Backhand of Justice

[Today's Heavy Rain review comes from John Humphrey Johanas, Esquire, through the teletape from Japan. He freelances for popular gaming blog Backhand of Justice, and also runs a webcam website www.deviantjohanas.com]

This game came with a lot of hype that I chose not to get involved in. All I knew before getting in was that this is supposed to be a ball-busting emotional thriller with more of an emphasis on story and choices than gameplay. The great Luke Stillman even controversially debated with himself over whether or not this is a “game” despite having not played the final retail version! All in all, this looks to be something that is destined to get fucked up. read more

The Secret Armory of General Knoxx has new enemies, new vehicles, new guns and most importantly, the level cap has been raised from 50 to 61 (in the parlance of Gearbox, they took it to 11). Is more necessarily better? Pro tip: yes. read more

Mass Effect 2 is a sprawling experience. An entire world awaits your exploration, and your task of assembling a motley crew to battle the evil Collector race and save humanity is pulpy Saturday afternoon fun. read more

[Today's article comes from our favorite guest contributor John Johanas, or as he's known around these parts, 'the situation.' All hate mail should be forwarded to him, care of Japan]

After only a brief time playing it, I could tell that Final Fantasy XIII will definitely be passionately argued about. How could a game with such budget and hysterical hype live up to the games that came before it? Luckily, it seems as though the production team didn’t seem to concern itself over all of that.

What will shine through (if you can get past somewhat cliché Japanese RPG concepts) is that this game is unique in its own respect, and game play wise, is vastly improved from anything we have seen in the series before. read more

Much has been said in the gaming criticism community about the derivative nature of Darksiders: ‘it’s Zelda meets God of War with some Panzer Dragoon in there. And there’s a healthy helping of Bubble Bobble.’

Ok, so maybe Bubble Bobble isn’t in there, but people need to relax and take a step back. Darksiders isn’t just a ‘re-skinning of Zelda,’ it’s a unique product that builds off the success of its predecessors (as do all games). Critics have short changed Darksiders, because it’s one of the best action adventure games in recent memory. read more

Bowser’s Inside Story is the third Mario & Luigi RPG game, and as a newcomer to the series, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I associate Mario with jumping on enemies, super mushrooms and saving the Mushroom Kingdom. Fortunately for purists, that’s all here and more.

Bowser’s Inside Story is charmingly simple, witty and inventive, and is one of the best and most accessible RPGs I’ve played recently. Both Bowser (a surprising protagonist) and Fawful (the antagonist) are hilarious, and the light RPG elements and timing based gameplay are a refreshing change from standard Japanese RPG fare. You can’t go wrong with Bowser’s Inside Story (apart from the dubious name). read more

Assassins Creed II is a phenomenal open world experience. The depth of combat animation is extraordinary and the detail of the world is tremendous. [Aspect of Assassins Creed II] is [over the top superlative]. Rinse. Repeat. Do you own a PS3 / Xbox360 / know a friend who owns one that you’re pretty sure you can overpower? Play this game. read more

More like Old Super Mario Brothers Wii, am I right? While New Super Mario Bros. Wii might have new power-ups, new levels and a new multiplayer mode, there is nothing new about this game.

Ask yourself a question: do you like Super Mario World? If the answer is yes, then you’re going to love New Super Mario Bros. Wii (NSMBW). Also, don’t be fooled for a minute by the claims of a ‘cooperative’ mode as it is nothing of the sort. That mode is actually called ‘face punching’ mode as you will want to punch the person you’re playing with in their stupid face.

NSMBW has a lot to like about it, but there are also some significant problems that stand in the way of the fun. Also, the 100% increase in face punching compared to most games could use some work. read more

I was among the doubters when Bioware promised Dragon Age would be the spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate, but consider me a believer. Dragon Age is not without its flaws, but if you have ever enjoyed a single player Role Playing Game, you must play this game. read more

I’m a sucker for loot. The item hunt in Borderlands was like an addictive drug to me; I tried to inject the guns directly into my veins. I can’t fully discuss the details as my lawsuit with Heckler & Koch is still pending.

It should come as no surprise, then, that Torchlight holds the same appeal. I can say across the board that the things I expected would be fun in Torchlight, are, and it so closely lived up to my expectations that I’m going to approach this review slightly differently.

You know what’s good about Torchlight. It’s an extremely addictive game with a great art style, effective character customization and relentless pacing. Runic Games have taken Diablo 2 and streamlined the gameplay. At $20 it’s the best deal since The Orange Box. To reiterate: Torchlight = incredible.

In this review, however, I’m instead going to discuss what went wrong in Torchlight (hint: not much). read more