The Last of Us - Review

The Last of Us is aptly named, not only because of its theme of humanity on the brink of extinction, but also for the fact it marks developer Naughty Dog’s almost assuredly last hurrah on the Playstation 3. After building their reputation as one of the most talented teams in the industry with the high flying adventure of the Uncharted trilogy, TLoU marks a huge change in both tone and focus. With such drastic change comes risk, and as much as it pains me to say it that risk is personified in the less than amazing gameplay found in their latest work. But despite this TLoU gets by on the sheer strength of its brilliant writing and character development. Naughty Dog has shown more and more that they know how to craft relatable and well rounded characters like few others, and this time they have truly outdone themselves. This is what makes The Last of Us special, and something that should be experienced.

Crysis 2 - Review

For many, the graphical powerhouse Crysis is more notorious for its tendency to bring even cutting edge PCs to their knees, than it is for its gameplay. While it offered tons of eye candy for those that could run it, the fact remained that most were forced to watch from the sidelines as it was simply impossible to play on anything but the best. But all that changes with Crysis 2, which marks the series debut on consoles and finally lets all those wondering about the series a chance to see what it’s all about. Unfortunately, it never quite lives up to its reputation.

Papers Please - Beta Impressions

Immigration agent is probably the last thing I would have expected to be cast as in a video game. Compared to storming castles, blowing up space stations, and the other epic feats we usually see in games, what fun could possibly be had sitting in a booth stamping passports? Well consider my previous expectations completely destroyed, as Papers Please is something all too amazing, both in the genius of its execution, and the fact that it works so well at all.

Dust: An Elysian Tail - Review

Games in what has become commonly referred to as the Metroidvania style are in no short supply these days, but it’s far more rare to find that any truly encompases and surpases the ones that gave the sub-genre its name. After so long, it’s becoming harder and harder to truly stand out in such a saturated genre, but to my complete and utter surprise the first project from indie developer Humble Hearts does exactly that. Dust: An Elysian Tail is a tour-de-force of breathtaking art and fine tuned gameplay, held together by a touching story of a lost soul trying to do what’s right, and an experience that is hard to forget! 

Machinarium - Review

From the rust-covered towers to the ever present and unsettling feeling that someone is watching you, Machinarium might at first glance appear a depressing and lonely game. But that couldn't be further from the truth, as in fact this story of a little robot that dared to step outside the lines is nothing if not full of hope. Hope, not only for the characters that inhabit it, but also for the point & click genre it so lovingly embodies. Smart and absolutely beautiful to behold, it’s an amazing experience from beginning to end.