Archive for the ‘PC’ Category


Page 1 of 612345Last »

SimCity (PC)

Sunday, April 21st, 2013

simcity

Developer: Maxis
Publisher: EA Games
Genre: City Building Sim
Players: 1
Console Reviewed: PC
Also Available On: Mac
ESRB Rating: E 10+ (Everyone 10 and up)
Progress: 10 cities built across 4 regions

SimCity will go down in the history books as a monumental disappointment.  More than a month after its failed launch, the game remains somewhat broken.  I had picked up this game early after its release and I was plagued by the familiar server problems that you’ve probably already heard of on the Internet.  Held up as the poster child for unfettered DRM run amok, SimCity is still suffering under a diverse portfolio of problems due to poor servers, and I suspect poor programming as well.  That these issues remain unresolved to this day is incomprehensible, but as a courtesy I have waited more than a full month before publishing this review to let Maxis and EA iron out the wrinkles.  During this time and to no one’s surprise, publisher EA was once again crowned the worst company in America for the second consecutive year.  Congrats, it takes some real effort to outshine even those corrupt American bankers.

(more…)

Posted in PC | No Comments »

Star Wars Pinball Pack 1 (PS3/PS Vita)

Saturday, April 13th, 2013

starwarspinball

Developer: Zen Studios
Publisher: Zen Studios
Genre: Pinball
Players: 1
Console Reviewed: PS3/PS Vita (PSN)
Also Available On: Xbox 360 (XBLA), PC/Mac, iOS, Android
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Progress: Played each board several times on both systems and achieved decent high scores

Zen Pinball 2 and its inexplicably numerous variations on just about every currently available platform is about as ubiquitous as a pinball platform could possibly be.  In most of its forms, the core Zen Pinball 2 platform is free with extremely protracted demos of a few available tables included, so you’re expected to purchase packs of pinball tables to get any real gaming experience out of the game.  The first three of ten planned Star Wars themed DLC pinball tables for the Zen Pinball 2 suite were launched recently with designs based on Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, the character Boba Fett and the animated TV series The Clone Wars.  Is the Force with this first batch of pinball tables or do they belong to the ever-growing dark side of licensed Star Wars video games? Read on to see how we liked our pinball Jedi training.

(more…)

Posted in 360, iOS, PC, PS Vita, PS3 | No Comments »

The Bridge (PC)

Thursday, April 4th, 2013

TheBridge

Developer: Ty Taylor and Mario Castañeda
Publisher: The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild
Genre: Puzzle-Platformer
Players: 1
Console: PC
ESRB Rating: Not Rated
Progress: Completed the game’s 48 levels

I was surprised to receive a review code via email a couple of weeks ago from Ty Taylor, the programmer and creator of The Bridge, an indie puzzle platformer that had intrigued me with its M.C. Escher-style levels and unique gameplay that seemed to take hints from the likes of Braid and echochrome.  As most gamers should know by now, though, the realm of indie gaming is a minefield where for every Bastion there are a bunch of games like Costal Defence.  So, does The Bridge rank among the indie gaming elite or does it fall by the wayside in spite of its impressive visuals?  Read on to see what we thought of our playthrough of The Bridge.

(more…)

Posted in PC | No Comments »

A Dialogue With SimCity

Friday, March 8th, 2013

simcityerror

I brought home the new SimCity today and was excited to put on my mayor’s cap and get started.  Unfortunately, SimCity was not on board with my plans and effectively employed every possible obstruction available to ensure that I would not in fact play a single-player game that I blew $65 on. 

For the record, the following dialogue is a part of the actual conversation that I had with SimCity on March 6th, 2013:

(more…)

Posted in Features, PC | No Comments »

SimCity DRM Disaster: Maxis, EA Learned Nothing From Spore

Sunday, February 10th, 2013

simcity-2013 

I’m a big SimCity fan.  City building games offer the complexity and strategy that someone like me can truly appreciate.  The last authentic SimCity Maxis developed, SimCity 4, was a technical marvel, but with a steep learning curve.  Despite its age, I still found myself dabbling in SimCity 4 on occasion for the last 8 years trying to master its complexities.  Then, while Maxis focused their efforts on their new project Spore, they outsourced development of the ill-fated SimCity Societies, which unfortunately did not live up to expectations.

This brings us to the present day.  Maxis has finally decided to grace the masses with a new, true successor in the SimCity franchise due for release in March 2013.  So far, the information released about the game and its new so-called “Glass Box” simulation engine points to a return to form for the franchise, and a modern twist on city building games.  SimCity‘s release, however, flirts with disaster by being burdened with the most despicable kind of Digital Rights Management (DRM) imaginable — “always-on” internet connectivity requirements, which there is never a legitimate reason to have in an otherwise offline single-player game.

(more…)

Posted in Features, PC | No Comments »

Point Review: Unmechanical (PC)

Tuesday, October 9th, 2012

Developer: Teotl Studios
Publisher: Talawa Games
Genre: Side-scrolling puzzle adventure
Players: 1
Console: PC (also coming to iOS)
Hours Played: ~3-4
Progress: Completed the game and saw both possible endings.

Teotl Studios, makers of the popular Unreal Tournament III mod The Ball, recently released their latest unique puzzler, Unmechanical.  With the world of indie games ever-expanding, it’s becoming hard to “separate the wheat from the chaff” as it were, and the line between great indie releases and those not worth the bytes they’re made of is growing increasingly thin.  Does Unmechanical reach the pinnacle of indie creativity bringing a fresh perspective that is unlikely to come from larger studios, or does it fall by the wayside with the all too numerous indie releases that never really amount to anything?  Read on to hear what we thought of our time hovering around and bumping into things in Unmechanical.

(more…)

Posted in PC, Point Review | No Comments »

Point Review: Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD (360, PS3, PC)

Friday, July 27th, 2012

Developer: Robomodo
Publisher: Activision
Genre: Extreme Sports
Players: 1 (2-4 online)
Console: Xbox 360 (XBLA), PS3 (PSN), PC
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)
Hours Played: ~6
Progress: Unlocked 6/7 levels in Career mode, tried all other modes including a few online matches

The Tony Hawk Pro Skater (THPS) series has a long and sordid history.  Entries in the THPS series have earned everywhere from a 98 to a 44 average score on Metacritic, and it’s no secret to anyone that their scores have been steadily trending downwards over the years.  Taking elements including levels, music, and move-sets from the first two great entries in the THPS series and mixing in modern graphics and music as well, you’d think that an HD “best of” collection would hearken back to the series’ hey-day and remind us all why we fell in love with it in the first place.  Wouldn’t you? Wouldn’t you?!?!? Read on to see where the downloadable THPS HD belongs in the wide spectrum of Tony Hawk game scores.

(more…)

Posted in 360, PC, Point Review, PS3 | No Comments »

Opinion: Your Game is Boring

Monday, June 25th, 2012

Fable III has been included as a pack-in title with many versions of the Xbox 360 console for a long time, so for a lot of newcomers to this console generation Fable III may have been their first Xbox 360 experience.  For anyone out there curious about this game, be forewarned!  Let me save you the trouble, because this game is about as exciting as doing the laundry.  I’d even go so far as to say that it’s the most boring current generation title that I have ever had the misfortune of playing.

Let me start by offering a brief disclaimer that this article is simply the rant of a single frustrated gamer and this is not the official Game Usagi Fable III review (which happened to be favourable).  A few years ago I had great fun playing through Fable II, which is why I was so eager to dive into the next title in the series – big mistake.  My busy life (also known as a day job) does not afford me much opportunity to kick back and play video games, so when I do find an hour of free time here and there, the game had better darn well be amazing.  I get supremely insulted when I feel like an awful game is recklessly wasting my precious time, so why does Fable III get my bloomers in a knot?  Read on…

(more…)

Posted in 360, Features, PC | No Comments »

Page 1 of 612345Last »