Iron Brigade (Trenched) Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Iron Brigade is a mix between third person shooter and a tower defense game. You may know the game as Trenched, but the name was changed, due to legal issues.

The game starts right after world war one, when a strange radio signal, known as "The Broadcast", kills almost anyone listening to it. The survires of the Broadcast are Frank Woodruff and Vladimir Farnsworth, they bout suffer from a "side effect", that maked them incredibly smart. Frank invents a prosthesis, to help crippled soldiers walk again. And  Vladimir invents "The Tube"(the TV), as a way to bring the Broadcast to everyone and conquer the world. And so these two start a war.

Using his legs prosthesis as a base, Frank builds the Trenche. A mobile tank-like mech, that is designed to battle the Tubes, of the evil genius.

So you are a guy that drives one such mech. The problem is that you  can't fight alone, so you must use turrets to support you in the fight. This is where similarities to Orcs Must Die come. But instead of traps, you have turrets and instead of spells, you have cannons.This sound like a solid concept. The question is "Is it done will?".

And that answer is a definitive "Yes", Double Fine has done it again. The guns feel like guns, due to the grate sounds and impact effects. The mechs feel like a more arcady version of MechWarrior. They are not as heavy as a mech, but the are not as agile as a human would be. So the developers have stuck a very delicate and enjoyable balance, between nimbler and slower combat.

As some of you may know, this game got a very late PC port and i have to say its pretty good. It has fully rebindable keys and a fair amount of graphics options. But i have to address the elephant in the room - Games For Windows Live. We all know the problems that come with GFWL, hell some people can't buy them legally. I don't know, It may not be a problem for you, but you have being warned. 

One more thing i'd like to menthone, is the graphics style. Iron Brigade mixes steampunk with the high tech. Your mech usually looks like "The Wild Wild West" meets world war one and the enemies give me vibes of Protoss. Overall its a very unusual and strange style.

To top it all of, Iron Brigade is a good concept, that is executed correctly and it runs like a well-oiled machine on PC.

I hope you liked my review of Iron Brigade (Trenched).

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My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

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Darksiders II Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Darksiders 2 is a spectacle fighter with RPG elements. 

The game starts, where the first one left of. War is imprisoned, by the Charred Council, for starting the Apocalypse early and distorting the balance. Death is convinced that his brother, War, is  innocent and he wants to free him. So Death makes a deal with the council, that they will free War, if he can resurrect the human race. Kind of ironic, don't you think. Death bringing life back.

Obviously, in Darksiders II you play Death, instead of War. The new character bring a lot of changes to the game. Death is much more agile and athletic then his brother. So the Angel of Death can do acrobatic tricks, like wall running. 

But the biggest chance has his weapon. Death uses two scythes, that can be joined in to a double edged scythe.

This makes the combat very unique, because some of the combos use the two faster and smaller weapons and some use the slower single scythe. The chance between the two is very fluid and barely noticeable. 

You also have  a secondary weapon, that can be an axe, hammer, or anything you find in the world. The secondary weapon adds new combos and more varied combat.

Compared to the first game, the combat is much faster, much smoother and much more enjoyable. 

And that is the entire theme of Darksiders II, its has improved. The puzzles are much better design, the acrobatic sections are more intuitive and the water sections are less disorientating. So you get less tings between you and fighting. However the game still has too many puzzles and stupid delays, that will annoy you.

The game also features some RPG-like elements. The vast open world is actually enjoyable to explore on horse back.   In it you will find a lot of good side quests, that have some context and purpose. 

And the best addition of all - the item system. You can change weapons and armor, if you find better once. Some items can even be upgraded, if you sacrifice the trash you find along the way. 

But the system is not without problems. Sometimes its hard to compare two items, because the stats are not explained well.

The one big problem that i have with the game, is that its two easy, nothing can kill you. Even the bosses cant kill you. And the worst part is that on max difficulty, its still too easy. 

To top it all of, Darksiders II is a grate game, with improved graphics, better level design and excellent gameplay.

I hope you liked my review of Darksiders II.

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My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

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DLC Quest Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing

DLC Quest is a 8-bit style platform and is probably the funniest game i have ever played.

The story of this 8-bit masterpiece is really simple. You are good guy, of course, and you have to save the princess from the bad guy. So if played Mario, you know the very plot. But what you don't know is the answer to the simple question "What happens when DLC goes too far?".

Lest start from the beginning. What is DLC? DLC stands for Downloadable content and its usually designed in such a way, to make you play and get nothing in return.

And so DLC Quest mocks the idea of DLC, in a very satirical and funny way. The game's philosophy is "if you need it, its DLC", and you have to buy it with coins (not real money). 

And when i say "if you need it", i mean you will need it. You have to buy DLC's like the "Movement Pack", that features next gen control, like jumping and moving left. You also have to buy things like music and animation. As you probably guessed, this game does not take its self seriously at all.

Things that the game does really well are satire, cynicism and exaggeration. The writing for the game, is just very funny, both in the DLC descriptions and in the conversation with the NPC. All of it is worth reading.

The game is kind of short, you can complete it in about 20-30 minutes, but feels just right. If the game was longer, the jokes would have gotten repetitive. If it was shorter, its not worth the price of $2.

To top it all of, DLC Quest is a great platformer, with a very nice 8-bit aesthetic and some of the funniest writing, ever put in a video game.

I hope you liked my review of DLC Quest.

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My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

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Warhammer 40000 Space Marine Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Warhammer 40000 Space Marine is a third-person, spectacle fighter set in the warhammer universe.

The story is set on Forge World Graia, a planet used for weapon production and most notably, the giant "Titan" class robots. The planet is attacked by millions of orcs, so a squad of three space marines is send to take back Manufactorum Ajakis - the Titan production facility.

You play as Captain Titus, the leader of the Ultramarine squad, and your mission is to slaughter thousands of orcs, for the glory of the empire.

Being a space marine, you have a vast array of powerful melee and range weapons. It doesn't matter, if you like getting up close and personal with the chainsword, or you like more the third-person shooting with the bolter, this game has you covered. The combat feels just fun, because of the grate sound assets, the good use of screen shake and the well timed slow motion kills. And i dont know, butchering millions of orcs, always makes me feel good.

As a spectacle fighter, Space Marine is very standard. The combos are not too difficult and the enemies die fairly easy. You can execute orcs, in order to regenerate health and also use fury mode, that makes you hit twice as hard for a short time. So its very similar to games like Devil May Cry and Darksiders.

One of the things i love is that "in the grim darkness of the far future there is only war", no  puzzles and no acrobatic tricks. Nothing to stand between you and the best part of the game - fighting (I hope that THQ uses that in darksiders 2).

I criticize a lot of spectacle fighters for this and Warhammer 40000 Space Marine, is no exception. Not enough combos. You can master the entire combo list in about an hour and that is just unacceptable, in my opinion. 

Some may ask me, is the game accurate to 40k lore. I'd love to tell you, but i have no idea. I'v never being interested in the 40k universe and everything i know about it can be written on a tee spoon. So you will have to find for your self. 

The game also has multiplayer, but its kind of boring, the best part comes when you get to level four. That is when you get to customize the look of you space and chaos marine and there is so much you can do to make the look awesome and unique.

To top it all of, Warhammer 40000 Space Marine is a wonderful spectacle fighter, filled with a lot of blood, gore, violence and a ton of orc slaying.

I hope you liked my review of Warhammer 40000 Space Marine.

 If you did, comment, share with your friends, like me of facebook, or follow me of twitter.

My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

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Unmechanical Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Unmechanical is a puzzle game, where you play one of the cutest robots.

The game starts with a cinematic, of you being kidnapped and released in some sort of test facility. I am sick of this cliche, its so overused in puzzle games. Anyway, once in the facility, you have to complete some basic physics based puzzles, that get harder and harder. The only tool you have, is the tractor beam, that can be used to pull and lift objects.  

One thing that the game has, is variety. You have weight puzzles, sequence puzzle and some that just require some common sense. What makes them interesting, is the setting of the game. From the adorable robot, to the beautiful backgrounds. From the sound design, to the ambient music. The game just has, so much character its unbelievable.It reminds me of  Machinarium and that is never a bad thing.

One of the really grate things about the game, is the lack of UI. The environment, just telegraphs all that you need to know about the puzzles. But, sometimes it can be confusing and you will not know what is background and what is foreground. Another slightly annoying thing, is the with of you're tractor beam, its not wide enough and you have to be very precise, in order to lift something. 

To top it all of, Unmechanical is a grate little game, that can be quite relaxing any fan of puzzles can enjoy with ease.

I hope you liked my review of Unmechanical.

 If you did, comment, share with your friends, like me of facebook, or follow me of twitter.

My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

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Spec Ops: The Line Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Spec Ops: The Line is a very generic third-person shooter, with some unusual storytelling techniques.

The game starts, right after the biggest sand storm, that ever hit Dubai. The 33rd where send in, to investigate the situation, but they never came back. That is where you come in, as Captain Walker, the commander of a three man Delta force group. At first you're mission is reconnaissance, then it turns to find and rescue. And then it goes FUBAR and no one knows, what the hell is going on. 

But what is really interesting and unique, is the way the story is presented. Spec Ops tries to show the horrors of war, in a realistic and believable fashion and it does a pretty good job. For example, if you listen you're enemies talking before combat. You'll realize that they are just like you - soldiers following orders. Another example is the chatter, that you have with your squadmates, Adams and Lugo, and the reflection that the current situation is leaving on them. 

I can sit here and give you examples, but its best just to experience it. At then end of the day, that is good story telling and its refreshing to see in a third-person shooter. 

Speaking of the part, this gameplay is paynefully standard. Its just cover based shooter, like gears of war, or army of two. There is one interesting mechanic - the storms. When they appear, you're vision is limited, you can't order you squad and you have difficulties when aiming. 

One of the better things, is the level design. The ruined five star hotels, converted to refugee camps, really enhance the feeling of destruction, man made, or otherwise.

The graphics also look really good. The lighting and particle effect are of high quality, the textures are really high resolution and the game looks good in general. 

To top it all of, Spec Ops: The Line is a third-person shooter, with interesting storytelling techniques and good graphics, bout of them add up to the overall feeling of the game. Alas the gameplay lets it down a bit, because its just too normal, too generic.

 I hope you liked my review of Spec Ops: The Line.

 If you did, comment, share with your friends, like me of facebook, follow me of twitter.

My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

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Kung Fu Strike - The Warrior's Rise Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Kung Fu Strike - The Warrior's Rise is a spectacle fighter, focused on high skill level and good reaction times.

In this  terrible story, you play General Loh, a kung fu master who seeks revenge for his father's death. But the problem is that the story is very badly written and very boring. Fortunately the developers knew that, so they included a "disable cutscenes" option, so you never have to care about the "story" ever again. 

But what you should care about, is the completely over the top fighting system. On the outside, its pretty simple. Easy to link combos and weak enemies at the start, give you a false sense of security. But when you get further, the real enemies start coming at you and the game really begins. 

If you want to survive then, you have to deflect and evade most of the attacks that are coming your way. This takes good really good reaction times, especially on high difficulty levels. 

Another skill demanding mechanic is braking an enemy block. It's an easy idea, your opponent will have a combination pop-up above his head and you have to execute it correctly, in order to brake the block. The combinations are simple, "like hold this, then tap that", but if you miss it, or mess it, the enemies will hit you with the force of a speeding truck. 

To top it all of, Kung Fu Strike - The Warrior's Rise is a very hard, but fair spectacle fighter, with a very rewarding combat system. Unfortunately has crappiest story of any game i played this year. 

I hope you liked my review of Kung Fu Strike - The Warrior's Rise.

 If you did, comment, share with your friends, like me of facebook, follow me of twitter.

My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

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Psychonauts Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Psychonauts is one of the craziest, action-adventure i have every played and that can never be bad sign.

The story is staring Raz, a run away boy, that went to Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp, with a dream of becoming a psychonaut. "What is a psychonaut?", you ask. Well a  psychonaut is a person, who can use psychic abilities, like levitation, or mind reading and some that are much cooler. So your goal is to complete the psychonaut training, before your parents come and take you home.   

But the lessons, are not you standard sit down and take notes, oh no. In order to learn you must go in to other people's minds, usually your teachers minds. And that is where most of the craziness comes from. Of course the cartoony graphics, the lovable and funny characters complete this strange and crazy world.This game will just makes you smile, every time you play it.

From a gameplay standpoint, its а standard action-adventure game, with a lot of platforming and a lot of things to collect. The fighting is somewhat simplistic, but once you get the really fun spells, like pyrokinesis, it becomes pretty enjoyable. Overall you never feel like you are doing something meaningless, or tedious, so it's certainly better then some other action-adventure game.

The PC port feels really tight and well polished, you can still see console elements in it, but its nothing to die about.

To top it all of, Psychonauts is awesome, crazy, off it's rockers and if you are sick of all of the COD and BF clones that we have now, you should get it. At the moment its one Steam and GOG for PC and MAC.

I hope you liked my review of Psychonauts.

 If you did, comment, share with your friends, like me of facebook, follow me of twitter.

My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

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