Video Game Reviews
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Shadow of the Tomb Raider’s central narrative structure is largely devoid of any originality, the primary narrative motivation being a painfully overused one – the world is on the verge of destruction, threatened by an ancient force which, if not vanquished, spells doom for all. Responsibility for the world’s saving necessarily falls upon the shoulders
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Being mere DLC, it follows that Far Cry 4: Valley of the Yetis is defined by restrained ambitions, though these lesser aspirations do not result in a dearth of enjoyability – far from it. The gameplay systems underpinning the base game were foundationally sound, excellent, so it follows that the systems here are sound and
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D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die’s central narrative is wonderfully and fiercely unique, passionately embracing a more gay, playful, and lighthearted tone, itself at odds with an industry which values and champions narrative bleakness, narrative darkness; in all facets of its construction, the tonally disheartening is broken with. D4, with this playfulness and constant insertion of
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When considered alongside the base game Dishonored, its two primary DLC adopt a more narrative-centric approach; story is wonderfully prioritized, emphasized just as much as the central gameplay; The Knife of Dunwall and The Brigmore Witches both thrive on narrative, this thriving helping the DLC achieve and assert its own distinct identity, splintering away from
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Firewatch’s narrative is a fairly straightforward construction, centering around the relocation of the player character, Henry, who leaves home and settles in a vast Wyoming wilderness preserve, desirous of escaping from the outside world with all its oppressions, hostilities, heartbreak. And Henry has long known heartbreak – consider the flagging mental state of his wife,
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The central environments explored in Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck are oftentimes impossibly beautiful – and frequently very bizarre. Each individual map is brimming with Gearbox’s characteristic creativity, honed over many years now and nearly perfected. The imagination on display here is indeed remarkable, though this DLC is characterized by quite radical departures regarding
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Far Cry 4’s sprawling open-world environment of Kyrat, a state nestled in the bosom of the vast Himalayas, is impossibly beautiful, sharply clinging to reality though injecting life and creativity into that realism, with vibrant coloration and a pervasive sense of crispness. Startingly, arresting coloration abounds; oranges have a prominent presence, as do azures, the
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The stealth genre by nature is brimming with opportunity for great player engagement, primed to evoke an experience characterized largely by tension, the genre benefitting greatly from its oftentimes slower, more plodding pace relative to other popular genres, like the FPS genre or third-person shooters. Those games mostly embrace the bombastic; stealth games have the
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Catherine’s central narrative is wonderfully captivating, dwelling upon such mature themes as love, marriage, the obligations one owes their lover. At the heart of this maturity is the protagonist and player character, Vincent Brooks, an endearing individual who frequently displays profound depth, in a perpetual state of conflict, dedicated to his long-time girlfriend Katherine McBride,
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Hydrophobia’s central narrative is poorly presented and poorly developed, showing a pervasive sense of directionlessness, aimlessness, with a poverty of ambition. In the opening, the central environment – The Queen of the World, a sprawling ship-city with a population of millions – is subject to a damning attack, the assailants unknown though obviously threatening, menacing.
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Soma is abounding in frightful, compelling atmosphere, atmosphere which results in a perpetual sense of anxiety and uneasiness – though rarely sheer dread. The central explorable environment is a series of linked complexes, situated far below the surface of the churning waves of the vast Atlantic, the time being the early twenty-second century. Understanding these
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Far Cry 5 is incredibly atmospheric, boasting rich world-building and environmental diversity, which together heighten the joys of exploration, central to the overall experience; the decision to situate the narrative in rural, decidedly American, Montana was a bold one, being a radical departure from the game worlds featured in earlier Far Cry titles; the potentialities
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Oblivion’s central environment is abounding in beauty and wonder, characterized by considerable diversity, which communicates a sharp sense of largeness, largeness which is, ultimately, rather illusory – by today’s standards, Cyrodiil could be seen as impossibly small, though Oblivion compensates for this smallness by the crafting of a very compelling, almost inviting and tranquil, atmosphere.
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Dishonored is characterized by robust world-building, its lore rich and well-developed. At the core of this setting is the city of Dunwall, the crowing jewel and the heart of a far flung, once prosperous, empire; prosperity has partially departed, owing to the introduction and domination of an invasive plague, bringing with it devastation, tarnishing somewhat
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Aesthetically, Valiant Hearts: The Great War is wholly remarkable and memorable, boasting rich, highly detailed environments and rather charming character design, a design which absolutely clings towards the light hearted. But just as there are light-hearted attributes, some more mature environmental designs are also in place; deep, labyrinthian, trenches are explored one moment, the player
Games With Grey 