Killer Is Dead Review

Image Captured By Predatoure

When I think of hack and slash games, one of the first things that I always associate with them is a sense of style. Generally games that are classified into this particular genre of video games are a visual spectacle, juggling enemies in DMC looks amazing, perfecting the dodge mechanic in Bayonetta and learning the combat intricacies is a visual delight and the fast paced over-the-top combat featured in Metal Gear Rising, in addition to the game’s blistering soundtrack, is a treat for all the senses. At times Killer Is Dead looks like it deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as these games, the cel-shaded visuals look gorgeous and the combat on the surface looks awesome, but Killer Is Dead is a game that ultimately, flatters to deceive, like a footballer’s wife, it looks good but contains little substance. Continue reading Killer Is Dead Review

What Motivates You to Play?

Screenshot by Flickr User: leandro zappia
Screenshot by Flickr User: leandro zappia

What many gamers often point out as being a problem is not having enough time to play as much as they want, and it made me wonder, when we have limited time, what motivates us to spend that time playing games when we could be doing something else? We have various reasons why we might buy a game, but once you’ve spent your hard-earned money on it, what causes you to spend hours playing them when time is often even more limited than our money is? For me, my favorite kinds of games involve good stories and characters, and I can spend countless hours playing them because I want to experience the entire story and see what happens to the characters. But, that doesn’t cover all the genres out there. What about games that have no plot, or at the very least, where the plot is not the focus?

Well, in addition to games with good stories, I do enjoy platformers and other such genres, because I like the satisfaction it brings me to get 100%, story or not. And yet, I recently bought two games on the Wii U that largely don’t really fit either category and which I think act as a good illustration in what might motivate someone to play and what might not. Continue reading What Motivates You to Play?

Getting Back To It – Assassin’s Creed II

Image by Flickr user: anna1395 (cc)

When returning to a game, it’s usually done so in the hopes of getting to enjoy an old favorite again. This was the case for the first game I got back to this year: Ratchet: Deadlocked. Going back to that game felt like rediscovering an old classic. It had all the Ratchet & Clank charm I remembered from my time with the PS2-era games, and it was just as much fun this year as it was almost a decade ago. After having so much fun with this year’s first game in the series, I returned to  Assassin’s Creed II with barely contained anticipation. It should have been great, even better than Ratchet: Deadlocked, but, oddly enough, my return to an old favorite did not go as well as I thought it would. Continue reading Getting Back To It – Assassin’s Creed II