I'm not a gamer anymore. I used to play a lot, and now I play 1-2 hours a week at the most. I now do tons of cycling. If you're interested in that stuff, check out my facebook for more info. ______________________________________
Concept:
Team up with three other human robbers (or AI, if you hate yourself and want to know true misery) to pull off six cinematic heists.
Graphics:
This looks decidedly last-gen at times, but the presentation gets the job done. Picking out enemies and critical objects against the environment is almost never a problem.
Sound:
Guns have no weight to their effects, and the voiceovers are terrible. You’ll mostly be listening to your teammates over voice comm anyway, though.
Playability:
The lightning-quick action requires a quick trigger finger and good situational awareness, both of which are easy to develop with the excellent controls and UI.
Entertainment:
This is an unmitigated disaster as a single-player game and some matchmaking would have been nice, but these epic heists are a unique thrill if you can round up a few decent co-op buddies.
Dawn of War 2: Retribution is a great strategy game, and at its price point of $30 there’s simply no excuse not to pick it up if you’re a fan of the series or have been curious to check it out. It makes warfare into something violently beautiful, and pays homage to the nerdy lore that Warhammer fans like me can’t get enough of.
8.5 Presentation
Everything from the menus to the intermission dialogue is true to the 40k universe, and is clearly a labor of love from Relic.
9.0 Graphics
Hands down Dawn of War 2 is still one of the best looking RTS games ever. The way it handles explosions and character models sets a high bar for other games.
8.5 Sound
The music is fitting, the voice acting as cheesy as it needs to be for the lore, and the explosions and gunfire sound great.
8.5 Gameplay
The campaign isn’t as great as the others, but it’s still good, and the mechanics are still fun as hell to play with.
I struggle with L.A. Noire, because at times I love it, yet it has some notable flaws. As a noir fan, I find moments that really get me grinning. There are certain cases that draw me in and side characters who eat up the scene. But it never adds up -- amazing pieces that don’t quite amount to an incredible game. At the same time, no one’s ever played a game like this before. And unless there’s a sequel, I doubt anyone will again for some time. Credit Rockstar for taking a huge risk, for succeeding in many areas, and for offering something fresh and different.
