Mushihimesama

Mushihimesama

Mushihimesama is showing its age a bit, but the stellar gameplay is as good as always. The game is a bullet hell shooter, so expect a tough as nails challenge, but it is always fair and remains addictive throughout. Although it only features five levels, the multitude of modes and difficulties ensures that there is plenty of value for money. An online co-op mode would have been nice, but even with just the local co-op it remains a blast. If you are a fan of the genre don’t hesitate to pick it up, but novices beware, Mushihimesama packs a mean challenge.

Gameplay: The game doesn’t show any mercy, but practice pays off.

Graphics: Definitely not state of the art, but still charming despite the age of the game.

Sound: The soundtrack is great, but the sound effects could have benefited from a bit more oomph

Penumbra: Black Plague

Penumbra: Black Plague

Black Plague focusses on the best parts of the original game (the creepy atmosphere and physics based puzzles) while trimming the worst parts (the combat) making it a better experience overall. Playing the original is still required to make the most out of it and it is a little on the short side but it made me jump quite a few times which is commendable.

Gameplay: Removing combat ramps up the atmosphere considerably.

Graphics: Better looking and featuring more detail than the original.

Sound: Solid voice acting and lots of creepy ambience

Goat Simulator

Goat Simulator

Goat Simulator might be a joke, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a lot of fun. There is a surprising amount of things to do considering the small playing area and tons of secrets to discover. If you like messing around in a sandbox environment you will get your moneys’ worth out of this game, but it remains to be seen how much Steam Workshop content will be released to increase the longevity.

Gameplay: Buggy, glitchy and lots of fun while it lasts.

Graphics: Nice visuals, but intentionally bad animations.

Sound: Decent sound effects and one extremely catchy tune

Fallout: New Vegas

Fallout: New Vegas

Obsidian has clearly spent all their time and energy on the story and characters instead of on the game engine, but it is a trade off that long time Fallout fans might appreciate. While this game could have been awesome as a full blown sequel on a new engine, it still works great and comes highly recommended to all Fallout fans.

Gameplay: Despite some annoying bugs the gameplay still shines.

Graphics: The Gamebryo engine still has its moments but is really starting to show its age.

Sound: Good stuff

Sora

Sora

Sora is a shooter that takes practice and patience to master, but it is also a very rewarding title. Playing as a lone enhanced human facing off against swarms of enemies is quite a blast, and the bosses in the game are so adorable that it is almost a pity to defeat them. Add to that the rocking soundtrack, and you have a game that all fans of the genre should definitely add to their collection.

Gameplay: The game is tricky initially, but it becomes easier with practice and weapon unlocks.

Graphics: The visuals are crisp and feature some great character designs.

Sound: The audio in this game is good enough that we recommend grabbing the soundtrack as well

Fairy Tale Mysteries 2: The Beanstalk

Fairy Tale Mysteries 2: The Beanstalk

Fairy Tale Mysteries 2: The Beanstalk offers an interesting spin on a familiar fairy tale along with loads of hidden objects to find. The actual amount of traditional hidden object scenes during the main game is rather low, but the game makes up for this with plenty of fragmented objects scattered about everywhere. Players looking for something drastically different won’t find it here, but fans of the genre will have fun and the game is also quite newcomer friendly.

Gameplay: An abundance of fragmented objects to find and plenty of locations to explore.

Graphics: The scenes are all very detailed, but could have benefited from more animations.

Sound: Decent voice acting throughout

Sakura Santa

Sakura Santa

Sakura Santa doesn’t bring anything new to the table in terms of story or gameplay, but it is a lighthearted and enjoyable title. Like all Sakura titles it is a little short and lacking in depth for our tastes, but the art is great and features no shortage of fanservice. Players looking for something different from Winged Cloud will be disappointed, but everyone who enjoys the Sakura titles will like this festive themed one.

Gameplay: A typical Sakura title, so fans will know exactly what to expect.

Graphics: Only a few girls and handful of locations, but everything looks great.

Sound: No voice acting and the music is rather unremarkable

The Last Dream: Developer’s Edition

The Last Dream: Developer’s Edition

The Last Dream is a surreal adventure featuring a man pursuing the ghost of his wife. The game features a unique blend of hand drawn locations and live action cut-scenes while offering mini-games as well as fragmented object scenes to complete. Multiple difficulty settings make this a great title for players of all skill levels and the story, while not very original, is quite engaging. For fans of the genre and players looking for something a bit more unique than a pure hidden object game this title is easy to recommend.

Gameplay: A nice blend of classic point & click adventuring, mini-games and fragmented object scenes.

Graphics: The hand drawn visuals look great and the game even features live action cut-scenes.

Sound: Decent voice acting and appropriate music

BioShock Infinite

BioShock Infinite

While it might not have a multi-player mode and doesn’t stray as far from the familiar Bioshock experience as you might think, Infinite is an outstanding game with a lot to offer. With intense combat, an eye opening storyline and unwillingness to back away from sensitive topics, Infinite is a game that should not be missed.

Gameplay: Familiar yet fresh, Infinite is a worthy successor to the Bioshock franchise.

Graphics: Looks great even on moderate hardware.

Sound: Excellent voice acting and a great musical score

Portal 2

Portal 2

Portal 2 proves that sequels doesn’t have to be lazy cash-ins on the original games success. Everything in this game has been expanded and made better in some way and playing it is a blast. The humor and dialogue are spot on and the puzzles, while not too complicated for veteran players, still have a few head scratching moments.

Gameplay: More story, more puzzles, more of everything.

Graphics: A vast improvement over the original.

Sound: Outstanding voice acting all round