Nier is a melancholic Action RPG that succeeds in developing a fascinating cast of tragic characters, who are trapped inside a ruthless cycle of senseless violence and death. Sadly, the game is also marred by some baffling design choices that aggravate its most serious problem: repetition.
Nier opens with a desolate, snow-laden post-apocalyptic world. An old man is hiding inside a crumbling mall with his daughter, while shade-like creatures roam the streets. He’s powerless against them and, to make things worse, his daughter is suffering from a strange affliction. The man, however, has a special book with magical powers, which offers him a Faustian bargain: the book will grant [...]
The Last Remnant is pure, crystalline perfection. Every facet of the game, every element, every design decision, they all work in unison to create the most excruciating experience possible. If you are looking for a thing that can annoy and infuriate you in equal measure, there’s no other option around that is so flawlessly, impeccably constructed to fulfill and even surpass any masochist desire. The Last Remnant’s systems are tailor-made to produce a dreadful sense of utter frustration and make players feel virtually impotent against everything that is happening on the screen. Meanwhile, the story is so nonsensically bad, with an idiotic protagonist, loose plot, and shallow [...]
Sleeping Dogs is a decent open-world game, with a compelling premise and some interesting mechanics. It could have used a little more ambition in both story and gameplay departments, but it works well for the most part.
The story follows Wei Shen, an undercover cop who infiltrated Hong Kong’s triads to gather information on their leaders. However, as Wei spends time with the mafia and starts to rise through its ranks, the job starts to become his real life.
Wei was born and spent his childhood in Hong Kong, but eventually moved to The United States, growing up there. It was in The United States that he became a police officer, and when he returns to Hong Kong to work [...]
Developed by Platinum Games, Bayonetta is an action game that has an unusual heroine and a simple but very exciting combat system. The action, however, is constantly interrupted by long cutscenes that tell a considerably boring story.
The game’s protagonist, Bayonetta, suffers from amnesia. She is an Umbra Witch, which is a European sect that is in collusion with demons and at war with the forces of Paradise and the Lumen Priests. Now, the witches are virtually extinct and the priests are missing. When Bayonetta discovers that a lost mystical artifact of her sect, the Eyes of the World, has appeared on the black market, she sees the opportunity to unravel the mystery of [...]
Batman: The Telltale Series offers a unique take on the Batman mythos, focusing its attention on Gotham and the role that the Wayne family has in shaping it as a hopelessly corrupt and violent city. Despite following Telltale’s uninspired formula, the game’s story shines by framing politics and wealth disparity as the core reasons for Gotham’s downfall, instead of just some bizarre villains.
When the game starts, it is business as usual: some toughs are breaking into Gotham City Hall and they are murmuring about this mythical figure of a man who likes to dress as a bat and beat up criminals. They are visibly frightened, and when Batman finally shows up, he appears as a [...]
In an attempt to differentiate itself from other open-world games developed by Ubisoft – by the time of its release – Watch Dogs’ story takes place in a modern urban setting and is focused on the use of technology. The game, however, only stands out from the rest of its company’s catalog because it is an even bigger mess than usual: its narrative is poorly developed, long and inconsistent, while its gameplay is repetitive and, despite the interesting premise, mostly uninspired.
The story follows the quest for revenge of Aiden Pierce, a hacker who lost his niece in an armed ambush that was targeting him. Years later, consumed by guilt, he is approached by his former [...]