Reviews Archives - Page 127 of 128

Empire: Total War Review: A Whiff Of Grapeshot

Hrm. An Empire: Total War review. Where to start, where to start… It’s tough! Tough like trying to sum up War & Peace in Haiku. But let’s give it a shot! Sega and The Creative Assembly’s Empire: Total War is dense. It takes the existing Total War game model of turn-based strategy and real-time tactics,…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 18, 2009

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Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars Review: Huang In A Million

Rockstar Games brings murder, mayhem, and a miniature Liberty City to the Nintendo DS with Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, the developer’s first outing on the mega-hit dual-screen portable platform. In Chinatown Wars, Liberty City welcomes Huang Lee, the spoiled rotten son of a Chinese Triad crime syndicate leader. Lee journeys to the city to…

By Michael McWhertor Published March 17, 2009

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Puzzle Quest: Galactrix PC Review: Lost In Space

Infinite Interactive takes its innovative mix of role-playing and puzzle games to the stars with Puzzle Quest: Galactrix. The follow up to 2007’s smash hit Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, Galactrix takes the blend of role-playing mechanics and puzzle game to a whole new frontier, replacing the fantasy role-playing adventure of the first title…

By Mike Fahey Published March 16, 2009

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Peggle XBLA Review: Extreme Fever!!!

PopCap Games‘ Peggle comes to Xbox Live Arcade, bringing the super powered pachinko-esque, point and shoot gameplay to Xbox 360s. It’s incredibly addictive, the aim of PopCap’s casual games. Peggle‘s concept is simple: fire metal balls from a cannon, destroying colored pegs with the help of talking unicorns and skateboarding beavers, ultimately resulting in a…

By Michael McWhertor Published March 13, 2009

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Resident Evil 5 Review: A Mutation of Fun

It’s unfortunate that before its launch Resident Evil 5 became about everything, but the game. The most hotly debated questions had little to do with what should matter most to gamers: Is it fun? In Resident Evil 5, Chris Redfield returns, no longer a member of STARS, but as a member of the Bioterrorism Security…

By Brian Crecente Published March 12, 2009

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Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon Review: Party On, Marth

Nintendo has given Western audiences a chance to experience the very first entry in the 19-year-old series with Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, a remake of Fire Emblem, originally released on the Famicom. Those who haven’t followed the Fire Emblem series, now 11 iterations deep, will likely recognize the game’s lead protagonist Marth, who has guest…

By Michael McWhertor Published March 8, 2009

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Watchmen: The End Is Nigh Micro-Review: The End Can’t Come Soon Enough

Watchmen (the movie) comes out today. Seen it yet? Going to see it? If you find yourself nodding “yes”, then you’re just the kind of person Watchmen (the game) is targeted at. But are you the type of person who is going to enjoy Watchmen (the game)? Well now, that depends. On a number of…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 6, 2009

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50 Cent: Blood On The Sand Review: In Da Club Of Da Crystal Skull

Rapper 50 Cent and his G-Unit sidekicks have returned, ready to shoot scores of generic Middle Easterners in 50 Cent: Blood On The Sand. The ultimate goal? Get Fiddy’s paycheck, a diamond-encrusted skull. Obviously, the real motivation behind the game is to give 50 Cent an opportunity to make amends for the generally miserable last-generation…

By Michael McWhertor Published March 3, 2009

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Killzone 2 Review: A PS3 Must Have

In the PlayStation 3 exclusive Killzone 2, players take the fight to the red-eyed Helghast, invading their barren home planet of Helghan to try and capture the warmongering leader Emperor Scolar Visari. It is, on its surface, a big ball of science fiction and video game cliches, but what first-person shooter isn’t? What matters here…

By Brian Crecente Published February 27, 2009

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Dawn Of War II Review: Once More, With Tyranids

Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War was a big hit. Relic’s next game, Company of Heroes, was even better. So the company’s next game, Dawn of War II, will continue the trend, yes? Sort of. Fans of Relic’s previous two games will be surprised to find that Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War II bears little resemblance…

By Luke Plunkett Published February 26, 2009

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The House Of The Dead: Overkill Review: A Blast From The Past

Sega’s classic shooter franchise meets 70’s exploitation horror in The House of the Dead: Overkill for the Nintendo Wii. Developer Headstrong re-imagines the House of the Dead franchise in Overkill, a prequel to the series that takes us back to a simpler time, when men were men, women were half-naked, and black policemen use the…

By Mike Fahey Published February 25, 2009

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Dapple Micro-Review: A Rainbow for the Colorblind

Some have estimated that one in 20 gamers are colorblind. I’m one of them. Dapple was brought to my attention last week as a game specifically designed to include colorblind players. Optimizing for a 5 percent minority is not a step many would think to take. Especially when the game is a matching puzzle based…

By Owen Good Published February 24, 2009

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Halo Wars Review: A Fistful of Spartans

Halo has been safely nesting in the loving hands of Bungie for more than seven years. And it’s excelled as a first-person shooter, proving finally that you can make a great shooter on a console. In Halo Wars, gamers return to the beloved Xbox franchise to explore its early days in a real-time strategy title…

By Brian Crecente Published February 23, 2009

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Afro Samurai Review: Hip Hop Hack and Slash

Hip-hop sensibilities and anime style clash in Afro Samurai, a hack and slash brawler based on the cult-hit animated television series. Afro Samurai follows the story of Afro, a samurai on a life-long quest to avenge his father’s death, set against the backdrop of a futuristic feudal Japan, where traditional Japanese sensibilities mingle with hip-hop…

By Mike Fahey Published February 20, 2009

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F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin Review: Scary Made Simple

After two unofficial expansions from TimeGate Studios, developer Monolith Productions returns to the series they made famous with F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin. F.E.A.R. 2 ignores the two TimeGate expansions, instead picking up more or less exactly where F.E.A.R.: First Encounter Assault Recon left off, with the creepy psychic entity known as Alma understandably angry after…

By Mike Fahey Published February 19, 2009

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Street Fighter IV Review: Seth’s Soliloquy

When I interviewed Street Fighter IV producer Yoshinori Ono last year about the game, I was on the Street Fighter wagon. Fight club free for more years than I could remember. Despite a heavy addiction to the game back in the Street Fighter II days, the growing complexity of the franchise, the increased focus on…

By Brian Crecente Published February 18, 2009

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Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost And Damned Review

The Lost And Damned is Rockstar Games’ first downloadable episode for Grand Theft Auto IV, an Xbox 360 exclusive expansion to the blockbuster 2008 release that introduces players to all new lowlifes and scumbags. Gone (well, almost) is GTA IV leading man Niko Bellic, replaced by a gang of Liberty City natives with their own…

By Michael McWhertor Published February 17, 2009

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Flower Micro-Review: All We Are Is Dust In The Wind

Flower is an odd proposition. Just like thatgamecompany’s last title, flOw, it’s not really a game. It’s a relaxant, suited more for a 3am slump on the couch than a 3-hour session after work. And like flOw, Flower is sure to again divide critics and gamers alike. While the basic structure of a game is…

By Luke Plunkett Published February 10, 2009

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Puzzle Quest: The Battle Of Grulkar Micro-Review: A Piece Of The Puzzle

D3publisher takes the award-winning combination of roleplaying game and gem-based puzzler and brings it to the iPhone with Puzzle Quest: The Battle of Grulkar. Rather than release the entire game in one large chunk, D3 and TransGaming instead decided to split the original Puzzle Quest and its expansion, Bane of the Plague Lord, into three…

By Mike Fahey Published February 2, 2009

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Star Ocean: Second Evolution Review: Calm Seas Ahead

Square Enix continues its seemingly unrelenting stream of RPG remakes with the release of Star Ocean: Second Evolution for the PSP, an update to the classic PlayStation title Star Ocean: The Second Story. Second Evolution picks up the Star Ocean story 20 years after the first game, following the adventures of Claude C. Kenni, the…

By Mike Fahey Published January 29, 2009