MLB Front Office Manager Review
By Brett Todd
Posted Feb 3, 2009 6:09 pm PT
An obtuse interface makes MLB Front Office Manager bewildering even to baseball-sim veterans.
Sports management simulations have finally hit the big time. After years of indie obscurity, at least in North America, the genre has finally been hauled into the mainstream by EA Sports and 2K Sports. But don't schedule a parade just yet. EA's NFL Head Coach series has gone through some growing pains over the past couple of years, and now 2K Sports' MLB Front Office Manager is off to a shaky start. The biggest problem with this latest attempt at taking management sims to the masses is a gamepad-oriented interface that makes even the most routine tasks about as irritating as trying to throw a curve ball while wearing oven mitts. Clunky controls and a near-total lack of feedback make it hard to feel like you're in control of anything, let alone a $150-million big-league ballclub stocked with equally extravagant egos.Read More
Mirror's Edge Review
By Kevin VanOrd
Posted Jan 13, 2009 11:20 am PT
Mirror's Edge offers occasional thrills, provided that you can look past some awkward stumbles.
Like its heroine, Faith, Mirror's Edge tries to hurdle some significant obstacles, but unlike Faith, it can't always make the leap. No doubt, this fascinating action platformer possesses its share of innovations, from a first-person perspective to a clean and crisp visual style, yet it looks to the past more than you may initially notice. This is a modern-day iteration of an old-fashioned platformer, in which you're meant to play and replay sequences of jumps, grabs, and slides until you get them perfect, or at least perfect enough to continue. But unlike its ancestors, Mirror's Edge is more about speed and momentum, and when you can connect your moves in a flawless stream of silky movement, it's eminently thrilling and satisfying.Read More
Saints Row 2 Review
By Tom Mc Shea
Posted Jan 12, 2009 6:21 pm PT
Technical problems mar this delightfully crass, immature, and over-the-top sandbox game.
When the original Saints Row came out two years ago, it served to placate fans until Grand Theft Auto made its next-generation debut. Saints Row's deviant destruction didn't push the boundaries of what to expect from a free-roaming urban assault game, but it did provide an enjoyable outlet for consequence-free chaos while never taking itself too seriously. Since then, Grand Theft Auto IV has injected a dose of maturity into its typical sandbox fare, removing many of its outlandish behaviors to create a more grounded portrayal of the gangster lifestyle. Saints Row 2 is not concerned with growing up. It is a morality-free alternative to GTAIV, an unremorseful descent into mindless mayhem. The lack of any major advancement in gameplay or storytelling may elicit a few flashes of deja vu, and the technical problems will haunt your every turn, but the unrepentant joy of terrorizing this humble metropolis makes Saints Row 2 a viable palate-cleanser for anyone willing to embrace the role of immoral dirtbag.Read More
LOTRO: Mines of Moria Review
By Kevin VanOrd
Posted Jan 7, 2009 6:27 pm PT
Explore Khazad-Dum online in this excellent, narrative-driven expansion pack.
When you first enter Moria, the famous dwarven depths, an imposing stairway of 1,001 rocky steps greets you. It's an indelible moment for Tolkien fans, but more importantly, it sets the stage for this curiously murky, moody expansion pack to last year's massively multiplayer The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar. With Mines of Moria, developer Turbine pulls off quite a feat: they make the tight labyrinths and cavernous halls of the mithril mines even more compelling to explore than the rolling hills of Middle-earth. Aside from a couple of new character classes, there's very little incentive for newcomers to join in, particularly given the thin population of the original environs. But for veterans, this is a treasure trove of rewarding questing and clever storytelling, and a must-buy for anyone with a character approaching level 50.Read More
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10