Backhand of Justice

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

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

Imagine waking up on Christmas morning. It’s early and nobody’s awake, so you sneak down to check out the tree. Lo and behold, presents everywhere! Now, imagine that those presents are Skags, viciously snapping at your heels. Instead of Christmas morning, it’s the future and you’re in a post apocalyptic wasteland, and there are guns, and bandits … you know what, this metaphor is terrible. Long story short: Borderlands is an incredible and addicting game.

Borderlands seamlessly merges first person shooting with role playing mechanics into a package that is the best and most addictive game I’ve played in some time. The ‘just one more gun’ mechanics will draw you into the game and the solid shooting and co-op tomfoolery will keep you there for a good long while.

If you like shooters, you must play Borderlands. If you like RPGs, you must play Borderlands. If you only play Spider Solitaire between phone calls, you must play Borderlands. [For all ‘X’, ‘X must play Borderlands.’] read more