For me, 2013 has been a rather dull year in video gaming, as there has yet to be enough games that pique my interest. While there are certainly some franchises that focus on capitalizing on popular demand more than the gamers’ experience, Bioshock, in its two previous games, seems more intent to captivate the player’s attention and imagination with more than just gimmicks. With a rocky road to release for Bioshock: Infinite, one begins to wonder if it will affect the overall quality of the product.
A remake of any classic generally always manages to generate quite a mix of emotions amongst critics and fans alike. When the first pictures were released of the new Devil May Cry game, there was outrage at stylistic direction that Ninja Theory had taken for their reboot of the franchise. In my experience the reboot has always provided a pleasant experience, be it XCOM: Enemy Unknown from last year or Castlevania Lords of Shadow from 2011 so naturally I was intrigued to see how DmC would turn out.
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It seems that in the past year there have been less and less original ideas for games as almost every second title is either a sequel or franchise reboot that no one really wants. As a result, I am always a little excited to try games that at the very least try to walk the path less travelled.
Dishonored is set in a fictional English town, Dunwall, which has become overrun with plague from rats and infected humans. You play as the mysterious Corvo Attano, the Empress’ bodyguard framed for her murder. Your goal is to exact revenge upon those who have framed you for the crime and rescue the Empress’ daughter from captivity.
Sleeping Dogs has travelled a tough road before finally being released in August this year. It was initially part of the True Crime series under the name True Crime: Hong Kong before being scrapped and subsequently revived under the name Sleeping Dogs by Square Enix/United Front. As I had lived in Hong Kong for several years, I was excited to experience a city I called home virtually.
In my experience, I have found that downloadable games that aren’t HD remakes, on the PlayStation Network or Xbox Live Arcade have generally been split into 2 categories, either an arcade type game with endless amounts of replay value or a game that akin to a short story in literature. Having experienced a different array of what the downloadable scene has to offer, I have to say Mad Riders is a game people looking for fun should be checking out. View the full article »
As expected with any successful gaming franchise, the fans of the series are usually the hardest to please for sequels or reboots. Now I don’t consider myself a die-hard fan of the Max Payne series but even I was weary of Max Payne 3, a reboot some 9 years after Max Payne 2 and for a series that seemed to have reached a satisfactory conclusion. View the full article »
Although the Rayman franchise has been around for close to 20 years, my first Rayman experience only came earlier this year with the HD remake of Rayman 3. After having played Rayman 3, I couldn’t help but feel that if I hadn’t gotten the chance to play Rayman 3, I would have missed out on a significant franchise in the gaming industry. While Rayman 3 HD had various gameplay issues holding it back, I was, nevertheless, excited to experience what Rayman Origins had to offer. View the full article »
After the great success of the initial God of War HD Collection, it seems in the past year there has been a flurry of game publishers pulling out their hit titles from previous generations of consoles. For a cynic this move is nothing more than a cash grab by the “greedy corporations who are ruining gaming” but I tend to take the view that it allows unfortunate folks like me, who didn’t own a PS2 or XBOX to experience classics release on previous consoles. View the full article »
The first thing you will notice about Journey is that it doesn’t conform to the majority of gaming conventions. A single word I would use to describe Journey is “minimal” as the game never makes use of language or even a scoring system, and you are limited to three buttons on the controller; but for me, Journey is the most unique gaming experience I have ever had. View the full article »
Games in recent times have been lauded for their increasingly serious tones and focus giving the player more immersion with consequential choices. Recently I’ve been on a hunt to find the exact opposite, a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously but provides me with an experience to savour. For me, this task was fulfilled with Shadows of the Damned, a 3rd person shooter with an incredibly enjoyable twist of humour. View the full article »
