impure

Have you ever played one of those 'stealth' games where as long as you don't stand directly in front of the enemy they can't see you. Well, Blacklist isn't one of those games. The AI is fantastic. And taking down multiple guys without getting spotted is quite thrilling. My main gripes with Conviction is that it seemed to be a corridor shooter with stealth elements added afterwards and the game seemed to want you to do anything but go stealthy. The latter has been addressed, but there are still quite a few moments where you'll be doing distinctly non-stealth related activities. Overall a very enjoyable game.

Portal 2. How do I put this? Portal 2 is an improvement over Portal 1 in every way imaginable. But that isn't saying much. If you've played the original you know what to expect. Running through 20ish test chambers. Go through the facility like in the last test chamber, but it's way bigger this time. Rinse and repeat. And if you didn't play the original here's a one word summary: boring. Portal 2 side steps most of the pitfalls of the original though. There are more tools, a fact made painfully obvious when I tried to design a map with only stuff from Portal 1. There's actually a story this time. And there are some puzzles that will actually stump you. And the map editor is pretty cool, even though playing your own puzzles is never fun. And I have to force close the game when quitting, weird.

Tomb Raider (2013) is the game the series needs, not necessarily the one the series deserves. The game doesn't feel like a tomb raider game. My biggest complaint is that if you get spotted every enemy instantly knows your location, regardless of where you are. Still, the game is fun. It switches between puzzles, platforming, and enemies and has a story that feels more like it belongs in a summer blockbuster than a video game, complete with plot holes and heart pounding action sequences. It did feel a bit repetitive 8 hours in but not as repetitive as, say, Portal 1. Also the multiplayer feels tacked on. Just saying. This wouldn't be a review if I didn't talk about the quick time events. Yes, they're there. And no, you won't have to take 500 tries to do them. The problem with the quick time events is that you'll have to quickly go between mashing the arrow keys to pressing F to E. Strangely, most of the quick time events happen at the beginning of the game. Either that or I just got used to them.

Critical Mass is a good game. Sure, it could give you more incentive to continue playing and it could use a bit more polish but for 2 dollars this is a great value. And quite frankly, you really won't mind the missing features when you're desperately trying to rotate the camera to clear that last couple of blocks while the blocks are shaking and the red ring is threatening to consume everything.

If you played the original Orcs Must Die, you'll be disappointed. Gone are the tutorials in the loading screens, headshots, and the fairies, although I might not have encountered them yet. Also the maps lack a certain creativity about them. Still, the game is very enjoyable with all the new stuff added. I just can't help but think how much better this game could have been. Oh, and they kept those annoying purple things that none of your traps can seem to hit.

Did you like the main campaign in Arkham City? Yes? Well then, this DLC takes everything that was good about the original and stuffs it into a 1 hour package. Seriously, its every good set-piece moment one after another. Its fun, although I would have enjoyed it more if it was a bit longer and had a slower pace. Oh, and robin's basically the same as Batman just with different gadgets.

It feels more like an action game than a tower defense game. Most of the time it can feel like you're the only thing between the enemy and the portal because traps are expensive and ineffective. It's fun for about 10 hours but then becomes a bit repetitive. Edit: After you get a certain power up the game gets a lot better. Still, most of the traps are only good when they're upgraded, which means the best way to get 5 skulls on a level is to beat it after you beat the rest of the game.

I've played this game for a few hours and it's pretty good. However, this game has quite a few minor problems, most notably the camera. It tends to get stuck behind me when I try to look behind my character when about to jump off a ledge. It would be nice to see behind me, but most of the time there's a conveniently placed ledge there. Also, if you want to do well early on, you better pay close attention to the tutorials that flash by the screen as some commands such as dodging are critical later. Although maybe it's just that this is my first Tomb Raider game. Overall, this is a great game. The graphics are still quite nice and the gameplay is fun and challenging. I just wished some of the bugs were fixed. And there isn't much story here so don't buy this game just for that.

The game involves navigating test chamber after test chamber. Each is slightly different, but about half way through the game it becomes far too repetitive. The end of the game opens up a fair bit, but it becomes far too difficult to know what you can attach portals to and what you can't.

Pretty good tutorial, but that's about it. The AI likes to get hit by cars making you lose the level. The cars are extremely slow and even struggle to get up bridges and if you damage the car enough forget about driving up the bridge, you're walking. Shame, because most of the missions involve driving.

When you first play Flotilla, it's a nice game. Space combat feels fresh and polished. However, about 2 hours into the game you will realize that there is no option to save and each 'game' lasts a few minutes and then you have to restart all over again. At first I looked in the forums to find a save feature, but I couldn't find one. This game could have easily been a full blown space RPG, but in it's current form I just can't recommend it unless you have plenty of cash to burn.

I originally played this on my iPod, but I was later enticed this on my computer. Don't get me wrong, Edge is a great game for mobile devices, but it's just not the sort of thing you expect to spend hours playing on your computer.

Eat smaller things to become bigger. It's a tried and true concept with a little twist; moving makes you smaller. Although the visuals and the calming music give a good first impression, this game is just too repetitive. Maybe I'm just not good at it, but the game feels more about luck than skill. You're encouraged to go slowly, but the game punishes you if you don't grow fast enough. Needless to say, I found myself dying multiple times in levels and just winded up rage quitting. Still, a good game, until you find out that every level is essentially the same and require next to no skill.

I originally bought this game as part of a bundle for $6 so I wasn't expecting much. However, I was presently surprised by this game. So this is basically a reverse tower-defense game where you use powerups to protect your troops. It may sound boring, but you always have to be on your toes as a single tower can quickly deal massive damage to your troops, especially in the beginning. The main problem with the game is the lack of an option to reverse direction. Although there are a few issues here and there, it is still one of the most entertaining games I've played.