Friday, January 13, 2017

MadCap's Game Reviews - "Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition"

Well, honestly, this is about five years overdue. Seriously, this game shut down my blog for SEVEN MONTHS! Seven months where I didn't post a thing, I didn't do anything. It completely consumed by gaming life for seven months, fueled on the insane amount of hype. At the time, this game was literally everything I could have hoped for in a fantasy RPG: running around the landscape with a sword in hand as I completed quests, stood stalwart against the forces of evil, and battled...wait for it...FREAKING DRAGONS!

Had I reviewed this game in 2011, it would have been me gibbering in fanboy-induced insanity, likely in the form of a video of me belting out a Dragon-themed version of the Narwhals song at the top of my lungs to a montage of me killing said dragons.

...in an alternate universe where I can make videos that aren't me sitting in a room with really, really poor lighting and bad audio, but I'm working on it!

Friday, January 6, 2017

MadCap's Game Reviews - "The Best of 2016"

Wow...2016 was a shit year, wasn't it? Let's get on with some of the good games I played in the Year That We Wish Never Was. Remember, like my worst list from last week, this is a list of games that I played within the year 2016 and reviewed, not necessarily games that came out in 2016. So, without further adieu, here's some shining gems that I managed to dig out of the cesspool.

10. The Movies
review here

I'm not much for the god games, but this was just fun. Managing the ins and outs of a Hollywood movie studio was an enjoyable experience, getting to be a part of every facet of it from the writing of scripts (as sophisticated as that wasn't) to casting to shooting to post-production and beyond! Sure, it could be monotonous at times, but overall its a very enjoyable experience and there's plenty of wiggle room to allow the creativity to flow.

...also, Randy Pitchford is still off my Christmas card list.

9. Until Dawn
review here

 Now, I know a lot of people really don't like this game, but I did. Sure, it barely qualifies as a game in the strictest sense that you can move an avatar and complete objectives, focusing a great deal more on the story (such as it is), but I did really like the story despite the fact that it hit pretty much every single horror trope ever in rapid succession. The only reason this isn't higher on the list is because of the fact that, ultimately, your choices don't really mean anything, which ultimately hurts the experience overall.

8. Far Cry Primal
review here

Caveman. Beating things with sticks. No need to go any further.

7. Super Star Wars
review here

I hate myself for having this on this list, considering how much I absolutely abhorred so much about it. I still call it completely and control-eatingly unfair...but I can't deny it's just damn good. It's a slog to get through, for sure, but there is a clear feeling of elation whenever I do actually manage through either skill or sheer luck to plow through a part I've been having difficulty on. It's...not an elegant weapon...and one could hardly call the early 90s civilized, but...

...yeah, nevermind. The metaphor is dead. Next game.

6. Doom (2016)
review here

Like I said last week, I do genuinely like this game. It drives me absolutely mad, but I love it. Like the original, it's fun, it's visceral, and there's something about the masculine brain that gets a lovely itch when we're tearing apart Hellspawn with big guns.

5. Fallout 4 - Automatron
review here

Building robots? Yes. Fallout 3 reference? Yes. Complete waste of time? Yes. But, like I said in my review, it's a fun one. It really makes it worth to it to go looking for the components you need to make yet another robotic sidekick.

...still need more adhesive opportunities though, Bethesda.

4. Shovel Knight
review here

Retro homage to the likes of Mega Man and Super Mario, set in a universe of medieval shovel and sorcery? Sign. Me. Up!

3. Fallout 4 - Nuka-World
review here

What if there was a place with all the zip of Nuka-Cola? Wouldn't that be the cheer-cheer-cheeriest place in all the world?

...eat me, the song is really catchy.

Also, the DLC in general feels well thought out, oozing with creativity and ingenuity, and fitting right in with Fallout's major theme of things that seem all bright and clean and pretty being some of the deadliest and most frightening things out there...from before the Bombs fell and ended the world.

QUENCH YOUR THIRST FOR ADVENTURE A NUKAAAAAAAAAAAWORLD!!!!

2. Dragonball Xenoverse 2
Review here

Pretty much improvement on the first game in every way, minus the constant attacks on Guru's House. Also, humans are still lame.

1. Broforce
Review here

HIGH FIVE ME, BROS!!!

...seriously, this game is great. Absolutely, completely, and utterly great. Free Lives. Revolver Digital. You guys are forever on my good list and I hope to see great things from you in the future.

Let's look forward to some more great games in 2017!

For the latest from the MadCapMunchkin, be sure to follow him on Twitter @MadCapMunchkin.