Gaining Kali’s trust (and her useful items) is only part one of gathering what I consider Spelunky’s perfect set of items. Unfortunately, the others you need to cross your fingers and hope for. The shopkeepers might stock some of these useful tools, but sometimes I run into stores and find nothing but bundles of ropes and maybe a small bag of bombs. Thanks for nothing, shopkeepers! READ MORE
The long-dormant Thief franchise is considered by many to be a pioneer of the stealth genre. Eidos Montreal, the team behind the successful revival of the Deus Ex series, is back with their take on this classic. This new game, simply titled Thief, brings the genre back to its roots by attempting to focus on what made the original games so compelling, while also making it more approachable for newcomers.
When I first heard about Kali, Spelunky’s resident goddess who loves human sacrifices, I wasn’t sure what to think. It was recommended to me that, after rescuing a damsel, I make sure to bring her to an altar to sacrifice immediately. “Why would I do that when I could get some extra health from rescuing her?” I asked foolishly, ignorant of Kali’s amazing power. I learned my lesson quickly. READ MORE
Capcom’s Strider series began its life as an arcade action-platformer before slowly making its way to home consoles. Soon enough, however, Strider simply disappeared, relegating its lead character, Hiryu, to guest appearances in crossover titles such as the Marvel vs. Capcom series. Rumors of the return of this iconic franchise circled for years before a new game, developed by Double Helix, was announced. While this new Strider may not be a perfect recreation of the earlier titles, it differentiates itself by adding a new twist to a well-worn formula.
Last week saw the release of Left Behind, the first (and only) story-related add-on content for The Last of Us. It both filled in a gap during the game’s main story and also focused heavily on Ellie’s life prior to her meeting Joel. I don’t often invest in downloadable content; once I finish a game and put it down, I rarely have a reason to pick it up again for extra content. Sometimes, however, you just need a little more. Left Behind delivered exactly what I was looking for, and also made me think a lot about story DLC and its impact on a game — especially if it comes out months after its initial release.
