UglyBaby

One of Tell Tale games intermediate releases (after Sam & Max and before the rise of the Walking Dead), "Back to the Future" progresses the story of Marty McFly after the third movie (and suggests a sequel). Having grown up on the movies, I loved just playing around in the world. A lot of the graphics and puzzles are really engaging, at the end of the day the game feels like it was put together on something of a tight budget and that shows in the levels/settings (which get re-used over and over with touch ups as you travel back and forth in time). Now balance that with the fact that Christopher Lloyd reprises his role as Emmett Brown? Thumbs up, especially if you like adventure games!

There plenty of reasons to complain about FTL. Luckily for this little game? None of those reasons are that it isn't fun. It is a one of a kind game there really is nothing like it out there. Let's call it an epic space flight sim? If you're after graphics this is not the game for you. Yet I consistently find my room mates and friends watching me play this game. It has real decisions, 'real' stakes and 'real' consequences. Huge replay-ability and a truly fresh feel. Definitely pick this one up.

The Positive: For a fan of turn based strategy games Blood Bowl was a breath of fresh air. It is a really engaging way to use a familiar set of rules (grid based combat) due to the football 'gimmick'. Additionally the consequences of play (experience, income, injuries and death) have very real effects on the game and your strategy has very tangible effects on your teams success or failure all exciting for a fan of hardcore games. The Negative: The game is glitchy, it is laborious, it is ponderous. The controls are clunky, the dice rolls can feel incredibly arbitrary, the game sometimes feels poorly designed. Many of the features seem under thought out and/or irrelevant to winning. The teams don't seems that well balanced. It can be hard to really feel like you are using your time on a game that has any pay off. The tournament and campaign modes both feel more sandboxy than they need to. Takeaway: Worth picking up on sale if and only if you are a fan of turn-based-RPG-strategy-type games and want a change of pace. Otherwise there are better places to spend your money and time.

Bastion is definitely a good game. No question about it but it isn't really a GREAT game. When it was released it was descended into the gaming world amid of ticker tape parade of hype. It did not live up to that hype at least not across the board. The gameplay, character development and plot are all good but like I said before none of them are great. The game is not without monotony, the enemies aren't (by and large) particularly distinct, the multitude of weapons and attacks add something but that something isn't really that much fun, the plot is sort of vague and unnecessarily dark. The bosses, level designs and 'quests' feel pretty repetitive. All that said what Bastion does do is bring a really novel and humanizing use of game narration and actual voice to transform its gameplay. The effect wears off after a few hours but having the narrator (who's voice I love) responding to the nuanced gameplay choices you make is truly fun. He will mock you if you are playing poorly or dawdling he will comment on your ingame successes and tell the elements of the story as they unfold around you. The other element of the game that really grabbed me and deserves mention is the manner in which the game world is 'constructed' around you. The levels assemble and disassemble themselves as you play in a way that is interesting and beautiful. In closing Bastion is an interesting product and definitely worth a play through. It has incredibly innovative elements unfortunately none of those elements are truly central to the gameplay.

Grimrock is a engaging tribute to an era of RPG gaming many of us who played RPG's in the 90's sorely miss. It has some of the simple charm of the early Elder Scrolls (ie daggerfall) and Bard's Tale games. If you are a general fan of classic RPG's you'll enjoy Grimrock for at least a few hours of play. The game is easy to pick up and play, the controls are intuitive and game doesn't require an extensive tutorial or preamble. My favorite part of my time with Grimrock thus far is that it doesn't have that oh so familiar (to modern RPG's at least) 'this will be fun once you level up high enough' feel. The game is about simple puzzles, character management and dungeon crawling. You are doing all three things within minutes of turning on the game. The character development seems a little simplistic and the puzzles/enemies seem to have a pretty low variation rate. That said this review is written with 2 hours of play time under my belt. Excited to go back for more but not wowed by anything except the simplicity and comfortable aesthetics.

If you don't know about this game you should. It isn't really even a game you should write a review of it should be mandatory to play this to call ****. Braid is one of the touchstones of contemporary gaming and it is a perfect example of the immense amount of innovation games are capable of. Now that is in reference to the game play and mechanics. The story and characters leave a lot to be asked for. While neither are big enough issues to take away from the general fun of the game the story reads like an one-star-highschool-emo-fantasy-novella (poorly) translated from german. The characters look exactly like what they are an overlooked element of the game. Music and backgrounds are beautiful. But they are sorely undeserved by the sprites.

I'll update this when I have the heart to bother with this game again. The game play is interesting enough so far and is in a style I like but so far the execution seems like a joke. I run this game through steam from launch it took upwards of 2 minutes to actually load. This is on a machine that loads Borderlands 2 in a minute or less. No biggie but feels weird. The game prompts me to press 'A' to start the game a big green button that should look familiar to anyone who has ever seen an X-Box. However the game does not recognize my controller. I play 5+ games on the PC on my controller (borderlands 2, super meat boy, braid...) all of em work. First time every time no hassle. Maybe I'm pampered or maybe I think indie company shouldn't offer features they can't support. I don't mind playing games on the keyboard and mouse, but when I picked the game up to play on a controller, and the game says it uses a controller and IT JUST WON'T WORK, I honestly can't think of much else. The game kinda goes right by me not a lot of fun. Quit wasting my time with your technical problems. -A note from gamers everywhere.

You have got to be down for an old school side scroller romp, (2D! PIXELS!) but if you've got the taste - THIS GAME IS AWESOME. My GF and I were an hour in when we realized we loved it. Lone Survivor has got enough to it - both the bizarre campy horror of a side scroller, the RPG drama that is 16-BIT and a fantastic exploration of what genius is possible in a one man gaming project. Buy it. Play it. Support indie game design. Love the game. _Ugly Baby

Simple, elegant and fun. There are a number of really sub-par games out there masquerading as 'brain-builders' , this is NOT one of them. Everyday Genius is the extension of sudoku style game play to one of its logical conclusions. The result is stimulating, easy to play. and easy to get lost in. Definitely worth the purchase off steam.

Adventure games are not for everyone. No question about it. However, my girlfriend and I found Walking Dead to be a great couples gaming experience. It's an adventure game that incorporates elements of film, but with enough quick decision making and branching plot aspects to keep you from feeling like you're just hitting continue. Simply put, if Walking Dead is an interactive movie, it is a really, really fun one. Pros: The storytelling is deeply engaging, truly top shelf for video games. The animation, voice acting, writing and story arc are all genuinely good and engaging. It doesn't feel like settling for a second-rate story just because it is a game (MMORPG anyone?) . The choices feel important, stilted maybe, but important nonetheless. Cons: The graphics were not stellar, they are very well used and the game looks and feels good, but the modeling itself seemed a little simplistic. Despite claiming to react to your play style and choices, I would describe Walking Dead as a game with a simple branching plot (at least thus far). However even if it is a 'con' it is a huge step forward from the typical point and click adventure. The first episode took around 3 hours to complete. One of the best games (especially adventure games) I've played in years. Can't wait for the next installment.