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iOS Reviews Video Games

The Warlock Of Firetop Mountain Review

 

Long before Dragon Age: Inquisition, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, or The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, fantasy fans who wanted to engage in epic adventures either had to play such table top games as Dungeons & Dragons or they had to read such Chose Your Own-esque interactive novels as The Warlock Of Firetop Mountain. Well, now you can do it all with The Warlock Of Firetop Mountain (iOS), a video game that recreates the titular interactive novel on your iPad by including mechanics from the pen and paper version of D&D.

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PlayStation 4 Reviews Video Games

Horizon Zero Dawn Review

 

Given that one of the best games of 2015 was the third-person action game Rise Of The Tomb Raider, and that one of the best games of 2016 was the prehistoric open world action/adventure game Far Cry Primal, you’d expect big things from Horizon Zero Dawn (PlayStation 4), which basically combines them. But it’s actually the adding of post-apocalyptic sci-fi elements, as well as bits of gameplay from some other great games, that helps make Horizon Zero Dawn one of the best games of 2017.

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PC PlayStation 4 Reviews Video Games Xbox One

For Honor Review

So a Viking, a samurai, and a knight walk onto a battlefield…. While this sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, it’s actually the loose premise of For Honor (Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC), a third-person hack & slash action game that isn’t funny…but isn’t all that fun, either.

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PC PlayStation 4 Video Games Xbox One

Prey Hands-On Preview

In anticipation of their adventurous sci-fi first-person shooter Prey being released May 5th for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC, the good people at Arkane Studios and Bethesda Softworks held an event at the Andaz Hotel in Los Angeles where they gave local game journalists, myself included, a chance to play the first thirty, forty minutes of the game, and an opportunity to interview Ricardo Bare, the game’s lead designer [which you can read here]. What follows is my assessment of my brief time with the beginning of the game.

Suffice it to say, spoilers follow.

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PC PlayStation 4 Video Games Xbox One

Exclusive Interview: Prey Lead Designer Ricardo Bare

Though it was originally going to be a sequel to the 2006 sci-fi first-person shooter of the same name, the version of Prey being released on May 5th for Xbox OnePlayStation 4, and PC is actually a totally new, unconnected game that, unlike the original or scrapped sequel, is being developed by Arkane Studios; the Austin, Texas one, not the Lyon, France one that made Dishonored 2. To promote its release, Lead Designer Ricard Bare recently brought the game to Los Angeles, where he gave local journalist a chance to try it out [my assessment of which you can read here] and to ask him questions about it.

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PC PlayStation 4 Reviews Video Games Xbox One

“Sniper Elite 4” Review

 

One of the downsides to both stealth games and sniper games is that constantly having to be slow and cautious can get tiresome.

But while the sneaky sniper game Sniper Elite 4 (Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC, Switch) avoids this pitfall by letting go all gun blazing when the situation arises, what really makes this such an exciting and addictive action game is where you do all your shooting.

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Reviews Video Games Xbox One

Candleman Review

In yet another example of how old genres can still learn new tricks, I present Candleman (Xbox One), a puzzling platformer that has you, as the titular form of illumination, running and jumping his way through a complicated and dark world much like you have before and will undoubtedly do again.

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PlayStation 4 Video Games

Exclusive Interview: 3on3 Freestyle Executive Producer Chan Hyun Kim

 

While I’ve long been someone who doesn’t enjoy sports — playing them, watching them, seeing them on my TV when The Simpsons should be on instead — I’ve also long been someone who doesn’t enjoy sports video games. Unless, of course, the game takes a less serious, arcade-ish approach. Such is the case with 3on3 Freestyle, a PlayStation 4-exclusive street basketball from Joycity, who previously made the street ball games Freestyle and Freestyle2 for PC. Though to figure out if I’d actually like it as much as enjoyed such similar games as One On One: Dr. J Vs Larry Bird and NBA Jam, I spoke to Chan Hyun Kim, the game’s executive producer to get the lowdown on this free-to-play game.

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PC PlayStation 4 Reviews Video Games Xbox One

Moto Racer 4 Review

While fans of arcade-style racing games have always gotten to drive dirt bikes on off-road courses, there haven’t been many lately where they’ve gotten to take motorcycles on to city streets or designated tracks. But while the on- and off-road arcade motorcycle racing game Moto Racer 4 (Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC) aims to fulfil that need, it’s somewhat undermined by a badly executed difficulty system and a generally cheap feel.