GOG Patron
I had been wanting to play this game for a long time now and GOG gave me the opportunity. I wasn't disappointed. Over-the-top story? Check, but no worse than most 80's action flicks. Lots of guns? Check, but they don't feel unique and using 40 bullets to kill one guy just seems dumb. Bullet-time moves? Check, but you have to use them so often it begins to stale near the second half of the game. Free-roaming? Check, but not that you'd really want to. Total Overdose is just a simple crazy action game and, after you finish it, there's really no incentive to come back to it. There's some humor (if you can deal with the racial insensitivity) and a rocking soundtrack. $5.99 isn't bad for a weekend's worth of entertainment.
Usually in a pinball collection, you have the issue with some of the tables being pure garbage with attention and detail being put into a select few tables. Balls of Steel doesn't do that. Each table has its own unique flavor accented by well-done sfx. The video challenges in particular were quite fun and the scoreboard much easier to read than in the Pinball Gold Pack. I bought this purely for the Duke Nukem table, but I found that the other four are just as good and interesting. Another thing BoS does well is that it requires a mixture of skill and luck to play, not relying heavily on the latter. If you are a pinball enthusiast or a Duke Nukem fan wanting to hear him say 'Now I have time to play with myself', you can't go wrong with BoS.
I struggled to finish Syberia 1. I practically forced myself to play Syberia 2. At first, I was happy to continue the tale of Kate, Hans and Oscar on their journey towards Syberia. Then about 10 minutes into the actual game, I almost walked away. Hiding crucial puzzle items where you are unlikely to notice them isn't fun. Thankfully, GOG included a walkthrough for those several occasions. Then there are a plethora of WTF moments which I won't spoil for those of you curious to play this. I am willing to accept a mysterious island with mammoths, but some events were just too much. They effectively shattered my immersion in the Syberia world. And a certain event that was supposed to be emotionally engaging was truncated and then defiled moments later. On top of that, the subplot in New York seemed to ignore what happened in Syberia 1. There are shining moments in Syberia 2, particularly the ending. However, the rest of the game is asinine.
Dear Gamepad, I'm sorry. I know me throwing you around at the door, the computer monitor and my cat and/or dog wasn't the right way to treat you. *deep breath* You see, it's not you, it's Retro City Rampage. In exploring it's massive amount of content, I came across some really frustrating points. I know it pokes fun at the 80's and 90's and it made me smile, but there were some parts where...I couldn't control myself. I know you enjoyed my palms getting sweaty from the hard-driving, car-"borrowing", gun-shooting thrills, but those arcade games and that flying dog just ticked me off. Now that I've finished it, I'll treat you right again. Love, Me. P.S. You know they've released another patch. Would you hate me if we did it again?
This is nowhere near an Elder Scrolls game. Moral choices? Ha! I'll slaughter your village and get away with it! Bearable voice acting? My enchanted sword spits on voice acting! Interacting with people? Just give me my quest or sell me items! Women? Aside from the main character's sister? Umm... Two Worlds is just silly hack n' slash fun with some things that TES games lack. I can live without the multiplayer aspect. Just a bunch of power-levellers nowadays. It's a good game if you don't expect a great deal.