Sometimes I look over at my shelf of games and grumble to myself, “things aren’t what they used to be.” I’m not unsatisfied with games today; sometimes it just feels like there’s something missing. Gaming has changed so drastically since the rather simplistic, seemingly carefree days of the 8 and 16-bit eras. Whenever a new game comes along that emulates that style, it can succeed, but not to the level I want it to. Examining Fez with my nostalgia goggles on brought me gratification, but when I took those goggles off, I found out that the folks at Polytron understand. They were well aware of that era in games and knew how to properly emulate it. They get it. READ MORE
I’ve been following the Warriors series of games for about a decade now. At some point I conceded that the hack-and-slash genre, specifically Dynasty Warriors, was moving the way of yearly sports releases with its incremental updates and almost-annual releases. Like the gamer that eagerly awaits an updated Madden roster, I too have continued to sink massive amounts of time unlocking and upgrading my various Warriors characters with each new release. Enter Warriors Orochi 3. READ MORE
The Splatters is a physics puzzler with an emphasis on style. Throughout all three of the game modes, your goal is to use the titular Splatters to explode all of the bombs on a level. And since you accrue points based on how many stunts you execute along the way, you’ll find yourself replaying already-completed levels in the quest to get that third star or rise up on the leaderboards ahead of your friends. READ MORE
There is no denying that the multiplayer space has been chock full of cooperative multiplayer in recent years. Between Gears of War, Halo, Borderlands and now Mass Effect, teaming up with friends to save the world is, if not taking over, giving the traditional lone-wolf style of gameplay a run for its money. Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City is no different. It’s designed from step one to be played in a group. What Slant Six forgot was that step one needs to be fun. Aping what has worked for others is no guarantee of success, and ORC is not a successful team-based shooter. READ MORE
You can tell when a golfer just starts getting tired. It’s usually sometime around the middle of the final day of a tournament, when those birdies keep slipping to pars and the drives just aren’t quite as long as they have been. They’re pros, and they compensate well, but there’s just not that spring in their step that made things fun and exciting.
Tiger Woods 13 is that point for the venerable series. READ MORE
