Review: Tropico 4 (4/5)

I wasn't expecting that much from this game going into it because it was only sort of well reviewed on Metacritic and was fairly unheard of. My friend Zac had recommended it ages ago, and well the steam holiday sale was going on so I thought "no way this is as good as SimCity but I'll give it a shot." Well I was wrong. It is as good as SimCity, if not better. They are fairly different games at the end of the day though mostly because of Tropico's setting. You are a dictator of your own little island and you can control every aspect of it from building things to politics.You can also issue edicts such as "Contraception Ban," improving your respect with the religious faction, but lowering it from other factions. There's also ways to interact with foreign powers by doing things like trade missions with the US or USSR that will make one like you more and the other less.

Things I liked:

• Great sense of humor, lots of hilarious jokes and jabs about dictators and communism
• Good variety of buildings
• Campaign mode is quite long and kept missions varied, interesting, and funny with different scenarios (I only got about halfway through)
• Islands varied in difficulty based on the amount of resources available and frequency of natural disasters. 
• No zones mechanic like in SimCity. I really like how I get to choose exactly what to build, although this can lead to tedious micromanaging at times. 

Things I didn't like:

• Organization of building menu was often confusing and the interface and controls could've been a bit better. 
• How to use some buildings and edicts was often not explained well
• Normal speed is too slow. Fortunately there are 2 and 3x speed settings. Unfortunately these are both often still too slow. I always played at 3x. 
• Missing some useful mechanics like being able to upgrade several buildings at once or building wider roads for more traffic. Traffic was often a problem on my islands.

Hours Played: 25

Final Score: 4/5

Review: Prototype 2 (1/5)

You know I feel like I haven't reviewed enough games I didn't like. Here's one though. Instead of buying Prototype 2 just go ahead and buy the original Prototype. It was a very fun game with a decent plot. I was hoping the sequel would be like the first one and just be more of the same kind of free form gameplay. And it was, but it was almost exactly the same. In the few hours I spent with the game I felt as if they had added nothing to the gameplay, and even somehow made it worse. In addition to that the plot didn't seem to make very much sense and was pretty boring. The plot in the first one was a fairly simple zombie kind of story but it had some unique points and it was told in an exciting way. They tried to do the same thing in Prototype 2 but it really didn't work out. Don't buy this game. If you are interested in the gameplay style just buy the original Prototype. I never wrote a review for it but I'd give it 3/5.

Final Score: 1/5

Review: Dear Esther (4/5)

Dear Esther is a very controversial game. I heard about it when it was on sale during the Steam Summer Sale (you may have noticed I bought quite a few games at this point. The deals are just too good). It was up for $2.50 and now is still only $10 so it's quite cheap. I'm not going to go into the same likes/dislikes format I've been doing lately because I don't want to get too specific about the game. It is an adventure for you to explore.

It is a very unique indie game. There's no shooting or sprinting or interacting or anything really. You just move, look, and listen. It sounds boring, but the game tells a deep and compelling story. I felt as if I was investigating something, but I wasn't sure what it was. Even after finishing the game I'm not sure what I've discovered. It sounds corny, but the game really makes you think. The game is technically an open world of an island for you to explore and listen to narration, so you can sort of go wherever you want. Actually though the game ends up being mostly linear, but I always felt as if I wanted to go the same way the game wanted me to go to continue. It wasn't like in most games where I felt forced to go to the next "checkpoint." There is no map with waypoints telling me where to go. I was just drawn in by the environment and moved where I needed to. I'm still not even sure if the game is linear though. Perhaps if I play it again I could take another route and get to the same place. Or a different place? The game really makes me feel in control. Also, the environment is beautiful. Even if there were no story just walking around the island would be exciting and interesting.

Overall this game is fascinating. I would definitely pay more than $10 for it, but it really is only $10! I highly recommend it as it is a unique take on video games with a compelling story and beautiful environment. I warn you though: you must be prepared to play a game like this. It is almost like a movie. It only ends up taking about an hour and the replay value is likely minimal (I have not played through again but I've heard the game rearranges stories and you can walk different routes). In the end though, I felt it was a deep and meaningful experience that was well worth my time and money. You just have to decide if that is the type of game you'd want to try.

Final Score: 4/5

Review: Need for Speed Hot Pursuit (2/5)

When I saw Need for Speed Hot Pursuit on sale during the steam summer sale for only $5 I couldn't help but pick it up. It reminded me of playing the older Need for Speed games when I was just a kid in the 90s and having a blast catching criminals with spike strips. The basic premise is that you can either play as a police officer or an illegal street racer. You race to catch criminals or get away from cops and you use special abilities and ramming other cars to stop them.

Things I liked:

• Tools like spike strips and helicopter were fun and gave racing a bit of spice.
• The hot pursuit mode was cool chasing several racers or racing while escaping from the cops.
• Some cars were fun and cool but often felt similar to each other when driving.
• Difficulty level seemed to scale well as you progressed

Things I didn't like:

• Annoying menus, load screens, and car intros that were impossible to skip through (typical EA).
• The racer mode was slightly more fun to me than cop mode, but neither were all that exciting.
• Plot is a joke/non-existent.
• Controls difficult on PC. If I were real serious I would use a gamepad or wheel, but I have neither.
• Multiplayer seemed okay, but nothing too exciting. Basic matchmaking system seemed fine.
• As I said hot pursuit mode is cool but I felt going through career I had to play a whole bunch of boring standard "time trials" or basic races to get to the fun races. Often felt tedious.

Overall: It is an okay game and was kind of fun for nostalgia reasons, but it seems very bare, like it's missing so many things. I wouldn't recommend buying it for more than $5, maybe $10 if you really miss Need for Speed. Right now it is $20 on steam so I would pass unless you catch it on some random sale like I did. If you want to get a good racing game I recommend Forza Motorsport 3 for the Xbox 360. I can't technically recommend Forza Motorsport 4 because I haven't played it, but I want it and that metascore is sick. Unfortunately if you don't have a 360, I don't have a PS3 to recommend games, and I don't think people make very good racing games for PC. I always enjoyed the Burnout series on consoles so perhaps Burnout: Paradise is okay but I haven't played it. In general racing games are tough to control without a gamepad or wheel so I'd probably shy away from them on the PC.

Final Score: 2/5

Review: Borderlands (3/5)

I've not finished the game yet, but I figured I would review Borderlands since I just got in the steam summer sale and even more exciting for you: it is free to play this weekend! Also if you buy it before Monday it is 75% off so I recommend checking it out. The link I posted is to the game of the year edition which I didn't buy I only have the normal one, but for an extra $2.50 it might be worth it. FYI Borderlands 2 is coming soon and it looks awesome so might as well prepare.

The game is a first person shooter with RPG like elements to it. You pick one of 4 classes (Berserker, Soldier, Hunter, and Siren) and then you use guns, weapons, and one unique class skill to kill stuff and level up your character. As you level up you can use better weapons and gain skill points to use. The skills you get are all passive skills that improve other elements of your character.

Things I liked:

• Very unique guns and items with very random and fun modifiers. Loot is usually exciting to find.
• Enemies are quite varied and interesting. From bandits with shotguns to lobster looking things that burrow.
• Gameplay is simple and very fun. Getting a critical hit and blowing some creature's head off with a sniper rifle is oh so satisfying.
• Skills are fun and despite always being passives they feel like they matter, and effect your character a great amount.
• The coop system is very good and very fun. It deals with all the common problems like splitting loot money for you, and as long as you use different types of weapons you never fight over loot or ammo.

Things I didn't like:

• Although a few quests are unique and exciting, many quests aren't too fun and feel a bit tedious
• The plot is okay but not really good enough to keep me excited to find out what's happening next
• Long range traveling is done by car or fast travel but it still often feels tedious and slow running or driving around. Maps are a little too large I feel.
• I could not get into this game playing solo. I tried last year on the Xbox but I didn't find it too fun. Playing again now with my buddy Tim it's very enjoyable and we've put quite a few hours in.

Overall: This is a very fun loot based game. For only $5 (this weekend only) it is hard to pass up even if you don't think you'd like it haha. The amount of content in this game is quite large and I honestly don't think I'll be sad I'm missing the DLC from the GOTY edition, so I'd pass on that. The biggest problem I feel is trying to play alone. I don't really recommend buying unless you can find a buddy to play with or you really like this game type. Whether you are alone or playing with a buddy though, if you are reading this review the weekend of 7/27/2012 you really ought to try it out for free and then decide if it is worth your money. If you miss this weekend and Borderlands is $20 again then well, it is a close call for me to recommend it but I'd still say go for it if you have a buddy to play with.

Final Score: 3/5