Limbo Game Review

Games are beginning to turn into a form or art and Limbo is the latest game to catch the eye of the gaming world with it's film noir style graphical direction. The game produces no dialogue, no text, and gives no explanation. It's hard to imagine how this can then be called "Art" by the critics in the gaming industry and be considered one of the best games of the year. The fact is Limbo manages to communicate everything that it needs to say without saying a single word, using the setting, Sound, and Environment to create an atmosphere that is almost unmatched by any other 2D Puzzle Platformer i have ever played. On top of all this the ending is one of the greatest moments in recent gaming history.

In Limbo you take control of a young boy after he wakes up in a dark forest. There is no indication of how you got there, why your there, or where you should go. You don't even know who you are. You set out on your journey and you find out very soon that this is a very dangerous unforgiving world you are in, your motivation at this point is to find a way out of this forest. The game has no unnecessary cut scenes or loading times, it's just you locked in this horrific atmospheric world unaware of what lies beyond your next step. The game manages to lure you into it's unique environment, isolating you from anything else.

Vanquish Game Review

Vanquish is the latest third-person shooter to hit the market from the creator of Resident Evil, Shinji Mikami. This alone is enough to capture the interest of the gaming world. Vanquish is a Sci-Fi third-person shooter which provides eye catching cinematic moments along side gameplay which feels as great as the game looks.

Vanquish, the fourth attempt from Platinum Games, takes place on a orbital space station called Providence. The station has been overtaken by a Russian extremist group known as The Order Of The Russian Star. The extremists take control of the station which is energised by microwave energy and use it to attack San Francisco. After the attack San Francisco is devastated leaving the United States with no option but to send a full fleet in order to prevent the next attack on New York. The military are not alone in their fight against the extremists, joining them is DARPA researcher Sam Gideon who comes equipped with the ARS battle suit. The military are under the impression Sam is joining them in order to gather intel on the suit's performance in the field however this is just a front for Sam's secret mission. His goal is to locate and rescue the captive professor candidate who created the energy system powering the station and suit. This may sound very traditional for anyone familiar with the Sci-Fi genre of games or movies and it is, the games weakest point is definitely it's mediocre story but with fantastic action sequences and cinematic thrilling moments the game does enough to let you forget about this issue.

Kirby's Epic Yarn Game Review

Games back in the 80's and early 90's were all about 2D platforming, perfecting these types of games is what had everyone talking at the time. Games like Mario, Sonic, Earthworm Jim and much more contained us to our basement for hours every day. Then the 3D era of gaming came along and everyone's focus was shifted into a new direction. Lately we have seen a resurgence of what made us spend 90% of our childhood's in a basement, 2D platforming games.

2010 has already produced some spectacular 2D platforming games, some are new and fresh while others dive back into time and recapture the magic of past classic franchises. For me personally the three stand out games so far are Limbo, Super Meat Boy, and Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode 1. Sonic we all know and love and it's great to see him return to his former glory while Limbo and Meat Boy are new classics worthy of rivalling any of our old beloved franchises. Kirby is the latest to continue with this string of 2D platforming games and delivers yet another fantastic game.

Kirby's Epic Yarn is a unique platformer which enhances all that is great about 2D side scrollers and uses it to create one of the best games of the year. Epic Yarn is a game full of charm, Kirby is always cute and delightful to control but it's the design of the game which is so enchanting. Epic Yarn is a game which uses anything you would expect to find in an arts and crafts store to create one of the most unique environments ever seen in a side scroller. Yarn, string, and buttons are the items used to create the building blocks for this unique and wonderful world.