantastic job of polishing up and reintroducing these formerly hard-to-experience classic real-time strategy games. Over the 15 years since it first came out, these exciting, large-scale space battles haven’t been matched, much less surpassed, and its outstanding atmosphere and story can teach modern game...
Defense Grid 2’s new variations on the original’s excellent tower defense gameplay pulled me right back into the compulsively addictive quest to destroy all aliens with a minimum of expenditure. I don’t recommend the multiplayer and the story doesn’t even compare to the standard set by the original, but its...
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor stands out from other open-world action games by putting a great new layer on top of the trail that Batman blazed. I was surprised at how well it integrates its excellent combat with rewarding feedback and progression not just for me, but also for my enemies....
Infamous: First Light is a decent story around a better character than Second Son, but its battles don’t have the same scale or superpower variety that Second Son’s do. After the short campaign, its challenge maps put a new spin on combat by taking away your ability to escape danger...
Watch Dogs
One-button hacking might be overly simplistic, but it does give you abilities that make playing through Aiden’s story feel powerful and fun. Doing side missions and multiplayer as you make your way through the dark and lengthy story makes it feel like a huge adventure, and stealth options let you...
Cold, Cold Heart is a self-contained adventure that retells the familiar Mr. Freeze origin story. That's good news and bad news, because while Freeze's motivations are some of Batman's rogue's gallery's most sympathetic, this version sadly seems to have virtually no interest in putting a new spin on it. It's...
Goat Simulator isn’t much of a game, but it’s a hell of a good time. The small but dense map is packed with tons of jokes and bugs that should be seen rather than talked about, and there’s at least a few hours’ worth of entertainment in goofing around with...
Dead Rising 3
Dead Rising 3 doesn’t get by on its looks, but its meaty zombie-slaying combat and nearly endless supply of undead and ridiculous weapons go a long way. Through its lengthy campaign, I was always eager to see what crazy zombie-squishing contraption would come along next. It rarely disappointed, except when...
Contrast
Contrast is a game full of heart, beauty, and at least a few excellent puzzles. It’s at its best when it marries its poignant story to its platforming, and at its weakest when it’s about moving boxes, but it rarely goes very long without showing us something worth playing.
Batman games are like pizza: even when they’re not very good, they’re still pretty good. Next to Arkham City, Arkham Origins is a bit of a disappointment in its lack of new ideas and use of win buttons, making it the least interesting of the trilogy. But as excuses to...
Shadow Warrior
“Come for the shooting, stay for the swordfighting,” quips Lo Wang in one of his huge vocabulary of one-liner taunts. It’s good start for a description of the appeal of Shadow Warrior, but it leaves out the surprisingly good story and impressive length (get your minds out of the gutter!)...
Lost Planet 3
Lost Planet 3 at least has a respectable story and some combat variety to it, even if the pieces don’t always come together quite right. Jumping in and out of the mech keeps it from being just another cover-based shooter. If not for level design that’s full of frustrating inconsistencies,...
