Posts tagged PC
Review: The UnderGarden (PC)
Nov 24th
Billed as a digital palate cleanser of sorts, The UnderGarden is designed to be the anti-Call of Duty. With its rich colors, methodical pacing and mellow music, it’s clear that developer Artech Studios was trying to deliver something more along the lines of Flow or Zen Bound, where patience and relaxation are at the crux of the experience.
But unfortunately for The UnderGarden, that experience just ends up feeling like a one-sided exchange with the player coming up short. For a game that’s supposed to be about mellowing out and enjoying the ride, there were just too many technical, communicative and design-related problems for me to derive any enjoyment from playing the game. Despite its good intentions and lovely aesthetics, The UnderGarden is unfortunately more trouble than it’s probably worth.
Sasquatch PSA: Torchlight 50% off! (PC)
Dec 18th
The headline says it all, friends. Steam is running one of its beloved Weekend Deals on Torchlight, a game we at Silicon Sasquatch hold very dear to our hearts — even though we’ve only played the demo (a lot). But now everyone can have the clever action RPG from Runic Games for just $9.99 (normally $19.99) until Monday! It’s a steal, so go grab it right now. Don’t have Steam? Get it. Don’t have a PC? Buy one — or at least put Windows on your Mac. Linux…sorry?
And did I mention that you can have a dog or cat companion cart your loot back to town for you? I’ll let Penny Arcade explain.
Read after the break for more details.
Review: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360)
Dec 16th
What more can be said about the so-called largest entertainment launch in the history of mankind?
It’s tempting to boil down Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to a vaporous obligation, an experience that divides gamers into the haves and have-nots. But that’s putting blind faith in a product based on its advertising blitzkrieg. Aren’t we supposed to be discerning consumers?
The climate around Modern Warfare 2 is now adequate, a month after release, for a steady-handed dissection of gaming’s latest chart-topping champion — far removed from the pre-release hype. This critique won’t convert the detractors or embolden the fanatics, but it will hopefully read as an alternative education on the latest Call of Duty, a game that flirts with failure as much as it tastes success.
The Backlog: Pre-Tryptophan Tidings of Gamedom edition
Nov 20th
The Holidays approach. For some that means quality time with family members not seen for a year — maybe more. Others, well…can I get a “what what” if at some point during your life you hid away in the midst of celebrations to finish Earthbound (or, insert other game reference here). However, my adult years have made me more personable when it comes to the holidays; I’m now infinitely more interested in the going-ons of my kin.
Still, I won’t lie that this year I’d prefer to mow down more of Left 4 Dead 2′s cajunized zombies with a giant plate of delicious turkey and fixins on my lap. I’m thankful for me.
We’re back on track for backlogs, and this week is mega-sized to make up for our absence. To summarize: Nick informs us he essentially played everything ever released this month, Doug gushes about his beloved Forza 3 between study sessions, and I write about why two wonderful November-born titles should be played on the PC.
Co-op Review: Borderlands (Xbox 360)
Nov 16th
Editor’s note: Just like in our last Co-op Review, our goal here is to offer two viewpoints on one title; a title that’s explicitly meant to be played with friends. Borderlands is a fast-paced co-op lovers’ dream, and as such Aaron and Nick worked through the game multiple different times with varying numbers of participants. Enjoy, and let us know in the comments what you think about this review.
The Backlog: We’ve Reached the Border; What a Nice-Looking Land edition
Oct 24th
Mmm, Backlog-y
What legends of game-playing intrigue do we, the stewards of Silicon Sasquatch, bring you this week?
There’s more of the same (Titan Quest) with a nice lime twist of newness (Borderlands); there’s the late-to-the-party-but-enjoying-it-anyway epic (Brütal Legend); and then there’s the dreaded blackness of managing grad school responsibilities (Portland State University — rated “M” for mature). Read the rest of this entry »
The Backlog: The Decapitating Kanji of the Dead edition
Oct 2nd
My gCal for this week: The green arrow represents the days without posts on Silicon Sasquatch. Everyone likes an effective graphic!
Unfortunately for you, dear reader, our goal of posting fresh, thirst-quenching content at least once a day didn’t occur this week. We apologize for that; It’s a busy season for those of us in graduate school and those of us looking for jobs. But you’re not here for excuses! You’re here to about read what videogames we’ve been playing — the most important segment of our daily lives, of course.
Nick’s been hoarding mad “lewt”, I’ve been rekindling my passion for zombie killing and Doug’s been using his DS to hone his prowess with the Japanese language.
Wait…is that even a game?
Review: Batman: Arkham Asylum (Xbox 360)
Sep 17th
It’s hard to believe that, at one time, Adam West in his campy 1960s Batman television show was the best portraiture of Batman creative minds had to offer.
Even then, when “Biff! Pow! Zing!” became a clever way to spice up awkwardly choreographed fight scenes, the tragedy of Bruce Wayne was a much darker affair than fluorescent purple and cheese-ball dialogue. A boy witnessed his parents’ cold-blooded murder and, once grown, pledged to annihilate the evil in his city. The Batman rose from the ashes of a once-spoiled life to be the protector of a seedy metropolis called Gotham.
Spandex doesn’t sound like a good idea under those circumstances.
Yet over the last few years the concept of what and who Batman is to a mainstream audience has experienced a revolution in reassessment thanks mostly to director Christopher Nolan’s two movies, 2005′s Batman Begins and 2008′s The Dark Knight. Both films washed away a decade of popular culture nay-saying after the franchise hit a lull in the mid-1990s because of two awful movies by Joel Schumacher et al. Thanks to Nolan, Batman’s been given a clean slate for a new generation of consumers.
Unfortunately, the Caped Crusader’s forays into videogames haven’t assisted in improving his image. A plethora of developers and publishers have been handed the property over the last few decades to produce titles vacillating from mediocre to awful. It’s easy to think there would never be a quality Batman game available, especially after seeing the most recent films and realizing how great a Batman project can turn out.
Well gamers can officially chill and count their blessings in batarangs, as Rocksteady Studio‘s Batman: Arkham Asylum is not just the unequivocally best Batman videogame to ever sit on store shelves — it’s also one of the most engaging titles released in a very long time, let alone 2009. Arkham Asylum treats its source material with the utmost respect, and successfully blends the comics with a cinematic atmosphere to create an exciting and near-perfect interactive experience. Read the rest of this entry »
The Backlog: It’s Like E3 Again Edition
Aug 21st
Why hello there, future purchase
What a week it’s been. The inaugural Gamescom in Cologne, Germany opened on Wednesday and guess what: Sony kindly unveiled the new PlayStation 3 Slim. Media outlets weren’t exactly surprised by the announcement, but I think we’re all glad the rumor mill has finally ceased its incessant turning about the damn console. Looks like I finally need to go get a PS3.
Oh, and a little event in Anaheim, California called BlizzCon flung its +10 Doors of Nerd Barricading open to the (literally) unwashed masses of Blizzard fanatics today, and so far we’ve already been made privy to the next World of Warcraft expansion, a new Diablo III class and StarCraft II being confirmed for release in 2010.
You know, as a gamer I like it when these big gaming-related events run back-to-back with one another. The ESA might as well wedge E3 2010 between next year’s Gamescom and BlizzCon to mentally and physically destroy every games journalist in existence. That could be Silicon Sasquatch‘s in! Read the rest of this entry »
Review: Fallout 3: Mothership Zeta (XBL)
Aug 20th
Here we are, dissecting the final downloadable addition to the Fallout 3 universe.
Throughout the year, Bethesda Softworks has given gamers a grand total of $50 worth of extra content to one of 2008′s finest games. The finale, Mothership Zeta, is certainly a bold move on the studio’s part to try to go out with an edge-of-your-seat bang. Putting Fallout in space, even with the series’ trademark exorbitant scenarios, is definitely a head-tilting decision. But cosmic setting aside, don’t expect any climactic end to the story of the Lone Wanderer here; the developers are smart enough to realize that after rectifying Fallout 3′s ending with Broken Steel, setting a finite conclusion to the mythos would kill the immersion.
Unfortunately, the end is nigh…and not that great. Zeta is a linear and uninteresting bookend to a fairly massive collection of expansions. It’s not as bad as Operation: Anchorage, but that’s not saying much.
Thanks to Zeta, most gamers are going to feel like their wallets have been probed. Take me to your refund counter, please. Read the rest of this entry »