For the purpose of describing Limbo, it's perhaps easiest to label it as a 2D platform-puzzler. However, to do so is really selling the game short, as for their debut effort, Danish studio Playdead Games have hand-crafted a bold and unique experience that borders on being an interactive work of art.
To see images of the game's striking art style will give you an idea as to how beautiful the game can be, but to see it in motion is another matter entirely. At times the game looks like a shadow play, though it's the small touches, and the attention to detail which stand out the most, such as the way long grass rustles and bends as you run past it, the way clods of dirt fly into the air when a heavy object falls, or the way dust and debris settles on top of stagnant water. Playdead Games have – somewhat ironically given the subject matter – given the environment such a vivid sense of life.
Monkey Island 2 is regarded by many fans as the best game in the Monkey Island series, and much like last year's special edition release, Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck's Revenge is an attractive package to both newcomers and veterans to the series. Fans of the original now get the chance to experience the game again with beautiful hand-drawn artwork, new controls, reworked music and some extremely well done voice acting, while newcomers get to experience a modern take on one of gamings defining moments.
However, despite bearing this classic status among gamers who experienced it the first time around, those playing Monkey Island 2 for the first time probably won't hold the game in such high regard, as underneath the shiny new visuals and re-worked soundtrack beats the heart of an archaic and cantankerous game – one which revels in presenting the player with puzzles which are either relentlessly illogical, or require a good deal of back-tracking or trial-and-error guesswork to overcome.
Super Mario Galaxy 2 twists, turns, warps, mixes, remixes and defies the conventionalism of many modern games. But so did the original Super Mario Galaxy, and there lies the begging question: Is SMG2 really a SMG1.5?
The release of Capcom's “Lost In Nightmares” DLC for Resident Evil 5 sees players controlling Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine as they return to the Spencer mansion under the employ of the BSAA, in order to track down Umbrella Corporation founder, Ozwell E. Spencer.
If you played Resident Evil 5, you may remember this chapter being alluded to in one of the game's cutscenes, and it explains how Chris and Jill became separated prior to the beginning of Resident Evil 5. As such, “Lost In Nightmares” functions as somewhat of a prologue to the main game, (as well as a throwback to the earlier games in the series), and is split up into four distinct sections – the first of which is set in the Spencer mansion as we know it.
I took my sweet time in buying a PS3 - I bought it about 18 months ago - and PS2 backwards compatibility was already a (shameful) thing of the past on PS3 models by then. I wasn't entirely concerned; in fact, the only PS2 game I was jonesing for was God of War II, which I never got around to playing. Lo and behold Sony did something smart, and they released both Gods of War I and II on one disc, upgraded the graphics to 720p, and sold it for the budget price of $40. It's the perfect catch-up game for people like me that neglected their PS2s, or anyone that wants to be well versed in the God of War story before jumping into God of War III.
Not to take away from Steve's excellent review of BioShock 2, I finished up this game last week and decided to award my utter tardiness with a review recap of my own. I've written about this fact before and have mentioned it on our podcast, but I simply never realized that playing BioShock 2 meant that I was going to reenter Rapture and shoot up some splicers. I guess all of the mediocre press about the game left me thinking that I wasn't going to enjoy myself. Little did I know that a game that's 80% as good as one of my favorite games of all time is still pretty freaking fun. The gameplay, graphics, sounds are almost identical to its predecessor, and you'll hear no complaints from me in those departments. Sadly, the story doesn't live up to the first game (but really, what does?) but it's still good enough to keep me playing. True, some of the story mechanics really start to wear thin by the end (just go through that door…oh no!…some new element is keeping you from getting there), but there are enough new gameplay mechanics (wielding both plasmids and guns in particular) that provide enough depth that I was rarely bored with the game.
I have a few gripes that I'd like to address, but they're minor at best. A lot of the level layouts were confusing and I found myself lost a few times. It seemed like there were an overwhelming number of audio diaries this time around (100), but apparently the first game had over 120. I think they were just placed in really inconvenient places, which forced me to comb over every pixel of Rapture whether I liked it or not. None of the guns felt particularly powerful, even after upgrading them, but I felt that way in the first game, too.
Sure, 75% of my experience may have been fueled by nostalgia, I still had a great time playing through BioShock 2. I had some complaints, but there were enough clever gameplay and story tricks to make this game worth a rental. It didn't change my life, but it did let me revisit my favorite underground dystopia again.
This review is a couple years old, but it still cracks us up. Mark wrote it. We thought it was about time we shared it with you.
Surprisingly, I finished Rainbow Six Vegas 2 last night. I say surprisingly because until I got there, I had no idea that I was nearing the end until I checked the cheevers list and noticed there was only one more of the "Complete Whatever Mission" variety as of yet unachieved. I even checked the IGN walkthrough to confirm that I wasn't about to finish prematurely. I heard that this game was actually much longer and harder than one might expect, which tuned out to be quite the opposite of my experience. Maybe this had to do with the fact that I played it on casual difficulty, and was therefore able to plow through the terrorist opposition with the ease of a well-lubed wrecking ball.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for shorter games. I think most people will agree with me when I say the length doesn't matter as much as the width. By that I mean that a richer, fuller eight-hour experience is more satisfying than a shallow, drawn out 20+ hour one. Similar to COD4, this game made the good choice to finish up before it got dry, repetitive, and meaningless.
Since one of my absolute favorite free-ware games has been made available for the Wii (it costs money now, YAY!) I figured it would be appropriate to repost this video I made reviewing the original PC/Mac version. I'm sure there have been some upgrades to the game for the console release besides the revamped art style, but even if there hasn't pretty much everything in this video should hold true.
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is the seventh game in the Silent Hill series, and is the second game by developers Climax, who were responsible for the PSP/PS2 game Silent Hill: Origins. However, Shattered Memories is a unique entry into the Silent Hill series for a couple of important reasons: it is the first time the series has appeared on a Nintendo platform; and the game is also a re-imagining of the first Silent Hill game, and marks the start of what could essentially be a series re-boot for the franchise.
As another first for the series, the game plays distinctly differently from all of the others, in that it has been developed from the ground up to make use of the Wii remote, whilst the game itself is split into two distinct gameplay types: slow-paced search segments, and more action-orientated chase segments.
In terms of the game's control scheme, the developers have opted for a Resident Evil 4 style, over-the-shoulder camera, and the Wii remote is used as a pointer to aim your flashlight at objects of interest on-screen. For the vast majority of the game, you'll find yourself creeping through the darkness with your flashlight in hand. During the search sequences, the control scheme works really well, and really lends itself to helping create an eerie, foreboding atmosphere. By contrast the chase sequences – while being the game's sole method of putting you in any real sort of danger – only really manage to dilute the atmosphere created by the search sequences, and often the difficulty of these sequences makes them almost no fun to play through.
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Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account!