Tag: action-adventure

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Game Reviews

We Review: Batman: Arkham Origins

From the fantastic voice work to the hard-hitting combat system, Rocksteady Studios’ Batman: Arkham series is at the zenith of modern superhero games. In fact, 2009’s Batman: Arkham Asylum held the Guinness World Record for “Most Critically Acclaimed Superhero Game Ever”. In 2011, Arkham City improved on its already fantastic predecessor, giving players the freedom to roam the dangerous streets of Gotham.

They say “third time’s a charm” and developer Warner Bros. Games Montréal has the unenviable task of ensuring that Batman: Arkham Origins lives up to the series’ pedigree. Will this outing to Gotham City be remembered as one of Batman’s most memorable moments or a dark blight on what has been a great series so far?

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Game Reviews

We Review: Beyond: Two Souls

I wonder if David Cage revels in being different? His studio Quantic Dream makes games different (and differently) from their peers. With the 2010 psychological thriller Heavy Rain, the studio orchestrated a coming-together of video games and film noir. In 2012, Kara the short film showed off their advanced graphics and motion capturing technology. And in 2013, Beyond: Two Souls they create their own concept of a modern adventure game that not only places emphasis on the themes of love, loss, and consequence but gets an injection of super-natural action, a top-notch Hollywood cast, and a story that spans 15 years. Seems like a great setup then, but is this form of interactive movie worth your time and money?

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Featured Game Reviews

We Review: The Last of Us

Naughty Dog hardly needs no introduction to the PS3 gamer. The much-loved creators of the Uncharted franchise has been thrilling audiences with the derring-do antics of Nathan Drake since 2007. To date, the Uncharted franchise has sold over 13 million copies and Naughty Dog has garnered a number of accolades, including over 200 “Game of the Year” awards for 2009’s Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.

Four years later, and Naughty Dog is back in the spotlight, but this time Nathan Drake isn’t laying waste to the population of a small country. The Last of Us is a new IP that takes us in a different direction, to a much darker time and place. With Naughty Dog’s track record, there is little risk of getting a clunker, so the pertinent question should be, “Just how *good* is The Last of Us?” Find out after the jump.

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Game Reviews

We Review: Remember Me

Neo-Paris. 2084. Privacy is a thing of the past, and personal memories are commodities that can be bought and sold in the open. Frighteningly, they can be stolen, or even altered by memory hunters. Not only are they able to remix memories, they are also elite fighters who can kick the cheese out of your croissant in 50,000 ways. Parisian game developers, DONTNOD Entertainment, attempt to connect these intriguing ideas together in their début action-adventure beat-em-up, Remember Me. Are the memories worth it, or should we be asking for a mind wipe?

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Awesomeness Featured Game Reviews

We Review: Tomb Raider

Lara Croft is back. Crystal Dynamics, best known for developing Legacy of Kain, were tasked with rebooting the venerable Tomb Raider series. Thanks to their efforts, we see a whole new side to the much-loved Lara Croft, and it’s “M” for mature.

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Featured Game Reviews

We Review: Darksiders 2

I loved the first Darksiders. From the whodunnit storyline, to the dungeon crawling, to the hacks and slashes, the experience was surprising as it was thrilling. I am a man of simple needs and when I heard that a sequel was in development, I would have been extremely happy to play one with mechanics similar to the first, just with a different character. But without change there is no progress as some people would say. And in Darksiders 2, Vigil Games were not horsing around when they added wholly new gameplay elements to the mix. Do these new elements dilute the experience? Do they welcome new types of players to the game but alienate others? Does bigger mean it’s better? Let’s dance with Death and find out.

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Awesomeness Featured

We Review: Sleeping Dogs

I know Vancouver-based studio United Front Games for its less-cuter-than-LBP racer, ModNation Racers. They show that they’re nothing if not versatile with their latest game, the open-world action-adventure game Sleeping Dogs. With many of the game’s mechanics reminiscent of Grand Theft Auto, Batman, and Assassin’s Creed, does the developer combine these ingredients into a hearty tale of crime and punishment? Or is it more of a dog’s breakfast? Find out as my review continues after the jump.

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Featured Game Reviews

We Review: Uncharted: Golden Abyss

The Uncharted franchise is considered by many as the crown jewel of high-definition gaming on the PlayStation 3 platform’s regalia. It has won numerous awards from fans and industry players alike, and it’s no surprise that Sony looked to it to lead the valiant charge of launch titles onto the PS Vita (reviewed here). So, in Uncharted: Golden Abyss wise-cracking treasure hunter Nathan Drake shoots his way onto Sony’s newest handheld gaming console. Is the experience up to the lofty standards that have been set by the previous Uncharted games? Has the essence of Uncharted been distilled into the pocket-sized console? Let’s find out.

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Game Reviews

We Review: NeverDead

Konami and developer Rebellion Developments have gone out on a limb with NeverDead and its bizarre mechanic. Without hearing anything else about the game, the ability to rip off your appendages and fling them at enemies had certainly piqued my interest. If you’re reading this I can assume you may be that way inclined too. So, has Rebellion Developments succeeded in converting this novel idea into a worthwhile game or has it shot itself in the foot? Let’s find out after the cut.

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Game Reviews Site Announcements

We Review: Dark Souls

Dark Souls - Character

Hard, difficult, frustrating, troublesome, tough, problematic, arduous, herculean, vexing, trying, backbreaking, grueling, challenging, tricky, rough, rocky, baffling, fractious, and down-right embarrassing [Ed: You forgot ‘soul crushingly infuriating’]. These are all synonyms for Dark Souls. In the Oxford English dictionary under the word ‘difficult’, the definition simply says; ‘Dark Souls’. I have never played anything like it; it’s unique. At first I used all the above words and many unprintable ones to describe it, often at the top of my voice and sometimes through my teeth, hissing in frustration. But with time I gradually found other words for Dark Souls; reward, respect, learn, skill, elation, win, gratifying, gain, reach, advance, make headway, satisfying, enjoy, rise, and earn it! Find out how Dark Souls beat me down, tore me a new one, and then slowly built me back up and won me over… after the jump.

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