Recent reviews by Zynkei

A little bit of something for everyone, and there's a lot of somethings to go around. You could spend most of your time just doing side quests and exploring the rather large land that is Skyrim. Or you could blow right through the main storyline.

What's that you say? You've spent countless hours in the wilderness and defeated any and all who crossed you? Never fear, brave adventurer - the community has provided PLENTY of mods to keep you going. Everything from new weapons and armor to new questlines, to difficulty tweaks making the game as easy or as challenging as you want. There's a little something here for everyone. Now if only they'd add co-op...

Running an item shop may not sound like the kind of thing you'd want to do in a video game. As a sidequest maybe, but as the game's bread and butter?

Recettear, however pulls this off beautifully. For the micro manager, there's many things to keep track of in the shop: is the placement of your items bringing in the optimum amount of customers? Is your choice of decorations bringing in the kind of customers you want? How much is too much to sell that piece of egg toast for?

For the dungeon crawler, there's plenty of opportunity for exploration. How far down do you go in the dungeon? Do you take the opportunity to go back to town and empty your inventory, or do you press on to avoid losing a day that could be better spent selling your newfound loot? Can you topple the boss rush mode after completing the story? Just how deep IS this dungeon?

The combination of humor and tight gameplay will keep you coming back over and over. For 20 bucks (less if you get it on sale!), you can't ask for more.

Don't let the age of this game fool you, it's worth every penny.

In The Witcher, story is everything. What you say and do (or don't do) has direct consequences on the story and gameplay. Do you stop a mob of villagers from burning the local witch, or do you aid them in ending her life? Do you defend a dwarf who is the target of racism, join his persecutors, or simply walk away? How you react to the world is more important than what gear you wear.

Combat is all about skill and planning. A monster who might tear an ill prepared witcher to shreds may fall easy prey to a blade with a special coating. The effects of a potion might be all that stands between you and certain doom. Alchemy and an intimate understanding of the world around you will keep you alive.

Though this game is a bit aged, it still looks nice. The heavy focus on story telling is a breath of fresh air compared to most games in the RPG genre - where what you wear is more important than how well you prepare yourself.