Velvet Assassin
Velvet Assassin falls short of its grandiose attempts to solemnize the Second World War. When it comes to the stealth genre, however, Velvet Assassin aims low – and hits the mark.
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Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena
“Dark Athena is, like Butcher Bay, a strange mix. A lot of the game is about making your way through guard-filled rooms using little more than shadows and your knives. Most of the time, the game even has enough sense to deprive you of guns entirely, as tempting as it might be for a first-person game. The result is satisfying stealth-action. It is then mixed with some character interaction, with dabblings in fetch quests that, though tried, are worth it simply for the characters.”
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The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (2009)
“Escape from Butcher Bay, on the other hand, is not certain what it wants to be, and this lack of confidence proves to be its downfall. What could have been a classic becomes a period piece, a game we will look at one day and say, “Wow, look what it did!” – but not play.”
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Beyond Good & Evil
“Beyond Good & Evil seemed doomed to cult status from the start. It had all the hallmarks: a science fiction story rife with political themes, an alien invasion, and a conspiracy or two. Some may also argue it starred an unusual protagonist, Jade, whose distinguishing characteristic as a female video game protagonist was that she wore loose-fitting jeans instead of a thong. On second thought, that there probably explains the lackluster sales.”
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Age of Empires II
Age of Empires II was a critical success after release. It doesn’t work so well anymore, and it’s hard to forgive its flaws for being simply “an older game.”
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Review: Resident Evil 5
Belated but no less the worse for wear, my Resident Evil 5 review is now up on Spawn Kill. Check it out!
Compromised Vision
It was not until partway through Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth that I realized H.P. Lovecraft’s mythology extends far beyond Lovecraft himself. Lovecraft Mythos, it turns out, is rather a complex and intricate web of story-cycles. And I had fancied myself “in the know” after only reading a short (and by no means exhaustive) collection of Lovecraft’s works. I hadn’t even scratched the surface. Therefore, I can’t rightly comment on how faithful the game is to its mythos. Perhaps I am not even its audience. Nevertheless, I was still subject to chills, and in that I must say it is a successful homage to Lovecraft.
Dragon Quest VIII and The Triumph of Tradition
I know I promised that I would write about the new Prince of Persia, but I just finished my first Japanese RPG – no, my first single player RPG – in something like 7 years. That is enough, in and of itself, to get me writing. Do not worry, though. I already updated my Facebook status to read, “Mike just finished his first single player RPG in 7 years!” You, dear reader, are going to receive a little more, because Dragon Quest VIII was a sublime, heart-warming experience. It was also a boring, mind-numbing one.
DICE’s Vision Accomplished: A Mirror’s Edge Review
Mirror’s Edge is a game that defies traditional game journalism. We’ve heard this before, of course, and it usually comes from the mouths of the ‘hardcore elite’ who proudly exclaim that the rest of us “just don’t get it.” The thing is, after reading EGM’s three-person review of the game, I had to admit that all three of them did get it. The game brings a unique feeling of space, speed, and dexterity to a genre that has never had any of the above. The reviewers got that, and it was duly noted in their reviews. So why did a game which does something so utterly unique and new get merely “good” scores? There are good reasons.
The Simplicity and Timelessness of Genius
It is arguably difficult to use Space Invaders Extreme as proof that classic gameplay is still valid (as I hinted I might do). On the other hand, the gameplay from 1978’s Space Invaders is valid in as much as the shooter genre is still going strong today (Geometry Wars, anyone?). Space Invaders Extreme is thus little more than a shooter game with Space Invaders sprites. It will do little to invigorate the genre it invented 30 years ago. Yet, as an homage (and we are shown a “30th Anniversary!” screen just in case we had our doubts what this was), Space Invaders Extreme does its job perfectly well.
