Dan Stapleton
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Writing For
IGNLatest Reviews
Saints Row IV
With its recycled map and wildly overpowered abilities, playing Saints Row IV feels like a lot like enabling god-like cheat codes in Saints Row The Third and going nuts. Its ridiculous story, goofy characters, self-aware humor, and amazing character editor make it all work, especially for those of us who’ve...
I'm very pleased to see a good new RPG in this classic isometric style, and its The Dead Man's Switch story has some well-told twists while it lasts, and the light tactical combat has enough depth to make it a worthwhile adventure. But the bite-sized scope and limited choices available...
Viewed side by side, it might be tough to distinguish Company of Heroes 2 from its predecessor. When examined up close, the changes introduced to distinguish warfare on the Eastern Front of World War II from the Western are as problematic as they are interesting. However, that comparison is to...
In some ways I'd equate SimCity to an early version of Minecraft: a wonderfully creative toy attached to a barely functional game. The most important parts of something really cool are here already, and that's enough for me to recommend it to people with a tolerance for buggy but beautiful...
Gears Tactics is an excellent turn-based tactics game that does a superb job of melding Gears’ famous style and action with the mechanics laid down by XCOM. It’s one intense and satisfying tactical battle after another, and it looks absolutely fantastic doing it. It does slightly wear out its welcome...
It’s absolutely fun to play as mutant Jaws on steroids! Maneater chews the metaphorical scenery as often as it has you devouring humans and the diverse aquatic inhabitants of the Gulf of Mexico, and that’s some good dumb entertainment – for a while. But if you’re wondering whether its shallow...
Monster Train is a ticket to dozens – if not hundreds – of hours of challenging and surprising roguelike deckbuilding runs, thanks in large part to its mechanically diverse set of decks and the way they interact with each other when combined in different ways. This spin on the idea...
Orcs Must Die! 3 is a respectable, if long-overdue followup to the excellent Orcs Must Die! 2, but it feels more like an expansion to the 2012 game than a true revival or sequel. It’s certainly worthwhile for the 18 new and challenging maps it comes with, but its selection...
Just like all the previous Serious Sam games, the main idea in Serious Sam 4 is “But what if there were even more enemies?” There’s not much more to it than that. This style of run-and-gun action is definitely challenging, it’s just getting played out, and the returns on the...
The Legendary Edition’s version of the original Mass Effect updates the first game of BioWare’s amazing sci-fi RPG trilogy enough that a modern audience can play through it and enjoy its spectacular story and characters without being asked to suffer much for the privilege. Combat and driving sections are still...
Blasting through the bright and cheery 1950s world of Destroy All Humans! is a simple but satisfying kind of fun, and there’s a lot to be said for that. Just like the original, this remaster’s comedy is a little hit or miss but its attitude is in full force all...
Everspace 2’s early access version is off to a great start, with enough mostly-polished content to allow for at least a dozen or so hours of gleeful blasting, puzzle-solving, and looting in space. Dropping its predecessor’s roguelike format feels like a good decision thanks to a promising story and a...
