EchoBlack

It plays a lot like Heretic/Hexen would if they had Roguelike elements. Map layouts are far more arena-like and not as complex as they were in the classics, though. You must pick from a number of characters (you start with one, but can unlock others) and reach the 5th floor to win, and every floor is randomly generated from a number of pre-built rooms that are then strung together. A floor ends when you beat its boss, and you will need a Portal Key to summon the boss. The game has permadeath and you can only save between floors. There is a good variety of weapons (the pool grows bigger as you unlock more of them) spread across 4 categories. The first is the basic wand, whose mana (ammunition) replenishes quickly and automatically for all characters. Different characters will have different properties for this starting weapon, such as faster or slower ROF, a differently-styled secondary attack, less or more accuracy. The second class of weapons are books, whose attacks are typically shotgun-like and don't consume too much mana. The third type are staves that function as rapid-fire crowd control weapons, and mostly have a primary attack with good accuracy and a secondary that excels at close quarters, burning through your mana rapidly while firing a barrage of projectiles inaccurately. The fourth and last type are weapons that deal area damage. These are usually firearms or throwable explosives, and often have a steep mana cost per use. Some weapons deal self-explanatory status effects, such as poison, stun, or freezing. You can find usable amulets that must be recharged (by killing monsters), lore scrolls (these give a large EXP boost) and occasionally perks. You also get to choose between two (or three with the Bookworm perk) random perks on level up. In roguelike fashion, you can find statues in certain rooms that allow you to trade your health or mana (or offer nothing, for a lower chance of success I presume) for a possible bonus. You can get a random effect (Divine Indifference) or even a punitive malus from these statues. I have thoroughly enjoyed this game so far. The challenge is markedly above average and you can extract many hours of quality gameplay from Ziggurat. The shooting feels tight and fast-paced, and the emphasis on dodging projectiles gives the game an interesting quasi-old-school feel. When I first played this game, I ended up stopping only six hours later, and in my book that's pretty high praise.

Hardly a return to classic survival horror, this game feels more like a modern, action-focused TPS with some cliché "hollywood" scares railroaded as part of set pieces. The game utterly fails at generating horror or even tension from its (abundant) combat and exploration scenarios. The survival aspect is also highly ineffectual, as consumables such as ammunition and healing items are amply replenished between major encounters. The only semblance of game-long resource management is in the form of ability upgrades. This game has more in common with the Tomb Raider reboot or The Last of Us than Silent Hill or Resident Evil. It could be an interesting gateway game for people new to horror games, but long time fans can easily skip The Evil Within. However, fans of TPS or just action games in general are likely to find things to enjoy.

An utterly uninspired, by-the-numbers FPS, complete with the mandatory tacked-on upgrade tree and trinkets to find off the (linear, of course) beaten path. Deadfall seems to attempt to stand out a bit by putting some simple puzzles in your path of carnage. But make no mistake, the brunt of the action is still shooting up ****, mummies and arabs in true Indiana Jones fashion. It can occasionally be entertaining, and there are at least plenty of weapons to find (which vary in look and sound, if not much in function: every handgun felt the same to me, except for the full-auto Mauser) through the levels. But it feels very low-budget and janky throughout, and runs out of tricks by the end of level 2 or 3. One boss, a **** henchman on a ledge, seemed utterly impervious to direct headshots from a sniper rifle, and could somehow hit me with full auto fire even when I was 100% hidden behind stacks of enormous stone blocks, as if my hitboxes extended far into the surrounding area. You eventually notice it's a puzzle boss and make your way through, but the lingering impression of cut corners and the notion you're playing borderline shovelware stays with you to the end. It's not even that unpolished. It's just unnecessary, uninspired.

ArmA 3's true potential is nearly sabotaged by its slew of bugs and performance issues. Returning fans can expect the same military sandbox trappings of ArmA 2 but in a near-future setting. Some notable additions make movement less clunky and more intuitive, like the multiple different stances infantry can assume, which allow cover to be negotiated accurately and without exposing yourself any more than you need to. The game is lacking a proper campaign at the time of this writing, but user missions provide more than enough content both for single and multiplayer. The greatest problem with the series has always been Bohemia's shoddy workmanship, and this game is no exception. For all its heart and promise, ArmA 3 should only be recommended to fans of military simulation or those with the patience and disposition to get the best out of ambitious games full of technical issues.

A decidedly linear romp much in the modern style of FPS, despite all claims of it being "oldschool". There are secrets hidden off the beaten path between big combat pieces, but no significant exploration or freedom of movement otherwise. It plays and progresses much like Hard Reset did, even though there's now a focus on melee combat (or at least serious attempts to coax the player into using the sword), with enemies that are suitably bullet-spongey, allowing them to clear the distance to the player and last long enough for the sword to become an asset. There's a skill tree system in play, and upgrades can be purchased both in the form of character skills (such as new melee attacks or more efficient use of medikits) and improvements for your firearms. Lo Wang's return to form does not do anything wrong, yet also nothing remarkably well. Shadow Warrior is a competent enough reboot, if not as good as its inspiration.

Borderline shovelware tripe with simplistic, uninspired gameplay, ugly visuals and repetitive levels. The game's much-touted humor is very rarely witty, mostly falling flat on its face. Oddly, Deadpool's 4th-wall breaking antics more than once make fun of the game's paltry budget and tiresome clichés, a fact which helps precious little in making the whole ordeal any more bearable.

ACE Team's follow-up to their cult brawler is well-intentioned, but punches outside its weight. The game's scope is broadened in relation to the first, so progression is slightly less linear. But the gist of the game remains the same, with the player traveling between areas searching for items to collect and enemies to beat up (and occasionally shoot). The game has pacing problems and the combat feels worse than it did in the first one. The storytelling and world-building, which many consider the stronger point of the first game, are also less impressive this time around. Since this game doesn't necessarily do anything different from the first game, all the extra running space feels like it has no real purpose: If the intention was to foster exploration, it was not a huge success, as it looks considerably worse due to its larger areas, and that fact greatly undermines any sort of touristic pleasure. In addition to that, the rewards for exploration are poorly hidden, so you never really feel you found anything special, just another conspicuously placed power-up. I have a hard time recommending Zeno Clash II to anyone. I feel it is not nearly as good as its predecessor: It's ugly, clunky and unnecessary, and sure to be forgotten.

Tomb Raider's return to form is an enthralling ride, a third person shooter recommended for all fans of action games. The overuse of QTEs does grate, and they are sadly frequently paired with on-rails "cinematic" set pieces in which gameplay becomes reduced to simply moving ahead and perhaps occasionally jumping while peril closes in, in true Indiana Jones fashion. Thankfully the game does intermittently give up on being a film, and at these times the player gets to experience some interesting puzzles and environments they can explore. The combat is competent and familiar, if forgettable, and gets too much focus at times. Tomb Raider gets enough right to be called an above average experience, though I recommend purchasing it when it's cheap.

The game cannot be played at all. At the time of this writing, the content cannot be accessed due to server problems. The consumer's experience has been, for the past few days, one of paying and getting nothing in return.

Behind the good visuals lies a competent, yet uninspired game. Sadly, Crysis 1's gameplay aspirations are once again abandoned for the familiar trappings of the "cinematic" modern shooter formula. Some levels offer a modicum of "open-endedness", but these forks in the path are not enough to impress. As in Crysis 2, you cannot find vehicles to traverse the map, though some levels have handful of quasi-forced vehicle sequences thrown in to change the pace a bit. The shooting and sneaking are OK: not bad, but nothing that stands out either. In the end, Crysis 3 is an utterly average experience, guaranteed to be forgotten. And on PC, I fear it will see more mileage as a benchmark tool than anything else.

One of the weakest shooters in recent memory. I have a hard time thinking of anything good to say about this game. In spite of how archaic the visuals are (easily below offerings that are nearly a decade old, such as Doom 3, Far Cry and Half-Life 2 to name a few), graphics are far from the biggest problem with this game. Anemic, popgun-like shooting, bland levels, lack of challenge and a plethora of bugs are far more pressing concerns. I would not recommend this title, not even to hardcore fans of the Aliens franchise. There's nothing to see here, even as pure fanservice it falls flat. It's not worth enduring Colonial Marines' below average gameplay to experience this "canon" continuation of the series, as you'll probably also end up disappointed by the retcons and sophomoric writing. Strong candidate for worst game of 2013 and we're only in February.