Recent reviews by Luke

This is one of the best games I've ever played. It's Metroid without combat. You explore and build and be dazzled, in a handcrafted world with music like the best that a Metroid type game would ever present. This is a masterpeice.

Even though Mordor gates you from its finest combat elements and systems until after its halfway point, there's enough here to keep one entertained for a good stretch, but not exactly blown away.

Although not as deep or large in scope and variety as the Souls games Lords lovingly nods to, its nonethless an enjoyable action RPG with remarkably high production value.

WELL THATS A LITTLE BETTER!!! By a little better, I mean this is a full blown complete overhaul of EVERYTHING that was wrong with the first Payday. The progression MATTERS. The stealth MATTERS and is profoundly rewarding when done right. The levels are thoughfully layed out with a decent variety between all of them. The soundtrack by Bionic Commando Rearmed's sonic wizard, Simon Viklund, is front and center here and does not disappoint.

Best of all, the combat is actually fun in the way that the new psuedo class system unfolds, with the survival against waves of enemies leaving you feeling both powerful and vulnerable and reliant on your friends for help. The core survival element feels very Killing Floor like, and thats a high complement, with boss-like Juggernauts causing mass hysteria amonst your crew.

I've had some damn fun with Payday 2 that I can't say isn't without fault - the levels are few and environments sometimes even blatantly recycled, the enemy variety is nil as you'll fight the exact same series of popo every mission, and the reward structure is bizarrely weighted heavily in favor of certain mission. But all those wrongs just dont foul something that plays just so damn well. Maybe a PVP element next time? Cops vs Robbers Payday? I'd like to see that happen.

There's something here to be said about making a Left 4 Dead style survival game made specifically to perform HEAT style hollywood heists, but something just isn't working here. The way the levels unfold, the way the stealth barely works at all - and if it does, it only buys you a small amount of time - leaves you without any satisfaction at all. Even if you complete the heists, the rewards are fleeting and progression just isn't handled well. Maybe if they made some kind of sequel....

While the actual play mechanics of Assassin's Creed games are so stale now that they are almost mummified, its easy enough to bash your way through that it won't keep you from the fantastic open world exploration and encounters. Similar to Ubisoft's other franchise favourite, Far Cry 3, the freedom and navigation is whats on point here. The fun of conquering the west indies and performing various hunts - on man, beast, and galleon - make this the most enjoyable Assassin's Creed game since the phenomenal AC2. Sure, its a bummer when you're doing the same damned eavesdropping mission, but you didn't play Skyrim for the story either, did you?

9/10

Fair warning, this game is ROUGH! It looks like a game made as a high school project from 1998, with graphics and animations that will put a lot of people off. It moves as clunky as it looks, and is uncompromising in its difficulty with death almost assured everytime a monster reaches you.

However, what an argument for how some roughness can be overlooked when the groundwork is just so much damn fun. This game is an epic crawl for you and all your friends, delicately inching your way forward with just a few bullets and some prayers to keep you alive. There are some geuinely terrifying suprises along the way, and more than a few laughs (some of them at the game's expense).

There are scarce few games that keep you on the edge of your seat and properly coordinating with your friends, in an almost Resident Evil 5 on extra hard balls mode kind of way, something that Left 4 Dead co-op can't even get right since those campaigns are laughably easy and brief.

I don't know who made Cry of Fear, but thank you for the good times, thank you for having it totally free, and I look forward to what comes next.

As much as I want to get through this game, and as much as I want to see all the environments and experience the large amount of content in here - its a pretty long game - being an action/adventure fan would want to do, Lords of Shadow does not make me want to. In fact, it puts the player off in almost every category. The story is totally awful - Patrick Stewart does nothing to make you care about any of these poorly written characters, and the journey of Gabriel should have best been told with a "less is more" attitude.

Unfortunately, this would mean that the gameplay could speak for itself, and that would work if it were a given that it was fun to play. But it simply isn't. The terrible camera that actively tries to hinder you, anything important or intentionally obfuscate any hidden suprises is one thing, but when it actually DENIES you access to see where you are or where you are going at times is pure frustration. Yeah, by all means, hide that hidden room with the extra life gem inside. But when I call your bluff, don't take vengeance on me for crying out loud.

The combat seems floaty, imprecise and lathargic response(I hit the dodge button you fool!), the hits lack any sort of weight, the combat flows unnecessarily slowly as you have to whack the same enemies over and over, and it has the audacity to force silly quick time events that have aged the worst of any mechanic in gaming short of the load screen. While the experience gain and move upgrades are novel none of it really improves your killing prowess, and sometimes opening up the amount of combos you can perform for no other reason that flash is a poor motivator.

The world is broken up into chapters and levels that need to be re-played with future powers to be fully exploited. While this isn't entirely unwanted, the act of playing them is in no way enjoyable, which could be forgiven if there were a better exploration element to the game. There have been Action Adventure games that have already solved a lot of these problems, and one only needs look at Darksiders for hugely improved upgrade systems, dungeons, a much more interesting unbroken and seamless world to explore, more interesting enemies, and much more satisfying combat.

You could say Lords of Shadow is a game that does it all - and while that may be true, all the things it does fall flat and are without soul. Not recommended.

A dark, emotionally draining adventure that feels like a Grimm fairy tale. Short but densley packed with stunning environments and absolutely no filler. Each sequence is unique and brief so that it never wears out its welcome. The first two chapters are almost a disservice, as the game becomes more about the places you visit and the people and creatures you meet than the mechanics of playing. 10/10

Took about 5-6 missions before I got the combat, but I ended up finishing it. I like the face animation stuff Ninja Theory does, fun levels, entire soundtrack by Combichrist so it fits the rediculous motif, stupid-fun story, and only a few annoying boss fights. 8/10 SSSADISTIC!!!