Tt Games struck gold with Lego Star Wars in 2005, and the concept still works more than 10 games later. Lego Marvel Super Heroes, thankfully and unsurprisingly, takes its cues more from Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes than from Lego Lord of the Rings, which means that while the world is wide open, it feels a bit more contained. Normally in an open-world game you want more space instead of less, but packing the activities closer together for a dense experience works when the traversal is just a means to an end. As much as I love the Lord of the Rings universe, I was ready for a central hub and level select like the older games have, and I never felt that way while playing Lego Marvel Super Heroes. READ MORE
It’s no secret that Telltale knocked it out of the park with last year’s The Walking Dead. What is surprising is that the format works so well when Clementine, everybody’s favorite walking conscience, is removed from the equation. Just like The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us is based on a series of comic books. This time it’s Fables, and aside from the lovely comic book aesthetic, the two games are completely separate beasts. READ MORE
Bionic Dues has exactly what I want in a roguelike: direction. Most feature the absolute least amount of story possible: go to the bottom of the dungeon, get a thing, come back up and try not to die. Bionic Dues, like FTL before it, put just a little bit more into the story, and wormed itself that much deeper into me because of it. The scenario crafted by Arcen Games is an interesting one, and it means that there is a push to see the conclusion to the evolving story as well as the push of “just one more mission.” READ MORE
Marlow Briggs is the interactive version of the cheesy action movies I loved in the early ’90s, like Demolition Man. Things blow up, not because the plot calls for it, but because it sure would be fun to slow down the camera and watch a thing explode. There are guys with flamethrowers, not because they would be useful at an archaeological dig site, but because carrying a bunch of flamethrower fuel means they’ll blow up very nicely. These are the sorts of design choices ZootFly has made, and I love them for it. READ MORE
Memoria is an odd beast: it works wonderfully as a story but falls on its face as a game. This is common among point-and-click adventures. I don’t replay Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis because I yearn for the old days of moving my mouse cursor around the screen and using inventory objects. I replay it because I enjoy the story, the atmosphere and the characters. Memoria succeeds in this respect. READ MORE
