Batman just can’t get a break. Between Nolan’s films, a recent anime series, and reboot afer reboot, the caped crusader sure is putting a lot of criminals behind bars – just to have them break out again of course!

But in this particular instance, he has a few tricks up his sleeve, and the outcomes of his encounters aren’t as predictable. In fact, whatever issues I had with Rocksteady’s first Batman outing have been solved — simply put, Arkham City presents an unprecedented interactive Dark Knight experience. Read more… »

The tower defense genre has always been one of my favorite ways to kill time when gaming. There’s something that is just so satisfying about building the perfect line of defense and watching your maze of death take care of everything. While this genre has previously been relegated to modifications and other derivative works (WarCraft III custom maps, etc.), now digital distribution services like Steam allow game developers to create fleshed out, full fledged titles. Orcs Must Die is one of these full fledged tower defense titles.

As the name implies, Orcs Must Die involves building a series of traps so that wave after wave of oncoming Orcs meet a grisly end. This sounds entertaining on paper but, as gamers know better than anyone, the proof is in the play. To see if Orcs Must Die is worth your money, hit the jump. Read more… »

Four years have past since the events of Resistance 2. Mankind has grown tired and weak as the Chimera continue to ravage Earth. An Earth that, as each day passes, looks and feels more like the frozen Chimera homeworld.

Between the change in climate and landscape and the worm-hole now forming above New York City, the future looks bleak. But between the mind of Dr. Malikov and the combat skills of Joseph Capelli, hope may not be lost after all. And so begins the journey of one man who wishes nothing more than to have his family live their lives without fear of what the next day might bring. Read more… »

This review of Dungeon Defenders must begin with a short study of M. Night Shyamalan’s film, Lady In The Water. It’s a worthy comparison in its own way. Both game and film feature casts of characters who must defend their precious jewels from evil (in the film it’s a lady and in the game it’s an actual jewel).

One character in Shyamalan’s film also serves as a metaphor for the game as a whole. It’s Reggie the Guardian, that guy with one super buff arm and one regular arm. Translate that into Dungeon Defenders; from one side it seems to have true strength as a co-op RPG. Take a look from another angle, and it’s a rather bland tower defense title.

Read more… »

If there were ever a game with massive shoes to fill, it’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Human Revolution is a prequel to the widely celebrated Deus Ex, released back in 2000, which popularized concepts such as genre-blending, multiple methods of completing objectives, and RPG elements and specializations.

Human Revolution has been a long time coming, and Deus Ex fans should be basking in the nostalgia as they go down a familiar road.  New series players will be just as engrossed; Human Revolution is a polished, deep experience in an immersive near-future world. Read more… »

More than any other sports series available, FIFA has been the pinnacle of consistency. To not falter from this in an industry with yearly installments of sports games is almost unseen. FIFA, without question, has always pulled it off — somehow staying consistent in polish, realism, innovation, and delivery.

FIFA 12 is no different than its predecessors in this regard. However, many are skeptical of the latest gameplay changes and the impact they will have on the balance and realism of the game. Thankfully, there is nothing to be worried about. Read more… »

[There's been a lot of confusion as to whether or not reviewers have actually beaten the game - so here goes: I completed Dark Souls at Soul Level 77, after 37 hours and 10 minutes of play - for reference, I beat Demon's Souls at Level 76, at 22 hours and 30 minutes of play. Dark Souls is a considerably longer, and harder game.]

The spiritual successor to one of the “hardest games of this generation” is finally here – ready and waiting to knock gamers’ teeth out, then rip off all your appendages and laugh. While that may seem over the top – so is Dark Souls. There are literally areas in this game where you can get killed in less than a second from enemies that ambushed you from a small alcove; cursed so you only have half your total HP every time you spawn until you find the cure vendor; then be reborn as a hollow shell of your former self.

This is the world of Dark Souls – are you ready?

Read more… »

Hockey is a big part of my life right now. I work from home and live with my girlfriend, so I don’t really get out of the house much. The one thing that does get me out every week is playing defense for my hockey team, the Crystal Lake Slasher, every Monday and Thursday night. As a defenseman I have to understand the game at a relatively high level. I have to know positioning, how plays develop, how to break out of our zone, how to keep the puck in their zone, etc. I’m even considering taking a class on coaching with USA Hockey so I can help out kids who want to learn the game. I feel safe saying that I know hockey better than most videogame reviewers.

With that in mind, I’m confident in saying that NHL 12 is the most faithful representation of hockey ever made. This shouldn’t come as a surprise considering the franchise boasts over twenty two sports game of the year awards, and it has improved with each new iteration. Read more… »

This is the second week of my personal, three week journey through blood and horror. Beginning with a review of the highly anticipated Dead Island, this month started off rather well. If you liken it to a plot in a good B-movie horror flick, this would be around the time we get a twist. Whether it’s a good one will surely depend on your point of view.

While horror films are lauded for their incongruous material, that’s not something you really want to see in a video game. Not when incongruity means poor design, lack of depth and self mutilation. On that note, I have to say I feel my review of BloodRayne: Betrayal is going to hurt me more than it hurts you.

Read more… »

The last bit of New Vegas DLC is finally here! The core premise of Lonesome Road is a final confrontation with Ulysses – the mysterious courier that passed up the job that almost got you killed. What are his motives? Does he really want you dead, or did he just try and save his own skin?

More importantly: is the DLC worth buying to find out? Read on for the answer.

Read more… »

Two years ago a colorful little Pong-like indie game took me by surprise and unexpectedly rocked my world. With its addictive gameplay and fantastic soundtrack, the charmingly retro Bit.Trip BEAT  introduced me to what has become one of my favorite series of all time. Over the last couple years Santa Cruz-based Gaijin Games’ delivered some of the best games of the generation in the last place you’d ever expect to find them — WiiWare.

Though that platform may have limited the series’ audience, most that are lucky enough to have stumbled across the Bit.Trip games have nothing but kind words to say. They helped remind me why I began to love games in the first place. Hopefully now that they have been compiled on physical media for retail release these games can reach a wider audience.

Read more… »

With Diablo 3 and Torchlight 2 right around the corner, there is no better time to fill that desire we all have for an enjoyable dungeon crawler than right now. Crimson Alliance sets out to do just that. And in all honesty, it can — if you let it.

This co-op action RPG for the Xbox Live Arcade is a throwback to titles like Gauntlet and  provides the most basic elements of your typical dungeon crawler. This isn’t a bad thing, but it is up to you to decide if that will provide enough content to your liking. For me, it did.

Read more… »