As a devoted fan of the first Darksiders, I enjoyed the post-apocalyptic adventures of our good friend War. As soon as it was announced I eagerly awaited to prance about as Death in Darksiders 2, and let me say it was well worth the wait. Vigil Games crafted a worthy sequel to Darksiders, improving things where it counted and adding new systems that feel like they should've been there in the first place. The loot system and items feel satisfying to attain and use, and the talent trees give great flexibility to the player. Want to charge head-on and bash the face in of every enemy you see with a giant hammer while summoning murder of crows that constantly heals you? Not a problem, you can do that. Feel like dashing through skeletons with dual scythes and claws? That can be a thing that happens. The game looks and feels well-crafted; animations of Death and his adversaries are fluid , and the game's world is vast and richly detailed. Aside from a few glitches and the occasionally ruddy texture, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

It's always amusing when a small studio can pull off something 10x better than a titan of a company. To all I proudly declare that Torchlight 2 is the answer to filling that hack-and-slash-desiring hole in your heart. Torchlight 2 has four unique classes, each with their own set of exciting abilities and a giant world to explore over and over again with an abundance of enemies to smash to bits. Or electrocute. Or freeze. It's your call really, swarms of robots even work too. Each time you enter a zone all the areas and possible side missions are randomly generated, so no running through the exact same zone over and over again. And each unique zone holds random mini-bosses and more loot than you can imagine. The game promises mountains of gold and everything from giant hand-cannons to razor sharp claws, and let me assure you that these promises are fulfilled to your wildest dreams. Oh, and there isn't any unnecessary online DRM (Digital Rights Management) so none of that pesky latency lag in a single-player game. Multiplayer is optional; you can feel free to hop into a friend’s game or a random stranger’s and take on the world together, treasure hunting and exploring to your heart’s content.

Personally, I'm a fan of the supernatural. I'm also a fan of steampunk. Combine those two aspects and you've got a game that interests me. Dishonored plunges you into a vivid world with everything from dark ritualistic caverns to fancy masquerades that you just want to keep wandering around in. Each level is filled with a plethora of things to do and look for such as ability-enhancing runes or side quests to distract from the main story. The architecture of each zone is also vastly different from the last. With many access points, you always have a choice how you get into various buildings, and even more options as to how you dispatch your intended target. There isn't a method that won't work if you know what you're doing, and that flexibility makes it fun for many type of gamer; because of this all of your powers are on equal footing and no single ability overshadows the others. Blinking over the heads of a guard to gain access to your target, or possessing a rat to infiltrate an area through a vent are both valid methods as well. They'll work and you can pull it off. Despite the being a little short for my taste, the game was a fulfilling adventure. It was a breath of fresh air to see a concept with so much potential executed with such precision.

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! ...Well, without the lions; there are jaguars and sharks to make up for them, though! In the jungles of Far Cry 3, you will not be safe at all. Cast into the world with nothing but a knife, a pistol, and a brand spanking new tattoo, you are set off to explore the massive island you’re stuck on. As you explore you’ll discover quickly that pretty much everything wants you dead, but the massive arsenal of guns you can wield will become your best friend in no time. If you’re up for a stealthier approach, you can sneak in and backstab to your heart’s content. My personal favorite is the combat bow for long-range stealth. Boss battles are mere quick-time events, which was a little disappointing, though I can see how the shorter duration of the fight brings it down to a more personal level. As you explore you can either purchase guns with the money you collect from looting bodies, raiding chests, and doing side missions, or just wait to unlock them as you discover radio towers. Aside from material discoveries on the islands, the protagonist discovers many things about himself in a deep and complicated story with wonderful narration and incredibly memorable characters. The voice acting is some of the best I’ve heard in a modern title, and the realistic animations of the characters enhance that to an unreal degree. The game feels like a living, breathing world with a gorgeous realm as your playground, and what a fulfilling playground it is.

Being able to shred enemies with all new guns and abilities, explore worlds I've only heard rumors of, and interact with friends new and old is what the Mass Effect series has always given me. This installment once again hands me that on a silver platter. Every conversation, every new world, everything about the game has had me sucked in from the start and had me wanting more. I customized my guns with the new gun modification system so I can eradicate my enemies just how I want, in addition to a slew of biotic and tech powers that complimented my custom weapons beautifully. I played through it time and time again to witness all paths, good and evil, that I could take. This game, like most Bioware games, is known for the choices you can make. The choices are certainly still there, but I can’t help but feel the weight of the choice has diminished over time. I'm also going to remind everyone that Bioware changed the ending, so even though it was initially disastrous, it did get fixed. It shouldn't have been like that in the first place but any one who has played the game already knows this. All in all, this game lived up to my expectations and then soared past them.

I've always wondered why free-to-play games never really succeeded. They're free right? But then I realized that “free” doesn't make them any less boring if they all use the exact same formula. And then along came Arenanet. Guild Wars 2 is not completely free, it costs a flat one-time entrance free, but sweet lord is that entrance fee worth it. All the ideas and thoughts I’ve been spouting for years about how MMOs should change are finally in a game and I'm pleasantly flabbergasted to say in the least. To make a brief list; there are no class and race restrictions, dodging is a system and actually matters in combat, equipped gear means nothing in PVP, all events are randomized and not your run of the mill kill-this-or-go-here quests. My personal favorite feature is no more mob tagging ( making it so only you or your group can get rewards for downing a monster); this is the first massively multiplayer game that feels like it's meant to be multiplayer. Players can help out other players and get an equal share of the loot, regardless of whether they're in the same party or not. I've been ranting about that for ages and it's finally a reality. All 8 classes feel unique to play with, and skills linked to weapons make it so you have to itemize depending on the situation. But nowhere near least, the game is visually gorgeous. From the UI to the expansive landscapes and cities, every single thing is absurdly good-looking. I've spent hours just walking around and marveling at everything this game has to offer. And trust me, it's a lot. The endgame may be a little lacking, but this game is a game definitely about the journey, not the destination.

This game is FUN. Its humor is impeccable, the gun system is the glorious for a hoarder like me, the characters are memorable and the story always had me on the edge of my seat. All of the characters you played as in the first Borderlands as are back in this game as some of the main NPCs you interact with, complete with voices this time around. Most old NPCs are back with their familiar banter as well as many new and endlessly entertaining ones. The fresh batch of Vault Hunters you're given to play feel unique with their playstyles and abilities, including the 5th Vault Hunter from the first DLC. The world is expansive and fun to explore in all its cell-shaded goodness with new enemies around every corner and a new wacky gun to use against them. You encounter far more than the same bandits time and time again. Many new creatures consisting of giant crystal titans and flying bugs to land squids are always a blast to fight against. There is so much new content that it's hard to go over in this brief review , which is why I recommend this game so highly. On top of it all, throw in a few friends and the fun is extended even further than you could imagine.

The majority of games spoon-feed you information; what’s going on, who you are and what you have to do. Not Dark Souls. If you're looking for some casual gaming experience to kick back and enjoy, then find another game. Why is this on my list you ask? Because it isn't a simple game to breeze through. It takes concentration and skill; if you can pull it off, the satisfaction you receive is close to unparalleled. There is no difficulty you can change if it gets too hard. You have to keep going further and further down into the depths of this game's beautifully dark world, and when you hit that point of Zen you feel unstoppable. And then comes the next boss and realize you aren’t. This game is designed for you to succeed, but that doesn’t mean punishment is out of the question. No matter what gear you're using, you can do it. Sure, some might make it easier, but it's all about timing and skill. Whether you want to hurl fireballs or magic missiles, wield a sword and shield or a giant mace, anything is possible. I'm taken aback by the dark fantasy and design of this world and even though the punishment for failing is harsh, the reward for trekking on is far greater. The PC version is honestly a pretty horrid port, but thankfully someone quickly amended that with a simple mod that fixes most issues. I strongly recommend this be played with a controller seeing as the keyboard and mouse controls are practically unresponsive. Looking past a glitch of falling through the map on occasion, this is an immersive and unique experience you do not want to miss out on.

Every game has a message it is trying to convey to the player with themes and tropes. There is always some value and lesson to be learned from the events that occur in games and the characters in them, be it good or bad. Journey is the only game I have ever played where you make your own meaning and everything you do can be represented as how you see it. This is a game where you can take whatever you want out of it, and that astounds me to no end. There is no explanation of what’s going on, who you are, what you're doing, and there never is for the entire game. You walk, fly, slide and bound through sand and snow and ruins in one of the most profound worlds I have ever seen in a video game. Graphically, this art style blows me away. I love the fluttering of the cloth, how the sand flows like a stream, and the beings you encounter are playful and invite you to interact with them. I've played this game many times over just to take in all the sights around me. The controls are straightforward; basic movement, a button to jump, and a button to activate various things around the world. This game isn't complicated, but it holds one of the deepest and most complex emotional experiences you can have in a game, and that's why I cherish it deeply.

Modern military shooters irritate me because it's always the same American hero going off to combat some terrorists because they're threatening America or something along those lines . When I first saw the box art I thought “Meh. Pass.” However, I proceeded to read some user reviews saying this game is far from the standard American fairy tale, so I decided to trust the internet people and got myself a copy. In the first ten minutes I wondered what these reviewers were talking about, as I saw nothing of note . After those first ten minutes, I realized I had never been so wrong about a game in my entire life. At every turn, what you expect to happen never does, what you want to happen doesn't either, and the choices you have to make always end with no one winning. This game genuinely made me feel bad for what I was doing; it made me question everything that was going on not just in this game but what happened to soldiers in real life. You fought your way through slums, ruined hotels, and military bases all with varying and gorgeous environments. Combat is 3rd person, the guns handle like you'd expect them to, and the cover system is excellent. All the systems are relatively well done, but it's the story and the straying from what's been done a thousand times and doing it well that makes this game my #1 game of 2012. It made you really think, question and genuinely feel anguish and sadness for what you have to do and what your character is going through. All these dark themes may feel like a turn-off, but to have your views truly being put into question is something I enjoy with this astounding one-of-a-kind story. For all its violent themes and dark tones, this is an intimate game. Spec Ops has a message it’s trying to show you, and it’s going to make you see it whether you want to or not.