GAME-A-WEEK - METRO 2033

With last week's release of Metro: Last Light, I figured it was high time that I go back and play the original game, Metro 2033.  A bleak, dark survival horror FPS set primarily in the metro tunnels of post-nuclear Moscow, Metro 2033 is based on a series of novels by Dmitry Glukhovsky.  Reminiscent of both S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Fallout 3, I wanted to see if the original would capture my attention enough to warrant checking out the sequel.

GAME-A-WEEK - DREAMKILLER

This week, I decided to take a look at a surreal indie first-person shooter, Dreamkiller.  Trailers for this one really caught my eye, and I really liked the concept of delving into people's dreams and combating their fears and nightmares on an ever-changing hypnagogic battlefield, inspired by each patient's individual phobias.  I just thought it was strange that I'd never really heard anything about it before...

GAME-A-WEEK - BULLETSTORM

This week I had the joy of kicking off the new year with a new game, selected by one of my readers.  She chose Bulletstorm, the controversial hyper-violent sci-fi shooter from Epic Games and People Can Fly.  I have to admit, I had my reservations on this one; reviews were not kind to it when it came out in 2011.  I mean really, how many dick jokes can you make in one game?  So after a week of playing through, how was it?

BORDERLANDS 2

Holy crap, I love this fucking game.

That could ALMOST be the whole review right there.  Almost.  

LATE TO THE PARTY - S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: SHADOW OF CHERNOBYL

Welcome, Stalkers, to the Zone.   An irradiated, desolate place filled with mutants, murderers, and militia, where death is invisible, and even the air can kill you.  Some come to the Zone to control it, some come to save it, while many others come to profit from it.  Some come to discover the truth behind the myths and legends.   Most never return.

Welcome to Chernobyl.

FAVORITE PLACES - HALF LIFE 2: THE BRIDGE

This is just an idea for a segment, kinda feeling the waters.  We all have those points in certain games that will always stick with us.  It could be a cutscene that grabs us, as they're designed to appeal to us emotionally.  But our main interaction with a game isn't watching, it's playing.  Experiencing.  Sometimes it's a whole level that enchants us, sometimes it's just a segment of one.  Sometimes it's a sub-area, since games nowadays tend to eschew the concept of "levels".  Whatever the scope, we all have parts of games that made us go "Man, you remember when you get to that part where..."