Recent reviews by Lock

At the core of Sins of a Solar Empire is a good RTS that, with each new DLC, is becoming more and more buried under micromanaging tedium. Truly an example of more is not better. In my opinion, earlier versions of the game were faster, more user friendly, and more fun. Balancing tactics and economy management is the heart of any RTS game. The layers of complexity now in Sins just get in the way of enjoying what you are doing.

Depending on how you play, games can easily stretch beyond eight hours. Long games can be satisfying in themselves but much of the length can be contributed to a progressive slowdown coinciding with players expanding fleets. Even when all players running fresh hardware (that seemingly goes untaxed), in game time will stretch longer and longer. Perhaps this can be attributed to net code and synchronizing so many thousands or individual elements. I'm not kidding when I say I've kept a book handy to pass the time. This slowdown, without a doubt, is the games greatest flaw.

At the end of the day, my friends and I liked Sins. It was a fresh break from other games and we gave it over a hundred hours each on the Steam versions alone. Worth a buy on a sale. Just don't go for the DLC.

Wholly fun and a bit addicting. This is exactly the sort of game I used to be terrible at back in the SNES days. I still am but something about Risk of Rain kept me coming back for more. There is truly nothing quite like getting lucky enough with items and living long enough to become a walking, nearly un-killable god. Those runs are rare but oh so satisfying. Even better when teamed with friends in voice chat. Think a mere 8-bit style game can't get insane enough to make a high-end gaming machine chug until it cries? Think again.

Risk of Rain is a singleplayer/multiplayer co-op rogue-like pitting you against never ending monsters and bosses. As you progress, you obtain various items with unique and interesting effects. Achievements unlock even more items and every play through is different. The items you acquire and the characters you choose dictate different strategies to survive. The soundtrack is superb and gameplay has depth of variety without complexity. You're not expected to maintain characters, upgrade trees, or any other rubbish that gets in the way of actually playing. In a way, Risk of Rain has a simple essence of gaming so often buried under a bunch of needless, micromanaging crap in other games.

TL/DR: Risk of Rain provides endless unforgiving yet rewarding challenge. Great on it's own and made better with friends.

A controller, while not an absolute must, is recommended.

SPAZ is not the sort of game I'm really good at. Nevertheless, I found myself dumping heaps of time into the game. I recently started a game and found quite a bit of new content had been added. Definitely a cool surprise and even better that I didn't have to buy some DLC to get it. The community for this game seems to be pretty active and a variety of mods can be found.

DLC Quest, quite obviously, is meant to make fun of the trend of downloadable content that seems to have become a norm in the industry. The game itself is pretty much as shallow as the crap it makes fun of. There is a chuckle to be had here or there but it's not worth the bother. A single playthrough, and you really only need one, can be done in less than an hour.

Eh... Well, Bioshock 2 was ok. It's just interesting enough to finish. It comes up fairly regularly in sales so just wait.

The best Battlefield game. Period.

Blood Dragon was a great laugh. Even if you didn't like other Far Cry games, this is worth it. Well, as long as you know what a VHS tape is. The excellent soundtrack, the 16-bit cut-scenes, the 80's action references, and the hilarious over-the-top writing was put together beautifully. I mean come on, your name is Rex Power Colt. How is that not awesome?

Blood Dragon truly was a lot of fun. My one gripe is that it really helps to have a decent monitor with good contrast.

This is not a great or original game. It is, crucially, fun. The story is not terribly creative and even a little silly sometimes. There is a good mix of missions and plenty of choice as to how you complete them. I could see the game getting a little repetitive if you just go full tilt into every situation. Going about things in a bit more of a stealthy manner was much more satisfying. The little in-game challenges were actually fun rather than frustrating, something challenge modes in many games get very wrong.

Totally worth buying on a sale. I manage to get about 40 hours out of a single playthrough.

Well. Glad that's over. I don't feel the need to ramble about how bad this was. Just don't bother.

Not bad for such a blatant console port. Had a bit more gone into controls and improvments for the PC, it would have really helped the game. The gameplay is ok and the story decent. The facial expressions and interogations are what this game is really known for. Like many third person games, you'll find youself frustrated with the camera in tight spaces.

In the end, L.A. Noire earns a firm "meh." Worth it on a sale, I suppose.