Der Ungrund

This is probably the oldest game that I still fire up for multiplayer on occasion (and, yeah, people are still playing it a full decade after its release, if you're curious). It might have my favorite capture the flag of any FPS as the combination of lightsabers, conventional weapons, and force powers add layers of strategy to the game that other FPS' lack. Sure, "Team Fortress 2" CTF probably has more depth over all, but I find it less fun to play, personally, as being stuck in one class can get tiring. Jedi Academy CTF flag is like TF2, only every player has all the benefits of every TF2 class, so your role will be determined by the strategy you employ rather than class selection.

On top of this, while the single player is a bit cheesy and no where as good as the previous Jedi Knight games, Jedi Academy is, hands down, the absolute pinnacle of lightsaber combat in a video game. Basically every Star Wars game ever has tried it, but it's distressing how so many have gotten it completely wrong. The last two Jedi Knight games were the only ones to ever nail it: it's fast, fluid, looks awesome, and has just enough complexity to allow for strategic play, but not so much that it becomes an impairment.

Anyhow, this rec is meant as a bit of a requiem given that Disney just shut down Lucas Arts for good. This, sadly, means that we probably aren't going to see another "Jedi Knight" game again. However, the shuttering of Lucas Arts allowed Raven to finally release the source code for Jedi Knight 2 and Jedi Academy, so hopefully modders will be able to do some awesome stuff with these games in the near future.

Especially after "The Walking Dead" game, there's really not a whole lot you can do with the zombie genre storytelling wise. Which is maybe why playing "Deadlight" feels kind of been there done that. There's a group of survivors, you get separated from them, you spend the game searching for your family. People heroically sacrifice themselves, or alternately, beg you to kill them so they don't become a zombie....etc, etc. All of this stuff is kind of becoming a bit cliché, especially since it's all been done so well elsewhere before this (again, "The Walking Dead"). The ending manages its own twist which is kind of nice, but most of the game up to that point is pretty underwhelming.

Gameplay wise it's basically "Prince of Persia" with zombies, but it also doesn't do much that's original with that concept. There are a few physics puzzles and annoying timed jumping sequences, but mostly it's a pretty straightforward platformer with not a whole lot that's memorable about it. And considering that I was able to beat the entire thing in 3 hours, "15 dollars" is grossly overpriced (if for some reason you really want to play this, I say wait until it's 75% off).

Totally mediocre.

To appropriate a phrase that Pauline Kael used to describe "Aliens," Dead Space is a "Boo Game." It's basically just you wandering around a ship and every few yards or so a monster will pop out and say "boo!" over and over and over again. Occasionally there is a kind of interesting boss fight, but "boo!" is like 75% of the game and it gets old really fast.

I honestly don't understand why these games are popular. The controls are sluggish, the action is slow, the gameplay is repetitive, and the levels are mostly just tedious corridors leading to even more corridors without a whole lot of range of movement. The scarcity of ammo is kind of a nice touch, I guess, as it at least gives the game a more desperate feel and highlights the "survival" in survival horror, but that's really the only thing nice that I can think of to say about this game.

A fun trivia fact: this was the first game I ever bought on Steam (not counting Half Life 2 and Orange Box, of course, which I bought retail years before). So I guess there's that.

The gameplay is top notch. The stealth, but especially the combat, are much improved since the first game. The fluidity of its "easy to learn, hard to master" combat mechanics puts stuff like "Assassin's Creed" (with its silly hold block until you can counter kill simplicity) to shame. In fact, I'm hard pressed to think of another third person game which has better hand to hand combat than "Batman: AC."

The open world is a nice touch too, even though alot of the side quests are kind of a pain and best left alone given that they tend to be of the "find x number of hidden objects on a map, then fight a boss" variety. The main plot is better, but never really matches the highs of "Arkham Asylum." It tries to cram every single Batman villain ever into one overarching storyline, and not only does this stretch credulity even in comic book terms, but individual segments feel rushed and lack the depth of "Arkham Asylum" (which focused on relatively fewer villains).

Still, if you approach it more as a series of slightly interrelated episodes rather than one grand story the game works much better. Despite its flaws it surpasses the original in most respects and in terms of pure gameplay might be the best third person action game on the market; definitely more polished, better made, and way more fun than any given Assassin's Creed game.

This game made fun of me for having no life because I played it alone at 2am. Never has a video game been more percipient.

Not as bad as some make it out to be, but a disappointment after the nearly perfect "Thief 2." There are some great individual parts here ("the Cradle," for example, is a very effective haunted orphanage level that presages stuff like "Amnesia" in various ways) and the game still plays more or less the same as the previous two, but unfortunately it can't move beyond its terrible engine. Like "Deus Ex: Invisible War" (another disappointing early 2000s follow up to a classic game), T:DS uses the Unreal 2 engine, which means levels are divided up into tiny hubs with MASSIVE load times between each (undoubtedly at least partly a concession to memory limitations of the XBOX at the time). Not only does this make the game's open world portions a headache to navigate (imagine playing "Assassin's Creed" only to have the game pause and load for 60 seconds every time you travel 50 feet), but it also completely ruins the previous games' best feature, replacing the massive, intricately designed, maze-like levels with more economical (and boring) affairs.

Still, it's not an awful game, just an interesting example of the fact that when it comes to game engines "newer" is not always better. While it was definitely showing its age at the time when it came to graphical "wow" factor, the Dark Engine was way more versatile and adaptive to what the designers where trying to do here than Unreal 2. So it's a shame that they abandoned it (although I imagine the decision was mostly just because Unreal 2 was more console friendly than Dark Engine).

Such an ambitious game that it's kind of hard to fault it for its flaws, of which there are many. It starts out as a pretty generic military shooter, but ends up morphing into a very dark retelling of "Heart of Darkness." The main characters are as generic as they come, but this ultimately becomes more forgivable as the game progresses and it slowly works itself into a sort of sly commentary on the genre of military shooters as a whole (and the light it sheds on them isn't exactly a positive one).

But then there's the gameplay which is, unfortunately, just plain generic. There are 2 or 3 awesome sequences, but mostly it's a surprisingly vanilla affair, without any of the wit or depth of other cover shooters like "Bulletstorm" or "Mass Effect." So by the end the gameplay sections just became a chore to slog through in order to see the next cut scene. Still, the game is short enough (took me 8 hours on suicide difficulty) that the gameplay is mostly worth putting up with, even as its plot makes some late game twists that don't always make sense. And even when its plot falters, its tone and thematic focus remain strong, creating a sort of oppressive sense of horror and dread which is rare in video games (much less, military shooters).

Plus, the use of licensed music was a nice touch (something I wish more games beyond just GTA would do).

I've never been a big fan of the TV show or the Comic, but this is much better. Not that the writing is leaps and bounds beyond the (often awful) writing of the TV show, but the element of choice adds a good deal of fun and entertainment to the proceedings that the other mediums lacked. So if, for example, you find a particular character to be annoying, chances are you'll be able to decide their fates at some point and allow them to become zombie chow. If the TV show had allowed me to do that 75% of the characters would have been dead by the end of season 1.

For an adventure game this is surprisingly light on the puzzles and the qt sequences can be annoying, but like I said the real reason to play is the real time decision making. Plus, the stats at the end of each episode telling you how your decisions compared to other players are a nice touch.

I complained in my earlier recs of Risen and Gothic that Piranha Bytes has yet to nail an ending, but that's only because I'd yet to play Gothic 2. Not only do they (mostly) nail the ending (setting up an interesting questline where you hunt and kill several dragons before recruiting a crack team of adventurers to help you hunt down the big bad), but the game leading up to that point is pretty much a near perfect ARPG: massive open world (which includes not only the entirety of Gothic 1, but 2 more equally huge maps), no level scaling, tons to do and kill. The storyline is mostly just passable, but the game's strength is really more in open world exploration combined with the tension brought on by the fact that for most of the game you are very out leveled and thus could die at any moment. I'm a sucker for story so I still probably prefer the Witcher series to this, but in terms of pure gameplay there's probably no better ARPG on the market than Gothic 2.

Maybe the best all around Avernum on steam (or at least until Avernum 2 and 3 show up in some form). If you've never played an Avernum it might be best to start with "Escape From the Pit," but Avernum 6 is probably a stronger game overall. Like EFTP it's very open world (although a few areas are closed off at the start), but it's biggest advantage is in its stat system, which uses the older skill based system that EFTP abandons in favor of a more simplistic skill tree model. Plus, unlike Avernums 4 and 5 (which had trouble justifying their existences plot wise), the writing is great, setting the game in a sprawling kingdom in decline and exploring some darker themes like drug addiction, famine, and terrorism.

A great end to the series.

Most underrated game of the year? This is nowhere as bad as the reviews claimed. In fact, it's pretty good. It does have faults: very linear, mediocre level design, and very few NPCs make the game world kind of boring. However, the combat is pretty good (especially if you play on hard) and the character builds are different enough from eachother to make more than one playthrough worth while. But the real reason to play this is the storyline. I'm a big fan of the books and I was actually kind of impressed how the writers for this managed to replicate pretty accurately everything that is great about the books, without seeming like they are merely rehashing pre-existing storylines. It even had a couple twists that genuinely surprised me, which was nice.

There might be better RPGs out there in terms of gameplay, but if you like the GOT universe or just like games that put story before all else (even, sometimes, at the cost of gameplay) then this is well worth a playthrough.

A strange combination of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "Citizen Kane," and a push puzzle game. Which might sound terrible, but the results are pretty awesome. Although there are mini-puzzles to solve, it's really more an "interactive story" than a game, per se, but the "story" elements are top notch and even kind of revolutionary, considering that this was made in RPG Maker. It's rare that any piece of storytelling uses its medium to the fullest to achieve its ends so well.

It is heavy on the sentimentality at times, but usually it's smart enough to pull back with a bit of humor, or a non-sequitor, or just a genuinely well observed piece of writing before things venture into "maudlin" territory. Over all, though, it is very well written.

Has it's flaws, but I think everything great about this game (and it's one of my favorites) can be summed up by just describing one scene. In it you are taken to a party and told to mingle with guests. After a bit it becomes clear that all the partygoers (many political players) have individual motives, political agendas, and detailed backstories, yet, and this is the brilliant thing, none of this is ever spelled out fully. Characters don't pull you to the side and participate in Bioware style, "this is my history" Q&A sessions. And your own confidants can't be trusted either. So Instead you are left to glean motives by paying attention to off hand remarks, by reading between the lines, and by watching people interact with others. Nothing is spelled out for you. Instead you are just dumped into the middle of a politically living world and forced to interpret things as you will. And it's a facinating, well written, and subtly conveyed enough world that you will want to.

It's hard not to love a game that begins with its protagonist hanging himself in an insane asylum, but "Call of Cthulhu" never really realizes its potential. To be fair, it is a bit before its time. Some of its segments nail exactly the sort of "run and hide from the monsters" tension that later survival horror games like "Amnesia" ultimately perfected (COC even used the "insanity" game mechanic long before "Penumbra/Amnesia"). But for every effective sequence there are 2 or 3 that suck all tension out of the game and result in frustration. It wants to be all things at once: an adventure game, a stealth game, a first person shooter, and even a (terrible) platformer. But it only ever really nails the "adventure" aspect so when it tries to be anything else enjoyment stops dead in its tracks.

Which is unfortunate as ultimately the story is interesting (and you'll probably want to play this anyway if you are a Lovecraft fan). But mostly a missed opportunity.

Amazing level design. The levels are labyrinthine and ingenious. Some individual levels in this (The Sword, to name just one) are some of the most interesting I've ever played. Likewise, there are no quest markers and you are usually only given a crudely drawn map (if even that) to find your way around, which is a refreshing change of pace compared to newer games. The result is that while this is billed as a "stealth" game (and it definitely is) I'd say the biggest element of gameplay is navigating your way around huge levels and solving various puzzles. This could very well suck, but luckily the levels themselves are well designed enough to keep things interesting.

Unfortunately the game stumbles somewhat (and begins to show its age) when you run into the combat segments. I'm still not entirely sure why the designers thought this game needed zombies as it works perfectly fine as just a stealth/exploration game. But luckily this is (mostly) not enough to ruin a great game.

Pretty unessential. The plot is self contained and answers no burning questions left over from the core game (mostly because there really are none). It's basically just a retread of the core game (more shadowy conspiracy organizations doing evil things, only this time they are just tangentially related to the main plot). Likewise, gameplay is more of the same as well, only it's nearly all combat with next to no dialogue. There's maybe one big choice you can make which ultimately doesn't affect the outcome much.

I did kind of enjoy the challenge of getting the "play the entire DLC without using mods or weapons" achievement, but it's a bit sad that the most interesting thing about this is an achievement.

So basically if you don't already own this there's not a whole lot of reason to get it. Even completists might want to avoid it as it takes place, chronologically, in the middle of the game yet is a standalone, so playing it after the fact is kind of anti-climactic.

Crazy difficult WW2 stealth game. Plays like a cross between "Hitman" and the old "Commandos" games, but it also has some unique twists on the genre that make it stand out. The missions are nicely varied, complex, and are refreshingly light on the hand holding. Often times you are dumped in a field outside of a city with nothing but a map, leaving you to tackle objectives as you wish. Likewise, while it's not quite the ultra realistic stealth game I've always been dreaming of, there are some nice nods to reality here and there (for example, you can't wear uniforms if you've bloodied them and guards will sometimes recognize you regardless of your disguise). Of course it does have the silly "choke dude for 2 seconds, dude sleeps for hours" mechanic, but there are also dozens of more realistic ways to take people out as well, so it's optional.

The writing is dry, production values are low, and it has some bugs, but it's worth a try if you want stealth that's a bit more demanding.

One of the best RPGs I've ever played. It's every bit as good as the late 1990s infinity engine classics from which it draws its inspiration (in fact, it even rivals my beloved "Fallout 2" on many levels).

The gameplay, plot, and writing are all top notch, but its biggest success is how it handles choice and consequences. There are 5 separate factions, each with their own political and moral opinions, quests, storylines, and endings. Every choice you make in the game affects how these factions view you, which makes political maneuvering a dimension of gameplay every bit as important as outright combat. Playing the various factions off of each other, allying with them, or betraying them, is endlessly entertaining and there are very few games which balance open world freedom of choice with complexity of plot as well as this one.

An awesome end to one of the best RPG series ever. If you only play one game in the Geneforge series it should be this one.

An incredibly mixed bag. Its very deep stat system and occasionally interesting challenge areas and boss fights are quite good, but ultimately these highlights are overcome by extreme linearity, way too many trash mobs, next to no plot, and one of the worst cases of hitpoint bloat I have ever seen in a game (late game there are some random enemies with 4,000 hitpoints. Given that the average character can do 50-100 points of damage per turn, you can work out the problem here). I really love spiderweb games, so I hate to bash this, but this is probably their worst.

Of couse I still forced myself to finish the whole thing on torment difficulty, but that's only because I'm a total OCD, power gaming, masochist (and for all the game's faults, it is refreshingly difficult). Normal people who demand things like "enjoyment" and "entertainment" from their video games (novel concepts, I know) need not apply. Or better yet just play one of the other Avernum games (most of which are way better).

Both heartfelt and cerebral, a solid platformer as well as a very sharp and entirely self-aware deconstruction of platforming as a genre. People throw deconstruction around as a cheap buzz word, but here it actually applies. "Braid" quite literally and systematically disassembles the most common and basic mechanics of the past 30 years of platformers and both isolates and reassembles them in new ways on a level by level basis--all leading up to its brilliant twist ending which turns the conventional narrative of the genre completely on its head.

Plus, it's one of very few games which use "game mechanics" and "gameplay" as languages and means of expression in their own right. You can learn as much of the philosophical nature of time and paradox just from playing Braid as you could from an entire undergrad course on the topics, not to mention about more ephemeral topics such as the nature of love, obsession, and regret.

Pretentious? Maybe. But luckily it's also fun to play as well.

If you want to experience "Bastion" save yourself the money and just play "Spiral Knights" while having a friend narrate everything you do in a faux Ron Perlman/Tom Waits voice, occasionally stopping to play a Cat Power song on your CD player. That would about sum it up. It's really not so much a game as it is a kind of neat gimmick (i.e. the voice over) tacked on to the most mediocre ARPG ever created. Of course the typical formula for an indie game these days is "retro gameplay + a gimmick = success" and there are much worse games (and, indeed, much worse gimmicks) out there than "Bastion." But I really can't think of another game that is more grossly overrated than "Bastion" is. Once the novelty of the voice over wears off it really doesn't have much which would distinguish it from the literally scores of free-to-play, browser based, ARPGs out there (except, maybe, the backstory which is, by turns, both half baked and over wrought). Don't see what the fuss was about with this one.

For me this is one of those games that it's almost impossible to take an objective perspective on just because it made such a profound impact on me at a young age. Could it be one of the best adventure games ever made? Most definitely. Maybe even in the top 5. If I had to put on my objective hat and evaluate it I would be forced to admit that it does have some wonky puzzles at times (particularly in the first chapter) and a few instances of somewhat awkward massive exposition dump (particularly the first time you get to Arcadia), but the world it creates, its characters, and more importantly, the way it introduces you to and draws you into that world puts this game in a class all its own--not only among adventure games, but video games in general.

Anyhow, regardless of its position in the history of gaming as a whole, I do think it's safe to say that there's probably no better adventure game on steam than this. So if you've yet to play it do so now.

One of the more genuinely strange games I've ever played--made all the more strange by the fact that it doesn't seem to be cribbing from any familiar sources (at least that I am aware of) to construct its game world. You play a guy who is cast out of his tribe after murdering your hermaphroditic Father/Mother under mysterious circumstances. As the game progresses you piece together the events leading up to the murder all while evading your siblings who are out for vengeance.

Oh yeah, and it's also a first person beat em up. Despite being such a potentially disastrous genre hybrid (FPS fighting games have rarely worked) the fighting mechanics and controls are actually implemented fairly well. Likewise, the art direction is top notch. Ultimately the central game mechanics are a bit limited, but the game is smart enough to be brief, ending just before you start to get bored with things. I probably prefer "Rock of Ages" (by the same team), but this is a worthy first game from them.

Whereas AC 2 struck the right balance between varied main story line missions and more random openworld sidequests, AC:Bro drowns the player in pointless, repetitive, busywork. Upgrading stores, recruiting and managing assassins, destroying towers, thieves guild tasks, brothel tasks...and the list goes on and on. In fact, it seems like halfway through the game new stuff is still being introduced, to the point that I kept wondering "So when does the tutorial end and the game begin?"

None of this would be a problem if all of this inconsequential fluff was interesting, but most is simply repeating the same things over and over again. When they aren't acting as dry tutorials for all the busywork the main quest missions can be quite good, but unfortunately they tend to be drowned out by all the added nonsense. Ultimately there's a good game beneath all the bloat (if you look for it), but this is still a small step backwards for the series.

Many fans of the series deride this as the worst of the "Geneforge" games, but personally I think "Geneforge 3" is when the series gets interesting. Yes there are only two factions this time around compared to the previous game's four and it's structured in a much more linear fashion, but what the game loses in freedom it gains in complexity of plot and ethical dilemmas. With only two major factions to choose from, neither of which are perfect, the game's universe approaches "The Witcher" levels of moral ambiguity at times. This is a game where goodness is often shown to have a steep price and evil often has justifications which sound strangely good. In a time when gamers are known to petition studios when the ending to a game isn't as upbeat or things don't turn out exactly as they wanted them to (see: fan uproar over "Mass Effect 3"), it's kind of refreshing to play a game so brazen about the fact that even the best of intentions to do good often turn out much less than good.

Is it possible to enjoy a game purely on an aesthetic level? "Limbo's" puzzles are perfectly fine. If you liked "Another World" or "Flashback" back in the day you'll probably enjoy Limbo's approach to puzzles (others who hate trial and error in gaming might pull their hair out though). But the puzzles, adequate as they are, are really just a pretext to look at the game, which I think, is one of the better looking I've ever played. With its stark black/white artwork, layers of film grain, and analog hiss the effect is a bit like the video game equivalent of a Guy Maddin movie (Don't know him? Take 5 minutes and see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4JmeXXRmZg).

Of course it is a bit strange that a game would take the silent era of film as its "retro" model rather than, say, the 8 bit era of video gaming (there's something odd about using digital technology to so lovingly recreate the analog imperfections of another medium), but none of that matters just because it looks so good.

Bit of a slow burn. In fact, the main quest and central plot of the game aren't really revealed until around 30-40 hours in. Which is perhaps fitting given that this is the first part of a trilogy of games (so all of the dominos have to be put in place for what is a fairly epic stroyline), but at the same time the game could have used a bit more focus in its first 1/3. Plus, it's strangely easy. Most Spiderweb games kick your ass on torment difficulty, but I had to keep checking the difficulty just to make sure it was set correctly. Utlimately a good game (especially the stat system which I think is better developed and more interesting than the newer, more broadly appealing, Avernum 1 remake), but definitely don't start with this one if you are new to Avernum or Spiderweb games in general (or if you want a challenge).

I don't understand why this game is so well respected among some adventure gaming types. It sucks. Hard. It sells itself as a video game CSI type adventure and it is..for exactly 20 minutes at the start, but then it turns into one of the worst adventure games I've ever played (seriously, there's actually a Christmas cookie baking puzzle in this). The bad acting is maybe forgivable, but not so the plot which is a tedious hodgepodge of warmed over serial killer film clichés, the terrible dialogue, and the horrible out of context "puzzle" puzzles (I don't mind overt puzzles when they fit the narrative, but why, for example, would construction workers lock their crane using an elaborate logic puzzle rather than, you know, a key?). And on top of this it doesn't even have the decency to have a real ending. Instead, it just kind of ends abruptly leaving all mysteries entirely unsolved.

Anyone who says this is good should be sentenced to an eternity of solving its lock-picking puzzle.

The entire concept of achievements is still somewhat controversial. Some argue that when used well they can add depth to games by giving you new ways to play, while others argue that they are nothing more than the human version of conditioning lab rats to press a button for a pellet (see: XBOX Live, Facebook Games).

While I usually hate the latter variety of achievement, no game has ever made me into a happier, more mindless, lab rat than "The Binding of Isaac." It is entirely shameless in the way it uses items, achievements, and unlocks to keep you playing "just one more game." But despite being made in flash this is no mindless Facebook game either. This is an action rogue-like with real depth. The game play is fast and fun, while the randomized items are perfectly balanced so that in each game you will not only find something new, but also have to constantly make agonizingly tough decisions about which items to take and which to leave behind. One of my favs of 2011.

Basically a remake of the SNES era Megaman games. Not much at first glance, or even first play through, but this is one game that does unlocks and achievements well (i.e. they add depth to game play rather than just being annoying fetch quests and lists to tick off). Because of this the game itself doesn't really even start until you've finished it once and unlocked abilities needed to uncover secrets in previous areas. While this could be annoying, the entire game is very brief (you could do a run through in under an hour if you know what you are doing), so game play is much more focused on perfecting how you play rather than on progression to new areas.

Probably not for everyone, and definitely not the best PC platformer out there, but if you can get it cheap (it seems like this is in a bundle every other week now) and you like old school platformers this is definitely worth a run through.

Way better than AC1. In fact, I can't really think of another sequel that improves more on the original than this one. Whereas AC1 had you repeating the same types of missions over and over, AC2 has a huge variety of missions right up to the end. Likewise, combat also has more variety with upgradeable armor, weapons, and home bases giving the gameplay a tiny bit more depth. But perhaps best of all, while AC1's plot was silly, AC2's plot takes things to a level of complete insanity that is kind of charming in its own unintentionally absurd bat-shit way. I can't think of another game, for example, that let's you storm a medieval castle, beat up a pope, and (mild spoilers) hob-knob with alien beings all in the space of a few minutes and all with a completely straight face. It's pure, pulp-video-game, guilty pleasure, trash--but in a good way! Mindless fun.

The real "Gothic 4." I prefer the story, setting, and factions in the Gothic games (Gothic's fantasy prison setting is way more interesting than Risen's rather generic tropical island), but "Risen" improves on the series in terms of gameplay. Combat is much easier to manage and while the open world does have some incredibly difficult enemies blocking off certain areas, they seem much less like arbitrary barriers as it's possible for the patient player to outwit and even destroy them early on (when I played, for example, I went exploring early on and accidentally found the best weapon in the game by running from/sniping the high level cave monsters guarding it. It isn't often that RPGs will let you just stumble onto and use high level main quest items before you even figure out what the main quest is). Like "Gothic" things degenerate into a linear monster grind in the very last hours of the game, but that's a minor quibble (someday PB will nail an ending...someday). Still, a great ARPG.

Insanely repetitive. There are basically 4 missions in this game that you do over and over and over for 15 hours straight. On top of this, the combat is essentially one grand game of rock, paper, scissors and once you acquire the counter move mid-game it becomes absurdly easy. The plot is entirely silly--especially the modern day segments which are completely unnecessary (although it's such an absurd hodge podge of conspiracy hokum that it's almost charming in a way....almost). The only thing that saves this game from being completely awful is the awesome art direction, level design, and atmosphere, all of which do a great job of evoking its novel, Crusades era, mid-eastern, setting. But ultimately AC1 just plays like a glorified tech demo/trial run for the (much better) sequels in the series. Skip this and go straight to AC2 instead.

I prefer the "Blackwell" games to this, but this is still pretty good in its own right. It has some plot absurdities, a few not so surprising twists, and some wonky (if ultimately innocuous) action sequences, but it makes up for all of this with atmosphere in spades. It's pure, rain-soaked, pulp noir (you can practically hear the Harrison Ford voice over!). If we never get a real sequel to the overlooked late 1990s "Blade Runner" adventure game (and we won't), "Gemini Rue" will do fine.

Ostensibly "open world," but this is perhaps the best example of what I call a "stealth linear" game--or a game whose linearity is enforced by difficulty rather than arbitrary barriers or quest order. This can become a bit absurd at times (for example, in instances where the difference between entering a new area by slaughtering a monster with little difficulty and beating it for hours with no damage is just one measly level up the world begins to seem considerably less "open"), but at least for the first chapter or so of this game (its most thrilling sections) this isn't as much of a problem just because basically everything will insta-kill you. So you have to make do with running and sneaking about. Once you choose a faction and the storylines kick in the game drags a bit (the Orc temple portions at the end are outright terrible grinds), but the early portions of the game are enough to earn it its status as a classic. A great game despite the weak landing.

First prize: 20 hours playing Divinity 2!

Second prize: 40 hours playing Divinty 2!

Third prize: 80 hours playing Divinity 2!

Consolation prize: 95.5 hours playing Divinity 2!

(I think you get the picture)

While I don't think the somewhat stilted gamebryo engine FPS combat can hold a candle to "Fallout 2"'s more elegant turn based model (or basically any other FPS really, at least strictly in terms of pure gameplay mechanics--gamebryo still kind of sucks as an FPS engine), in terms of writing and general world design "New Vegas" is every bit its equal. This game restores everything that "Fallout 3" gutted from the franchise: the humor, the factions, the detailed backstory of the world, the interesting companions, and the general desperate feel of surviving in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Plus the DLC is generally pretty good (and in the case of "Old World Blues," incredibly good). Awesome game.

So underrated. Yes, the combat kind of sucks (it's servicable, but is entirely consolized and a bit wonky at times), but the real reason to play this game is the dialogue system. It's rare enough for video games to get something as mundane as people talking right so when it does happen it's a bit of a revelation. Dialogue options not only give you bonuses and pay off in real ways that affect the plot, but they are also timed--so rather than allowing you to sit and mull over what your character should say you need to make snap judgements and live with the consequences of your decisions. The result is that talking to people becomes a form of combat all its own--something which is, admittedly, much more exciting than the more literal forms of combat the game throws at you, but which is revolutionary enough on its own to make the game worth playing. Plus the plot/dialogue are well written enough to mostly rise above their hodge-podge of spy tropes and cliches. An overlooked (if rough) gem.

Basically an Elder Scrolls game done up in "Fallout" drag (and I don't mean that as a compliment). As always Bethesda is awesome at art direction and level design, but terrible at writing and world design. So whereas the earlier "Fallout" games were loaded with the sorts of detail and humor which made their worlds feel alive, playing this just feels like wandering through a wax museum. It's pretty to look at at first glance, but the novelty soon gives way to an uncanny valley type queasiness which ultimately gives way to boredom. Skip this and play "New Vegas" instead.

So I can't be the only one who thinks this is massively overrated, right? It's not a bad game by any measure--the stealth gameplay is solid if a bit uninspired (meaning: it really does nothing to address the inherent silliness of the central conceit of stealth games, e.g. choking guys for two seconds so they can neatly sleep for hours without waking). The only truly innovative thing about the game is its interrogation system (which allows you to read snap psychological profiles of individuals and choose responses accordingly--really kind of neat), otherwise the plot is pretty standard video game conspiracy fair (it doesn't approach the monumental absurdity of something like Assassin's Creed, but I kind of wish it did in a way as if you are going to go there you best go all out) and the writing ranges from servicable (main quests) to awful (several side quests). Plays as a partly diluted version of the original, which is enough to make it an OK game, but not the second coming.

Awesome open world, party focused, turn based RPG. It has some of the usual flaws that come with most Spiderweb games: slightly cumbersome interface at times, a few too many trash mobs (which can become a tad annoying late game once you no longer need the experience for leveling) and the harder difficulties require a large amount of min/maxing to get by (which isn't a big deal on lower difficulties, but if you play on torment hybrid builds are basically ruled out if you want to survive). But apart from these minor quibbles (and they are minor) this is really one of the better open world RPGs I've played in ages. The world is massive and packed with detail so basically every nook and cranny has something to make it worth exploring, without any of the "generic algorithm generated" feeling you get from many open world games. Well worth the 10 bucks.

If you are the sort of gamer who enjoys trudging across various maps for an hour straight searching for rare herbs just so you can make enough healing potions to get through a difficult boss fight then this is the game for you (luckily I am exactly that sort of gamer, but I realize not everyone enjoys such things).

So, yeah, this is pretty much the perfect sequel. It keeps the original Drakensang's awesome stat and combat system, but improves on nearly everything else: much better writing, dialog, and production values (including class specific quests ala "Dragon Age: Origins"), much fewer trash mobs (fighting is less frequent in this game compared to the first, but much more difficult and better thought out when it happens), and (perhaps best of all) a new fast travel system that prevents your having to run everywhere like in the first game.

Plus, it's technically a prequel, so if you only play one Drakensang (and you should if you enjoy RPGs at all) it should be this one.

Surprisingly awesome given how the marketing gives the impression that this is the most obnoxiously generic FPS ever. Gameplay wise, it's an FPS that plays a bit like a cover-shooter. However, while most cover-shooters can get a bit boring in the way they force you to spend most of your game crouching behind objects while your shields recharge, Bulletstorm keeps things interesting with its skillshot system which rewards you experience points to spend on upgrades by killing enemies in the most inventive and over the top ways imaginable.

Likewise, the game also has more wit and charm than its "Big dumb dudes with guns" first impression might imply. If this were an action film it would be much more "Bruce Campbell/Sam Raimi" than "Nic Cage/Michael Bay." While some portions of the game are basically "on rails" the action set pieces are so inventive and the level design so well done that you're usually having too much fun to notice. In short: this is what Duke Nukem 4 should have been.

While turning Wilde's "Salome" into a short art video game might seem like a strange undertaking, I think the play's thematic content could provide enough material to merit worthwhile exploration via the language of game mechanics. However, FATALE's message is ultimately muddled. Rather than grabbing onto the play's theme most suited to exploration in video game form (e.g. its obsession with the danger of "looking" and its positioning of the aesthetic gaze as, paradoxically, both creative/reverent and destructive/dehumanizing), FATALE instead spends most of its 20 minute running time on plot and a conceptually murky sequence where the player extinguishes candles on a static 3D tableau.

Thus, ultimately the game plays like a hollow bit of 3D diorama--with the candles just being an excuse to get the player to look at different parts of the scene. An interesting and often pretty experiment, but ultimately vague and underwhelming, both as a game and as a commentary on Wilde's play.

While "Rock of Ages" tries to be a strange combo of "Marble Madness" and a tower defense game, the tower defense portions of the game are a bit half baked. The game basically consists of two players building defenses along a track to prevent the other from breaking down their castle doors with player controlled boulders. While this sounds good in theory, in practice the defenses are mostly so weak that PvP games usually just boil down to whoever can rush to hit the other player's door 3 times first, rendering placement of defenses mostly moot.

However, I still had fun with "Rock of Ages" mainly because its "Marble Madness" portions play so well. Barreling down a path as a boulder, avoiding obstacles, collecting keys, and crushing everything else in your wake never gets old. Plus, the single player campaign (a humorous tour through history with an incredibly well realized Terry Gilliam-esque aesthetic) is one of the most amusing and creative things I played all last year.

A surfeit of good ideas undone by piss poor execution. I can't think of another game which is, by turns, as awesome and awful as E.Y.E. It creates a great first impression, however, with one of the biggest and (seemingly) complex stat and upgrade systems of any action RPG out there, with lots of different unique powers to buy (invisibility cloaks, the ability to clone yourself and control enemies with your mind, etc, etc) and scores of different weapons (most of which handle pretty well).

Unfortunately, all of these good ideas can't do much to counter the game's terrible A.I., boring combat, constantly respawning enemies, erratic level design (some are well done, while others are just big empty boxes), and incomprehensible writing/storyline. So at the end of the day the game's RPG pretensions are for naught: no matter how many upgrades you buy or how many times you level up the game still plays like an amateurish, unfinished, sub-mediocre Half-Life 2 mod.

While other designers prove games are art by using the unique mechanics of video gaming to accomplish things and tell stories in ways that other mediums can't, In "The Graveyard" TofT tackles the question of video games' artistic status like a bunch of overly earnest first year art students who know nothing about video games, but a whole lot about bad art film cliches. I can hear their brainstorming session right now:

"So what would make a video game art?"

"We could make it black and white! That's arty."

"Brilliant! Maybe we could even make it about something mundane, like an old woman walking in a cemetary."

"Mundane, sure, but we need some pathos. Maybe we could have her die too. Death is arty."

"Yes! Then we could force the player to listen to a shitty french song after she dies. There's nothing more arty than French people, you know."

"Done and Done! The world will never understand our genius! Now please enfold me in a tragic embrace while we listen to the Smiths!"

Kind of like "Serious Sam," only more focused on enclosed battles than arena fights and a lot shorter (so also a lot less repetitive). It does have its flaws (level design is a bit linear, story is incomprehensible, it uses a checkpoint system rather than quicksaves, the environments get a bit same-ish after the first few levels), but overall I think the positives outweigh the negatives: interesting variety of weapons, an upgrade system which can't be fully maxed out the first go around (so your game will change depending on which load out you take), very well constructed battles which are different enough from each other to hold your interest, and just the right level of difficulty which will have you thinking as the game continually one ups itself with each successive battle, "Holy fuck, there's no way I can get past this area" just minutes before you do, in fact, get past it.

Play on "Insane" or don't play at all.

It's a bit of a fallacy to tout this (as its creators do) as an "old school" or "retro" FPS. This really doesn't play like any FPS I ever played in the 1990s. "Serious Sam" is really more of a bizarre genre hybrid all its own--an unholy mix of FPS and SHMUP that ultimately plays more like a SHMUP than an FPS (despite being in the first person). Much of the game play is navigating various patterned waves of enemies with absurd firepower in huge arenas--which sounds like a SHMUP to me.

So is it fun? Yes. For the first half, anyway. However, by level 6 or so you have seen everything there is to see in this game, so the next 7 levels of mowing down the exact same enemies in increasingly similar looking arenas can get tedious and redundant fast. I guess it's a classic case of too much of a good thing. Had this game been half as long it would have been twice as awesome. As it is, though, I was bored to tears by the time I finally reached the (admittedly awesome) end boss.

The premise is basically "The Ghost Whisperer," with one important difference: it doesn't suck (it also doesn't feature Jennifer Love Hewitt, which I think is at least half the battle when it comes to not sucking). You play a reluctant medium who discovers that each female generation in her family is haunted by the presence of a wise cracking, 1920s, ghost. So, naturally, you use this information to solve mysteries and help restless spirits resolve issues in their lives and move on. The perfect premise for an episodic adventure game.

The tone of the game is largely pretty light, but to its credit it's not afraid to go dark (madness, suicide) or hint at some much bigger issues that video games usually don't (what happens after we die). Plus, the puzzles are all based in real world situations and logic (so there are no absurd "tie a string to your cat and send it under your couch to grab your wallet" puzzles). Hard enough to make you think, but not enough to need a walkthrough.

The Marine campaign is a blast. It's like "Doom 3" had it figured out a way to use its abundance of atmosphere to create real tension. However, the game really shows its console roots in the subpar Alien and Predator campaigns. Whereas "Alien vs Predator 2" from 2001 had elegant control schemes for each species which were easy to learn but difficult to master, the 2010 iteration reduces too many actions to button bushing quicktime sequences. It can be annoying when, as the predator, you realize that you can only jump to specific designated areas or that as the alien in order to crawl through a vent you have to push a specific action button rather than just..you know..crawl through the bloody vent.

Multiplayer suffers as a consequence. Whereas the 2001 version rewarded skill and the effort it took to master the various species controls (especially the alien who could go from weak to powerful in the right hands), the 2010 version is nothing but running around and spamming quick kills.

At long last a game dedicated to being a teenage girl in the 1920s! In this game you can choose which sass-talking, proto-feminist, 1920s feminine archetype you want to play as and recruit a cadre of catty teenage bitches in order to trade insults with other girls, flirt with boys, and engage in all manner of romantic and academic misadventures! It's basically every guy's fantasy!

What?

You don't have the fantasy of being a girl from the 1920s?

Well...er....I don't either. I just said that because I thought you might.

So, um, this is awkward.

How about that local sports team, then?

Anyone want to play a game of "Call of Duty" and perhaps discuss the women we are interested in engaging in heart-felt and totally earnest "sexual intercourse" with? I'll bring the 12 pack of cheaply priced domestic beer! It won't be weird, I promise!

I could talk for hours about how terrible this game is (the awful enemy AI, the horrible horse riding mechanics, the overly large mostly dead world, the terrible combat, the atrocious writing which barely makes sense....I could go on), but instead I'm just going to describe one quest to you. It pretty much sums up what's wrong with this game in a nutshell and might be the single worst designed RPG quest I've ever encountered.

So, some guy in a random village wants a curse of fish monsters eliminated so he tells you to go speak to a Wizard---who sends you to a villager, who sends you to a lady, who sends you back to the villager, who sends you to the Wizard, who sends you to the villager, who sends you to the Lady, who sends you to the Wizard, who sends you back to the lady, who then kills herself for some reason, then you have to go back to the Wizard to finish. Yeah, so basically 20+ minutes of running back and forth listening to shit dialog. And there are more quests like this!

Since leveling in modern RPGs has become mostly just a matter of dumping points into strength if you are melee, dexterity if you are ranged, and intelligence if you are a magic user, it's refreshing to see a modern RPG that actually requires you to do math and plan ahead if you don't want to mess up your game. In Drakensang, almost every action is determined by a formula that factors in 3 seperate attributes as well as skill points. If you invest in one attribute it will always affect several different things, which means that you are rarely boxed into one role. So, for example, if you want you can play as a rogue/mage hybrid who specializes in long bows and still be effective. There aren't many CRPGs left where you can do stuff like that. Sure the writing sucks (although, unlike something like "Two Worlds 1," it's at least coherent), but that doesn't really matter because the combat and character customization are the reason to play.

SHIT.TRIP RUNNER

Basically like an MMO "Zelda" or "Binding of Isaac"--kill monsters, find random items and power ups, unlock characters, and die (alot). You can also start guilds, adventure in parties, or wander about alone. So simple, yet so insanely addictive.

I usually hate MMOs, but this one is pretty awesome. Probably just because you CAN die. Whether your character is level 20 or level 2, once he dies he's gone forever. It gives the game an immediacy and urgency which most MMOs lack.

Perhaps my favorite RPG ever...perhaps. The stat system offers unparalleled variety. This might be the only RPG, for example, where having a low Intelligence actually changes the way your character talks and how NPCs respond (you haven't truly played until you've tried a character with a level 1 INT and watched him bumble about like a cartoon Neanderthal). Also, the game is huge and, best of all, you can do all the things that RPGs usually shy away from: go on a mass child killing spree, get addicted to speed, become a gay porn star (provided your "endurance" score is high enough, of course), contract venereal diseases, become a pimp or a slave trader. What's not to love? Plus, everything's given a sort of "Gee Whiz!," "Leave it to Beaver" sheen so the contrast between the main character's wide eyed naiveté and the often terrible stuff he's duped into doing (often with the best intentions) is always amusing and can provide a good deal of comedy (depending on how you play).

The Geneforge games are some of the best RPGs ever (with the first and the fifth games in the series being highlights, although all of them are good). Massive worlds, lots of old-school stats, tons of different ways to play (the character build system has much more variety than most RPGs, and the ability to create companions to fight for you is a nice touch), many different factions to join, ignore, or fight, and lots of freedom to act in a world where your choices actually affect the way the game plays. Plus, the setting is a refreshing mix of sci-fi and fantasy and, at times, is genuinely strange, as opposed to just the same old boring Tolkeinisms found in most RPGs. If you can get past the admittedly rough graphics and less than beautiful aesthetics these games are awesome.

If you are tired of the usual genres and gameplay styles and want something new give this a go. Yes, parkour is sooooo 2005, but it's really well done here: it's fast, fluid, and fun with just the right balance in player control required to keep the game from turning into ether a cumbersome and overcomplicated mess or an over simplified and tedious push-a-button-and-mindlessly-jump-from-roof-to-roof "Assassain's Creed" type experience. The storyline isn't all that great (although it's kind of refreshing in its "run from the bad guys!" simplicity), but the graphics are still awesome 4 years later and the art design has a nice "Run Lola Run" meets "Blade Runner" aesthetic to it. The game can get a bit too "trial and error" at times, but it's so short (I completed the entire thing in 4 hours my first time through) and it looks and plays so well that it really doesn't overstay its welcome. It's the perfect game to get on sale for 5 dollars and waste an evening or so with.

Not so much a game as a panic attack simulator. In fact, there are barely any "gamey" elements in it at all. There is really no combat to speak of and what puzzles are there are so integrated into the environment that they are barely puzzles at all. Still, I think this is one of the more revolutionary games of the past decade strictly because it does immersion better than any game I've ever encountered. In fact, in a time when it seems like every game designer is intent on turning video games into crappy, cut scene laden, B-movies, "Amnesia" should be studied as a model of how to make a game that uses the unique mechnaics of a video game (i.e. first person, in the moment, experience and decision making) to their fullest effects, rather than just trying to imitate film conventions. Plus, apart from its laudable and refreshing approach to game design, it also just plain works as a survival horror game and is as visceral and exciting as any horror film I've ever seen. Highly Recommended.

Forget the Witcher 2, Dead Island, and Deus Ex:HR, this might be my favorite RPG of 2011. While the graphics are very dated, it makes up for the lackluster visuals with ingeniously designed turn based battles, a massive world to explore, and incredibly deep and addicting character customization. If you are a fan of RPGs at all (and especially if you are a fan of Baldur's Gate and it's successors from the mid 1990s) you need to play this.