Video Game Reviews
-
The Darkness 2 boasts a highly ambitious narrative, setting out to communicate a very grounded, human tale, eagerly clutching at the psychological. At the core of this narrative is the protagonist, Jackie Estacado, a youthful hitman for the mob, and his deceased – murdered – lover, Jenny, a friend from the orphaned Jackie’s boyhood. Frequent
-
Fear 2 suffers from near perpetual genericness, never advancing anything original or innovative – everything here is derivative, the game mostly lifeless and uninspired. The environments, as illustration, are all characterized by blandness, with very poor texture quality and an overall poverty of creativity or imagination, as boring greys and browns dominate the color palette,
-
Creatively, Deadlight meets with repeated successes, displaying much visual inventiveness, innovative and arresting in its presentation. Much of this innovation stems from the game’s highly stylized cutscenes, boldly adopting a comic book aesthetic, with clever usage of color, an emphasis on the interplay between light and dark. In a stroke of creative mastery, and fostering
-
Borderlands’ narrative shows a complete dearth of ambition, stalling throughout, greater and deeper player engagement rarely achieved – the narrative exists as a mere framework for the gameplay, which is prioritized to the last. Opening the narrative is a brief, highly stylized cutscene, introducing the game’s trademark cel-shaded aesthetic, which imparts commanding uniqueness. This cutscene
-
Inside is characterized by a striking sense of minimalism, the narrative totally devoid of formal exposition or even voice acting, the narrative instead advanced through clever environmental storytelling. Alongside this minimalism, ambiguity abounds, the game fostering and even encouraging vastly different interpretations; one player will walk away from the experience with decidedly different emotions than
-
Steam World Dig 2 possesses an abundance of charm, manifest in its various explorable environments, in the robotic NPC’s who inhabit them, each individually named, each possessive of a unique visual design, each accordingly possessing a distinct identity, almost all of them steeped in humor of some sort, humor marking a commonality. Furthering this commanding
-
When regarding its presentation, Limbo soars, its creativity marking its greatest source of originality, imparting a distinct identity which persists all throughout the narrative. The palette is totally deprived of any vibrancy, blacks, whites, and greys overtaking all, resulting not in blandness but a certain stylish, cinematic effect – here is darkness and bleakness, the
-
The various environments explored in Moxxi’s Heist of the Handsome Jackpot are all abounding in creativity and whimsicality, with a bold embrace of color and vibrancy. Traditional, expected casino-like environments are certainly present, reflecting a certain mundanity, but collectively, environmental diversity is immense, the title boasting environments which are decidedly not casino like, disrupting expectations.
-
As an expansion, Outlast: Whistleblower presents nothing which is novel or innovative, its gameplay an exact replication of that found in the base game. Still, its existence is justified, as it serves a strong world-building purpose, enriching the narrative of Outlast, with all its subtle complexities. Its main ambition is to explain how precisely the
-
Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst’s open world city of Glass is a remarkable achievement, singular in its beauty, greatly embracing creativity and whimsicality, even as the occurrences in the city are far removed from anything approaching the whimsical – the inherent graces and majesties of the cityscape contrast starkly with the darkness felt by many of its
-
Outlast boasts many compelling atmospheres, a certain moodiness overtaking all, resulting in a constant sense of dread; the clever, beautiful interplay of light and dark is especially central to this atmospheric nature. Transpiring solely in one location – Mount Massive Asylum – larger environmental diversity is lacking somewhat, even as ample differentiation is present when
-
In a major failing, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 displays a complete lack of originality, relying upon themes and ideas developed countless times over in different games and different media. This dearth of originality only prevents the game from ever forging its own distinct identity – matters sometimes seem soulless and uninspired, even as some efforts
-
Far Cry 3’s narrative begins on a surprisingly high note, seeing the prompt introduction of the player character, Jason Brody, while also introducing the first primary antagonist, the mentally warped Vaas. Crucially introduced also is the gameworld, Rook Island, which morphs into a character in its own right. It was the apparent joys characterizing that
-
In efforts to assert its own distinct identity, Battlefield Hardline marks considerable departures from earlier titles in the series; the bombastic is mostly discarded, replaced instead by a more grounded, human narrative. Delivered in an episodic fashion, each mission is rather self-contained, though an overarching narrative is present. Given this manner of storytelling, missions begin
Games With Grey 