Reviews Archives - Page 128 of 128

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

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The Maw Micro-review: A Frank And His Blob

Twisted Pixel Games’ The Maw is a 3D puzzle-platformer, starring the titular Maw and his newly befriended alien pal Frank. The two escape their evil captors, only to go on a gameplay binge. The Maw‘s gimmick, as it were, is the title character’s ability to eat, expand and absorb the abilities of the lifeforms it…

By Michael McWhertor Published January 23, 2009

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The Lord of the Rings: Conquest Review: Not So Much

When we first heard that Pandemic Studios was working on an action game based on The Lord of the Rings, we weren’t just excited, we were a bit giddy. The idea seemed like a good one: Give the people who made Star Wars: Battlefront the license to create a similar game using The Lord of…

By Brian Crecente Published January 19, 2009

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Lumines Supernova Review: Still Shinin’

Q Entertainment’s sound and lightshow-cum-puzzle game Lumines was one of the breakout hits for the PSP. It has since been ported to everything possible, including the PlayStation 3. Does Lumines Supernova bring anything new? Fortunately, yes. While the color-matching, Tetris-like gameplay is unchanged, a few new modes make Lumines Supernova a worthwhile entry in the…

By Michael McWhertor Published January 13, 2009

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Rolando Micro Review: The iPhone’s Better LocoRoco

I’ve been all over the place on Rolando. When I first saw the idea for this LocoRoco-esque iPhone game I was eager to play. When it finally arrived, it struck me as too LocoRoco. But a tilt-control puzzle game with catchy music and interesting art should be a sure thing, right? Loved Concept: Combing the…

By Brian Crecente Published January 9, 2009

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Meteos Wars Micro-Review: Make It Rain

Q Entertainment has given its Nintendo DS puzzler Meteos new life on Xbox Live Arcade with Meteos Wars. Why the “Wars” distinction? It’s certainly no bloodier than the standard Meteos (or even Meteos Disney Magic.) In fact, Meteos Wars doesn’t do much to distinguish itself from the 2005 game it’s based upon. The color-matching block…

By Michael McWhertor Published December 31, 2008

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Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars: Hardcore Returns to the Wii

Gamecock does one thing really well: Promote video games. The thing is, their excellent cheer leading skills don’t always mean they publish good games. In fact, they haven’t really published many good games at all this year. And each time another dud passed across my desk and little part of me died, because I knew…

By Brian Crecente Published December 30, 2008

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Dissidia: Final Fantasy Import Review: The [Evil] Emperor’s New [Suit of Armor]

When we were children, we wanted two things: a Super Mario Bros. movie and a Final Fantasy fighting game; we got one of those things, and it made us wish we were dead. Today, fifteen years later, we have the other one. Does it make us wish we were dead — or does it make…

By Tim Rogers Published December 29, 2008