When I first bought into Terraria, I was expecting 2D Minecraft. On the surface, that is essentially what it is, with buildings being done in 16-bit rather than a blocky visual style. However, the comparison to Minecraft ends at the construction element, as there is so much more to experience. Firstly, it looks gorgeous. This is 16-bit done very right, with sprites being well-defined and the world fitting together near-seamlessly. The combat is an area which could have been half-arsed, but wasn't. Initially, the variety is nothing to write home about, but it quickly expands to several weapons, from ranged to melee to magic and sometimes a combination of the three. Combine this with armour pieces, accessories, set bonuses and a crafting system where weapons can be combined to make new weapons (depending on recipes, mind), and you're left with an in-depth system for tooling yourself out with a myriad pieces of equipment. There's several boss fights too, whose defeat are pivotal to progression. While the worlds the game makes aren't infinite, they are all quite different from each other and you can save several of them at once, and you can visit any of them with a single persistent character, encouraging multiple worlds to find everything you need in terms of resources. NPCs are an important part of Terraria as they sell certain items which can't be acquired otherwise. In order to attract them, you need to build them a home, which ties into the construction aspect of the game rather well. You can make a lavish palace, a two storey flat or anything above or in between. The only limit to your creativity is the map limit, which is quite vast and allows space for many personal creations. I could go on gushing about Terraria, how it continues to be interesting regardless of what you're doing, how after killing all the bosses Hard Mode is unlocked, which populates the world with new tougher critters, and so on. Bottom line is, you owe it to yourself to play Terraria.
Brutal Legend is fun, there's no question about that. Some say that the mish-mash of hack-and-slash and Real Time Strategy gameplay doesn't gel, and what you get is a game that does neither exceptionally. While they're not necessarily wrong, what's here is functional. But what makes Brutal Legend enjoyable is Tim Schafer's characteristic writing and sense of humour. Like with Psychonauts, the writing is what you're here for, and it's expertly voiced by talented actors and famous rock and metal musicians. It must be said that if you're a fan of rock and heavy metal, the soundtrack is going to make you very happy, with classic songs from Black Sabbath, Manowar, Motorhead and Iron Maiden, just to name a few. All in all, while flawed, the game exudes charm from its pores, and it's easily worth its asking price.
