ComradePB

There are many games out there that go for that retro aesthetic, so you might wonder what exactly it is that sets Shovel Knight apart from all those games that borrow from what has come before them. The creators of Shovel Knight are obviously fans of classic games on the NES like Mario Bros., Megaman, and Castlevania just to name a few and great care has been taken to use the more memorable elements from these games both the loved (Duck Tales style pogo attacks, Megaman style bosses, and Castlevania style sub weapons) and the hated (knock-back deaths and difficulty on the level of Megaman 2). Even so, Shovel Knight does enough to set itself apart as it's own game with it's quirky cast of characters, awesome music, amazing sprite art, and rather odd choice of weaponry. It is not perfect however; even though I would consider Shovel Knight a fair game, there were times where I felt that no person playing for their first time would be able to avoid death just because an enemy popped up over a bottomless pit when they weren't expecting it. A death in a video game is fair when the player sees danger coming and simply doesn't respond to it accordingly, it's not fair if you get **** punched. Even so this only emboldens that classic NES feeling where a gamer will play again but this time with memory on their side. Shovel Knight is a game that is well worth your time.

I have never played a Metal Gear game in my life until now but I heard good things about this game from my friend who had played it so I decided to pick it up and after playing through it I feel that I have formulated a sound opinion. Let me just start by saying that the game is incredibly gory so if that's a deal breaker for you then don't bother. However if you can get past the violence than this can be a fun game for you. Graphically it's amazing the characters are all rendered well, the environments all look nice, and there is so much chaos and destruction that there will be bits and pieces of just about everything from enemies, to missiles, to vehicle parts flying all over the place. The game play has some issues though, to me the game felt like a beat 'em up so while chopping enemies to bits is fun it can get a little repetitive. There are some stealth elements to mix things up a bit, but there are several sections where I feel it's impossible to get through without being detected on your first try. There's a very strict learning curve throughout this game, you will have to think on the spot and master skills as quickly as you possibly can and there is little room for error. While this offers some challenge, I can safely say that this game is not nice to beginners. Not to mention the difficulty is all over the place I was killed three times by one by only to defeat the boss that came after it in one try. The soundtrack is full of kick ass hard rock and it greatly compliments all the action on screen, especially when fighting a boss. Finally, I like is the story, amidst all the hacking and slashing, there is a story that brings up many different perspectives on war philosophy and ethics in this case it's mainly centered around the subject of child soldiers. It's something that really makes you think long after you put down your controller. I like it when games do this because I think it really enhances your experience, it makes you feel like your actions have weight behind them. Just to clarify, I think this is a good game and if you want to buy it for yourself then go ahead, just be prepared for what lies ahead of you when you do.

It's hard for me to give my opinion of this game, even after I've beaten it. I didn't know what to think at first, They Bleed Pixels seemed like another retro styled indie platformer not unlike Super Meat Boy. I asked my friend who already owned the game for his opinion and he claimed that it was a good game but difficult. I bought They Bleed Pixels the same day and started to play through it. It seemed pretty fun, the combat was a little awkward and unresponsive but other than that I liked it. The pixel art was nice, the music was great, and the levels did test you without seeming to **** then I got to level 2 and had come to realize what I had just gotten myself into. With every passing level the obstacles that I had to overcome became more and more unforgiving and I suffered many more deaths. The very last level took me almost an hour and half and 223 deaths to complete, no joke. This game will challenge you and if you are not prepared to buckle down and see it through all the way to the end, then you become another one of its victims. It's a darn shame because I feel like this could have been a fun game, it's so satisfying to rack up combos, beat the crap out of enemies, kicking them in to saws, spikes, and crushers and watching as their pixelated blood is thrown in all directions. But that wasn't enough to get me to look past the unmerciful difficulty. If you're the type of person who doesn't mind dying a lot then by all means, play this game. If not, stay away whatever you do. I'm not saying They Bleed Pixels is a bad game, but if you're not careful, it will rip you to shreds.

I didn't know how I felt about this game when I saw it on Steam. Initially I thought that the whole "TF2 and Minecraft mixed together" concept was interesting but probably would make a good combination, but after a while, I bought the game when it was on sale. I can safely say that I wasted my money. The classes ****, the game modes have been done before and done better in other games the maps are way too big and half the time I'm just looking for someone to shoot, the "Minecraft" concept is extremely lacking, and the game is just terrible overall. If done well, this could've been an interesting shooter, but you're better off jut keeping TF2 and Minecraft separate.

I'd being lying if I didn't say NiGHTS was an......interesting experience. Having never played the original on SEGA Saturn and seeing the various problems with the Wii game NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, I was a little hesitant to buy the rerelease on Steam. However after a while I decided to play it out of curiosity. The most entertaining part of NiGHTS is the gameplay, I could tell after the first few minutes that this was a game made by Sonic Team. It's exciting when you get a feel for the control and start flying through the levels without anything stopping you, and you can go pretty fast and get a lot of point if you know what you're doing, if you know what you're doing though, you're probably on a second, third, or even forth play through because NiGHTS barely gives you any info about how to properly play it. The instructions give you just enough info to get through, but if you want to get the best score, you'll have to figure that out on your own. Finally, a fair bit of warning, this game is incredibly short, if you just play it without getting "A ranks" then you'll probably get though the game in an hour or two, maybe less. I'm not saying NiGHTS isn't fun, I'm just saying that you shouldn't expect it to keep your attention for a long time.

I, like many other gamers I'm sure, was very skeptical of this game when my friend recommended it to me. When I first saw the videos for it on Youtube, steam, and various other places, I could not help but immediately think of Minecraft in 2-D and who could blame me? After playing it however I realize the there are several differences as well as a few unfortunate similarities between this and Minecraft. First of all, like Minecraft, you will spend a majority of your time digging underground looking for various metals and the such and like Minecraft it's incredibly monotonous trying to find enough to craft everything you need. In fact it's harder to obtain the right amount of material to make things like better armor and weapons and other tools. It goes without saying then that this game is much better and easier with friends, still it is enjoyable playing single player from time to time. The real fun of Terraria comes when you actually get the right amount of materials to create a myriad of different tools, weapons, armor, and accessories for your character to use. There is the basic stuff, things like swords and pickaxes and armor. Then there's a lot of cool stuff that you can't get in Minecraft such as guns, lightsabers, flails, rocket boots, wings, spell books, special charms that turn you into a werewolf, the list goes on. There is a lot that Terraria can offer you but only if you're willing to work very hard to get it, but when you do, you feel awesome.

Sonic Generations is one of the best Sonic games you can possibly play, and I should know, I've played 23 of them. Sonic Generations tries to bring in long time fans of the series and people just getting in to it, and it succeeds. Generations takes 9 levels from Sonic games throughout Sonic's history, from 1991's Green Hill Zone from Sonic 1 to 2010's Planet Wisp from Sonic Colors. Each level has two acts, in act 1 you run through as Classic Sonic, whose levels play like a classic side scroller. In act 2 you play as Modern Sonic whose levels play like...well, a modern Sonic game (by modern I mean past the year 1999). There is really no downside to this approach by Sega, other than the fact that some of this game runs on nostalgia, by which I mean there are some things that only long time fans will understand, like Tails not recognizing Green Hill Zone, because he didn't exist at the time. That however is only a minor complaint, the main problem is the lack of deep plot. The plot for Sonic Generations is incredibly simple, it starts with Sonic celebrating his birthday with his friends when a giant monster appears and **** everyone into limbo. After that it's up to both Sonics to run through past levels, save all of Sonic's friend, and defeat a giant time traveling monster. It's incredibly simple so for those of you looking for a deep and griping story, you won't find it here. However in the grand scheme this hardly matters, the levels are what will grab you. The levels are highly re-playable and have multiple paths, so you'll often be playing again trying to find the fastest route. There are also 5 red rings hidden in each level which when found will unlock bonus content: Music, Concept Art, etc. Speaking of which the music is awesome, but that goes without saying seeing as this is a Sonic game.Each song takes the original music and remixes it for a classic or modern feel and most of them sound great (Planet Wisp's music didn't make a good transition). But the best part is if you like a particular piece of music that you have unlocked, you can select it to be played during a level. If you have a passing interest in the Sonic franchise and want a good game to start with, then I would highly recommend this one, If you are a Sonic fan then there is absolutely no reason you shouldn't pick this up, unless you don't have the proper console to play it on. For those of you who are Nintendo gamers, there is an option. I would not recommend the 3DS version, If you want the same version that's on Xbox and PS3, then you'll need a computer. Just get a Steam account and it you can download it for $30. You can play it without a controller but again, I would not recommend it. Instead you can plug an Xbox controller into the USB port on your computer. Happy speed running!

The Binding of Isaac is an interesting case. If you are not a hardcore gamer, then this game is probably not for you, if you are, read on. One of the biggest drawing points to The Binding of Isaac is that fact that no two play throughs are the same, this is good for replayability which I cannot praise enough, it's always good to keep the game interesting so the player doesn't get bored. This could be said for the multiple endings as well, that is, if they were done properly. Rather than going the traditional route of having your actons affect the outcome of your playthrough the game instead gives you a different ending everytime you complete the game. I feel like this takes away from the replayability because you're not really doing anything different, it's just another run through. Speaking of which there will no doubt be a lot of run throughs. The Binding of Isaac has no checkpoints, savepoints, or even extra lives. When you die you start all over losing all of your progress. At first it makes you just angry enough that you want to keep playing and you'll probably think to yourself "I can beat this!" but then 20 death later it may have you on the verge of rage quitting. That said it may help some players to hear that there are only 8 total levels in the whole game. Now before you start saying "that's too short", let me just clairify a few things. First of all, the amount of time you spend in a level is entirely up to you. You can choose to go straight to the boss or take a second to find any items you can before moving on. Second the levels are like mazes that gradually get more complicated and more difficult to traverse with every passing level so you probably won't notice. Also I should warn you that the game does tend to be rather...disturbing, but one thing that helps to balance things out is the game's cartoony style which is simple yet at times very detailed and I enjoy it. Finally I should point out that this game is being sold at the very low price of $4.99 on Steam, so it's very easy to pick up.