Review Archives (All Reviews)

You are currently looking through all reviews for games that are available on every platform the site currently covers. Below, you will find reviews written by honestgamer and sorted according to date of submission, with the newest content displaying first. As many as 20 results will display per page. If you would like to try a search with different parameters, specify them below and submit a new search.

Available Reviews
	Limbo review (X360) Reviewed on July 23, 2010 The first thing that you're sure to notice is the monochrome visual design. There's not a drop of color to be seen. You might suppose that Limbo would be an ugly game as a result, or that things would quickly blur together into a thoroughly forgettable mess. Nothing could be further from the truth, however. The lush forests and the imposing industrial areas that you'll explore over the course of your adventure are presented with exemplary attention to detail. Insects fill the air, mist rolls through the trees and clods of dirt fly into the air as the hero scrambles along ledges or wades through knee-high grass. Yet even with the signs of life all around, there's a striking sense of isolation. Something is wrong with the world and, for the right sort of gamer, that will feel very right.	4/5
	Naughty Bear review (X360) Reviewed on July 07, 2010 Each new weapon has a kill animation to go with it, but none of those animations are all that amusing after the first three or four times that you see them. I enjoy pouncing on an over-sized bear and hacking apart his face with an ax as much as the next guy, but the game's cover artwork looks substantially more depraved than the final product actually feels. Where's the crimson, or at least a cloud of puff? These are the blandest ax murders you'll ever see, hands down. Unless you're switching weapons constantly (and perhaps even then), you could easily tire of the animations before you even finish the first of the game's many repetitive stages.	1/5
	RISK: Factions review (X360) Reviewed on June 29, 2010 The "Factions" mode adds a few wrinkles to that classic formula. The maps that you'll explore are different, with special new attractions that give particular territories new value. For example, it's possible to lay siege to an island temple. Doing so means that during each turn that you hold that fortified position, you can choose a single one of your opponent's territories to convert to your own (along with any troops who happen to be stationed there). Just imagine the possibilities. Whoever has that temple has tremendous power, but the temple grounds are obviously going to be under constant attack.	4/5
	Disney/Pixar Toy Story 3 review (PS3) Reviewed on June 24, 2010 The experience resembles what it might feel like to walk into a room with a huge chest, dig through it and yank out a bunch of my favorite toys, then toss them together and relish the crazy results. Players are presented with a virtual sandbox—a desert town with just a few buildings and a handful of citizens—and then are let loose to have fun. Even just running around the world, trying out magic wands and ray guns is a blast.	4/5
	Blur review (X360) Reviewed on June 07, 2010 the weapons that you have at your disposal aren't particularly thrilling. The most explosive of them are the homing missiles, as well as mines that sit on tracks like rubber balls with black rings around them. The mines are easily avoided and even the missiles can be shaken from your trail with a well-timed swerve. Shields and nitrous boosts look to add strategy to the proceedings, plus I like the fact that you can hold as many as three items at once, but the races are so focused on providing a frantic experience that any of that theoretical strategy is rendered null and void. You'll quickly discover that in most instances, you can do alright by using items immediately rather than hoarding them.	3.5/5
	Picross 3D review (DS) Reviewed on June 06, 2010 You basically just knock blocks around with your stylus and hope that you hit the right ones so that you can keep chipping away at a mass of blocks and turn them into a three-dimensional image of a flower or a butterfly or some guy walking through a doorway or whatever else. It doesn't sound exciting—and it isn't—and it doesn't sound engaging... but it is.	4.5/5
	3D Dot Game Heroes review (PS3) Reviewed on May 31, 2010 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time did many things well and earned itself a gold star in the gaming annals, but it made some changes that moved its franchise away from some of its core values and started it down what I would call "the wrong road." The move into the third dimension definitely could have gone a lot of differently than it did. What I like about 3D Dot Game Heroes is that it fearlessly explores one of those other directions. What I adore about the game is that it actually makes that revised direction work!	5/5
	Monster Hunter Tri review (WII) Reviewed on May 20, 2010 The gorgeous visuals aren't just window dressing, either. They lend a distinct vibe to each environment and they remind you where you are at all times. That's important when your continued survival often requires that you don't let yourself forget. A pool of stagnant water could mean that a monster is lying beneath its surface, after all. Bubbles rising from a suspicious plant along the floor of a tranquil pool of water could mean that a monster lurks just below the muck. The level of immersion is breathtaking at times.	4/5
	Iron Man 2 review (PS3) Reviewed on May 20, 2010 It's difficult to feel the rush of adrenaline that should come from flight when you're cruising down bland, confined corridors with junk that probably is supposed to look like something futuristic but really just looks like a bunch of blobs and squares. Even the outdoor environments lack that certain something special. They're not quite draped in fog, yet somehow the effect is the same. There are no beautiful vistas and there's no polish. Every surface is dull and lifeless. The most a person could maybe say in the game's defense is that some of the machines are pretty big, but there's not much to them.	1/5
	Let's Draw! review (DS) Reviewed on April 24, 2010 Let's Draw! includes a variety of fun shapes, too, things that kids would actually care to draw. You can start out simple just by drawing a few lines—and the game will congratulate you on your artistic prowess—then move up to something more complex like a proper circle or a bicycle or one of several types of dinosaur. The folks who made the game clearly knew their audience and worked to keep them happy and engaged.	4/5
	How To Train Your Dragon review (X360) Reviewed on April 23, 2010 As you spend time outside of the arena with your dragon, whether that be training in the cave or playing mini-games that you have unlocked at a distant cave, your over-sized pet will grow weary. That can quickly impact its performance, so you have to scrounge up grub to feed the beast so that he will trust you and fight his best on your behalf. There's no real challenge to the process; you simply need to have the patience to wander the islands in circles as you hack apart the chickens, sheep and boars. You have to be ready to stop and dig under every rock, to slowly pull up one vegetable or flower at a time and then to wander back to your home to stuff your dragons full of goodies.	2/5
	Battlefield: Bad Company 2 review (PS3) Reviewed on April 23, 2010 The game's limited scope comes with a pleasing silver lining, however: destructible environments. Games have made attempts along those lines in the past, but Bad Company 2 takes the beautiful chaos to an unusually involving level. For example, one stage finds the player holed up in a wooden shack as a tank and gunmen approach from the far side of a field. It's possible to duck behind the wooden walls, then to peek out and fire shots at the approaching goons. Hiding out offers only limited protection, though. Your enemies will shred your shelter with bullets, until finally you're standing in a husk of your former stronghold. That's not an isolated example, either.	4/5
	Resonance of Fate review (PS3) Reviewed on April 21, 2010 For the most part, this battle system works wonders and it lends Resonance of Fate a fair portion of its charm. When you're able to stop thinking about all of the strategy that goes into perfectly executing a massive assault on powerful enemies, you're able to stop and (mostly) enjoy some of the most visually stimulating combat ever featured in a JRPG. You're characters run, jump, flip and whirl through interactive arenas, participants in a bullet-riddled ballet.	4/5
	Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon review (WII) Reviewed on March 27, 2010 Given time, you will eventually adapt to all of those quirks. Even when you've grown accustomed to the overly simplistic and repetitive combat, the awkward flashlight and camera controls and the ridiculous inventory system, however, Fragile Dreams can surprise you with just how obtuse it can really be. As you progress through the game, you'll find yourself forced to backtrack to locations where you've already been (after finding the proper key, of course) or you'll have to chase a mischievous prankster around an amusement park or whatever else the game throws your way.	1.5/5
	Red Steel 2 review (WII) Reviewed on March 23, 2010 When the swordplay comes together as intended, there's no feeling better. You'll face a lot of thugs as you seek your resolution. They come at you from all sides wielding swords of their own, or guns or hammers or protective shields. Routing the evil gang members feels satisfying because you're not simply swinging the Wii Remote around in place of furious 'A' button mashing. The speed and actual motion of each swing is reflected on-screen with surprising precision and with in-game consequences.	4/5
	Final Fantasy XIII review (PS3) Reviewed on March 20, 2010 The multi-faceted nature of combat means that in Final Fantasy XIII, nearly every battle is a fresh adventure. That's not evident in the first few hours, where you're still learning new techniques and simply mashing the 'X' button allows you to slaughter most enemies that you encounter. The dynamic changes abruptly once you've been playing for a few hours, however, and you're suddenly going up against monsters so powerful that they can smash tanks, or you're fighting so many at once that they can overwhelm you almost before the fight begins unless you truly understand how to get the most out of your party members.	4.5/5
	Data East Arcade Classics review (WII) Reviewed on March 09, 2010 Menu and presentation issues don't end with ridiculous button configurations, either. You'll see a lot of menus as you decide what game to play, both when the game first starts up and then when you select the one that you actually want to play. Load times are surprisingly lengthy, especially given the size that some of the included games surely occupy on the disc or anywhere else. The whole experience is surprisingly awkward every step of the way. That prevents the collection from being the joy that it might have been.	2/5
	Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing review (PS3) Reviewed on March 04, 2010 Tracks are more than eye candy. You'll find compelling venues that accommodate an absolutely essential drift system. Your opponents will generally spend more time drifting and boosting than they do driving in a straight line. When you try to mimic their vehicular wizardry, you'll realize just how ingeniously the environments were developed. Ramps, fences, wide bends and hairpin turns mean that the fastest way through nearly any situation is to slide into an expert drift, then use the resulting energy to boost through a curve or over a ramp... where it's possible to launch into acrobatics that charge you up for a new boost once your wheels touch the ground.	4/5
	Endless Ocean: Blue World review (WII) Reviewed on February 26, 2010 Naturally, diving is what prevents Blue World from feeling much like "just another game." The waters of the world's most memorable bodies of water teem with life and play host to everything from seals to gray whales to eels to jellyfish. In most instances, you're able to move in close for an investigation and you can watch as shy fish retreat into their holes or hungry sharks circle in murkier waters as they make meal plans. The various residents of this liquid world seem apathetic about your presence. You're a novelty at best, hardly worthy of their attention because you mean them no harm.	4/5
	Heavy Rain review (PS3) Reviewed on February 17, 2010 Most of the scenes make good sense and do a nice job of either building tension or adding depth to the characters, but there are instances where something will happen and it feels like the developers are just pandering to my testosterone. Example: characters Ethan Mars and the ever-so-sexy Madison Paige are sitting on the floor in a seedy hotel room. Ethan tells Madison that the only thing he cares about right now is finding his son. Madison responds by leaning in for a passionate kiss. The moment is supposed to be dramatic, I assume, but the timing is so ridiculously absurd that I can't help but think that it was included simply so the player has another chance to admire Madison's svelte physique as the distraught Ethan experiences carnal pleasure.	4/5

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