Review : L.A. Noire

Rockstar is on a hell of a roll.  Last year they released Red Dead Redemption and it was praised by critics(including myself).  This year they’ve released L.A. Noire and while you might have considered Red Dead something along the lines of grand theft horse, L.A. Noire doesn’t invoke quite the same feelings.  You play a detective.  You’re finally on the side of the law Rockstar usually has chasing you down.  And while you might expect that to mean you are going to be a corrupt and flawed individual, it’s not nearly to the level you might expect.

Review : Portal 2

They did it on a whim really.  Maybe it looked like the collection was a tad light.  Valve had this little project they’d picked up.  It started as a game called Narbacular Drop and became what we know today as Portal.  They didn’t know it would be the success it was.  In fact, it was placed in The Orange Box for that very reason.  It was an experiment.  Today we know the experiment was a success.

But the real question is whether they can take a short game like Portal and turn it into a full fledged experience worthy of being all by itself.

The short answer is absolutely.  Read on for my review.

Review : Alan Wake (and The Signal)

Alan Wake was one of the most anticipated titles of 2010. The studio, Remedy, had the pedigree of producing the Max Payne series. Gamers the world over waited with bated breath for the release of Alan Wake. Microsoft pushed the title hard. They secured it as a system exclusive and served as the publisher. Then the damn thing tanked. The sad thing is it had nothing to do with the quality of the game. It released the same week as Red Dead Redemption.

It’s hard to say why gamers flocked so willingly to Red Dead Redemption over Alan Wake. They are both excellent games. But one thing is certainly true. It’s hard to really show you what Alan Wake is without giving away too much. The marketing campaign had to be a careful ballet, building hype for the game without ruining it for you. In the mean time Red Dead Redemption can show you all kinds of scenes that make good comparisons to Eastwood style westerns. It’s unfair considering the excellence of Alan Wake.

Review : Mass Effect 2 – Arrival DLC

You haven’t heard from Admiral Tackett(voiced by Lance Henriksen) since before you died.  You aren’t in the Alliance military anymore.  They refuse to act on the threat of the reapers.  Cerberus, an organization you learned nothing but bad news about during your quest against Saren, are now your only ally.  So when you are contacted by the Admiral Tackett to ask a favor and that this favor involves potential proof of the reaper threat, it’s a little jarring.

The Admiral has lost an operative named Dr. Amanda Kenson.  She’s been captured and imprisoned by the Batarians.  You are asked to go and save her.  But you can’t take a team this time.  You have to go it alone.  Prepare to learn how useful your squad members have been(or useless depending on how you play).

I’m not dead…

I know, I haven’t posted a review in a while.  I’ve been extremely busy with my day job.  I had finished Dragon Age, started Dragon Age II and then gave up on finishing that.  I’m too busy with work to give it a fair shake.  So I’m currently playing back through Mass Effect 2 during my down time from work.

What I can give you is a short “what to expect” out of the eventual reviews.  Dragon Age was a flawed game but more fun than I expected.  There were some terrible situations forced on the player and they actually give the experience some real meaty consequences for the choices you make.  Dragon Age II is an excellent game that throws out nearly everything you did in the first game and nullifies it.  It can make veterans of the license feel cheated, but from what I’ve played it’s a far better game in the gameplay and visuals department(on consoles anyway).

And Mass Effect 2 is still excellent.  I might try and drop a review of the new DLC Arrival as a quick review since I’ll be playing that in the next few days.

Shoop

Review : Z.H.P. Unlosing Ranger vs. Darkdeath Evilman

If you’ve never heard of the genre “roguelike”, you wouldn’t be the only one.  You might recognize the description.  These are role playing games where the dungeons are randomized, the combat is usually turn based and death is more or less permanent.  Some are extraordinarily hard while others(such as the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series) are not too bad.  Now you might think that Nippon Ichi Software would truly bring a new meaning of pain with the company’s first outing with the roguelike genre.  But ZHP arrives as a surprisingly well balanced and approachable game.

Review : God of War – Ghost of Sparta

If you’ve played God of War 3, you might be wondering just where they can go with the storyline of this excellent game series.  No one expected another God of War this soon and no one expected another PSP release.  Here at the end of the PSP’s life and with only a trickle of games coming out, Kratos arrives to give your PSP just a bit more play before you shelve it again.