Category Archives: Reviews
What Max Payne 3 Got Wrong
Max Payne, pondering life choices.
Alright, time to whine! On Wednesday, I talked about the things Max Payne 3 does well. It nails most of the fundamentals, and makes for a very satisfying cinematic shooter—though for some reason, it often feels more like it’s channeling Max Payne than being Max Payne. While I’m having a hard time identifying exactly why I’m not as pleased with MP3 as with its predecessor (I’m talking MP2 here), I’ve outlined some ideas below.
What Max Payne 3 Got Right
Max Payne, about to jump into action.
I doubt there’s any reason for me to jot this down—chances are you’ve already read everything you need or want to about Rockstar’s latest take on everyone’s favorite lugubrious detective. Still, I have a fond niche carved into my stony heart for Max Payne (the second ranks as one of my ten favorite games of all time), so although I suspect this will be superfluous, I’m just gonna write it anyway.
The Incredible Plot of Alan Wake, Eps 1 through 3
Alan Wake, ancient-curse-solver extraordinaire.
I just finished playing through the first three episodes of Alan Wake by Remedy Entertainment, and I must tell you, it is so good. So good that I want to talk about the things it does really well, and the ways that it deconstructs the horror genre. I hope all you devs out there are listening, because from now on Alan Wake will basically be the definitive how-to when it comes to making horror games.
Warlock: Master of the Review
Warlock: Master of the Arcane, the new game from Paradox Interactive.
Gaze into that pic (gaze harder) and tell me it doesn’t look like Civilization V to you. Right, right—it doesn’t look like Civ V to you, but I’m sure you can see how everyone else might assume that Warlock: Master of the Arcane from Paradox Interactive is a mod-gone-commercial. Which is really doing it a disservice. Because even though Warlock looks like Civ V minus the culture and happiness mechanics and polish and broken tactical AI, Warlock has an abundance of soul. You know, the one resource that Civ V desperately lacked.
Chillin’ in the Pit
A wallpaper image for Avernum, courtesy of the game’s site.
I love a good surprise, which may be why I’ve been playing so much Avernum: Escape from the Pit, a remake of Avernum (1999), which was itself a remake of Exile: Escape from the Pit (1995). When I saw it available on Steam, I decided on a whim to see if Spiderweb Software’s brand of old-school goodness could take root in the thorny soil of my RPG-weary heart. I’m glad I took that gamble.
Find out why, after the jump (that was for you, wedge).
Sentinel Comics #135: Hero… to Zero!
Absolute Zero is decimated by Baron Blade’s first attack.
LAST TIME (SC #134) (you should read this before continuing), Absolute Zero of the Freedom Five was joined by the solar-powered Ra and the mysterious Haka to find and destroy Baron Blade’s Terralunar Impulsion Beam. The good Baron had the decency to establish his base camp amidst the ruins of Atlantis, off the coast of Madagascar, which made for pretty easy pickings for our unlikely squad of heroes. Unfortunately, the moment the Beam was deactivated (and the world saved, incidentally), Baron Blade himself showed up with one heck of a grudge. Already weakened by their attack on the Baron’s camp, our heroes sure are in dire straits, in…
Sentinel Comics #135: Hero… to Zero!
Sentinel Comics #134: The Blade of Atlantis
The Sentinels continue their fight against the enemies of the Multiverse!
LAST TIME (SC #133) Legacy had led the Freedom Five to finally uncover Baron Blade’s plot to use lost Atlantean technology to power his Terralunar Impulsion Beam. Unfortunately, this left four of the Freedom Five halfway around the world and unable to make it to Atlantis before the dastardly beam’s activation (loyal readers will recall that Tachyon’s super-speed had been temporarily lost along with her memories back in SC #124). With Visionary and the Inhuman Tempest lost in space and time thanks to Grand Warlord Voss (SC #130), and with Fanatic trapped in an alternate reality of Omnitron’s creation (SC #125), the task has fallen to Absolute Zero to lead a team of unlikely allies to save the world in…
Sentinel Comics #134: The Blade of Atlantis!
Living at the End of the World: Lone Survivor
The happiest thing you're going to see this entire article.
I’m not the right person to talk about horror games, because deep down (this is a secret, so please don’t tell either of the people that are under the impression that I’m undiluted awesomesauce), I’m a weenie. I thought Doom 3 was really scary. System Shock 2? Never beat it. Amnesia: The Dark Descent? Played twenty minutes and had to take a shower. Terraria? Well, that floating eyeball boss is troubling.
I did, however, finish Lone Survivor from Superflat Games (which is Jasper Byrne). This was only possible because it’s the true awesomesauce. Let me tell you why.
Sword. Also, Sworcery
The Scythian contemplates a mysterious island in S:S&S EP.
Long and shameful list of links: Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP from Superbrothers and Capy, and featuring the delightful tunes of Jim Guthrie, is now out on Steam, which marks the first appearance of this well-received (including by Time Magazine) game on PC. Whew!
I wasn’t expecting to enjoy S:S&S EP. As it was only available on iOS-powered devices (my phone may be useless, but I pay half as much for the privilege of that uselessness), I hadn’t seen any of the reviews or buzz surrounding it. When I saw that it had made the pilgrimage from the ‘Pad to the PC, I figured I would take a look, but I assumed the transition would be marred by poor resolutions, wonky ported gameplay, and perhaps a bit too much—dare I utter the word?—pretentiousness. I mean, have you seen that title? I’m glad to have been wrong. A few hours later, I’m pleased to say that although there are times that S:S&S EP stumbles, those few instances are dwarfed by refreshing accomplishment.
A Parable of Ambition: Syndicate
The opening screen. Which I actually like.
The other day I had a realization: I’ve been talking about so many smart but rough-looking indies here on Space-Biff! that I’ve totally neglected to write about something good-looking but dumb. I recently finished my second playthrough of Syndicate from Starbreeze Studios and EA, and so it feels like the time is right to talk about why I think it’s an excellent but forgettable shooter.
SPACE-BIFF! 