I have never played the original Alan Wake. I have not tried the demo, I have not rented or borrowed the game, I have not had the game, in any format, within the confines of my home, or even in my hand as a possible purchase at a store. I’m not really a fan of horror or thriller games in general, which is why Alan Wake never really held any interest for me. Now, with Alan Wake’s American Nightmare making its way onto consoles as part of this year’s House Party event for XBLA, I have finally played in the shoes of Alan Wake. I can review this game in one sentence: Playing Alan Wake’s American Nightmare makes me want to buy and play the original Alan Wake. Read the full story

Hype is a dangerous thing. Setting the bar too high assures that success is impossible. When Curt Schilling, a man that was never known for a lack of confidence, set out to make an RPG, he treated it like an All-Star Game. He brought the most high profile talent he could grab. Fantasy powerhouse R.A. Salvatore, comic visionary Todd McFarlane, and Elder Scrolls luminary Ken Rolston make the design team read like a who’s who list rather than the credits of a fantasy RPG. With such a high caliber of talent and experience, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning had a lot to live up to, and just like most All-Star games, parts are exhilarating,  but the end product ends up a bit of a letdown. Read the full story

Shank shank shank. Shank shank shank. Shank your Xbox. Shank your Xbox! As a disclaimer, I hold absolutely no responsibility or liability for you actually shanking your Xbox. I don’t recommend it in any way whatsoever. What I do recommend, however, is Shank 2, Klei Entertainment’s sequel to its well received side scrolling gorefest, Shank. I love that word, and I warn you that I may end up severely overusing it in this review. Proceed with caution, and at your own risk. Read the full story

Growing up, I loved playing time-intensive board games. Monopoly? I’m down. Clue? You know it. Risk? At the drop of a hat. I also loved playing word games. Boggle? Oh yeah. Upwords? Of course. Scrabble? I’m a Scrabble fiend… Half a year ago, Quarrel, a beautiful combination of Risk and Scrabble, was released on iOS, and I was instantly enamoured. Now, the original XBLA concept behind the iOS release has, if a little late, fulfilled its destiny and made its way to my Xbox 360. Read the full story

The best advice I can give you if you’re planning on playing NeverDead is not to take it too seriously. Sure, the subject matter may have some heavier elements to it…the burden of immortality, loss, demons, love…but in much the same way that you wouldn’t take Army of Darkness or Plan 9 from Outer Space seriously, I reiterate: NeverDead is not a game to take seriously, because I honestly believe it is a game that doesn’t take itself seriously. If this is not the first review you have read for NeverDead, then I am sure you have seen quite a lot of negative criticism, and quite a few low scores. Part of the criticism is valid, but part of it stems from the reviewers doing the one thing they absolutely should not have done when approaching NeverDead: they took it seriously. You may feel that I’m becoming redundant, but it’s a very important point and it should be thoroughly impressed upon you before you continue. Read the full story

It seems like a cliche these days. Say the name of the game Ico and everyone expects praise. And by this point, everyone knows the idea of the minimalist game with beautiful design and a story that can be interpreted a myriad of ways. But what we’re talking about is one interpretation that was interesting enough to get published.

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Since its humble beginnings on the NES, Final Fantasy has left an indelible mark in gaming, and that legacy has held strong for generations. Recently, the mantle of Final Fantasy has suffered from fan disappointment and a development strategy that can’t seem to decide between tradition and innovation. Although I was a tremendous fan of Final Fantasy XIII, the criticisms over linearity and overwrought story were absolutely justified. Final Fantasy XIII-2, only the second direct sequel in the series’ long history, is Square Enix’s apology to fans for the failures of the last game. With a far more open world, towns, and a story line that lets you hop all over at your discretion, Final Fantasy XIII-2 has a lot of changes, but still manages to feel like an incomplete game. Read the full story

I was a child of the arcades. I would spend my time and money gladly and without hesitation at any one of a number of arcades on any one of a number of cabinets. X-Men, Gauntlet, Time Crisis, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and more have all played their part in draining me of the limited funds I had in my childhood. One of the games most responsible for my lack of cold hard coinage in my youth was The Simpsons. The first video game ever made for The Simpsons was made as an arcade cabinet by Konami in the first years of the 1990s, a decade very near and dear to my heart. I grew up with The Simpsons, both on TV and in the arcades. Now, it’s made its way to XBLA, and will be coming to PSN this coming Tuesday. Has Konami done the unthinkable and tampered with one of the greatest arcade games ever? Read the full story

I know what you’re thinking: “This game came out over a year ago. Why is it just getting reviewed now?” I can answer that for you in two parts. First, with the release of patch 4.3, all of the intended Cataclysm content and most of the gameplay balance adjustments have been made and the final version is now in the hands of the players. Second, like any MMO, the game that initially ships generally turns out to be completely different from the game that everyone ends up playing in the end. So without further ado, let’s jump in. Read the full story

It’s always hard to do a review of an anime movie that’s based on a TV series. These kinds of film tend to work as continuations of the shows they’re based on, and make it difficult to judge it on its own merit for people who may not know what’s going on. FullMetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos (released by Funimation and animated by Studio Bones) doesn’t try to complicate itself by explaining everything for new people, instead focusing on the strengths in storytelling the show and its original manga (created by Hiromu Arakawa).

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