I think that I'm impossible to please when it comes to video games. When I play a terrible game, I take an almost ecstatic glee in pointing out all the many, many ways in which the developers screwed up. When faced with a nearly perfect game, on the other hand, I start to nitpick, and search for tiny mistakes to grouse about, as if admitting that the existence of perfection somehow invalidated my worldview.
According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood, Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence
Playing like a videogame version of The Princess Bride (going so far as to enlist the voice talents of Cary Elwes), The Bard's Tale skewers RPG conventions with gleeful abandon at every turn. Rather than feature a character who's a good guy from the start, players tackle the role of The Bard.
It's rare that I see a game so good that I don't know where to start praising it. Evil Genius is just that good. A game this good can be a challenge to review, since it wears all of its best points right on its sleeve. How on earth do I find something unique to say about it? The best way to look at it is through the filter of my often too-strictly moral interpretation of videogame messages and implications. This is a game that grinningly celebrates mass murder, torture, and the cruel megalomaniacal governing of the entire world. And I didn't question any of it for a second.
According to ESRB, this game contains: Cartoon Violence
According to ESRB, this game contains: Mature Humor, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Alcohol, Nudity
Do the ends justify the means? Regardless of the topic, it's a classic question that's been raised time and time again, and it usually has no clear solution. This moral puzzler sprang to mind after playing Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude and seeing the sad, pathetic way it delivered genuinely enjoyable comedy. Like many others before me, I can't honestly say that I have a definite answer to the question, but after seeing this title to completion, I do have a pretty good guess.
According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood and Gore, Violence
At its heart, Van Helsing the game repackages Van Helsing the movie. But videogames are supposed to be interactive, and a huge chunk of that interactivity is lost when we can't make our own stories. Then again, this is a game based on a film based on a character created more than 100 years ago. If Van Helsing's own writers didn't get to make the story, why should we?
I hate to be the one to rain on Mike's parade—OK, actually I don't mind at all—but calling this game "the biggest surprise of this generation of gaming" and a "flawlessly executed adventure" is a little excessive. And before I go any further, let's get one thing straight: for the last time, the movie Pitch Black is overrated—vastly overrated. Please make a note of this.
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