Video Games

10 Comments Posted on by Steve Murray Video Games

Star Wars: The Old Republic Free-to-Play Impressions (or Free is Just Another Word for Nothing Left to Lose)

star-wars-the-old-republic-bannerI’ve never played an MMO game before but was really interested in Star Wars: The Old Republic when it was first announced. After all, I love Star Wars and BioWare had never steered me wrong. Better still, the last time BioWare and LucasArts got together, we got Knights of the Old Republic which is one of my all-time favourite games and The Old Republic looked like the spiritual successor to the KOTOR series.

I didn’t buy SWTOR when it first came out, though. Spending $60 to buy the game and another $15 per month to play it wasn’t appealing to me. Over the course of a year, that would amount to $240 in costs which is the same as buying four games over the course of the year. Fortunately, in November, The Old Republic went free-to-play meaning you didn’t have to spend a penny to enjoy a new Star Wars experience. But is the SWTOR free-to-play experience worth it one year after launch? Continue reading →

1 Comment Posted on by Steve Murray Video Games

FTL: Faster Than Light Review (or Second Star to the Right and Straight on ‘Til Morning)

I recently said that I was going to get into reviewing more independent games on the blog instead of just the big releases. With indie games gaining a bigger foothold in the market thanks to Kickstarter and online distribution, it seemed like a good idea to examine the world of independent games. Let’s start that today with a slightly belated review of roguelike space sim FTL. Continue reading →

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2012 Spike Video Game Awards Trailer Roundup

While I and many other bloggers take the Spike TV Video Game Awards very seriously, they are still a big deal to video game fans. The thing is that we’re not particularly concerned about who gets the awards. We’re more interested in the plethora of game announcements and trailers that are the big draw for the show.

Today, we have all the VGA trailers and brief analysis of each. Continue reading →

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2012 Spike Video Game Awards Nominations And Predictions

Tomorrow night is Spike TV’s annual Video Game Awards show. This year’s edition of the VGAs is billed as the 10th anniversary of the show even though it’s only the 10th edition of the show since its debut in 2003. As was the case last year, the awards are not voted on by the public but by a panel of video game writers and publication editors.

While the VGAs are often the target of criticism for being a glorified popularity contest, it is the starting point of the video game awards season. So let’s take a look at 2012 crop of VGA nominees and give you what our vote would be if we were on the expert panel and our predictions for who will be the night’s winners. Continue reading →

4 Comments Posted on by Steve Murray Video Games

BioWare is Going “All Hands on Deck” for Next ME3 DLC

mass-effect-3-citadel-dlc-unofficial-bannerI may have been underwhelmed by Mass Effect 3’s Leviathan DLC but I was more underwhelmed by the follow-up Omega DLC. What was expected to be ME3’s equivalent to Lair of the Shadow Broker turned out more like its Overlord. For the third post-launch DLC, BioWare has gone all hands on deck. Most of the production team’s major players from the full game are back to work on this DLC. That includes the writers, composer Sam Hulick and even voice actors from the main cast. Continue reading →

4 Comments Posted on by Steve Murray Video Games

Mass Effect 3: Omega DLC Review (or Mama, I’m Coming Home)

mass-effect-3-omega-bannerThe Mass Effect 3 Omega DLC has been an interesting topic of discussion. While most Mass Effect fans loved Aria T’Loak, the overlord of the Omega space station, would doing a mission with her be worth the extra $5 that BioWare was charging? When it was released Lair of the Shadow Broker was the most expensive piece of Mass Effect 2 DLC. Could Omega live up to the legacy of LotSB? Continue reading →

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F1 Race Stars Review (or Bursting Your Bubble)

I have to admit that I was excited about the prospect of a Formula One inspired karting game. It was so un-F1 that how could it not be cool? You’d be powersliding cars around turns, firing weaponry straight out of Q Branch at competitors and racing on suped-up versions of real race tracks. That would be spectacular and would be on my must-buy list ahead of F1 2012.

Then I played the game. While Codemasters tried to balance between staying true to F1 and true to the karting genre, it didn’t quite work when it was all put together. What could have been a spectacular entry in the pantheon of Formula One racing games and karting games unfortunately turned out to be a bit of a dud. Continue reading →

1 Comment Posted on by Steve Murray Video Games

Mass Effect 3 Omega DLC Preview

For the low price of only $15 (or 1200 Microsoft points or about 50% more than you paid for the last two ME3 DLCs), you can purchase the latest Mass Effect 3 DLC called Omega. In this DLC, Commander Shepard joins forces with Aria to take back the Omega space station. When BioWare first announced this DLC, they only talked about how the DLC would be twice as long as any other ME3 DLC. In the run up to release, more details were announced. We analyse those details and preview the DLC after the jump. Continue reading →

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WRC 3 FIA World Rally Championship Review (or Dirt Road Anthem)

Short of jumping out of a balloon from some 23 miles above the ground, being a professional rally driver is one of the craziest and most dangerous things that you can do for a living. They drive through forests on narrow dirt or snow-covered roads only feet from sideswiping a tree or sliding off a cliff. It is the ultimate demonstration of driving and car control.

This year, developers Milestone and publishers Black Bean Games are back with their third installment of their WRC series. I thought last year’s game had some promising gameplay but needed some work to bring graphics and sound up to the standard set by its competitors. Were they able to leap to the top of the class this year? Continue reading →

5 Comments Posted on by Steve Murray Video Games

Explaining Our Video Game Review Scoring

We’re on the review request list for a few upcoming games during the run to the Christmas gift buying season. Since we’re going to be doing more video game reviews over the next couple of months, I think it’s time to explain the video game rating system that we’ll be using. Video game reviews are generally all over the map in terms of what the final score actually means. Hopefully by detailing our system, we’ll help you make more informed decisions when dropping $60 for a game. Continue reading →