When writing game reviews there are things that you want to say that you just can’t.
As informal as a review is, some restraint is required, else it become simply a rant. That’s the origin of Vic B’Stard’s State of Play. Whilst Vic B’Stard (or more often VicBStard) has been my online handle for donkey’s years, my alter-ego was first given a voice on the Game Console pages of www.techday.com (where I now write the daily gaming news).
It’s a brave publisher that chooses to release their game up against the calibur of titles that’ll be turning up in stores over the coming months. It’s an even braver publisher that chooses to lead the charge.
The publisher is Square Enix and the game is Deus Ex: Human Revolution. It’s out on 25th August for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows PC, and it shoulds be first on your list of games to buy over the next few months.
Don’t take my word for it though, UK magazine PC Gamer has just awarded the game with a 94% review score, as has sister magazine Games Master. The UK Official Xbox 360 Magazine has given it fantastic 10/10 and the UK Official Playstation 3 Magazine a very reasonable 8/10.
It has been a busy week. The absence of a techday.com roundup last weekend means I’ve got two weeks worth of gaming news to summarise this time.
Why have I been so tardy? Well, it’s cramming time. As the seasonal deluge of games approaches, it’s time to get through all those great games that I never quite licked before the sequels arrive. I want to avoid another Fallout 3/New Vegas issue where the sequel just sits there, gathering dust because the last game wasn’t completed.
As a games reviewer you have to take the rough with the smooth. For every Call of Duty, there’s a Barbie game that wants reviewing. Sometimes reviewing a game that’s off the radar yields a surprisingly good gaming experience that may otherwise have been overlooked (I thought, to my shame, that Batman: Arkham Asylum was going to be a bit poo).
When I was asked to review Lips: Number One Hits, an eyebrow or two was raised. A karaoke game isn’t the usual fayre of a male gamer in his late thirties (as I was back then).
I wasn’t asked to review Just Cause 2, I volunteered. It was one of those games that fired me up with so much excitement that I really needed to write about it.
I’d really enjoyed the first Just Cause, even though it was a bit lacking. The demo for the sequel looked great on the Xbox 360 and it looked awesome on the PC. I picked it up on Steam before it was available in NZ at retail, enabling me to write a review whilst the game was still fresh.
Just Cause 2, for me, is a game that still keeps on giving. Not the most powerful in-game narrative, but it is massive and there is alway something to do (i.e. blow-up). I think the game provides a level of entertainment value-for-money far in excess for a lot of today’s games. I recommend that you give it a go if you haven’t already. It’s still available on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.
I still return to it on a regular basis. In fact, I’m going to have a go now. Here’s my review as originally published on the Game Console website in April 2010.
Bethesda has just announced its Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Collector’s Edition at Quakecon 2011 in Dallas, Texas.
The special pack comes with a 12″ dragon statue, a 200-page art book and a making-of DVD. It’s priced at $149.99 US/ €149.99 EU/ £129.99 UK/ $199.99 Australian.
A bit late, but I’ve just had a copy of the Batman: Arkham Asylum Collector’s Edition turn up.
I’ve also just dropped down a deposit for the Xbox 360 version of the Batman: Arkham City Collector’s Edition. I’m pretty fired up about using the flabby and tired-looking Dark Knight Returns Batman skin. Awesome. The Batman figurine will also look cool next to all my other gaming tat.
All hope of finishing Oblivion before Skyrim comes out has passed. As is the chance of me finishing the increasingly repetitive and grating L.A. Noire…ever.
