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 →

Developer/Publisher: Sucker Punch/Sony Released: June 2011

Played on: PS3

Infamous 2 has a serviceable story starring unmemorable characters. There are even a few plot twists and surprises, but they leave very little impact. The original game felt the same, so why would I play the sequel? Because the game is an obscene amount of fun (and was also free in PS+). Continue reading →

Developer/Publisher: Nintendo Released: March 1994

Played on: Wii U (originally released on Super Nintendo)

In May 2013, Nintendo released Super Metroid on the Wii U’s eShop for 30 cents. Obviously I bought it, like all the other 30 cent releases, and expected I’d play it for 30 minutes and have a bit of a nostalgia kick. Instead, I was hooked in by a game that is as fresh today as it was 20 years ago. Continue reading →

Developer/Publisher: Futurlab Released: May 2013

Played on: PS Vita (also available on PC)

I used to love shoot ‘em ups at the arcade, but have never been engaged by one on consoles or handhelds, aside from the odd Space Invaders remake. So it was this sad gap of quality shoot ‘em ups in my life that PS+ filled with a free digital copy of Velocity Ultra. Continue reading →

Developer: Tomorrow Corporation Released: November 2012

Played on: Wii U (also available on PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android)

I just wanted something to play on my nifty new Wii U gamepad while we watched TV. ANYTHING! Because after Mario Bros U I was out of Wii U Love. Little Inferno was on sale so I snapped it up, the art-style looked cool and it was the same developers as World of Goo, which I’d liked quite a bit. Played it for about 10 minutes before dismissing it and lamenting my wasted money. It was a game where you chose things to put in a furnace and burn them. And then you watch them burn. And that was it. Turn off the Wii U for a month. Continue reading →

Developer: Atlus Released: February 2013 (Vita)

Played on: PS Vita

I checked out this updated version of the 2009 PS2 game purely based on the buzz around it online. I have never been a huge JRPG fan, but my Vita was bereft of games and it sounded like a fairly safe bet. Continue reading →

Developer/Publisher: Double Fine Productions/Sega Released: January 2013

Played on: PS3 (also available on PC, Mac, Wii U, 360, Linux, iOS, Android, Ouya)

My interest in this game came from Ron Gilbert’s involvement – I’m willing to give anything he makes a chance after my countless visits to Monkey Island. I tried The Cave demo out on Wii U and it seemed interesting, reminiscent of The Lost Vikings which I loved, and soon enough the game came free with PS+. Continue reading →

Developer/Publisher: Irrational Games/2K Games Released: March 2013

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

The original Bioshock played with some big themes and ideas around power and freedom, underpinned by a metanarrative that provokes the power relationship between a game’s design and the player without undermining it. Bioshock Infinite pursues the same ideas and more, perhaps to a fault, including racism, revolution, religious zealotry, space/time conundrums, and the illusion of choice a user is given when playing. That big ideas can form a major part of highly successful mainstream video games is an exciting development for the medium, particularly when the Bioshock games do it so well. Infinite perhaps bites off more than it can chew, and doesn’t fully explore some of it’s ideas as well as they deserve, but is overall an extremely satisfying and thought provoking game. Fun to play too, but not necessarily for the same reasons. Continue reading →

Developer/Publisher: Rocksteady Studios/Warner Bros Interactive  Released: October 2011

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

Arkham City was widely lauded by fans and critics upon release and there are certainly lots of things to praise; robust combat system, excellent graphics and design, epic set pieces, inventive puzzles, quality voice acting, loads of content. Its certainly an enjoyable game.

But my problem was that I’d played Arkham Asylum before this, and it was a far superior game holistically. Continue reading →

Developer: Playdead Released: July 2010

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

A stark, monochromatic puzzle platformer, Limbo has become a reference point for many arty platforming indie games since. I’d wanted to play this for a long time but it wasn’t until it came free on PS+ that I finally did, and it’s quite fantastic. Continue reading →