The words you are about to read might read like one of our Verdicts, but it isn’t. I don’t think I would be comfortable granting SimCity my Verdict just yet, and I might not ever grant it one. Thanks in part to EA and Maxis’ decision to make it an always-online game it has been one of the most controversial releases in recent years. Server issues, high price and in-game bugs have all contrived to damage the reputation of the franchise.
Mass Effect has arguably been one of the most influential franchises of the last few years. Combining an intergalactic soap-opera with intergalactic-shooting-people-in-the-face, it managed to tick everyone’s boxes, and aside from the reaction to its ending, the majority of fans were sorry to see it come to a conclusion.
My experience of the StarCraft games has long been limited to the early levels of the first game, I don’t think I even got a quater of the way through the campaign. I was always more interested in titles like Red Alert 2 and so the different style of Blizzard’s seminal title didn’t quite grab me. I missed out on the release of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty for reasons unknown to me now, but I decided to grow up and take the plunge into the latest part of the StarCraft II journey with the Heart of the Swarm expansion.
One of the first PC games I ever played growing up was Doom. On the very second level, if you look out of a small window you might just catch a tantalising glimpse of its most emblematic weapon, perched on top of a pedestal like some kind of religious icon. Placed agonisingly out of reach, it was months before we managed to figure out how to acquire it, leaving my brother and I to dub it the Holy Chainsaw.
To say that the launch of SimCity has gone disastrously for EA and the many gamers who have been eagerly anticipating the game is perhaps being kind, things have not gone well so far, especially not with the American launch earlier in the week. However in the past hour I have been able to download, install and start playing the game. I doubt that we are in peak time for users, it will be most interesting to see how things are going this evening and over the weekend.
I’ve played around seven hours of Tomb Raider so far and I feel like I am about a quarter of the way through the game. I might be wrong of course, but all I know is that so far I am really enjoying my time with the franchise reboot. I’ll be back with my Verdict over the weekend, but for now, I have some early thoughts following the break.
Bang. I’m dead again.
Bang. Thwack. Shot then cut in half by a thrown sword.
Thump. Someone just slapped me with what appears to be a broom. Hey wait… aren’t you supposed to be on my team? Welcome to The Showdown Effect Beta.
There are many games on Steam Greenlight that I really should be playing, more than I have time for, but earlier today I took the time to have a quick blast with a fast-paced platformer which uses the beats of your own music to alter levels as you play. The name of the game?
ALL THE PEOPLE, SO MANY PEOPLE, THEY ALL GO HAND IN HAND, HAND IN HAND THROUGH THEIR CART LIFE Mr. Glembovski has gone missing. As game-changers go, it doesn’t exactly rank up with the Reaper invasion of Earth, or finding out you were Revan all along, but for Ukranian immigrant Andrus it’s an incredibly important event. For Mr. Glembovski is Andrus’ cat, and Mr. Glembovski is pretty much Andrus’ only friend.
Today I get to play as the most resilient, strong stomached and crazy assed character of all time. That’s right, Isaac Clarke is back in this years Dead Space 3 and I intend to give you the full lowdown of the demo I played earlier.