DantheMan

Starts off with a bang but ends in a muddle. Jane Jensen has recently been accused of sexism towards women in her latest video games and this is a perfect example. She takes an intriguing story about a young woman (Sam) who gets in over her head with no easy exit and turns it into a sophomoric and trite romance about a professor obsessed with his dead wife and the college co-ed obsessed with taking her place in his affection (not Sam). The actual game mechanics are often broken, too, and one will need a walk through--this has nothing to do with solving puzzles but simply a necessity to avoid hours of searching for the one object in the environment one forgot to inspect.. This game has faded into the obscurity of history and my advice to anyone reading this review is to not disturb it's well earned rest.

Ayn Rand meets The Goonies. This isn't a game but an excuse for a immature person to ramble on about his childish and annoying philosophy of life. It's not horror, merely gross. It's not meaningful, merely fatuous. Vengeance is what makes life worth living--oh boy is that original. It has all the emotional impact of a wet cigar. If you love long tedious conversations by an excited 17 year old who has taken Philosophy 101 for the first time in his life this game is for you. Otherwise, pass it.

Terrible endings rule what is otherwise the best game from WadjetEye to date. The game has an intriguing storyline, good characterizations, solid voice acting, excellent game play and puzzles that are challenging without being obtuse. The problem is that all of this leads up to an ending(s) that not only feels abrupt but is a limp as a soggy noodle. Honestly, when I was done I felt robbed not of my attention but of my time. This is especially so because the most obvious ending choice (simply refusing) leads to the lamest ending. When I was done I looked at a walkthrough and discovered there are seven(!) different possible endings. The game would have been far better off if it had just regulated itself to the one or two endings that were actually cool. There are other issues. The hint system doesn't work as well as one might hope, as it always seems to be two steps ahead or behind where the players activity is actually at. None of the choices in the game actually impact the outcome at all, rending the way your progress through the game **** graphics are, as is typical from this publisher, subpar. It is really unfortunate because I feel that this game is only a few steps away from greatness. Most of the game is well-done and engaging enough that I actually finished it. But when the player spends hours working through the game to be left with a pile of mush in their hands the disappointment lingers.

This is one game I wish I could delete from my steam account entirely. The fact that this won any plaudits is simply a reflection of the deplorable state of the gaming industry. The game is sickening at every level. Not only is the horror raw and gory and without redeeming value the writing is atrocious, the plotting bogus, and the characters as phoney as a twenty-three dollar bill. The only aspect of this game that deserve mention is the voice acting, which is top of the line. I could explain all my reasons for not liking this game in full detail but honestly I don't want to give it any more of my time. I bought it for less than ten dollars and I still want my money back. All I have to say to all of you people who rated this game highly is that developers are going to give you want you want and give it to you good and hard. You buy crap, you're going to get sold more crap. It's as simple as that.

A surprisingly good game. A combination of Bejewled-like match-three, hidden object, and "spot the difference" games molded around excellent production values. While the games starts out easy enough with an effective tutorial the difficulty curve ramps up quickly and by the middle of the game you will be hard pressed to finish each match-three level on the first try. Given that each level can run more than ten minutes you will sometimes want to tear your hair out when you lose. The only negative thing about this game is the story that holds the whole thing together; it was written for six year-olds. Still, I have played far worse games at this price point. If you are looking for a casual game and like the match-three mechanic this is an excellent option.

Effective voice acting and a gripping story in a unique milieu makes for an above average game for those willing to tolerate it's 'classic' graphics and sometimes regrettable puzzles. The fourth installment (the ending makes clear there will be more) in the Blackwell series has the most comprehensive and well-plotted story so far. The biggest downfall is the sometimes obtuse puzzles that require to you to possess constructive knowledge of certain items technological capabilities from out-of-game sources. The puzzles have always been one of the weaker aspects of the series but in Deception they can real roadblocks. A walk-through is handy simply because it helps keep the pacing of the story alive. But the hallmarks of the series remain: good voice acting, unique characters, and an unconventional story make for genuine immersion and entertainment. If you haven't played the series, I suggest you start at the beginning with the Blackwell Legacy.

I actually agree with BadByron's view but I will give it a slightly higher rating. All things considered this is still a decent game. It's also a let down from the first one. The major difference is that the first one was a work of art; it was crafted. This has a rushed feeling to it; it's more stereotypical Hollywood story. The decision to allow the main character to die if you made a mistake was a poor one as it made saving the game a distraction. The hint system is also not as refined. The ending is shockingly poor. On the upside it still has fine music, great visuals, and it could still make me laugh. The game is worth the money but it isn't nearly as good as the the original.

The highlight of this game is the well-presented graphics. The voice work is uneven but the main characters are done well. The story is yet another riff on the Knight of the Templar and remains serviceable until the ridiculous ending. The biggest problem is that the game is excessively linear even for the genre. You simply cannot do any actions until some prior action has been done and the game informs you of this bluntly. If you haven't got all the objects from a map, you can't leave. The game is plagued with do random event X in Random location Y and then get a phone call to make the story progress. It's nonsense. Then there is the problem of the voice acting getting clipped, and the fact that the voice acting often is vastly different from the text, and random objects you need lying around in random locations, and you have a mess. It's too bad because there are some parts of this game done well and other parts are done poorly. It has potential but just never lives up to it.

The controls on the game are so broken as to make it impossible to play expect for the most dedicated of fans. The Sleeping Dragon is the only installment that is not point-and-click. In fact, it's impossible to use the mouse for anything. Instead all major actions in the game are done by the keyboard. The game manual brags about this "hybrid" system but it's horrible. This is implicitly acknowledged by the fact that the fourth installment went back to the point-and-click system. People who can shudder their way through the UI might find an otherwise excellent game. But the UI in this game is so totally different than the other three games in the series that I strongly advise anyone thinking of purchasing The Sleeping Dragon to download a trial or play a friends game. This is not what you'd expect from the Broken Sword series and it's unfortunate that they tried this experiment in the middle of the series.

Better game than The Longest Journey. There, I said it. Treason! The story to this game is filled with laughs, sly wit, and over the top spoofs and in its own way is every bit as good of a narrative as TLJ. Once you move away from the story elements Broken Sword shows itself in every way to be the superior game. The inventory system is better, the graphics have been updated, the puzzles mesh with the story, and the in-game hint system both manages to keep immersion intact while allowing the player to set their own level of difficulty. April Ryan will maintain a singular place in the hearts of adventure game fans but for pure entertainment value Broken Sword wins. It's impossible to objectively criticize the first installment of the Broken Sword series without nitpicking. Perhaps the only fair criticism is that the puzzles are not super hard even without the hints. However, the sad truth is the most of the challenge to the puzzles in other games comes from bad design, not intellectual sophistication. When all and said and done Broken Sword: TDC is the best adventure game because everything in it just works synergisticly to keep the player to keep on playing.

What Howard the Duck is to movies The Last Express is to video games. The nerds prove their uberness by loving the game or movie the masses justifiably hate. This is a bad game. Scratch that. It's horrible. It's neither fun nor interesting and it's only allure is in the "gee whiz" factor that builds credibility among wanna-be game designers. It has retroscoping! So what? It's boring. It's in real time! So what? It's not fun. Lets look at the fundamental truth of this game. Imagine that someone dumped you in the middle of a maze and told you that you had one hour to get out. You know nothing about the size or the shape of the maze or where the exit is located. If you make a wrong turn, you die. (Which you will do a lot in this game for reasons that are at best inexplicable and at worst laughable). If you die you get to start the maze over or rewind the game to some arbitrary point in time in the past.. That's all there is to the game. Live and hour and get out. There is no plot, no hints. You just guess then die. Guess then die. Guess and live for a few minutes until the 'guess then die' mechanic starts all over again. And this is FUN FUN FUN because some masochists keep insisting it is. Don't believe them. Howard the Duck is a horrible movie and this is a horrible game.

If you're looking for a balanced review of the game read on. Fanboys just downvote me and move along. The highlight of the game is the way the story and voice-acting haul you into the game and create a compelling atmosphere to find out what happens next. Every character is well-developed and the art assets all converge in a convincing way to support the text. The story is one of the best in any adventure game. On the downside the graphic resolution is poor and is a major distraction. The character animations are laughably bad. Moreover, the pacing of the game plays very very slow. Many of the puzzles are obtuse or simply inane. If you read the user reviews the common theme of those who rate this game a 10 is "great story" and it's true. The story is great. The common theme for those who dislike this game are "poor game" and that too is true. The design of this game is below average. Personally, I played this game all the way to the end to see how it ended. But unlike those blinded by nostalgia I won't pretend this the super awesome game because it's not. It's a great story that covers up a rather poor game.

As someone who has never played Magic: The Gathering in any form before I found this game a major disappointment. I wasn't expecting much but I was expecting more than this dull and boring game. While the single player campaign pretends to have some lore/story it is randomly throws it at you and I could never make any sense of it. It is basically one card game after another whose sole purpose is to unlock more card and/or decks. While it's true that every deck plays differently they most certainly do not play evenly. Some decks you will find are impossible to win with while other decks you can just steamroll opponent after opponent. Neither solution offers anything more than fleeting entertainment value. The card play itself is highly random; there's nothing like drawing six landscape cards in a row or no landscapes and six creature cards. Despite all the decks and cards the game is simply a glorified coin flip. Additionally, the game control options are minimal. You can't turn off the annoying sounds. You can't speed up the game automatically but have to continuously click the continue button. The multilayer mode does offer some enhanced value but I didn't find it so compelling as to make up for the obvious deficiencies of this game. I bought this game after playing the somewhat similar Runespell:Overture and despite that game being an small indie title it was more fun than Magic. Magic isn't a total waste; it is one step above solitaire or mahjong. So now I am something new to put me to sleep at night.

The heart of this game is role-reversal. You play on the dark side vs the light, people who you think you can trust you can't, etc. Like most small development teams this game suffers from ambitious concept and poor execution. The graphics are serviceable and the plot engaging enough that I played it though to the end. Yet the interesting character customization has no impact on game play so you spend time doing stuff that frankly doesn't advance the story. You go through an extensive training session to learn magic and skills and then there are only three battles in the entire game! I got this game for free so I can't complain on the cost. But honestly, even for free there are better things to do with one's time.

A disappointing sequel to the original game. Telltale fixed the problem with bad puzzle directions by simply dumbing down the puzzles and making the solutions to them entirely arbitrary. The story starts off promising amid the same creepy atmosphere as before but then descend about half way through into weirdness and silliness. The ending is atrocious from any point of view. The original game wasn't perfect but it at least had the benefit of feeling crafted. The sequel feels rushed and more about exploiting art assets rather than any love for game play. The only thing that is really a positive is that the old characters (and some new ones) possess their own vibrant personalties. If you played the original game there is enough here to draw you in to see how the story ends and then by the end you wished you hadn't. The two games had potential and it's unfortunate that Telltale dropped the ball.

It took me five hours to finish this very uneven game. While the concept is intriguing the game suffers from two major problems. The first is that the game is unbalanced at times probably because the AI is poor. The monsters sometimes have much better cards and much more health points than you and even if you play well it's really is just a crap shoot. There is no real strategy to the card game and on the whole it just feels entirely too random to me. The second is that the story that strings these card games together is below average. It would have helped a lot if there had been voice overs. Anything to help bring the stale story to life. On the positive side the programming was good as I encountered no bugs and the graphics seemed quite relevant to the game. This is an OK game if you are looking for something that is a change of pace from your normal hack n slash. I didn't feel like I had wasted my time to play it to the end but I won't be playing it again, either.

Interesting story and engaging milieu undone by dull and unimaginative game play. This surprisingly ambitious game attempts to do with sociology what Winter Voices would later attempt to do with psychology. The problem in both games, however, is that the ambition outstrips the ability to execute. The result is a muddle. An interesting muddle, especially for those who want to think about the design behind the play, but a muddle nonetheless. The heart of the problem for Dangerous High School Girls is the mini-games which attempt to turn such real life games as flirtation and gambits into computer games. While the idea sounds cool "How do I turn flirtation into a computer game" the result is pathetic. In essence every game comes down either to luck or to knowledge that lies outside the game itself. Worse, while the RPG element allows you to level up certain social attributes of the various girls (such as glamor) the mini-games the girls are presented with don't often match what skills you have leveled up. The net result is that some encounters you will lose no matter what girls and/or skills you have in your party but you still have to play through the mini-game anyway. It's dumb design. It's also sad because while I think the game is creative and has a unique vision the result is very much a slog. It simply isn't all that much /fun/. This is one of those games that leaves me wondering what the author could have done with $50 million backing him up. The vision and the imagination is there but the execution is just beyond the scope of a single designer.

I am not what you would call an FPS fan but I kept reading about how this is really an RPG game with shooter elements and that it is vastly underrated. I now think those people are loony. I don't know how good the RPG elements are in this game or anything about replayability because frankly the game is so bad that I never got beyond about 20 minutes in. What's wrong with the game has been stated in other reviews: bad engine, clunky controls, obvious console port. I got the game when it was for $2 on a Steam sale and thankfully so because if I had paid more I would have been livid. When you read other reviews about how good the story and dialog are in this game be aware you are reading reviews from people who can ignore all the **** to find the diamond. I couldn't do it.

An excellent game ultimately undone by its own ambition. The developers strove for perfection in every aspect of this game and when it comes graphics, story, voice acting, and immersion they succeeded. The story is by far the most engrossing, original, and compelling story in a major RPG in a decade. The voice acting is awesome. The graphics and the action focus in combat make for true immersion. The problem, however, is that they couldn't sustain perfection in all aspects of the game and the result is at times wincing. My biggest gripe is the sheer complexity of the game. In Divinity 2 I found myself simply overwhelmed with choices: where to go, what to do, what to wear, what enhancement to put on what I'm wearing. To be truthful I found myself at times simply saying to myself, "oh the hell with it!" and going to the option screen and turning the difficulty slider down to "casual" to get through a rough fight rather than dealing with the sheer plethora of gems, charms, enchants, skills, and gear. The randomly generated loot is a particular annoyance. The AI for summoned creatures is horrible. More than anything else I was struck by the fact that it seemed like the developers took an excellent old-school RPG and mated it with some of the worst aspects of the World of Warcraft. Nevertheless, if you like RPGs you owe it to yourself to play this game. Outside The Witcher it's the best RPG I have played in the last five years. As much as I want to give this a 10 I just can't. I'm rating this game an eight but it's a "tough love" eight. I strongly think that if the developers had resisted some of their more grandiose ambitions I would be rating this the best RPG ever made. But they bit of more than they could chew, as the saying goes.

I played the demo and that was enough. Honestly, the story didn't seem bad and the graphics looked nice. The downside has been said before: this is a console port. An OBVIOUS port. It's as if they didn't change anything for the PC. The result is an interface that is poor. And not just the fighting controls which are horrible but the rest of the interface is buried under too many clicks. This is not the first RPG ever done by Obsidian but it sure feels like it; I don't know what they were thinking. It's sad because I actually wanted to like this game. But I won't be buying it.

Overall, this game is only for die-hard RPG fans who have already played all the classics. If you haven't played the Baldur's Gate series or other games from that era they are much better games and and can be bought at the same price as this one, now. This was my first Spiderweb game and I was pleasantly surprised. All my prior experiences with small developers had been negative; this is the first person I thought that truly put a professional effort in. Having said that, the kinks still show. It's not just the lack of music but the details that suffer. For example, you can hit the key "I" to access your inventory but you cannot hit the "I" button again to close it, you have to click the mouse button. Annoying. The writing is uneven. The plot convoluted. Despite the developers efforts to make the game less intimidating at the beginning I think this is a game that is very much targeted towards a niche. If you love that niche, the price is a steal. If you don't it's not worth a dime. If you're not sure, start with other games that have more spit and polish. Overall, I am giving this a seven because it is the best effort I have ever seen from a two-person studio and because I like this style of game.

First, before you buy this game you should know that that developer has publicly stated they do not plan on patching the game any more. Some people have reported game breaking bugs. I personally have not on Win 7 64bit. Second, this game has got a lot of negative reviews that arise from false expectations due to inappropriate marketing. On some websites this game is listed as an "Action/RPG" when the game manual specifically states it's NOT an action/rpg. This game is a casual RPG directed at tweens/young teens. If you are looking for an RPG with complex stats like Drakensang or Neverwinter Nights avoid this game. If you are looking for a game with adult themes like Dragon Age or The Witcher avoid this game. If there is such a thing as a "family orientated" RPG Numen is it. When Numen is evaluated based upon what was designed to be instead of evaluated against a set of false expectations the fact of the matter is that this game is a worthwhile contribution to the RPG genre. At the beginning you start off as either a boy or girl and have the ability to develop into either a magic user, archer, or melee fighter. The player progresses the story by completing MMO styles quests such as killing X monsters or collecting X items. One different feature of Numen is the ability to curry favor with a god of your choice by doing various things in the game to please your god such as by killing monsters, making sacrifices, or defeating other AI heroes. Another aspect of the game is that you are in competition with eight other AI heroes. Defeating other AI heros helps curry favor with the gods but it doesn't, unfortunately, make that much difference in the long run. The designer does make some rather unfortunate decisions. For one, you can only save the game while you're resting and the places you can rest are not necessarily close to where the action is. Another hassle is the reality that many of the maps are quite small and it's possible to kill all the monsters on the map and still not get enough items to complete you quests, meaning that you have to rest to get the monsters to reset. Further, all the monsters on a map reset every time you either die or move between maps. This results in a great deal of unnecessary fighting that doesn't do anything to advance the story and the tactics aren't complicated enough to hold interest on their own; the net result giving the game at times a grindy feel. Numen is often said to play like an MMORPG without the MMO part and there is an element of truth to that. If you are seeking a game that is intellectually stimulating or challenges your reflexes this game isn't it. Still, the game manages to be a pleasant diversion so long as you don't expect too much from it. The graphics are well designed. The story is easy to follow and make senses. There is a enough detail to the game so that you actually have to think about what items you equip and where you put points in your stats as you level up. No one would ever confuse Numen with a AAA RPG release but in fairness to the developers it's not designed to be. It succeeds well at what it tries to be which is a casual, easy-going, light RPG designed for young people or gamers looking for a stress-free experience.

This takes the King's Bounty: The Legend and builds upon it in creative ways. Nevertheless, strip off the fluff and you are left with game play that is in essence the same as before. The question then becomes "how much of that can you handle before you get bored". In many ways this is a better game than KB: TL from both a technical and a game play perspective. The talent trees make more sense. No glitching on Windows 7 64 bit. But the story of this game is also more serious in tone and much of the fun of the original game came from it's irreverent attitude. Armored Princess has more spit and polish but fundamentally doesn't try to reinvigorate the franchise. If you loved KB:TL and wanted more the same, that's the good news. But if you were hoping to see where the developers would go next, it's a bit of a disappointment. I can't help but agree with the one Critic Review that says that this is great game if you are fan of the genre but that everyone else can pass it up. That makes rating the game difficult. If you love the stuff it's worth a 10. But if it's not your cup of tea it's worth nothing. As someone who enjoys it, but only for a change of pace, I'm giving it a seven.

This review was written after the major patch in late April. While the patch was welcome and fixed some of the minor bugs, it's obvious that the developers attention is on the coming sequel and not the current game. The major issues involving the camera still persist and make this game unplayable for some people. The fundamental premise remains intriguing and it's just too bad the technical and design problems get in the way of what could otherwise be a cool story. I really want to like this game but I think the developers just came to the conclusion that it wasn't economically viable to do a major overhaul. If this game had fulfilled it's potential I'd be giving it a eight of nine. As it is, a four seems generous.

If you like Mel Brooks movies you'll love this video game. It's an awesome mockery of every video game trope that ever existed. Some of this is thrown in your face (like piles of gold just lying on the ground waiting to be picked up) but what makes the game special is the amount of it that's hidden. Select your Hero page, right click on a portrait of one of your children, select 'info' and you will be greeted with this gem: "Your child, besides giving useful bonuses, takes his place in your heart and in your wife's equipment slot." There is much more from the fountain of wit that created this hilarious game. The only reason this game doesn't get a ten from me is that the pacing of the game is off. There is too much running back and forth to buy soldiers for your army from vendors that are randomly scattered throughout the game and there are times when you need to grind out battles just to get the exp so you can tackle a boss. When the two combine the game play bog downs and even the chuckles cannot save it. Still, this game is all about blowing **** up and having a laugh while your doing it. The game never takes itself seriously and this allows it to sparkle with wit and charm. Unique, highly recommended.

A good, solid game spoiled by an endless stream of combat. Play Drakensang: River of Time first as it's both the prequel and a more polished game. If you like spending 40 minutes fighting mobs for 2/3 EXP each while you get from the bridge into town, a run that takes you two minutes after the mobs are cleared, then this game is for you. If you like filling your bags with an endless stream of daggers because all the same type of mobs drop the exact same type of loot, this game is for you. On the other hand, while the voice acting is uneven there are times where it hits the right notes, with even some humor thrown in. The story is acceptable: dwarfs, human, elves with 'Amazons' thrown in for spice. Honestly, this isn't a bad game but River of Time shows an attention to creating a quality experience that this game lacks . If you like River of Time and want more of what Drakensang has to offer, then buy this game.

I'm honestly not sure that other people are reviewing the same game I am. The one comment that seems fit is that the graphics in this game are akin to that in "Beneath a Steal Sky". In other words, horrible even for 10 years ago. Made by a single developer, this game comes across as the type of thing one would find in a developer's portfolio for a job interview, not a released game. The voice acting is stilted and not evocative in any way. To it's credit, the story is somewhat interesting and there is some humor in it. The best news is that there is a demo freely available from the distributor's website. I strongly advise anyone thinking of buying this game to download it and try it out. If you like what you see in the demo, it's probably worth the money. Myself, I could not get past the horrible graphics.

The voice acting in this game is terrific and when you get far into the campaign there are some scripted scenes between your NPCs that are amusing. That's the good news. /all of it/. The bad news has been repeated here many times before. Many bugs, even at this late date, a horrible camera that has to be seen to be believed, perhaps the worst AI ever invented, the list goes on an on. It's tragic because there is a good story behind it all. But the execution is painful to behold. This game is an excellent reminder that what seems 'cool' to game designers isn't always fun to play. They would have been better off doing less but doing it better rather than trying to cram every cool feature from the D&D rulebook and creating a god awful mess. A serious disappointment, even only paying $10.

A short version of the review I originally posed on the Steam forum for this game. Poetic story and beautiful visual art creates a moving and deeply engrossing story worth your time and attention. Ponderous game play and remaining bugs detract significantly from the immersion. Luciano Pavarotti supported by an orchestra of pots and pans. Overall score a 7/10 because I value creativity over execution.

In an era when so many developers desire to make the next World of Warcraft it is a genuine strength of this game that it does not overreach. Other than as a value proposition, there is nothing spectacular about this game. But there isn't anything broken about the game, either. From the introduction's opening soothing chords, through the standard fare of human, dwarfs, and elves, to it's replication of The Bard's Tale motif it's obvious that the first and foremost desire of the developers is simply to /please/. Given that the developer is now bankrupt, one can wonder at the business wisdom of that decision but the result from a game play perspective is something that will put a smile on the face of any RPG fan. If you are looking for a mature, dark experience like The Witcher this is definitely not it; it's more akin to The Princess Bride kind of fantasy milieu. This game does have it's flaws. The voice acting is uneven, it's annoying that the game only tracks major quests and not minor quests, there are some performance bugs. But none of these faults rise past the level of mildly annoying. I wasn't sure what I was getting when I made an impulse buy from the bargain bin but now that I read other reviews here I see a theme "well-rounded," "a good mix," a "splendid blend". That hits the mark. The fact that it's less than $20 pushes it from 'good game' territory to 'outstanding value'.

Magica achieves something rather different in the gaming world. It's the only game I have ever come across that can be described as a 'glorious failure'. It's awesomely fun and amazingly broken. It seems so silly to be critical **** that gives you so much for ten measly dollars. I had more fun with this game in a few minutes than I did with something like Dragon Age in 20 hours and at four times the price. The great news about this game is that it's innovate, creative, and there is nothing else out there like it on the PC. The sad news about this game is that it doesn't actually have an identity. It's best described as what happened when someone mixed an RPG fantasy setting with platform mechanics. Yes, the game remains horribly broken from a technical point of view. But the real problem with the game is that it doesn't mix the single player mode and the multi-player mode well, at all. It simply lacks any type of game play balance. It's either super duper easy or preposterously hard. Balance is always a challenge in any type of RPG MMO. And I cannot help but think that one of the reasons this game is so broken is because the developers bit off more than they could chew. If they had just focused on making a single player game this game might have been hailed as revolutionary. The same way if they had made what was essentially a multi-player game only. But as it stands it's just a mess. The thing is though that it remains a hilarious, fun, and enticing mess. I struggle on how to rate this game because a 3 (execution), a 6 (design), and a 10 (value) all seem reasonable depending on how one looks at it.

One of the problems with being a small studio is that you don't get the breaks the big boys get when it comes to quality. If this had been a Bioware title in would have been rated in the mid 90s instead of the 80s. The fact of the matter is that this is a great game. People nit pick about the title, or call it a Diablo clone, or other such rot because they just need to find something bad to hide the fact that a small unknown group of developers kicked their ass. Make no mistake: this is one of the best RPGs ever done. It wouldn't make my top five list but it would make my top ten list. What I like about this game so much is, expect for the ending, all the combat has a purpose. One of my complaints is that RPGs too often use combat as a filler or a time sink without it advancing the story in any way. Some people might say that as a result the story is light in this game. That's true if you compare it to something like Planescape. But the fact of the matter is that the game play in DD gives heft to the story in a way that it doesn't in a game like Gothic. For me, this game manages to weave the story and the combat into each other in a way that seems light and effortless but is in fact not. This game also has some of the best music ever written for a video game. Don't expect the characterization you get from Buldar's Gate or the depth of Planscape. But this is a solid, well designed and well executed RPG that shouldn't be overlooked as much as it has been.

Every so often a game comes along where you read the title, and you look at the box, and you just know it's going to be utter junk. Then on day you're bored, and you see it on the desk of a friend, and you borrow it because you don't have anything else to do and then you wind up never giving it back and paying your friend $20 for it. Arcanum is one of those games that when you think about what's it's trying to do achieve from a design perspective there isn't anything special about it. In fact, the whole idea is trite. What makes the game so good is the execution. If the game was a band I'd say their music was 'tight'. And the music certainly is a highlight of this game. If you look at each piece of the game it's all good but none of it is amazing. Yet all the different elements of the game (questing, music, story, combat) feed and build off of one another in a synergistic way where the whole becomes much more than the sum of the parts. If there is one property out there that I think would make a fine addition to the MMO landscape it's this game. All the elements are there. Blizzard has proved that it doesn't take an amazing story to keep people (including me) glued to their seats. Toss some steam together with some magic and buff it up with a lot of shiny and you have winner. With Orcs flying in planes, in some ways this is WoW before WoW. A worthy game.

The best true RPG to arrive on the scene since Baldur's Gate II. Not RPG +Action. Not RPG+Strategy. Not RPG + anything else. Just pure RPG. Yes, I concur that the load times are annoying. But if that's the worst you can say about a game take your marbles and go home. In every other respect The Witcher delivers. How good is this game. Let me explain. I play the World of Warcraft. I play it a lot. You could say I'm addicted to it, if you like. The Witcher is the only game that I stopped playing WoW for. Stopped cold. If the industry would come up with more games like this maybe I would come back to playing single player RPGs entirely. If you don't like this game then it's simply the case the RPG are not your style of game.

Every so often a game comes along that makes you stare in disbelief. This is that game for me. Maybe I'm to old but I know **** when I see it. This game reminds me of the Segway. It was supposed to revolutionize gameplay. It had the best minds behind it. Yeah, right. It's nothing but hype. The product simply fails to deliver in any category. The people who like this game are the same people who are proud to wear DKNY. How they ever got into the gaming world is beyond me.

This is a fun little game that suffers from poor puzzle directions. What I mean by that is that not all the information that's necessary to complete a puzzle is given in the direction and the rules. Sometimes, the information even contradicts itself. You'll read one thing in the rule and another thing in the directions leaving you with no choice but to do the hints in an attempt to figure out what the objective of the puzzle actually is. This, to me, is just a sign of poor quality control/proofreading. If you just accept the fact that you won't get a perfect score the first time through and focus on enjoying the story this game, while short, can be rewarding. It's a fun story that does a good job of setting an atmosphere for the game. Provided they fix quality control issues this could be the beginning of a fun series.

Rome:TW is one of those irritating games that does everything well and nothing excellent. The strength of this game is in the variety of game play you can do. If you want, you can set everything to auto and do nothing but move ships with their armies around and have an entire game take ten hours. On the other hand, you can get really deep into this game and have 100+ hour games. It's up to you how deep you want to go. The problem is that the deeper you get into the game the more you understand just how bad the UI really is. The interface for Diplomacy is buried under five mouse clicks. Ugh. On the other hand, if you set it to auto then you realize just how bad the AI is. I once lost a battle where the computer's 50 troops wiped out my 800 troops. Ugh. Then there is the whole modding community. RTR is an excellent mod. But in my opinion it creates as many problems as it solves. It might be more realistic but I don't think it's all that much fun. In the final analysis it's the sheer variety and flexibility that make this game raise above other strategy games. But it's not perfect. It's certainly worth the $10 you will pay today.

My one real problem with Fallout is that I don't think the game has aged as well as other games like it. At the time of it's release by far the best game of the year. But the graphics aged badly and frankly the interface is cumbersome. However, I think the introduction video/cutscene remains the best ever created to this day in terms of creating an ambiance and setting the mood of the game. The story is great too. Voice acting, ditto. If you can get around the control issue and the graphics, this is an awesome game.

I'm a Bioware fan-boy so it's difficult for me to admit just how bad this game is. But when I'm honest with myself I have to admit it's a bad game. It just is. It's difficult to point out where it all went wrong. Maybe they just tried too hard. Maybe they thought the name alone would sell it. I don't know. The story is totally non-compelling. The combat system is horrible and there is just way too much combat that doesn't advance the story. The personalities of the NPCs are mostly uninspiring. The only reason I don't give it a zero is because I think it retains Bioware's solid production values. Very few bugs.

What is there to say about this game except that it was a tragedy that it was not a commercial success. It is, simply put, the best RPG ever made. It is by no means for everyone; it is a gamer's game. It is for people who want to think...even meditate...about their gaming experience. There is no shoot-em up. There are no friends for you to play with it. There is no world to save. It contradicts just about everything that modern gaming has become. It is a masterpiece.

Let's be honest: WoW is the best MMORPG ever made. Some people will get jealous of that fact but 11 /million/ players are not wrong. Most of the people who complain about this game either should not be playing an MMO to begin with or they just don't like RPGs. I almost didn't write a review because the idea that WoW cares about reviews is laughable. They are beyond review. That's what being the most commercially successful game ever made does for you. Besides, if you really want to get an idea of what the game is like there is a 10 day free trial. Or play your bother/sisters/friend/neighbors account. Someone you know within two degrees of separation plays this game.

The phrase that is often used to described Bethesda's games are "free world". It's apt. It's correct. And either you like that aspect or you don't. I don't. To me, it's not an RPG. Playing a role by definition means there is some type of script. While there is technically a major thread in the game it very easy to lose it and never find it again. You can wonder aimlessly for hours. Is it fun? Kinda. But it never offers any real sense of accomplishment for me. I never feel like I'm making progress, like I make a difference in the world. I hate to give this game a five because I respect the quality of the work that went into it. But it's just not for me. If you are Bethesda fan-boy you will love this game like you loved all the others. But it's more of the same old boring crap as far as I am concerned.

'Legendary' is a term much bandied about these days but this game is one than genuinely deserves the adjective. Many people consider this game to have single handily have saved the single-player RPG genre on the PC just when it looked dead. It represents a definite turning point in the history of gaming. This can be hard to appreciate today because even I'll concede that the graphics are dated. But the truth of the matter is that RPGs have never been about graphics anyway. What made Balder's Gate innovative it was the first RPG to actually use NPCs to advance the story in a mission critical way. It put their stories, their personalities, their goals on a footing that was equal to your own. What made it show-stopping was the nature of those personalities. They were all different, all unique, and they all didn't necessarily care about you. You had to not just manage combat but manage people if your little band was going to finish the game. Yes, the combat can be unbalanced at times. There are a few bugs. But if you cannot laugh when Minsc shouts, "Go for the eyes, Boo" there is something wrong not with the game but with your life. If you want, you can break this game down and find all it's flaws; they exist. But if you don't cheer sitting in your chair when Minsc shouts, "Butt kicking for Goodness!" you have no heart. This isn't just so much a game as it is an experience. That, it seems to me, is what an RPG is all about. It's about creating experiences; it's about making memories. It's playing your role to the hilt and loving it. Baldur's Gate might not have been the best, some people argue the sequel is better, but it was the first to offer that immersion in a way no other game had up until that point in time. If you haven't played this game you should. Because this is where it all began.

In gaming, like with movies, it's a rare thing when the sequel is as good as the original. There's a case to be made that this is a better /game/ than the original because of the introduction of romances. But at least for me the story just wasn't as compelling. It's difficult because the original Baldur's Gate changed everything I thought I understood about how RPG's were supposed play; it's one of the very few games I can truly say that "blew my mind" when it first came out. This is every bit the worthy successor. I'd certainly say that the two games combined are the best single RPG package one can get, even after all these years.