[DustyShinigami]

'Fraid so; a lot of gripes with it. But the original Broken Sword is one of my all time favourites and I'm very fond of it the way it is. The Director's Cut was quite a let down in comparison for those negative reasons.

[JemyM]

Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadow Broker
Shepherd comes over some good leads on the whereabouts of the Shadow Broker, a mysterious character that appeared in the first and the second game. Liara T'Soni, the blue female alien who used to be your companion in the first game, is determined to find him no matter what. Of course Shepherd joins in on the ride.

Storywise LotSB promises a continuation of the story of Liara, possibly including a continuation of the romance subplot from the first game. It also offers the player to find out more about the mysterious Shadow Broker. Finally LotSB is the first DLC that begins to bridge the gap between Mass Effect 2 and 3. Fans celebrate!

Unlike the majority of all DLC's out there, LotSB do not rehash maps, meaning that each area you are going to visit is crafted anew, including some great new scenery that actually caused me to stop for a moment to absorb. Compare this to the bonus content made for Dragon Age that often simply reuses maps and locations you already been to, with nothing more than minor tweaks. This is good, because the DLC is completely linear unlike Overlord.

The same cannot be said about the opposition, which is the same old enter-room, foes-pour-in. The foes of the same kind we have seen in earlier games, just with a different name and recolored armor. Well, there are exceptions but I won't spoil them.

When it comes to gameplay there are a couple of new mechanics, including a car-chase, although one that I found to be extremely short. It was over before I even got the hang on how the chase was supposed to work. It did made me laugh though since there are some hillarious dialogue going on while driving, and it reminded me about the speeder chase in Star Wars Episode 2. You will also have Liara back as your companion during the mission, including her ability Stasis that I do not think have been in ME2 before. Liara could handle herself quite well. I can add that I played the game on Insanity and found that Kasumi was an awesome companion. We have been able to shoot at explosive cannisters before to damage nearby foes, but in this DLC we also have pieces of the environment that can be shot at repeatidly, which made some fights feel more tactical. There are also bossfights that proved to be interesting challenges.

The mission is not all there is to this DLC. After beating the mission you get the access to a new area, with plenty of new features that I will not spoil here, lets just say that it reveals a lot that will probably be relevant in future DLC's or ME3. I will mention though, that we now finally have a legit way of respecing our companions.

So much for content, is the DLC any good? LotSB is one of Biowares stronger attempts at building a DLC that is like a mini-expansion, which is what a DLC should be. I cannot say that the story or the gameplay had as many surprises as Overlord did, but I can easily put LotSB on 2nd place and fans of ME who plan to play ME3 would be stupid to not check this one out.

[Crunchy in milk]

Originally Posted by JemyM

...The same cannot be said about the opposition, which is the same old enter-room, foes-pour-in. The foes of the same kind we have seen in earlier games, just with a different name and recolored armor. Well, there are exceptions but I won't spoil them.

Well I will, enough to say I disagree. The cover system may not have vanished (and why would it?) but this time around enemies definitely flank more, coming at you from different directions including from above. Sitting pretty behind a single bit of cover for an entire fight is no longer an option.

There is cover in this DLC designated as 'partial cover'. Anything with a rounded edge will likely not stop incinerate if you get too close to the curve or the cover is too low.

Grunt level enemies all have the annoying flash bangs introduced in Kasumi's mission that also knock you out of cover and they use them all the time.

I cannot say that the story or the gameplay had as many surprises as Overlord did, but I can easily put LotSB on 2nd place...

Overlord surprised you? They're both great DLC, and certainly put most of Dragon Age's DLCs to shame (I will try Witch's Hunt next week). I found Shadow Broker to have enough fresh gameplay elements (including Liara as temporary squad mate) to place it ahead of Overlord.

It even has a movie trailer for Blasto the Hanar spectre!

This time around they had Steve Blum again so I may run through to see if just maybe, Grunt is the exception to the silent squad mates.

[JemyM]

Dragon Age: Witch Hunt
I played everything released for Dragon Age this summer, including the expansion and all DLC's except for Darkspawn Chronicles. After that I am willing to let Dragon Age rest. Witch Hunt promises an end to the story, the last chance to play the Warden and get some answers to what happened with one of your companions after Origins.

On the paper, that sounded like a great deal for me. I was surprised to discover that this is the weakest DLC from Bioware I have seen in a long time.

Like the other DLC's you get new companions, but as far as I concern only one of them had any actual depth. At least Dog returns from Origins. The new companions are fully voice acted. I tell you this, because it seems it was the only *new* content in the DLC. Beyond that, Witch Hunt is a complete rehash of old stuff. There isn't a single new area in the entire game. Every area you have seen before, Circle of Magi, a place from the Stone Keeper DLC, an area from Awakenings etc. There i actually a new boss monster but that's it. I have to compare that to Lair of the Shadow Broker that had very little old content, everything made new for the module.

To add insult to injury I actually had to play the DLC twice. Due to a bug, Witch Hunt do not acknowledge the key choices made with your character in Origins unless you import your Origins save game. If you are like me, you of course import your character from Awakenings or Golems of Amgarrak so I got the bug in my first playthrough. Luckily ater finishing With Hunt with my Golems of Amgarrak character on hard, it only took me half an hour to rush it through on easy with my origins character and sucessfully managed to avoid the bug the second time through. Yes, that's how short this DLC is if you know what you are doing.

Considering the lack of content, the major bug, the fact that the DLC feels much like an advertisement for Dragon Age 2 that you payed for, and the extremely short length, Witch Hunt definitely made me a bit fooled to have purchased it without first reading the reviews.

[JemyM]

Originally Posted by Crunchy in milk

this time around enemies definitely flank more, coming at you from different directions including from above. Sitting pretty behind a single bit of cover for an entire fight is no longer an option.

I finished the DLC on insanity with my sentinel and I didn't have any real issues. There was only one fight I had to retry a few times before I got through it but besides that I didn't feel the enemies was any smarter. That said, I actually didn't use cover that much. Playing sentinel means that I often strafe out from behind a wall to hurl a warp/throw/overload before I go back.

Originally Posted by Crunchy in milk

Grunt level enemies all have the annoying flash bangs introduced in Kasumi's mission that also knock you out of cover and they use them all the time.

Agreed.

Originally Posted by Crunchy in milk

Overlord surprised you?

Yes, it did. Most of the DLC's I played have been rehashed content rather than adding new stuff. I didn't expect Overlord to be the best DLC I have played.

Spoiler:

First, all areas were new and unique, some of them rather creepy.

The Firewalker sequences, including "frogger" gameplay wasn't something I had expected either. It was nicely integrated into the module and better executed than the Firewalker expansion itself.

The Virtual Reality mode also felt refreshingly new, something I hadn't expected.

The greatest surprise was the story though, which was better than most of the quests in the original campaign. The revelation actually brought a tear to my eye. I am a bit biased for personal reasons though.

Originally Posted by Crunchy in milk

They're both great DLC, and certainly put most of Dragon Age's DLCs to shame (I will try Witch's Hunt next week).

I tried to be spoiler free in my review above.

I have played every DLC to ME2, Dragon Age (Except Darkspawn Chronicles) and Fallout 3. Witch Hunt is the weakest DLC I played up to date.

Originally Posted by Crunchy in milk

I found Shadow Broker to have enough fresh gameplay elements (including Liara as temporary squad mate) to place it ahead of Overlord.

It even has a movie trailer for Blasto the Hanar spectre!

This time around they had Steve Blum again so I may run through to see if just maybe, Grunt is the exception to the silent squad mates.

I enjoyed LotSB quite a lot, even if I felt more moved by Overlord.

[Crunchy in milk]

My first time through LotSB was an insanity adept. I didn't dominate nearly so much and at the time had forgotten to upgrade Liara at all. I also had no overload using squad mates (a must in LotSB). So there's me and Liara with ineffectual singularities and not much else versus streams of enemies who keep coming if you stay behind cover.

The second and third time through I used a Vanguard and a Sentinel and I rush rush rushed. The waves of enemies you can fight if you stay behind cover in the first set piece battle (trading floor) didn't occur. You're so busy moving from target to target that getting flanked isn't an issue.

Good to know I picked the right DLC to try first, I don't mind so much holding off on Witch's Hunt for now and I really hope the Dragon Age team get a kicking for such low par DLC stuff.

[JemyM]

Originally Posted by Crunchy in milk

My first time through LotSB was an insanity adept. I didn't dominate nearly so much and at the time had forgotten to upgrade Liara at all. I also had no overload using squad mates (a must in LotSB). So there's me and Liara with ineffectual singularities and not much else versus streams of enemies who keep coming if you stay behind cover.

The second and third time through I used a Vanguard and a Sentinel and I rush rush rushed. The waves of enemies you can fight if you stay behind cover in the first set piece battle (trading floor) didn't occur. You're so busy moving from target to target that getting flanked isn't an issue.

I took Kasumi with me since I never got to use her in the rest of the game. She was quite good since she usually stay in cover, except when going into sneak mode. That means she do not go down much. Liara didn't go down much either, but I have to say that she was kinda ineffective. I did take her crowd control abilities though, and they did save me a few times. I usually play jack-of-all-trades utility characters, or buffers/debuffers/crowd control, so sentinel fit my playstyle. It was difficult to play Sentinel early on insanity, but after the shields are researched to near max I do not go down much anymore. I have a save right before the IFF mission so I got all he upgrades. The fight were you have to fend off five waves in a row took a few retries and the parking lot with incoming carriers took me once as well. I went down once in the first boss fight but not in the second.

I enjoyed the DLC through and through.

Originally Posted by Crunchy in milk

Good to know I picked the right DLC to try first, I don't mind so much holding off on Witch's Hunt for now and I really hope the Dragon Age team get a kicking for such low par DLC stuff.

Definitely. Witch Hunt ruined Biowares reputation in my book. I will probably read reviews before downloading another DLC without hesitation. IGN gave LotSB 95% and Witch Hunt 65%. I think 65% was too high. It made Operation Anchorhage in Fallout 3 to feel like premium content.

[SamuelGordon]

I finished Lost Horizon and god what a fantastic game!! I hope we see Fenton Paddock back with a sequel

Also (not a game spoiler but great news for adventure gamers, made my day)

Spoiler:

finishing the bonus puzzle you get the message that there will be a SECRET FILES 3 with the return of Nina and Max! It's gonna be one hell of a year for us adventure gamers^^

[Niko]

Just recently finished the campaign in RUSE a great RTS game.

[DustyShinigami]

Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars

Positives:

+ Beautiful hand drawn 2D graphics, which are full of colour and detail. They haven’t aged one bit and they’re just as great today as they were back in 1996. Animations are also solid and smooth. It’s evident the game had high production values.
+ A fantastic, memorable, beautiful – and at times atmospheric – music score by Barrington Pheloung.
+ A really engrossing and well told/written story that grips from the start and pulls you in. A story that’s full of mystery, intrigue, conspiracy, fact and fiction. There are plenty of twists and turns along the way, and the story is aided by a great cast of likeable and believable characters. George Stobbart and Nico Collard are two of the best, likeable and memorable characters in an adventure game.
+ Voice acting is solid, believable and handled professionally. Along with the great voice acting and top-notch script, the game is also witty and humorous at times.
+ Puzzles are generally logical and exist to drive the story forward. They’re not always completely obvious, but they strike the right kind of balance and difficulty.
+ The interface is nice, smooth and easy to use
+ The game is nice and lengthy

Negatives:

- The odd puzzle can be a little unfair and doesn’t always make sense.

Overall:



Classic. I love it to bits. *bliss*

[drunk]

Originally Posted by Gazzoid

A good example would be the chess puzzle in Spain, which involves trial-and-error to get the correct positions. There’s absolutely no clue or reason for the order.

If I remember correctly you have to position the chess pieces so that none can beat the other... or something like that (sorry for my bad memory).

[DustyShinigami]

Maybe. But I think they have to be positioned in order of superiority.

Spoiler:

The Pope first, the Knight second, and then the King. Personally, I'd've thought the Pope and King would be both above the Knight as they were the ones who had the power (along with the Inquisition) to bring down the Templars.

That's what I thought anyway. But then, I thought it might have something to do with the position of all the red pieces. I still don't know whether they do or not.

As well as having to guess the correct squares the white pieces go on, it all seems like trial-and-error no matter how I look at it. There doesn't seem to be any clues.

I hate chess.

[AFGNCAAP]

The point was to check-mate the red king. Hardly "no clue or reason" if the puzzle involved chess pieces, I'd say.

Of course, some would argue that as such it was unfair for it required outside knowledge (ie. the basic rules of chess), but that's another discussion altogether.

[DustyShinigami]

Originally Posted by AFGNCAAP

The point was to check-mate the red king. Hardly "no clue or reason" if the puzzle involved chess pieces, I'd say.

It was!? Wow! What a fool I feel.

In that case, I've edited the 'criticism' slightly in my 'mini review'.

Of course, some would argue that as such it was unfair for it required outside knowledge (ie. the basic rules of chess), but that's another discussion altogether.

Yeah, very true.

Either way, I still stand by the fact that a few (and only a few) of the puzzles in the game aren't 100% logical or fair. A very minor nitpick.

Another example, although it posed no problem for me, would be the goat. I'm sure you'll agree that puzzle caused problems for a lot of people because the solution was a bit obscure.

[Dasilva]

Alan Wake, great game one of the worst game endings in my opinion. It seemed to be building up to something special at the end but it's just an anti-climax to me.

[Crunchy in milk]

Bioshock (1)

I loved the charm and presentation this game has, the sound especially. The story went places you don't expect a computer game to go but have always thought it was high time publishers did, given the freedom the medium has to offer.

It did seem to suffer a little from the lack of enemy variety. Before you're half way through you've pretty much nailed how to deal with them and even Big Daddy's become minor inconveniences rather than ever present, lethal threats.

I started to run out of steam in Fort Frolic, and didn't really begin enjoying the game again, until the final story arc when we finally got back to witnessing with the impact of ADAM and splicing beyond people just going violently nuts, and back to the original plot arc of Andrew Ryan (the Man) and your place in Rapture.

The insight into the little sister indoctrination and big daddy creation was a real kick in the guts, with a topping of black humour to take the edge off. I could not spend more than a few seconds in their 'rooms' before running out with shudders and a sigh of relief at the chance to kill a weird freak show splicer walking the halls, to distract myself.

[DustyShinigami]

Amnesia: The Dark Decent

Positives:

+ Really creepy, eerie, disturbing and downright scary atmosphere and environments. This game does an incredible job of immersing you into the game world and keeping you on the edge of your seat - you never know what could be lurking around the corner. Forget Scratches or Barrow Hill, this is way scarier.
+ The music, ambience and sound effects are simply great and add to the atmosphere. The music ranges from disturbing pieces (the piece at the main menu) that fill you with dread, to pieces that are more sombre and haunting. Sound effects range from screams and moans from tormented spirits, chains rattling, things falling down/over (books or debris), sounds from machinery, and the sounds of other unspeakable monstrosities etc.
+ While not state-of-the-art, the graphics are decent, light and shadow effects are great, the game's physics are cool and responsive, and the environments are nicely detailed and creepy (providing there's sufficient light to see, of course ).
+ Gameplay ranges from environmental puzzle/problem solving - item hunting, operating machinery, or using the game's physics to interact and manipulate objects to your advantage. For example: throwing a rock down a corridor opposite a monster should cause it to investigate. Puzzles are all pretty logical and clues are left lying around in documents as to what you’re supposed to do.
Survival horror plays an important role as your health and sanity are at stake. It's wise to keep as far away from enemies as possible as your character is prone to dying very quickly. Staying in the dark or staring at monsters for too long will cause your character's brain to fizzle away and make him lose his sanity. Movement and vision will become hazy and sluggish as a result, which will make you weaker and slower at moving or running away. Getting back into the light will help you regain a bit of sanity.
Light is very important! Most of the rooms and corridors are completely shrouded in darkness. To find your way around and keep your sanity healthy, you’ll need to get fuel for your lamp, which will quickly drain away with use, or find tinder boxes to light lamps and candles scattered throughout the corridors. As your light sources are sometimes few and far between, you’ll need to manage your supply carefully. Of course, having too much light around you when near creatures is suicide. In this case, darkness is your friend – you’ll need to find some corner to hide in until they’re gone.
+ You’ll occasionally get a nice brief break from the exploration and horror as you find documents and letters scattered around, which will help you piece together Daniel’s (your character) past. The story is generally interesting to follow and is just as disturbing as the game’s atmosphere.
+ Apart from saving and exiting after a session, there’s no need to worry about saving progress during the game as it does it automatically. This prevents the immersion from breaking.

Negatives:
- The story is pretty thin and there are a number of unanswered questions.
- The ending is a bit disappointing and brief.
- Voice acting is generally good, but for the most part, I’d say it was only above average.
- It’s a bit disappointing that certain ‘scripted’ scenarios don’t return for you to try them again if you fail them. What I mean is, is that you may stumble across a monster by accident and fail to hide in time. And when you come back… it’s gone. There’s no way of tackling the situation again to do it right.

Overall:



The best horror adventure game I've played. Period!

[sysryn]

The black mirror 2...

Played for 7 hours today... I couldn't piel myself off the screen untill I finished it.
And I'm still shocked how great this game is.

I loved the first one, but this one's much - MUCH better. The graphics
are just brilliant, the atmosphere is awesome (especially the fact
that the game keeps the Black Mirror manor till the end and you constantly
just want to get there.

The puzzles are logical and set in a way so you always know what to do next.
It's just perfectly fluid - like watching a movie. Never once I found myself
banging my head against the table trying to figure out what to do next.

Definitly one of the best adventure games I've played recently.

There's just one thing I don't understand... And it may be cause I played
the first one a long time ago... but...

Spoiler:

The game starts with Samuel burning down the manor... if put into a timeline... when did that happen compared to the events in black mirror 1? It couldn't be after - Samuel kills himself at the end of BM1.

And I don't recall anything about his wife or his visits to the manor before his uncle's death/suicide...

I'd be gratefull if anyone can explain it to me

[Shany]

sysryn-

I haven't BM2 yet, but I seem to remember that

Spoiler:

Samuel burned the mansion some years before the events of BM1.
This was the fire in which his wife was killed, and I think the reason why he left the mansion.

[sysryn]

Yea... i thought it might be something like that... I played BM1 when it came out and i don't remember all the details. Thnx