Koo

Like Dear Esther before it, Gone Home is a gaming experience more than it is a mere game. Gone Home lacks objectives, NPCs, enemies, and weapons. But what it does have is a beautifully realized world I felt a part of while I played the game. As you can tell from the other reviews, Gone Home is either a game you will love or one you won't. If you are looking for a relaxing gaming experience you can complete at your own pace (I completed the game in 2 hours) try Gone Home. If you are a curious type of person who enjoys a good story and likes to discover new things, try Gone Home. Gone Home isn't your typical adventure game. Like Dear Esther it is a journey and an experience. And also like Dear Esther, I enjoyed playing it immensely and will remember it.

Don't Starve is great fun in small doses. It has a certain charm about it I really like, and the gameplay is enjoyable too. For a game with no walk throughs or tips built-in, it is surprisingly easy to pick-up. Mouse cursor activated tooltips give you most of the information you need (e.g. what you need to build things) and beyond that, the game is about experimentation. And it is fun to explore. Don't Starve is one of those games where you will die several times before you make progress, but that's part of the fun in my opinion. Provided you are willing to learn from your mistakes, this is a very enjoyable game. The game's soundtrack is fantastic as well. 9/10

Towns isn't terrible. It's just not enjoyable as a game. The problems: 1) The "soundtrack" consists of a single song that lasts about 20 seconds and loops continuously. The solution: Music volume 0%. 2) Towns has an insane amount of micromanagement! The solution: None. While there are some shortcuts and some automation, it is minimal. 3) The overall experience. Overall Towns ****. It's just not fun to play. There are too many menus, too many submenus, and the in-game experience basically consists of "point-and-click". Overall, I cannot recommend Towns. I have a limited amount of time in my day, and it is frankly better spent doing other activities than playing this terrible game. 3/10.

Sword of the Stars: The Pit is a modern day classic. The game's premise as simple: Playing as one of three characters in a futuristic sci-fi setting, you set out to explore "The Pit", scavenging for supplies, and defeating enemies as you go. However, behind this simple premise lies a mixture of strategy and tactics the player must use to survive. Each class has its pros and cons, and none of the three classes supplied makes this game a walk in the park. The Pit can be frustrating at times un-successful item crafting, not having the skills to use the itemse collected, and dying from wounds or poison. But that's part of the fun. If you are looking for a challenging game (even on Normal difficulty) that evokes memories of classic RPGs from days gone by, I highly recommend The Pit. The only downside to this game is the chiptune music, which can be easily disabled in the Options menu. If you are looking for a really fun single player RPG with crafting elements and permanent death, then check out The Pit. Recommended.

A really nice, fun little game. Lots of powerups and items, very easy to learn how to play, and endearing graphical art style. Oh, and I like the music too. I can't think of any reason not to recommend this game if you like a fun, simple, pick-up-and-play. Recommended.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Even playing the game 5 years after it's original release, it still is a graphical beast. The graphics are impressive to say the least, but run smoothly on my 2x GeForce GTX460 cards in SLI. Overall, I enjoyed the game. The storyline was reasonably good, but its strong suit is the action set pieces. These were tremendous. And the game is very atmospheric too. When paired with the superb graphics, it feels like I really am in a jungle or on board a massive spacecraft. I deduct points for shabby storytelling and an almost total lack of multiplayer servers available. With a stronger multiplayer component, this game would rate an 8 or a 9, but as it stands, it is single player only. So I can award no more than a 7. Still worth playing however, and has aged very well.

Having played all 5 games in the series, I am confident in awarding it my Game of the Year 2012. With its unique visual style and compelling storyline, The Walking Dead pulls you in and does not let go. Curious how your decisions compare with those of players around the world? The game lets you know at the end of every episode how your decisions measure up. Don't have 20 hours free time every week? No problem. Each episode is 2-3 hours long. Stop reading this review and TRY THIS GAME already!!

Oftentimes the middle episodes are the weakest, be it a TV show or an episode video game. This is not the case with The Walking Dead: Episode 3. I enjoyed this episode as much as the other 4 (I just completed episode 5, the last episode of season 1) and it stands up well on its own. Another chapter of a brilliantly well done video game. Recommended.

Episode 4 is fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed playing through this episode and couldn't wait to play episode 5. If you liked the other 3 episodes, this one is no different... in fact, having played through to the end, I would say it is as engaging as any of them.

Episode 5 is the last episode of the Walking Dead: Season 1. I found this episode very moving, with great dialogue and action sequences (as throughout the series). The ending is also worthwhile, which is nice. But my favorite part of this series is just playing through it. I feel like I was there with these people: Lee, Clementing, Duck, Kenny... all of them. And not too many games can do that.

Da New Guys is a fun little adventure game from my favourite indie dev. I played through the entire game over about 20 hours. Some of the puzzles had me stuck for hours, but overall the game was enjoyable, blending light humour with the 90's wrestling scene. The game occaisionally crashes, and I found one bug, but overall it's well worth buying, especially if you like laid-back puzzle games. Recommended. 8/10

Warlock: Master of the Arcane is a strategy game done right. There are so many thing about it that I love: The fantasy setting, graphics, gameplay, music,... I've played 43 hours worth of gameplay so far, and completed 3 campaigns (they are quite long). The forums and information available in the manual are both fantastic, so if you're a turn-based strategy game noob, you'll be up and running quickly. For those who have played the Civilization or SIM series, the interface is familiar, yet beautifully streamlined unlike some others. The game oozes character, from the funny character names to amusing on click dialogues. Battles are EPIC. Summoned creatures, money, mana and spells, all there. This is easily the best fantasy based turn-based strategy I have ever played and one of my favourite games ever, period. I think it's destined to be a classic. If you want a game that's fun but also makes you think (and you have a few hours to spend) I highly recommend Master of the Arcane. Oh yeah, and multiplayer is available too, and the developer listens to the community and is constantly making improvements. Nothing but good things to say about this game. 10/10

A really beautiful game that's fun for everyone. It improves on the original Portal in every respect: Story, humour, and puzzles. It's just plain fun to play, and stays with you long after you finish the game. One tip for people playing the game for the first time: Do not use walkthroughs/cheat guides! I used a walkthrough for one puzzle I was stuck on for two days, and I regret it to this day! (1 year later). Any time you get stuck, just take a break from the game, re-think the puzzle, and then get back at it. The puzzle I got stuck on was a common problem for many players, but the solution to it is simple and straightforward (perhaps why I couldn't figure it out!). Fantastic game if you have a PC, PS3 or XBox 360. I can recommend it to everyone. 10/10

I enjoyed playing Orcs Must Die! It takes about 6 hours to complete the single player campaign at the Apprentice difficulty level - the only level available to you until you complete all the levels. Completing the Apprentice levels unlocks Mage, and from there, every level you pass unlocks a corresponding Warlock difficulty for that level. I like how the game is easy to pick up and fun to play. Some levels are very challenging as well. What I dislike is the low re-playability of the single player campaign, the lack of multiplayer, and the repetitive soundtrack (the same music is played for every level). For $10 on Steam this is a pretty good value, and many of the gameplay aspects I complain of here, have been fixed for Orcs Must Die! 2. You might want to go straight to the sequel, but this one is worth playing too. 7/10

At least as good as the first episode. Riveting storytelling, superb pacing, and tension galore. My one caution would be, if you're using an XBox 360 controller for the PC, be careful what button you push! I switched between using the keyboard and mouse to the 360 controller and pressed the wrong key at a crucial point. The game informed me that the decision I made (by mistake) was taken by just 12% of all players! Ah well. I guess that's just life.

Overall a great game. The story is involving, and the characters are interesting. The only thing I don't like about TWD game is the point-and-click interface. It would be fine, except that the area you have to click is completely random, and inconsistent from one object to the next. I got stuck at one point and resorted to a walkthrough because of this area issue. The walkthrough told me I should have clicked an object that I DID click... just not the tiny area that is enabled for mouse over context selection. :( If it wasn't for this extremely annoying shortcoming, I could rate this game 10/10. Until Telltale Games fixes this in a patch, however, this game rates 8/10 for me.

I won't re-hash what others have said RE: Dear Esther. How you experience the game will be unique to you. What I CAN say is that for myself, Dear Esther has been an experience like no other: I found it calming, soothing and quiet - the perfect alternative to first-person shooters and other violent computer games. If you're willing to keep an open mind about what a PC game "should" be, and you want to unwind, I recommend Dear Esther.

I bought this game on Steam pre-order and was looking forward to playing it. The original Dungeon Siege (which was included with my purchase of Dungeon Siege III) was a decent game. The graphics are looking a little dated in DS1 (it was released in 2002) but the storyline was decent, the enemies and environments varied, and there are plenty of interesting weapons and items. NONE of this is true in Dungeon Siege III. The storline is sub-B Movie quality, the enemies are largely cloned, and weapons and items are the biggest letdowns. "Powerful staff" "Magic charms" etc. are the childlike names given to weapons and items in the game. No effort was given to imagination or creativity in this department. The levels themselves are similarly bad. Completely linear, just follow the track, no side explorations possible. The one upside to Dungeon Siege III are the graphics. They're spectacular. Dynamic, beautifully saturated, and candy for the eyes. Graphics, however, don't make the game fun - just easy to look at. This game is lousy, and nice graphics are no substitute for shoddy storytelling, level design, and overall gameplay. A disappointment. 4/10

A good game overall, Dead Space is hampered by its clunky controls. When moving the character you play, he moves faster when looking along the horizontal (X) axis than the vertical (Y) axis. Also, you look around in a lurching or reeling way rather than smoothly as in other third person shooter (TPS) or first person shooters (FPS). If you're worried (as I was) that if you play this game you won't be able to sleep at night, put your fears to bed (pun intended - ha!). I would describe Dead Space as an atmospheric game, not a scary one (Amnesia: The Dark Descent, on the other hand, IS a scary game). While I like this game overall, I can't rate it better than a 7 due to the motion sickness I experience from the camera movements. The feeling of nausea it produces prevents me from rating the game higher than a 6. Try the demo. If you don't feel sick (literally) playing it, this game could be a 9 for you. For me, it's a 6.

A great game that plays well on many PC configurations, I am pleasantly surprised by LOTR: WITN. As others have commented, the graphics are excellent and the gameplay is engaging. My one complaint is that the multiplayer is simply the singleplayer campaign with online play. No new maps or co-operative gameplay styles, as I was hoping. Also, the difficulty levels above Normal must be unlocked one at a time, but this disadvantage is also an advantage, in that it gives you a tangible reason to replay the game's single and multi-player adventures. All told, War in the North is a great game. It's light years ahead of most movie-based games, and is great fun to play. The only thing that would make it better in my books, is a more varied multiplayer experience. 8/10

I love this game. It's easy enough to enjoy yet challenging enough to make you want to keep playing. I haven't had any of the graphics problems described by others, and it looks fantastic on my dual GTX-460 video cards (NVidia, not ATI/AMD). I hadn't heard of this game beyond a recommendation from one of my friends and I went in to it without expectations (beyond the screenshots, which didn't impress me). I say, let the hater's rage on Rage all they want; I love this game!

Gemini Rue is one part retro graphics, one part engrossing adventure game, and all fun. I agree with other reviewers who point out the graphics make solving some puzzles challenging, due to the limited number of pixels displayed. However, despite looking like a game from years gone by, it plays like no other I have ever played, and is very appealing in atmosphere and game content. Look beyond the screenshots and play the game - it's an experience you will never forget!

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Excellent game, easy to get in to. Mount & Blade had me hooked from the beginning - with its classical hand-drawn artwork and rousing classical music. Also, unlike most games, the training section of the game is superb and well worth playing through. Mount and Blade is a fairly compact game (604 MB download from Steam) and runs stable in 64-bit Windows (e.g. Windows 7 x64 or Vista x64). While the graphics in M&B are a bit pedestrian, the gameplay and music are thrilling and addicting. If you can look beyond the screenshots, give the demo a try (it's free and a fairly quick download). If you like Strategy RPG's, this might be your new favorite.