Arkan01d

I wanted to point out something no one else seems to have yet; the amount of negative reviews for this game and their ratio in comparison to other Elder Scrolls games on Metacritic. Morrowind: 139 positive (p) : 9 negative (n) = 6.5% of the reviews were negative. Oblivion: 351p : 70n = 19.9% negative reviews. Skyrim: 1,391p : 230n = 16.5% negative reviews. ESO: 717p : 433n = 60.4% negative reviews. Some players have made the statement that the series has gained in popularity and therefore it's only natural to gain more negative reviews, but we see from the data that even though Skyrim's total user reviews increased by 385% it's negative ratio decreased nearly 3% in total! That is an amazing feat especially for a game franchise. Typically later installations receive more exposure, but more bad press as well. But what about the press? From the 116 total professional review scores, over all three previous titles, there were ONLY 2 mixed (yellow) reviews. No negative reviews are recorded on Metacritic. Both mixed reviews were for Morrowind. So the last two titles could be considered an improvement over each other as nearly all new installments of a continuing series degrades or receives lower scores from the press who are looking for more with each new release. Now we turn to ESO where the press has nearly as many mixed reviews as they do positive. What conclusions can we make given the data at hand? ESO is not a very good game in the cannon of the Elder Scroll series.

I followed Fable from the time Peter Molyneux began over-hyping it years before it was ever released. I was so excited to be playing a RPG that developed and grew. Where decisions were difficult and must be lived with for the rest of your life. All those things were a bunch of lies. This game is horrendous. You live a whole life in under a day of game time. You can beat this game in 8 hours, 8 hours! A RPG that took 4 years to make and none of the promised content present. Please never purchase a Peter Molyneux game. After all the lies gamers suffered from Black and White, Fable was the final straw for me.

tl;dr Just buy Game Dev Story for your smart phone. This game is clearly a rip off of Game Dev Story for Android and IOS devices. It progresses the same, has the same fundamental game making mechanics, and the player guide is so similar it hurts. This game does offer a few different options like making your own game engines and designers need to take vacations after making a few games. You can unlock genres by research and certain platforms are more tailored to certain game types. There is also Steam trading cards and achievements, if you're into those things, that can help sway you to purchase. The problem I have with this game is the game developing. In Game Dev Story the production bubbles are flying up and there's all these power-up sounds. It feels like your really working hard. Then each development phase focuses on that certain aspect of the game itself; so you have a clear idea of what's being produced and how well your team is doing for each game element: Graphics, Story, Sound, ect. Contrast that with this game, Game Dev Tycoon, the production bubble slowly float up and make barely a sound. Your developers seem to float over the keyboard and lazily sip coffee, instead of appearing like they are in a rush or really working hard. This game has development phases, but they are inconsequential. Each phase it tells you what you are going to work on, but your developers produce production bubbles for other game aspects. Why include a development phase if your team is going to do whatever they feel like? For $10 is this game really worth it? If you've never played Game Dev Story and always wondered what it would be like to be a game developer then I think you will enjoy this game. Game Dev Story costs 75% less, is more exciting and presents a much clearer focus. However, you don't get as much in-depth play and Steam bonuses; so it's really up to you. Personally I feel gypped and wish this game provided a little more excitement to the developing process.

This game is a fun platformer. A rogue-like rpg through and through. Expect to die, quite a bit, in the beginning. If you stick with it you'll find a very engrossing and challenging game. The only problem is the end game. There is a lot of grinding that needs to take place before you can face the final boss. However, how many rogue-like games actually give you a way to beat the game? I recommend this game. At $15 I thought it was a bit overpriced, but honestly, it's more than a fair price.

This game is great, if you don't have it, why not? It's legos for adults. Not only is it fun to build and create, they constantly add more content to the game. Minecraft has been a game that I constantly go back to and find myself engrossed in days and weeks of crafting and building.

Can a game be good and bad at the same time? To me, Don't Starve fills both roles and leaves me with mixed feelings. This game is fun the first few play through's. You're learning and adapting and dying and all the while it's fun and rewarding. Then you survive your first winter and realize there really isn't much more to the game beyond finding food everyday and picking saplings and grass. On my 2nd play through I survived 72 days and ended up committing suicide because the game had lost all meaning. The problem is not that the game is bad. The problem is that the game looses it's reward system once you grasp the basics of it. The mood of the game is great, the setting is nice, the art style is spot on, but once you've played for a few hours the wonder ceases. If we look at Minecraft's rewards, yes you spend hours grinding away, mining blocks, but then you turn them into works of art and mechanical systems only limited by your minds eye. If we look at Unreal World, you spend months hauling logs and barely catching enough fish to survive. When you finally get your log cabin built and you spend the first night sleeping, not in a lean to, but a house you built with your own hands and sweat you feel like you really accomplished something. Compare that with Don't Starve where you are not able to built a real house, only walls and a floor. No door or bed is included in the crafting recipes. No place to call home. You can make a bed roll that's only good for one night and leaves your overly starving. Or you could build a tent, at a fairly high cost to silk, that only lasts for 6 uses and leaves you begging for food. Yes, sleeping punishes you by making you nearly starve to death. Apparently sleep increases your metabolism five fold. Most nights you will find yourself, waiting till daylight, around a campfire just wasting IRL time. All that being said, there is a great game here. It's fun to play, even if it's just for a few hours at a time. There is great potential within it's construct. I really hope the developers continue to expand and provide more rewards to players. At this time I can't suggest buying the game full price. If you find it for under $10 then consider it, otherwise just put this on your wishlist and check back in a year's time to see how it's progressed.

I don't play JRPG's often. That being said, in my lifetime I have played quite a few: FF3,4,5,7,9, FF Tactics, Chrono Trigger, Tales of Symphonia, The Last Remnant. I mention these off the top of my head, I may have played more. My point in this list is to say that I don't play JRPG's often, but when I do, I always throughly enjoy them. I love the story, combat, and character progression. Japanese games present a direction and viewpoint not always met from American or European game designers. JRPG's do not make it to PC very often and since I'm a PC exclusive gamer I pre-ordered it on Steam with much anticipation. I waited on launch day to get the download started. Which happened later than it should have btw. The forums where filled with angry and anxious gamers all who were waiting for a chance to play. Once I got the game up and running I was immediately confused. The story begins halfway and explains very little. The graphics were something out of a PS1 launch title. SMALL SPOILER: It launches you into a fight with no explanation and auto-battles, but doesn't tell you that's what happens, and you die, but doesn't really explain why and you're left wondering if you need to restart because the controller didn't seem to work or if that was supposed to happen or what!? From that point on it's nothing but a mindlessly slow grindfest where you battle the same enemies on the same board with the same background 30 times while uncovering only small bits of story with not much explanation as to the motives of the characters. I've only played for 2 hours. Perhaps the story takes 3 hours to develop, I doubt I'll ever find out. I just can't be bothered with a game that has no redeeming qualities for a 2 hour investment. Oh and the DLC is basically equipment that allows you to cheat. If there was any strategy to the battles to be had it will be erased once you equip your first DLC item. It's sad to say, but this is the first JRPG that I've ever played and genuinely didn't not like at all.

Dear Esther is not a game. A game has rewards, mechanics, puzzles, ect. Dear Esther is an audio book designed for a game engine. It has you walk in a designated path to learn a story. Your first walk through you will not get the whole story. You need to walk around another time. The path that you can take is severely limited. There is no real exploring. If you see something intriguing in the distance then that's it. You've just seen something intriguing in the distance. Dear Esther reminds me of shopping for groceries to cook dinner only to remember you need one more ingredient to start and must go shopping again. Then halfway through cooking you run out of something else and have to make a 3rd trip to the store to complete dinner. Dinner wasn't about the multiple journeys you had to take. It wasn't about how long it took to cook. It's just about sitting down and eating a delicious dinner. If, before you began cook, you knew getting dinner ready would take 3 trips to the store you'd probably just quit and order take out.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

This game is just great! You design and build a prison. Sounds simple right? Not so much. You learn along the way at just what works and what doesn't. The more you play the more you will find yourself designing and considering every room. If you like a game that tests your logic while being charming and sometimes frustrating then this is a game for you. Also, it's nice to get regular updates from an indie developer. No other Steam, Early Access game updates as much as Introversion. They have been in the industry for many years now and their veteran-ship shines through.

Why do you game? That is the issue that Hydrophobia brings to the table. Do you love to develop a character, or be able to explore everything, to feel challenged, or do you love a good story? Or do you play a game based solely off the graphics? If you love graphics then I think you will find this game very engaging. Don't be fooled by the users who have only reviewed this one game. This game is a sad excuse for gameplay. Hydrophobia reminds me of crappy games from 1994. You see, CD-ROMS were just getting traction and finding their way into everyone's home PC's. CD's gave a lot more space than most games could have filled just a year or two before. So developers began producing games that were movies. You would do a few interactive things, but for the most part you watched a movie on your awesome new CD-ROM device. This is the route Dark Energy Digital took when making this game a mere 17 years after the wave of interactive CD's flooded game stores. Was it that they didn't really have a game or that they had a great cinematics department and no level designers? We'll never know. The game plays out like this: A strange cut-scene that doesn't explain anything. Then you find your character in her room, you walk 2 steps to a table, then another cut-scene. You walk two steps to the door, then another cut-scene. You walk 2 steps to the elevator, then another cut-scene. You take a few steps to get out the elevator, then another cut-scene. Does that sound like fun to you? Steam has me clocked in at 1 hour of play time. The only reason I endured that long was a friend was with me and we were laughing at just how bad this game really was. I think if there was a bit more game to play and less movie I could have given it a 6 or 7. To put it another way: If your in 1st grade and draw a picture of stick figures with crayons; you're teacher would give you an A+ and tell you to take it home to mom to hang on the fridge. If, however, 17 years later you passed a similar picture to your college art teacher; you would get an F and no amount of fake reviews from your friends could hide the dismal work you tried to pawn off as legitimate effort.

I've been a big fan of rouge-like games. The first one I ever played was Amulet of Yendor on a 5 1/4" floppy drive. There are two things, for me, that makes a game of this type enjoyable: One is the constant threat of danger and death awaiting every corner. Spelunky excels over and above in that aspect. After I had died 4 times in 8 minutes and had not been able to complete level 1-1 I understood just how complex and unforgiving this game is. I wouldn't say steep learning curve, as such things as starting on an island with 3 arrow traps and spikes on both sides for level 1-1 is not really a learning experience so much as a bad luck of the draw. You live fast, you die fast, and if you stop and take time to explore a ghost appears and one hits you. It's for this reason that I gave Spelunky a low score, not that I died, or not that it's too hard to play. Spelunky is a reduction of a rouge-like. It's missing the 2nd thing that all rouge-likes should have: Character development. There's no off the wall classes with different abilities and weaknesses. There's no real inventory management, or stats, or ways to shape your character. It's just run through, don't stop, don't worry about the avatar, just go till you die. I like the game play, the graphics aren't bad, the music is meh. For me though, a rouge-like game is about developing a character and living out a story. I still remember getting to the higher floors of Amulet of Yendor and opening a chest that blinded me. Or in NetHack when I had the warrior who I thought was unstoppable until I couldn't find any food and ended up eating an old corpse that poisoned me to death. The story that plays out is what keeps me invested. Since it's missing half of what makes these types of games fun for me I rated it accordingly.

This game is really awesome! It feels like you're playing an old Tool video. The story took me 2 play thrus to fully understand. The puzzles are challenging enough and the mechanics are seductively simple. I completed the full game in 5 hours. The 2nd time around was only 1.5 hours. I would have given this game a 9 because it is so short. However, the story is so good, the puzzles were a blast, and the graphics unlike anything I've played!

I want to like this game: it's got depth, it's got strategy, it forces yourself to pit your mind vs yourself. However, I just can not get into it. I start the game up, play for 20 minutes, and then get bored. Maybe I'm just not that interesting an opponent? There really isn't as much depth here as I would have liked. Also, the game font is smaller than my eyes can easily read. All said, it just doesn't have what it takes to keep me focused long enough to enjoy this game. I get the impression if I played a little longer I'd really enjoy it. I just can't force myself to play that long.

An excellent FPS. One of the few Zombie shooters that actually is fun to play. The community is very helpful. Best practice, if you're new, make sure to start off on the beginner maps. You need time to level and learn the game before you can start playing on normal. Also, solo play is no fun at all. But KF isn't about solo play, it's about working as a loosely based team and killing zombies while doing it.

This game just plain ****. It's a board game style, frivilous tween expose, for anyone interested in the intricacies of the 1920's social heirarchy. Of which I am not! You will find yourself playing the same cards very quickly and knowing all the responses. Although I am not the target audience, I'm not sure those who fit this game will even appreciate it.

Recettear is a game that should be fun. You run an item shop, you quest for new items, and sell those items to people. Along the way you make friends and a pile of money. Simple enough to grasp, or so I thought. This game is so needlessly filled with dialog that is takes away from the fun. I'm all for a tutorial or a few helpful hints, but after 40 minutes of playing I hadn't even opened my shop for the first day yet. All I was doing was reading dialog AND not good dialog. It's not like there is a story line that will keep you on the edge of you seat. You are a young and very ditzy girl who is partnered up with a loanshark fairy. The fairy tells you everything you need to know to run a shop. She tells you, then you repeat it back to her and make a ditzy joke to go along with it, then she reiterates, and you make another ditzy joke. This goes on for what I am certain forever. Steam has me clocked in at 94 minutes of play time and I don't think I can take anymore cyclical dialog. I really hoped they would just shut up and let me play this game, but I have a feeling it will never end. Did I mention I can't find a way to save my game? I had to quit after 40 minutes of play and when I returned it made me start a new game. I had to go through all the dialog again. Yes it lets you skip, but you're pressing Esc 10 times just to play for 5 minutes. Who are these people that are giving this game all these good reviews? Wall of crits hits for 1463!

Trine is a game that takes pride in it's work. From the story, to the graphics, to the level design every part of Trine shows care, polish, and pride. That is up to the end. There are no spoilers here, just know that the ending is very anti-climatic. The ending is what lead me to give Trine a 9 and not a 10. The path to the end, however, is very enjoyable and will keep you enthralled and frustrated at the same time. It took me 2 days or 12 hours to complete Trine and the whole time I just couldn't seem to force myself away from the PC. If you like puzzle platforming, then you will certainly love this game. Actually, if you just like games that require a bit of free thinking and puzzle solving then you will enjoy it. It can get frustrating at times, but remember: If at first you don't succeed, Trine, Trine again.

Your first time in AVWW is like playing a MMO for the first time except their is no n00b chat to lead you in the right direction. Sure there are signs in-game that tell you things you need to know, but the game is so foreign in design that the general hints will probably still have you scratching your head. It did for me anyways. I know what you're thinking, "So far this doesn't sound like a review worthy of 9/10.' Well my fellow gamer you are so wrong. To start off let me say that I am reviewing this game as of version 1.2. From what I can tell a lot has changed since it's initial release less than 3 months ago and I am glad I waited to purchase it. I won't go into the changes just how the game is now. The overall platforming has a retro feel, but still very fluid and easy to navigate. Your character responds to the slightest of key presses and can change direction in air. That is a good thing as you will find yourself jumping and dodging a lot. Combat is... very confusing at first. You have a spell bar 1-9 that constitutes all your attacks you can use. The 1 slot is bound to Mouse 1 and the 2 slot is Mouse 2. The other spells must be cast via the number bar. Mana is regenerated automatically and very quickly, however if you spam a spell or try to use a spell too powerful for your character you can find yourself in a tricky situation. Each and every spell has an elemental attribute which works well or not for certain monsters. The way you can tell what a monster's weakness and resistance is, is by pausing the game and mousing over the monster in question. The pause button is set by default to 'p' which I quickly moved to the 'f' key as I find myself pausing quite a lot. Not just to check monsters either, but also to change equipment and spells, all of which you can do while in combat. This game, as with all self-respecting games, feels that the player not only learns from wining, but also from dying. Death is a permanent situation in AVWW. You will find yourself picking new players and starting again. However death does not take away your inventory of spells or equipment, but you may run into your old ghosts along the way. You also control a settlement where you can build buildings that help you or your people, but only if you find the plans for a building in a mission. Which was a great frustration to me when I first started. I had began the game with the idea of a Platforming/RPG/Action/Adventure/City Builder/Crafting would be a lot like Minecraft and Terraria meets confusing graphics and some other new twists. I started the game and fought my way through the opening platforming/tutorial part and made it to my settlement. The message at the top of the screen said I wasn't producing enough food and my citizens were starving. "No problem," I thought, "I'll just build a farm..." No sir! As it turns out crafting is mainly for spells. With spells they tell you automatically what spells you can craft and how close you are to getting the materials for other spells. With building you first need to find the plans. You probably won't find plans for a farm in the first 5hrs of play. So what keeps your citizens from dying? Well, as it turns out they don't starve to death. Their hunger level only affects their mood and their mood affects how well they preform missions that you send them on and you can't really send them on missions until you train them and you really can't train them until you build a few building that specialize in their certain profession AND their professions affect which missions they will be willing to go on! If you understood that, then I think you will like this game. I just wish the game had laid it out like that. I had to search Google for 2 days before I found that piece of info. However, even though I was frustrated my settlers where going to dye from starvation I kept finding myself returning to play. Coming back for just a few missions. Just a little bit more play-time. You see, AVWW is all about sticking with it. I know that's been said in other reviews, but it's good advice and a mantra you should recite every so often. For me, I played the game for 30 minutes. Then an hour a while later. Next thing you know I'm at work wondering what I'm going to do in AVWW once I get home. This game will **** you in, but you have to give it time, don't force it. There is a lot going on, a lot to do, and no n00b chat to hand hold you to level 20.

Sanctum is a FPS / Tower Defense game that has you create mazes to thwart enemies from reaching your reactor. Even though it's a fun game to play it just misses the bullseye. Planning in Sanctum is crucial as you must build the longest path with the most twists and turns to win. Before the 1st round starts and after every subsequent round there is a pause that gives you time to rearrange and add to the maze. You the player decide when the next wave of enemies starts. The fact that there is no time limit on how long you can plan before waves made the game feel easier than it had to be. However, until most tower defense games that give a top down you have to walk everywhere you want to place torrents and blocks which is, I'm sure why they have no time limits. The game is built off the Unreal Engine and it shows a little too much for me. You can tell it from the color pallet, to the way the player moves, and how the guns handle. Not that any of this is a bad thing, but to me it felt like I was playing a mod more so than a stand-alone game. However, this is also kind **** thing since, if you've ever played Unreal, you already know how control and shooting is going to work. Sound is the last part of this game that did it in for me. I never realized how much sound really meant for a game like this. You would expect a horde of aliens charging in a straight line down a path would at least sound terrifying. However it does not. The sense of dread or hopelessness is not there. Instead they quietly jog towards reactor making small groans and grunts when they die. Even your guns sound muted. It just takes you out of the experience and you feel like your watching an assembly line, not playing a game. In total Sanctum is a descent game, not a great one. If you really want to try a tower defense that has you running around killing hordes than Orcs Must Die is your game. If you loved Orcs Must Die and are interested in this game you will probably find yourself feeling empty either half-way or once you beat it. It's just that challenging or immersive to hold your attention for long.

If you played Gears of War and found yourself thinking, "I wish Diablo was a bit more like this," then Hunted is the game for you! Although the skill tree is minimal at best, the game has strange bugs such as health potions not showing being picked up until you switched the readied spell, and a story that only takes a couple days to complete, I really enjoyed Hunted. The game mechanics are simple, the story had enough depth to keep me going. Personally, I like exploring maps for secrets. Hunted has loads of secrets to find. I grabbed this for $10 during Steams holiday sale and it was worth it.

A solid and very fun game indeed. This is not so much a RTS, build massive amounts of units, kill opponents, as it is a strategy type game that puts you in the role of a level editor. Keeping heroes happy is a full-time job and the happier they are the more resources you gather from them. Its nice to see this game didn't take on the role of spiritual successor to the DK series. Kalypso took their time making a very solid and well thought out game. I would have liked to have given this game 9 instead of 8, but the game freezes on me every 10 minutes or so and when it finally unfreezes the game has progressed, but I was just not a part of it. I've had instances where my dungeon lord has been killed during a freeze. A shame too, because this is an otherwise solid game.

Cities XL 2011 has great visuals. The amount of information it gives you to help your city planning is very good. The idea that each city can become specialized and help each other is a wonderful idea. Yet there is a fun factor that this game never fully achieves. If you are like me you will spend a day, maybe three, then move on to something else. My advice is this: If you have a terrible itch for a city planning game by all means buy this one, but if you just want to relive the fun of the Simcity series... Just reinstall.