Recent reviews by MnemonicJohnny

This game holds up shockingly well twelve years down the road. With the recent rollback beta, connections are usually impressively consistent, and the mechanics are still rock-solid. The menus and UI are still a little crusty, though. If you don't mind getting absolutely whupped (there are *definitely* some killers online -- I casually bumped into the EVO2017 champ in a public lobby!), this is a great way to get into Guilty Gear.

Holy COW, this game is incredible. Tight, stylish gunplay and whiplash-fast movement combined with hidden tech that begs for you to become a trick-shotting, power-sliding, bullet-punching whirlwind of death. The "DEVIL MAY QUAKE" moniker from the trailers is well-earned. Literally my only complaint is that there isn't more of it RIGHT NOW.

Skullgirls is the title that finally got me into fighting games, and it'll forever hold a very important place in my heart. It's fast, it's fun, and it's suprisingly simple to pick up. This is helped by an absolutely *stellar* tutorial and training room, and though the online isn't as populated nowadays, the netplay experience is unbelievably smooth thanks to GGPO and its customizable frame-delay system. The only complaint that I can muster is that the cast is a bit small for a MvC-style team game.

Play this game. Seriously.

An astonishingly well-made remake of Half-Life that sticks to the spirit, if not the letter, of the original. The gun-play is fast and responsive, as to be expected from Source, the levels are incredibly varied, the set-pieces are amazing (one particular chase had me on the edge of my seat for minutes on end!), and the visuals bring a new spark to these old bones. Play this game if you want to learn why Half-Life is remembered as one of the all-time classics. Play this game if you want to relive some great old memories. Play this game.

An intriguing puzzler focused not on "finding the right answer," but on "finding AN answer and making it as efficient as possible." The art style's clean and attractive, and some of the solutions to the puzzles are absolutely hypnotic in motion (not mine, though -- those ones are horrible sprawling messes.) Genuinely makes you feel like an inventor, tinkering with your clockwork machines and cobbling together answers from nothing.

A truly fantastic, Planescape:Torment-style CRPG about a dumpster fire of a detective muddling his way through a murder mystery. Particular highlights include the skill system, which comes alive to act as a kind of demented Greek chorus of conflicting voices in your head (I don't think I've ever laughed as hard as the time that my dopamine receptors convinced me that the best way to flirt with someone was "I want to make f**k with you,") and the characters, all of which are incredibly vivid and terrifically fun to learn about.

Just remember: listen to your instincts, don't be afraid to ask *weird* questions, and never stop digging for the truth.