Tag: Shinji Mikami

The Evil Within Review

Psycho Break

Evil Within

HIGH Tossing a grenade into the midst of four shamblers and watching the limbs fly.

LOW The awkwardly-handled boss fight against a giant dog thing.

WTF Huge black borders cropping off 30% of the screen was a good idea?

Shadows of the Damned Second Opinion

Magnifico, Indeed

Shadows of the Damned Screenshot

HIGH Killing six demons with a single Hot Boner.

LOW The boring switch puzzles right before the final boss.

WTF If I had to pick one, it'd be the discovery that strawberries are made of ground up tongues. Really, the entire game is a giant WTF.

Shadows of the Damned: The road course

Shadows of the Damned Screenshot

I must begin with a disclaimer that I didn't like Shadows of the Damned very much, and I'm not sure if I'll bother finishing it (this coming from a man who didn't even give up on Flower, Sun, and Rain). The gameplay is standard, if unusually finicky, third-person shooting that borrows a stun mechanic from Alan Wake, the art direction is not particularly interesting, and the humor is something I'm about 20 years too old to appreciate.

Shadows of the Damned Review

More Boner Jokes than You Can Shake a Dick At

Shadows of the Damned Screenshot

HIGH The interplay between Garcia and Johnson is often quite hilarious. I loved these characters, despite their inherent cheesiness. Oh, and the Evil Dead homage level.

LOW Avoiding a recurring enemy who instantly kills you when she touches you. The game's controls make that far more challenging than it should be at certain points.

WTF Seriously, this whole game is one giant WTF?!? moment.

Vanquish Third Opinion

If this Combat had a Taste, it would be Quite Delicious

Vanquish Screenshot

HIGH: Exploding an enemy with their own projectile as it launches in glorious slow motion.

LOW: The unskippable first-person interactive cut-scenes bring the pacing to a halt.

WTF: Why is Sam's visor set at his mouth when he exposes his entire face to smoke?

Vanquish Second Opinion

From Blueprint to Bible and Back Again

Vanquish Screenshot

HIGH Every time I backflipped off of a gorgie, slowed time in midair and blew the heads off of three others before touching the ground. This happened often.

LOW Restarting a stage and getting blown away by a starship-class laser before the chapter title had even faded from the screen.

WTF A tie between the dancing gorgies, and the fact that not one of them was doing the robot.

Vanquish Review

Shoot, Run, Take Cover and… Slide?

Vanquish Screenshot

HIGH Taking down two giant robots at once with barely a scratch.

LOW Overheating the suit while surrounded by enemies.

WTF Why do weapon levels get reset when replaying stages?

Resident Evil 5 Review

An Outdated Roller Coaster That's Still a Good Ride

Resident Evil 5 Screenshot

HIGH Co-op is a great addition to the Resident Evil formula.

LOW The controls are way out of touch with current standards.

WTF A half-naked tribesman drops grenade rounds? Where were they hidden, exactly?