Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch – 19/20
Fantastic game! Marked down in sound for repetitive battle music that caused me to mute the television during battle heavy areas.
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Tag: review
Portal Microreview
Portal Microreview – 20/20!
Portal is a first person puzzle-platform game, released by Valve. The player must navigate their way through a series of puzzles using a teleportation device that allows you to control two portals. The portals may be used to move the player and simple objects from location to location within a confined testing space overseen by GLaDOS, an artificially intelligent computer system.
The tests start out simple enough, but grow in difficulty as you progress through the facility. Within the first levels I felt like a genius, wielding my portal gun and snickering with glee as I completed each coarse with precision and ease. As the levels progressed however, I found myself growing more and more agitated when it took me longer to complete each level. In the end I would prevail, and the resulting satisfaction was rewarding. It is truly enjoyable to play a game that challenges you to think. Portal requires you to pay attention and think about your next move and position.
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Mass Effect 3 Microreview
Mass Effect 3 Microreview – 20/20!
In Mass Effect 3, despite Shepard’s efforts in the previous games, the Reapers have brought the battle to Earth and it is…devastating… The first 15 minutes of gameplay are enough to make you sob at the amount of destruction and death the Reapers are capable of. While Anderson stays behind on Earth to rally a resistance, Shepard leaves to plea to the Council for help. Whether the council rejects or accepts Shepard’s claims, it is up to him/her to unite rival civilizations into an army for the final battle against the Reapers.
Many, many people hated the ending of this game. Fortunately, I was able to patch mine and play it after it was fixed so I didn’t have the same incomplete-feeling experience others did, but I can understand their anger and frustration.
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Mass Effect 2 Microreview
Mass Effect 2 Microreview – 20/20!
Mass Effect 2 focuses on people: gaining loyalty and forming relationships with your crew and other characters. The story takes place two years after the first and sees Shepard reluctantly working for Cerberus, a xenophobic human-first organization whose full intentions are unclear, but for the moment seem to want to save humans from the Reapers. With Cerberus’ help, Shepard and his/her crew battle the Collectors, an alien race abducting entire human colonies in a second contingency plan to help the Reapers return.
This is my favorite game in the Mass Effect trilogy. It improved upon the first game, but allowed the player to save the crew if they played everything right, which is much appreciated when you have built a character from the first game forward.
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Mass Effect Microreview
Mass Effect Microreview – 20/20!
The first Mass Effect set the stage and established a time and place. The player discovers the galaxy; learning its planets, races and cultures. The Reaper conflict is introduced and we see Shepard facing Sovereign, a vanguard Reaper who plans to usher in the Reaper fleet to continue its mysterious cycle of destruction.
This has to be one of my favorite science fiction video games to date! I am very fond of Roleplaying games such as this that shape your character(s) through your dialogue and actions. In regards to combat, I would highly recommend finding a class that suits your play-style or you may get frustrated and unable to progress easily. Probably the most tedious aspect of this game is driving around planets in search of resources or anomalies, but I didn’t feel it was tedious enough to drop the score!
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Batman: Arkham Knight Microreview
Batman: Arkham Knight Microreview – 19/20!
While some folks had issues with how much this game centered itself around the Batmobile, I had tons of fun racing around and blowing down obstacles! A star was removed from fun factor because I get rather frustrated when developers keep the “true” ending out of reach unless someone wants to spend hours upon hours getting 100% in the game. I believe I reached about 90% before I had had enough of Riddler’s games and settled for the lackluster ending; looking up the true ending later.
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Batman: Arkham City Microreview
Batman: Arkham City Microreview – 19/20!
Transitioning from Arkham Asylum to Arkham City is quite a shock due to the sheer size of the playable area and the amount of side-quests/activities. I enjoyed the content and the ability to play a new character (Catwoman), but felt that the larger space added just a smidgeon of too much chaos, that took away from the main plot.
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Batman: Arkham Asylum Microreview
Batman: Arkham Asylum Microreview – 20/20!
My first introduction to the Batman Arkham series and my favorite! Although graphics have improved since this game’s release, I enjoy the relative simplicity of the plot itself and the setting being without overindulging.
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Batman: Arkham Origins Microreview
Batman: Arkham Origins Microreview – 17/20!
Though this wasn’t the first release in the Arkham game series, I thought I’d review it first because chronologically it is set before the other games. Despite a few bugs that rendered a quest or two incomplete (see markdown for gameplay) and therefore dampened some of the fun, I enjoyed this game quite a bit! Please note, that these bugs have probably been fixed by a patch since I’ve played, at least I hope!
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Tomb Raider Microreview
Tomb Raider Microreview – 20/20!
I loved this game! So fantastic and fun! What intrigues me about this game is Lara’s vulnerability. She’s not the already perfect badass that everyone already recognizes her to be. She shows fear in the face of danger, initially lacking confidence in her own abilities and judgment. She’s young, inexperienced and naïve the way most of us would be in her situation. She’s just beginning her journey and we are beginning it with her, and as we identify with her experiences we are becoming tough and battle-hardened survivors along with her; gaining much more insight into her world than ever before.
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Whole Heartily 