Latest Reviews
Rift
Trion has come out of the gate swinging with Rift. There are flaws -- it's a game that will overwhelm anyone who hasn't experienced an MMO before, and it brings little new to the genre -- but to my mind the quality of the content, the detail of the world,...
Longtime fans will surely find a lot that's familiar in Shogun 2, but will also find Creative Assembly's most polished, well-presented and playable version of its Total War franchise. Shogun 2 is an expertly tuned turn-based strategy game filled with exhilarating real-time tactical battles against a capable artificial intelligence or...
I liked Homefront a lot, and yet I acknowledge that the aspects of the game I like the most aren’t the most important in determining whether the game is great or not. Homefront is certainly one of the most unique shooters I’ve ever played, driven by an ingenious and...
Yakuza 4
Yakuza 4 has some fun gameplay, cool moments and tons to do. However, it also has a really dated vibe and a cumbersome story. For me, the weak tale and repetition in actions and leveling drag the experience down and make it something that's just "Okay."
Dragon Age II
Every modification to the gameplay and structure of Dragon Age II is a clear improvement over the previous game. The combat is more responsive and bloody, you don’t need to fight the inventory system anymore, and conversations are more engaging thanks to the adapted Mass Effect wheel. There are...
It might not be enough, of course, to sway players who weren't pulled in the first time around. Frankly, if it didn't interest you then, it might not now either. Of course, they'd be ignoring a trend-setting, rounded and entertaining adventure game. Given the lower price and upped quality of...
Fight Night Champion gets the boxing right and adds a flawed but enjoyable story mode. I've always put a lot of stock in career modes, but Legacy mode here is just downright bad. The mini-games are too tough and get boring fast. The entire concept just seems off. What should...
Bulletstorm demonstrates the value of "why" for action games. Taken out of the context of its fiction, People Can Fly would have something fun but forgettable on their hands, but the way Bulletstorm fits together results in something cool and memorable. Multiplayer failings notwithstanding, Bulletstorm shines as a single-player shooter....
That's de Blob 2. It's just a charming and fairly straightforward platformer that wears its all-ages appeal on its kaleidoscopic sleeve. Everything is bubbly and bright and freewheeling – and the gameplay is largely very good. It's also a sometimes frustratingly overprotective experience that points towards its youth appeal –...
Test Drive Unlimited 2 had promise, but the final product didn't come together for this online racer. I'm a fan of games that give you control of your character's life (see: buying houses, decorating, pimping sweet rides), but the driving is missing the raw energy it needs to stay interesting...
Stacking
Stacking is chock full of charm, humor, and fun puzzles. Though some of the solutions are really easy, if you avoid the hint system it’ll take some time to decipher some of the harder ones. If all you want to do is run through the story without trying other solutions,...
Plants vs. Zombies is charming and addictive, standing right up there with the best of PopCap's offerings like Peggle. It has that elusive "special something" that gets its hooks in you and convinces you to forego food, sleep, and other essentials just to see what the next level has in...
