Developer/Publisher: Ape, HAL Laboratory/Nintendo Released: June 1995

Played on: Wii U (also available on SNES)

I didn’t play Earthbound when it was originally released, in fact I don’t think it was even released here in Australia, but the buzz and cult following around the game has been prevalent for years. Having checked it out briefly via PC emulation many years ago, I was pretty pumped for the imminent Virtual Console release on Wii U, but at the same time wasn’t sure exactly what I was excited about. Continue reading →

Developer/Publisher: Dennation Games/Devolver Digital Released: October 2012

Played on: Vita (also available on PS3, PC, Mac, Linux)

Hotline Miaimi’s pixel-art belies a deeply violent, unsettling game that fuses disturbing aesthetics with strategic-stealth-twitch action to create one of the best experiences I’ve had on my Vita. Continue reading →

Developer/Publisher: Level-5 Released: July 2013

Played on: 3DS

I did not grow up in a small Tokyo town in the 70s, yet Attack of the Friday Monsters! made me feel tremendously nostalgic. You play as 10 year old Sohta, leading him through a typical Friday afternoon where you play a collectible card game with your friends, innocently explore the outskirts of your town, and shyly muddle through conversation with that girl you like. Oh, and cower as giant monsters and superheroes fight for supremacy like they do every Friday afternoon. Continue reading →

Developer/Publisher: Criterion Games/EA Released: November 2012

Played on: PS3 (also available on 360, Vita, PC, Wii U)

I hadn’t played a Need for Speed game in years, but when this popped up free on PS+ I gave it a whirl. Continue reading →

Developer: Mike Bithell Released: July 2012

Played on: Vita (also available on PS3, PC, Mac, Linux)

Thomas Was Alone is a great example of a game made up of enough strong elements that it turned out better than it had any right to be. As a puzzle platformer, its good but not outstanding. The narration is at times extremely charming, but at other times highlights a lack of satisfying cohesion and progression in the story. But combining these two elements and a perfectly textured soundtrack make Thomas Was Alone a highly memorable and enjoyable game. Continue reading →

Developer/Publisher: Team Bondi/Rockstar Games Released: May 2011

Played on: PS3 (also available on 360 & PC)

You’re a cop solving crimes in five different departments in a visually arresting open-world recreation of 1947 Los Angeles. This sounds awesome, and was a highly regarded game upon release, but playing this game 2 years after everyone else, I did not share the same overly positive sentiments. LA Noire is a mixed bag, at its best it’s thrilling, at its worst it drags along infuriatingly. Continue reading →

Developer/Publisher: Telltale Games Released: July 2013

Played on: Mac (also available on PC, 360, PS3, Vita, iOS)

The Walking Dead game spanned 5 episodes and followed the stories of main protagonists Lee & Clementine, players getting more and more invested in the characters as time and episodes go on, playing only as Lee the entire time. The 400 Days downloadable content has a different ambition, attempting to tell the story of 5 different playable characters in the space of one episode. It’s a very different approach, each story being tightly told with just enough time for us to understand the characters and, when successful, care about them. Continue reading →

Most of the games I give extended blog space to are games I’ve researched first before buying, and I spend a lot of time playing them, so it’s rare that there are any that I actively dislike. With Playstation Plus’ monthly free games, I get access to all sorts of games, good and bad. The following two were ones I was keen to play, but couldn’t stick with, so its not fair for me to give either a verdict, suffice to say I would recommend neither. Continue reading →

Developer/Publisher: Naughty Dog/Sony Released: June 2013

Played on: PS3

After years of games with great survival-horror moments but dreadful story, other games with too much story and not enough gameplay, and games with stories about good people in cutscenes who massacre hundreds of enemies in gameplay, The Last of Us seems to have struck the right balance and has the potential to mature the form. Naughty Dog, best known for their work on the rollicking Uncharted adventure series, make a brave detour into a dark and unforgiving world, and the result is one of the finest games of the generation. Continue reading →

Developer/Publisher: Nintendo Released: June 2013

Played on: 3DS

When I boot up New Leaf, I have a habitual series of activities I run through. Firstly, check my mail box, then start wandering around my town, El Tez, and saying hello to all the other townsfolk. It’s good for them to see their mayor. At the same time I’m carrying a shovel, inevitably some dinosaur fossils will have risen closer to the surface overnight and I’d better dig them up so we can add them to the collection at the museum. The villagers of El Tez are my best friends in the world, but they can also be a little bit stupid, and if something arises where I need to deliver Diana (a deer who I wish would leave town, she can’t take a hint) an item that she left at Savannah’s house (Savannah is a horse) then I will do so. Because that’s the kind of Mayor I am, one willing to run pointless errands for their citizens for the chance to get some kind of rare and delightful item in return. Sadly, its usually a horrid piece of clothing that I sell or gift to someone else immediately. Continue reading →