Archive for the ‘Warren Reviews’ Category


WR: Machinarium (PC/Mac)

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

Developer: Amanita Design
Publisher: Amanita Design
Genre: Point & Click Adventure
Players: 1
Console: PC/Mac
ESRB Rating: Not classified (E10+ by my estimate, there are some tough puzzles)
Hours Played: 5-6
Progress: Completed the game on PC and Mac

Machinarium, with its originally limited release (it’s now available through Steam in addition to from the company’s website), didn’t get much of the press and hype that it very much deserved.  Point and click adventure games as a whole tend to be rather niche these days as the market trends toward explosions, shooters, and general real-time action games.  While I am not against such a trend at all, it does have the side-effect that gaming gems in unpopular genres tend to fall through the cracks and get missed by the majority of the gaming populous.  Machinarium is a game that you shouldn’t just skip over and here’s why:

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WR: Dragon Age: Origins (Xbox 360, PS3, PC/Mac)

Monday, January 18th, 2010

Developer: BioWare
Publisher: EA
Genre: RPG
Players: 1
Console: Xbox 360, PS3, PC/Mac
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
Hours Played: 45
Progress: Completed main story on “Normal”

Some of the best RPG experiences I?ve had have been with Bioware games, both Knights of The Old Republic on the Xbox and Mass Effect on the Xbox 360 were revolutionary titles long after Bioware started etching out their legacy as a developer of premium RPG titles. It?s therefore no surprise that Dragon Age: Origins, Bioware?s latest RPG offering, comes with much anticipation and high expectations. Originally heralded as the spiritual successor to the popular dungeon crawler Baldur?s Gate, the developers changed pace and decided to give the game a behind the player, 3rdperson perspective and a more deliberate combat system with deep story line and party-based combat and exploration. When originally conceived, the game was thought to be a PC-only title.  Fortunately for console gamers, publisher EA saw the mass-market appeal and pushed for a console release as well. Inspired by the Dungeons and Dragons universe, Dragon Age: Origins is a throwback to ?old school? RPGs but with the Bioware flair and seal of quality we?ve become so used to. Read on to find out how it stacks up to their previous titles…

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WR: Borderlands: The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned DLC (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

Zombie island review pic

Developer: Gearbox Software
Publisher: 2K Games
Genre: FPS/Action RPG
Players: 1-2, 2-4 (online)
Console: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
Hours Played: 8
Progress: Completed all quests on 1st and 2nd play-through

Only a month-and-4-days after the release of Borderlands, the first offering of downloadable content becomes available, although seemingly soon after the game’s launch, people have been panting for more of Gearbox’s looter and shooter extravaganza. Considering how good the original game was, you really can’t go wrong with some extra content, right? Well… read on to find out.

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WR: Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

modern_warfare_2_review

Developer: Infinity Ward
Publisher: Activision
Genre: First Person Shooter
Players: 1-4, 2-18 (online)
Console: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
Progress: Completed campaign on “Hardened”

Only a few days after launch everyone seems to have an opinion of this juggernaut of FPS games, it’s important to note that at the Usagi we neither pay lip service to a big publisher just because we happened to get exclusive access or press coverage and neither will we be unjustly critical just because it would be the “indy” thing to do in the face of such an established franchise and mass-adored title. No, falling somewhere in the middle, we do our best to be unbiased, fair and take an expert, in-depth look at games from a gamer’s perspective.  Having said that you probably won’t be surprised when we tell you that Modern Warfare 2 is a great shooter, in fact it’s one of the best FPS games in recent memory and takes us to a level of immersion and visceral action, especially in the main campaign, that improves on the first Modern Warfare (Call of Duty 4), in almost every way. Read on to discover what to look out for in one of the year’s biggest releases…

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WR: Borderlands (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

borderlands2

Developer: Gearbox
Publisher: 2K Games
Genre: First Person Shooter/Action RPG
Players: 1-2, 2-4 (online)
Console: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
Hours Played: 40
Progress: Finished main story and all side quests

Developer Gearbox is probably best known for its Brothers in Arms franchise and has been working for years now on the gem that is Borderlands. As this title came closer to release you could feel the buzz and excitement building among the video game media and fans; not surprising considering the original and mouth-watering concept behind the game: think of it as Diablo with guns. Wrapped in a First Person Shooter (FPS) coating, Borderlands is all about the loot, shoot enemies – collect loot, open chests – collect loot, find containers – collect loot, all while being able to pair up with a buddy through split-screen or up to three through Xbox live. Gearbox seems to have found the magic formula for creating a game that’s easy to pick up and nearly impossible to put down, read on to find out why….

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WR: Batman: Arkham Asylum (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

batman-arkham-asylum

Developer: Rocksteady Studios
Publisher: Eidos Interactive
Genre: 3rd person Action/Adventure
Players: 1
Console: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)
Hours Played: 25
Progress: Finished game on normal

Batman games, and comic book tie-ins in general for that matter, don’t have the best track record when it comes to being high quality, enjoyable titles. It is therefore that we won’t fault anyone for not having high expectations for Batman: Arkham Asylum (BAA).  Please heed our warning, however, as this is a game you definitely want to check out, not only is BAA the best Batman game to ever be released, its one of the best games of the year, period. Read on to find out what made Rocksteady Studios (started by former members of developer Argonaut Games, best known for recent Harry Potter games and Starfox on the SNES), hit a home-run with this one…

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WR: Raven Squad (Xbox 360, PC)

Saturday, September 19th, 2009

raven-squad

Developer: Atomic Motion
Publisher: Evolved Games
Genre: FPS
Players: 1, 2 (online)
Console: Xbox360, PC
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)
Hours Played: 15
Progress: Finished game on Normal

In the jungle no one can hear you scream… and scream you will while playing this travesty of game. Raven Squad is a squad-based first person shooter with, what little-known Hungarian developer Atomic Motion would have you believe, are RTS (Real Time Strategy) elements. Read on for a stringent lecture on what not to do when designing a game…

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