Take a game. A game of your choice, and review it. A game of the past, a game of recent days, a game you think should be reviewed and review it here. No arguing. No comments. Just reviews. Thats the rules. Write the review and leave a numerical score between 1 and 10. The review should be only about this big:

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Which means - keep it short. No one wants to read an essay. This is your chance to have your thoughts on a game heard, good or bad. You may review as many games as you like but keep them as separate posts and wait a while before you post another. You may also post ONE screenshot of your choice if you want. Think of this as you informing your fellow GS'ers.

Alright. Lets see what you've got!

Age of Empires 3: The Asian Dynasties Expansion

Age of empires 3 tends to be the least well regarded game in the series (i love it tho), as a result, few people talk about it, and no one mentions its sequels. That shoud change. AOE3:TAD is the second and last expansion for AOE3, its developement was handed off from Ensemble studios to Big Huge games of Rise of Nations fame and the results were fantastic. The Asian Dynasties is easily the best of the two expansions. It adds the Chinese, Japanese and Indian civilizations to spice up the AOE3 formula. The new Asian civs are refreshing and play very differently from their american indian and european counterparts, but still manage to be balanced.

the Rundown:

What's awesome :

-Its super pretty, that game still looks great, and the art and design put into that expansion is top notch

-It brings back building Wonders (YAY) but now they are built to age up

-the New civs actually feel different from one another and are all awesome. Each has tons of unique mechanics and units

What's meh

-only one tiny tiny complaint that has nothing to do with gameplay, there is no visual home city customization/decoration for the asian civs

SCORE>>>>>>8.5>>>Mad Awesome

Deus Ex

this game is the wosrt game ive ever played. the graphix are CRAP!!!! i mean wtf theyr freaking awful ive played nintendo games with better graphics lol

the campaign is to hard like what the eff i cant figure out where to go or anything there isnt even fast travel like in oblivon which is a mch better game. i put all my points in swin so i could pretnd 2 be a dolphin lol

the story is a ripoff of halo

the multiplayer is soooo boring. there rnt even killstreaks, LOL!!!!!! and i think u have to use a medkit to heal, lol thats stupid ur health should just come back automaticly like in cod4

overall a 2/10 i would recommend black ops if u wish to buy a game

[spoiler] I joke, I joke. [/spoiler]

Deus Ex

Deus Ex succeeds in it's cult status not because of gameplay, atmosphere, or graphics, but because it has arguably THE best backstory in video game existence. The game is set in a dystopian cyber-punk future, at a time when we have either just reached singularity, or it is right around the corner. There is a strange virus that is killing the human race, but one corporation seems to have the cure, which they are distributing sparingly to whom they choose. Something seems awfully fishy...


Now if you take your time and have patience to delve deep into the story, Deus Ex will provide intelligent political, social, and philosophical commentary, which you will find hidden about the game's world. This is the best part of the game and what has made it timeless. These optional tidbits hint at and eventually pave the way to the climax and your decision on the games outcome. You are given three choices, none of them black or white, none of them 'good' or 'evil'. Depending on your world views and the in-game knowledge you have picked up along your way, one will probably stand out to you, and one of them may even sound wrong.

Gameplay-wise, it is a slow paced shooter. It took me 36 hours on my last playthrough, but much of the time was spent exploring. The RPG elements are choices in what skills you want to have easiest for you. If you upgrade rifles, you will be able to shoot accurately on the move, instead of having to hide and set up your shots. If you upgrade medicine, your medpacks will double or triple in effectiveness. There are also biotic upgrades, with about ten slots, each of which is an either-or choice of an upgrade. Examples would be a higher jump distance, or silent running. Cloak from biological foes, or radar transparency.

Another strategical feature is limb damage. You get damaged specifically where you are shot. You will only die from fatal head or body injuries, but crippled limbs will severely hamper your abilities.

Deus Ex is not without its problems. The graphics are fairly outdated, even for its time. The voice acting is sometimes laughably bad, particularly the accents when you are in Paris. Most faults are easily overshadowed by all the good things from this game. I hope my score of 10/10 can be a significant indicator of the quality of this product, since I give out high scores rather sparingly here.


I would recommend this game if you are a fan of a good story.

Well, who are you gonna trust, me or that guy?

Obviously that guy

I particularly enjoyed the dolphin line

Borderlands

This is the RPG to play if you're not into RPGs. Weak story,Boring in-game soundtrack,dull characters..but it makes up for all of these with the gameplay.
You can choose from 4 gameplay um methods?(Brute Force,Precision Sniping,Jack of all trades,Girl with good chest) depending on the character you select. Well, it doesnt drastically change the game but theres a difference and a certain feeling of Satisfaction and triumph when you own your opponents with the character you tweaked and honed. The levelling up of the character is what pushes you to keep playing the game...the desire to turn your character into the ultimate killing machine.
Yeah its a descent game..they should've worked on the story though. The story really is very bad.
Oh and there are some 10,000+guns or something..not 10000different types of guns just with different colours and damage and accuracy n stuff.

Score 7.3/10
Thats a good score coming from an All-RPGs-bore-me guy.

Well, who are you gonna trust, me or that guy?

Godofnerdyness

Obviously that guy

True_Sounds

Game Title: The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

Review: Hands down one of the best RPGs ever released, filled with multiple factions, interesting lore, excellent art-style, beautiful environments, enormous amounts of quests, gripping story, large world and deep characters.

However the character models look like as if the Half-Life's characters models crapped itself and died while the to desktop crashes are frequent and very annoying. The combat is also boring as hell as it does not feel like combat at all but more of a game of slapping across the face until you or your opponent fell over.

Score: 8.7

Title: Mafia II

Review:

I was pleasantly surprised by this game. I think many gamers thought it was gonna be GTA4 but in the end you have to take the game for what it is - a story and action driven game. Its a story of a deadbeat guy back from WW2 thats trying to make his way in the world. He joins the shady crowd and both good and bad comes his way. The story is GREAT. I loved it. Sure its slow at the beginning but it picks up and you see it. You actually become emotionally attached to the characters. The presentation - from voice acting to the graphics - are also great and make the game quite immersive. The gameplay is also fluid - for the most part. Car handling is good and you feel the speed of a car when you drive it. Gunplay is also nice and very satisfying. I loved finding, firing, and landing headshots. The physics in the game are wonderful. Parts of walling chip off from your cover, wood and glass shatter, and bodies fall realistically when they die so you KNOW you've made the kill. Its great. This isnt a run and gun shooter, you have to use the cover and its awesome. Another good part of the game is the hand to hand combat which is also very satisfying and exemplified by the great physics in the game. Controls are generally very well done with some wankiness here and there.

Score: A very solid 8.5

Magic The Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers (1998 )

When the new Magic: the Gathering games came out, I was so disappointed that they took out the 'planes-walking' adventure aspect that I had to hunt down this old game to get my fix!

This game is a great flash from the past for anyone who is or was into the card game. Seeing these old cards takes me back to the days when I was a kid and collected and traded them.

The core gameplay holds up very well. You walk around a map that is populated with other 'planeswalkers' who will chase you down for a fight. At the same time, you must defend the countless cities from the 5 big wizards' minions (one wizard for each card type). This makes for a hectic game whos pace does not let up.

While this is happening, you will run into many 'random event' triggers which can be anything from finding cards, a dragons lair where you can fight for rare cards, or thieves who will trades your amulets (a form of currency) or gold (another currency form) for your choice of any card.

You will also be searching for clues to unlock the many secret dungeons, which contain more minions guarding even more treasure!

The pace is so fast that a whole day can go by in a flash while immersed into the game! It is more addictive than the Civ or Total War series, because there is no late game slowdown here.

If you enjoy this card game I can't recommend this lovely gem of abandon-ware enough!

Game Title: Duke Nukem Forever

Review:

Moments of pure brilliance, but there's a game between them. A soul-crushingly mediocre game.

It does many things right. The intro is great - sort of like Prey's, but much longer and just as atmospheric. It's a varied journey. It has the weirdest pacing and tonal shifts ever. Some things and dialogue lines hit me like a brick - certainly 15 years of constant iteration fried some brains at 3D Realms, because they came up with a couple of very nightmarish scenes. The action can be fast and challenging sometimes. The platforming sections are pretty good, especially when Duke is miniaturised. I also loved the sound design, and while the graphics are technically weak the art direction is certainly interesting. It can be a very beautiful game at times simply due to good artistic design.

It does many things bad too. Most weapons are bad, especially the new ones. There are infuriating difficulty spikes, mostly in the final third of the game. That final third is by far the weakest - it's ugly, monotone and all-around uninteresting compared to the Vegas and even to the desert sections. There are many portions where the combat consists of functional, boring encounters with boring enemies, and the game doesn't know when to stop. When it's drab and monotone, you bet your ass it's going to be like this for a very long time. The turret sections are especially bad.

And worst of all, it's obvious a lot of content was cut and what was shipped is held together by duct tape and a prayer. It's a rush job. It deserved better, but I understand nobody could afford it at this point. The game is best when you don't actually fight - just soak up in the trademark 3D Realms atmosphere and enjoy the interactivity.

The ideas behind Duke Nukem Forever deserve a better game. I don't regret playing it - after 15 years of waiting, I had to own the Balls of Steel. As a fan of Duke, I obviously got more enjoyment out of it - there are indeed many elements that reminded me of its former glory. And as a fan of Duke, its failures were even bigger than they would seem to someone that's not familiar with the franchise.

There is a good game hidden under all the mess. It feels like it's trying to punch its way out through a thick, horrible membrane.

Final score: 6.5

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

PROS:

- Great, involving, and branching story

- Fluid Combat that is still difficult

- Week long game for me to beat (REALLY long in my eyes, because i rush past games really easily)

- Beautiful graphics giving an amazing back drop

- Side Quests

- Engaging all the way to the end

- Amazing soundtrack and overall sound quality

- Very mature and gives the player a sense of playing a real man's game (not trying to be sexist..)

CONS:

- Targeting system is a bit off

- Difficulty

- A little shorter than i thought

Score: 95%