Reviews
Review: Bastion
Score: Great
Difficulty played on: No difficulty options
Time to beat: Around 10 hours
Platforms: Xbox Live Arcade, PC
Loved the most: Totally unique presentation.
Hated the most: Not enough incentive to activate difficulty modifying idols.
You’d be forgiven if you hadn’t heard of Supergiant Games before; after all, Bastion–a $15 downloadable title–is the studio’s first and only game to date. And frankly, if former GameSpot editor and fan favorite Greg Kasavin weren’t the team’s Creative Director, it’s doubtful that Bastion would have received anywhere near the press coverage it has. But if Kasavin and his team can keep up their devotion to utterly unique game-worlds that are both visually and aurally appealing, as well as continue to support them with simple to learn, hard to master gameplay, I have no doubt that we’ll all know this studio very well before too long.
Author: Cody
Review: Outland
Score: Great
Difficulty Played On: No Difficulty Options
Time to Beat: 8 Hours
Platforms: Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network
Loved the Most: Excellent sense of movement and control that makes just moving from one place to another entertaining.
Hated the Most: Lack of checkpoints during longer boss battles.
Wading through the mass of human bodies; attempting to avoid blindness and deafness from the various sources of over-stimulation that surrounded me. This was the experience of navigating the show floor at PAX East 2011. Just as the tidal wave of cosplayers and geeks was about to swallow me whole, I saw a glimmering light in the distance. “Safety!” I thought. But as I approached, it became clear that what I thought my savior was simply a large Bastion booth that had sprung up overnight. “I’ve already seen that game, and with a smaller line too!” I thought, as the oppressing odor of gamers who haven’t showered in three days began to overwhelm me again, and I knew I was soon to find myself underneath the blue foot of some Liara cosplayer. “But wait! What’s that? Another glimmer of light! And a short line to boot!” This light was no mere mirage, either. My savior had finally arrived in the form of Outland.
Author: RyanReview: Machinarium
Score: Great
Difficulty Played On: No difficulty options
Time to Beat: 7 hours
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux (soon to be on PSN, WiiWare, iPad)
Loved the Most: Great atmosphere provided by gorgeous visuals and unique soundtrack; hint system.
Hated the Most: Poorly implemented mini-games.
The adventure game genre is one that is steeped in tradition. For good reason too. Many of the best games of the 80s and early 90s were LuasArts and Sierra adventure games. Games like Maniac Mansion, King’s Quest, the Monkey Island series, and Day of the Tentacle defined an entire genre and the experience of an entire generation of gamers. So to release an entirely original adventure game that doesn’t feel like a simple re-hash of those classics is quite the challenge indeed. And to release an adventure game today that actually stays true to its roots while also streamlining and improving upon some of the more dated mechanics found in the genre seems nigh on impossible. Yet, here comes indie developer Amanita Design to renew all of our faith by creating Machinarium, an absolutely gorgeous, quirky, cute, and clever point-and-click adventure game that does just that.
Author: RyanReview: L.A. Noire
Score: Meh
Difficulty played on: No difficulty options
Time to beat: 18-19 hours with a good portion of side-missions
Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3
Loved the most: The seedy characters and story that make it a noir experience.
Hated the most: All of the gameplay mechanics are shallow and none of them are that fun.
The release of Duke Nukem Forever probably overshadows the realization of any other notorious vaporware this year (or ever), so it might come as a surprise to some of you that Team Bondi’s L.A. Noire was seven years in the making before it was finally printed on its three discs (360 version only) and shipped. Of course, Team Bondi received more than a little help from publisher Rockstar along the way, and this detective thriller oozes the distinct Rockstar flavor that the company has cultivated ever since Grand Theft Auto IV. So if you value obscenely authentic game-worlds and three dimensional characters over half-way fun game mechanics, then you’ll probably enjoy L.A. Noire; if you want to have your fedora and wear it too, then you might be left wanting more.
Author: CodyReview: Crysis 2
He's crying on the inside.
Score: Meh
Difficulty played on: Veteran (2nd hardest of 4 settings)
Time to beat: 11 hours
Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC
Loved the most: Fine balance between feeling like a super-soldier and feeling vulnerable.
Hated the most: Every facet of the game lacks character.
Back in 2007, a studio that made its name on the open-ended freedom of Far Cry took that formula and applied it to Crysis, a game that many gamers still use as the benchmark for high-end graphics. Fast-forward to 2011 and Crytek has traded the tropical islands of their previous games for the concrete jungle of New York City in Crysis 2. But if the range of gameplay in this game reflects all there is to do in the Big Apple, then I’ve been severely misinformed about the city’s offerings. Quite simply, the urban setting has turned this once proud series into nothing more than a solid Shooter with a stealth option.
Author: CodyReview: Portal 2
A game of this caliber deserves some classy box art to go with it.
Score: Classic
Difficulty played on: No difficulty options
Time to beat: 9.5 hours for single-player, 7 hours for co-op
Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC
Loved the most: An astounding variety of puzzle types that are doled out at a perfect pace.
Hated the most: The boss fight should have been more difficult.
If you’re anything like me, then you probably thought Valve put out one of the funniest, most original, and all around best games ever with 2007′s Portal. This also means that you probably had some reservations about Portal 2 living up to that incredibly lofty standard, especially given the dangerous levels of hype Valve created with one of the more thorough marketing campaigns I’ve seen in recent years. But you know how Valve went and made Half-Life 2 better than Half-Life? Yup–they’ve done it again.
Author: CodyReview: Bulletstorm
Score: Meh
Difficulty played on: Hard (second hardest of four settings)
Time to beat: 9 hours
Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Loved the most: The absurdly juvenile vibe that permeates both dialogue and gameplay.
Hated the most: Disappointing lack of depth to the much-hyped skillshot system.
In the interest of full disclosure, I should let you know that Bulletstorm is a game which requires an online pass unless it is purchased new. I got it through GameFly and did not purchase the pass, missing out on six Echoes (score-attack) maps and a silver colored leash. I’m really bummed about that leash, but I somehow doubt it would have been enough to change my assessment of the game.
Author: CodyReview: Beyond Good & Evil HD
Score: Superb
Difficulty played on: No difficulty options
Time to beat: Roughly 13 hours
Loved the most: An absurd amount of gameplay variety that’s all developed well.
Hated the most: I suppose it could have been a little more difficult.
Beyond Good & Evil is one of those cult hits like Psychonauts that you probably missed when it first came out, and despite how horrible you feel as a human being every day for having not played it, you manage to finagle just enough excuses out of your ashamed soul to justify calling yourself a gamer. But there are no more excuses left with the HD re-release on Xbox Live Arcade for all of $10. Simply put, Beyond Good & Evil is still an unforgettable experience, and had the re-release added a little more than a higher resolution, I’d be hard-pressed not to give this game InsaneBear’s first “Classic” score in two years of operation.
Author: CodyReview: Dead Space 2
Score: Great
Difficulty played on: Normal
Time to beat: Roughly 11 hours
Loved the most: Stunningly gorgeous lighting that makes for a distinct visual style.
Hated the most: The weak and confusing story that really starts to drag in the last third of the game.
Of the several new IPs EA pushed in 2008, Visceral Games’ horrific Dead Space turned out to be the biggest success, and now it has the sequel to prove it. Having never played the original myself, I can’t make direct comparisons, but Dead Space 2 does seem to build on its predecessor’s core elements while maintaining a positively superb level of polish. However, it is important to note that the franchise’s second entry is more of an Action game than a Survival-Horror title, which may upset some fans of the original. Still, for what it is, Dead Space 2 is a very entertaining game with some noticeable flaws that hold it back from being truly memorable.
Author: CodyReview: Stacking
Score: Mediocre
Difficulty played on: No difficulty options
Time to beat: 7 hours for close to 100% completion
Loved the most: Unique and consistent aesthetic direction.
Hated the most: Either the utter lack of anything remotely funny (coming from Double Fine!) or the most annoying title screen music I’ve ever heard.
Hot of the (roller) heels of October’s delightful Costume Quest, Tim Schafer’s Double Fine Studios has released one of the most aesthetically original games in the history of the industry with Stacking, a game based on Russian Matryoshka dolls. The gamble pays off with one of the most authentic and quirky game-worlds you’ll ever occupy, but unlike the developer’s previous foray into the downloadable market, Stacking just doesn’t have enough fun or funny to support the unique world. Simply put, this title doesn’t “stack up” to the Double Fine standard we’ve come to know, and it has me sincerely concerned for the quality of their next game.
Author: Cody
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