Nik's Game Reviews

Garshasp Temple of the Dragon Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Manolov) — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 14:28:00 +0000

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Garshasp Temple of the Dragon is a simple spectacle fighter.

The story starts with Garshasp and his wimpy brother going in the Temple of the Dragon, in search of the Mace of Trit. Now that is the first problem - this game has a story. Its a problem, because of two things - the worst voice acting i have heard in a long time, and unskippable cutscenes.

The game would have being better, if the story wasn't there at all.

At least the gameplay is better then the story, but not by a lot. The biggest problem is that there is no camera control, therefore you will find your self making blind jumps, or being hit by an enemy you didn't saw, and this gets really frustrating after a while.

Also Garshasp Temple of the Dragon is a really slow burner, because you dont have access to your cool attacks at the start, you have to unlock them by leveling. You cant get to the interesting part, without dying of boredom.

As far as combat goes its standard spectacle fighter like Devil May Cry, or God of War, but its just not as good. This mostly comes from the bad sound effects, that make you feel weak and puny, instead of making you feel like a bad ass, killing machine.

To add insult to injury, Garshasp is plagued by frame dropping, even on the lowest settings and this makes me think that this game is more of a joke than anything else.

To top it all of, Garshasp Temple of the Dragon is a disappointing and boring experience.

I hope you liked my review of Garshasp Temple of the Dragon .
If you did, comment, share with your friends, like me of facebook, or follow me on twitter.
My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

Dogfight 1942 Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Manolov) — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 14:04:00 +0000

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Dogfight 1942 is an arcade flight sim set in world war II.

Do i really need to know about the story? You are a pilot in WW2, you must follow orders, engage is aerial dogfights, and complete missions. That is all you need to know to enjoy the game.

Before i start the review, i want to point out the this game is best played with a xbox 360 pad, and i strongly recommend using one. Also there is no built-in in joystick support.

The most important thing in a flight sum is the plane handling and i am happy to say that Dogfight 1942 doesn't disappoint. All of the planes have weight, inertia and they cant turn on a dime, this makes them believable and enjoyable to fly. For fans of WW2 planes, the game also provides a large selection of over 20 planes.

The sense of speed is also fairly good, because of effects like zooming out, and motion blur. And this is where my first complaint come is, the game has too much motion blur, and no option to turn in down.

Now lets talk a bit about the guns. Every plane has several machine guns, rockets ,and if the mission requires it - bombs. I would like to point out the the bombs hit detection is kind of bugged, and sometimes when you hit the target - it doesn't take any damage.

Still the weapons feel very destructive, because of the good sound and visual effects. Probably half of the budget went in to the explosions - they are just very detailed and beautiful.

Now i can tell you where the budget was extremely small - writing and voice action. Some of the lines are really really bad, because they tried to imitate the military lingo of the '40s and they failed completely. They also failed in the british accents, which are juts horrible. At least the american accents are a bit better - i can listen to they without wanting to kill myself.

But the biggest problem i have with the game, is that it runs terrible. Even on my middle class PC is lag and stutters, on minimum setting. And that is just unexceptable, when i know for a fact that this PC runs better looking games, without this bugs. I hope that this gets resolved soon, so i can give this game a positive recommendation.

To top it all of, Dogfight 1942 is a fun, fast arcade flight sim, with some serious performance issues, and terrible voice acting.

I hope you liked my review of Dogfight 1942.

If you did, comment, share with your friends, like me of facebook, or follow me on twitter.

My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

Gotham City Impostors Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Manolov) — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 14:19:00 +0000

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Gotham City Impostors is a multiplayer FPS, that takes place in Gotham City.

The setting is really unusual and unique. For some reason Batman and Joker are gone. Therefore some of Gotham's citizens dress as Batman, and continue his mission of protecting the city. But every "hero" needs a villain, so the criminal organizations cosplay as Joker, is an effort to bring chaos to Gotham.

As you can probably see it is a funny, batshit crazy story, that doesn't take itself seriously.

This craziness is present in every aspect of the game, from the funny tutorial, to the impractical costumes. For example, you can have a fat Joker, wearing a kilt. You can have a skinny Batman, with a bat symbol taped to his chest.

This game will just make you smile.

But what really matters is the gameplay, and it doesn't disappoint one little bit. The weapons have great sound effects, which gives you the feeling of power, every time you shoot. I can even go as far, as to say that it feels better the Call of Duty in some places.

But the thing that really sets Gotham City Impostors apart from other modern military shooters, is the gadget systems. They are usually things that utilize thevertical elements of a map, like a Grapple Gun, or a Jetpack. That type of vertical play is usually a feature of arena shooter, like quake, so its nice to see it making a comeback.

One of the problems that the game has, is that it doesn't know what it wants to be. Some of the weapons are strange and funny, like the slingshot that fires grenades, or the cannon that shoots homing parrots. And on the other side, you have normal machine guns, SMGs and Sniper Rifles, and that is boring, I would really like to see the developers embracing the batshit crazy nature of the game, and give us crazy weapons.

Speaking of Sniper Rifles, that is the only imbalanced thing that i have seen so far, and i really hope that it gets fixed soon, because it really gets on my nerves.

Now, since this game is free-to-play, on PC, i have to address their model. I can very happily say that it is not pay-to-win. You can get every non-cosmetic item, if you just play for free. But if you decide to pay, you can get XP boosts, cosmetic stuff and items don't impede the balance in any way.

Still as other free-to-play games the matchmaking is a bit of a problem. If you want to play Team Deathmatch, good because that is the only mode that you can get enough people. If you want to try Capture The Flag, or Kill Confirmed, you just cant.

To top it all of, Gotham City Impostors is a game with a lot of customization, good sense of humor and fun combat.

I hope you liked my review of Gotham City Impostors.
If you did, comment, share with your friends, like me of facebook, or follow me on twitter.
My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

Borderlands 2 Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Manolov) — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 13:36:00 +0000

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Borderlands 2 is a FPS, RPG with a metric tone of weapons.

The story is set after the opening of the Vault from the first game. Because of it, the world of Pandora now has Eridium, which is extremely valuable mineral. Also for some reason there is another Vault filled with treasures, just waiting to be discovered.And of course your are a Vault Hunter searching for the Vault.

When you start the game, you get a vision from the Guardian Angel. She tells you to follow some ClapTrap, just like in the first game.

Then comes the first problem i have with the game - the first 2-3 hours are boring as hell. No interesting characters, weapons, or locations. The game really kicks off when you get to the city of Sanctuary. The game is a really slow burner, but once you get to the city the story, characters and cheesy jokes get much better.

Now gameplay, that is the second problem i have with Borderlands in general. The weapons feel weak, with very small recoil and bad sound effects. This makes the game really boring, especially if you are playing alone. So if you dont have friends to play it with, you will probably hate it.

One good thing that i can say about weapons, is that they starts getting cool effects, much earlier then in the first game, but that is about it.

Another big gameplay problem, is the vehicle handling. Who was the genius who taught that you should steer with the mouse, for the PC revision? This kills all enjoyment, you may have had in a vehicle.

Still Borderlands 2 deserves to be praised for the PC port. Its is perfect in every way - from the massive array of video options, to the gampley options. You can adjust the gameplay to your preferences, and that certainly wasn't the case with the first game.

The RPG elements are close to those of Borderlands 1 - a talent tree with lost of passive effects, many randomly generated weapons that you change frequently, and a fairly interesting side quest.

To top it all of, Borderlands 2 is more of the same, therefore if you liked the first game, you will love this one, but i certainly did not.

I hope you liked my review of Borderlands 2 .

If you did, comment, share with your friends, like me of facebook, or follow me on twitter.

My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Manolov) — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 13:26:00 +0000

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD is a HD remake of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2. What else could it be?

As the name would suggest, this is a game about skateboarding. You have to do tricks and complete missions in 2 minutes. The objectives range from getting the high score, to collecting letters of SKATE. Its a compelling and well executed concept.

This remake has the same fluid and satisfying gameplay of the original games, with added improvements like better animation quality and, of course, HD textures.

Since this game contains two game, they are not 100% complete. There are only 7 maps,but this is a good thing, since these are the best maps.

Due to legal issues is the soundtrack is not the same (list of songs) the only song from the original games is Superman. It is still a good soundtrack, but its just not the same.

But the biggest missing thing is the map editor. I loved making my own maps in the old games, and i am king of sad that i cant do it in this game.

The thing the made me rage the most, however, is the atrocious PC port. I haven't seen a worst port in years, no graphical options AT all, no resolution change, no Vsync, and no Windowed mode. Also you cant rebind the keys. If you want to change anything, you have to edit the .ini filed manually, and that is just unacceptable.

At least it works with a 360 pad, cuz god knows that its impossible to play Tony Hawk games with a keyboard. Take this is a warning, don't buy this game, if you don't have a 360 pad (or something similar)

To top it all of, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD is a very good HD remake with a terrible PC port.

PS:THPS3 DLC has being announced, and i am kind of exited, because 3 and 4 where my favorite games from the series.

I hope you liked my review of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD.

If you did, comment, share with your friends, like me of facebook, or follow me on twitter.

My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

Black Mesa Source Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Manolov) — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 14:15:00 +0000

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Black Mesa is a source mod, that completely re-imagines the original Half-Life.

You probably know the story of this classic, but for those who don't - a crash course. You play as the Gordon Freeman, a theoretical physicist who works in Black Mesa. One of the experiments creates a resonance cascade, and aliens appear. Have fun escaping the facility.

As i pointed out Black Mesa is a re-imagines, not just a HD texture pack, that means that a lot of things are changed. The first changes become obvious, as soon as you start the game. The train ride is even cooler then before, showing a lot of the experiments happening in Black Masa. It takes exactly the same path, as far as i can tell, and its a feast for the eyes with all of the new HD textures.

The thing the really impressed me was the lobby. It had a lot more offices, and people who where just talking about physics, experiments, or just some small talk. This made the game much more immersive and believable.

This is how the entire game is, all of the maps are based on the originals Half-Life, but some of the things are changed slightly.

Some of the game mechanics are also a bit different. The largest and most notable is running. Its the only change that cant be turned off, because you need it for some of the platforming sections.

The changes also include Iron sight for some weapons, auto-aim (who even uses that?), and others, and they can be turned off, if you want a cleaned, simpler experience.

I found some minor bugs in the mod, but nothing game braking. For example some of the enemies, sometimes shoot threw wall and also you allies are total idiots, just like they where in 1998.

I left the best part for last - its FREE. All of that excellent content, new voice acting, HD textures, new animation and much more for free. I advice everyone to try it, because you have nothing to lose. You can find a guide of how to install it here.

To top it all off, Black Mesa Source is the best mod i have seen, and its perfect for people that are looking for experience an close to that of the original Half-Life.

I hope you liked my review of Black Mesa Source .

If you did, comment, share with your friends, like me of facebook, or follow me on twitter.

My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

FTL: Faster Than Light Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Manolov) — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 16:18:00 +0000

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

FTL: Faster Than Light is a space roguelike-like with interesting gameplay and a lot of replay value.

The story is simple and kind of a cliche. You carry important information for the Federate fleet and for have to get to them, before the Rebel fleet catches up with you. A simple task, if the Federate fleet wasn't on the other side of the universe.

On your journey you will have to overcome a lot of obstacles, which will probably kill you a lot of times.

The game will have you managing your crew and ship systems while you fight. This happens in a top-down, RTS view of your ship.

The ship itself is split in to room, and some of them house important equipment, like life support, shields and others. Some of these systems work better, if you have a crew member operating them and this is where my first problem with the game lies. There are only four systems like that, so when you get four crew members, you will never move them unless there is some extreme situation, like fire.

When you are in combat, you don't command your ship's movement, but rather which of the enemy's systems to target. Your goal is to destroy their hull, before they destroy yours. Of course you have to deal with other matters as well, like boarding parties, repairing any equipment that is damaged, by the enemy, and others. This are the fight mechanics, in a nut shell.

You can also upgrade your ships using scraps that you get from fallen enemies. Scraps are also currency, with which you can buy new weapons, parts and others, therefore you have to manege how you spend the scraps.

As a previously mentioned you will die a lot, because the game is very unfair. But if you complete a curtain task, you can unlock new ships,with different starting weapons, and installed systems. This gives the game a lot of replay value.

Now one of the biggest problems i have with the game, is that there are only hotkeys from your weapons. You cant hotkey your crew, your drowned, or clocking system. This can make micro a real pain.

To top it all of, FTL: Faster Than Light is an interesting game with a ton of things to try and a lot of exploration.

I hope you liked my review of FTL: Faster Than Light.

If you did, comment, share with your friends, like me of facebook, or follow me on twitter.

My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

Unreal Tournament Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Manolov) — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 17:36:00 +0000

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Unreal Tournament is the best arena shooter and FPS i have ever played.

The story is really simple and non-intrusive. There is a tournament - win. Its all told threw one cinematic at the start, and therefore you will have just uninterrupted action threw the entire game.

Being an arena shooter, Unreal Tournament has some common elements to games like Quake or Doom. They include fast and fluid movement system, the ability to carry a lot of weapons, and of course the use of power-ups and health pack threw the level.

The differences to Quake come in the form of firing modes, in Unreal Tournament every weapon has two fire modes, primary and secondary. This can change a weapons function drastically, so its better suited for a specific task.

One of the major downsides to this game, is the fact that no one is playing it online. Fortunately the bot in the game are pretty skilled, not as skilled as a human, but they can still pose quite a challenge.

Another problem with the game are its absolute graphics, they look very bad by today's standards.The was made in 2000 after all, what do you expect? But if you can get passed that, you can have a good time with this game.

One thing i have to point out is the soundtrack. I already made it clear in my "Top 10 Video Game Soundtracks", this game has grate music, and sound effects when it comes to weapons. If you like techno, you will certainly love the soundtrack of Unreal Tournament.

To top it all of, Unreal Tournament can provide a lot of hours of fun in singleplayer, its sad that the same cant be said for multiplayer.

You can get it on GOG.com for $9.99.

I hope you liked my review of Unreal Tournament.

If you did, comment, share with your friends, like me of facebook, or follow me on twitter.

My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

McPixel Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Manolov) — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 14:07:00 +0000

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

McPixel is the funniest point & click adventure i played in a long time.

The idea is simple, but very addicting. You play as McPixel, and your job is to prevent disasters, in the most nonsensical way possible.

Just as an example, in one of the less ridiculous levels, you have to save Titanik, by jumping overboard, and pushing the ship away from the iceberg. The game Is just the silliest thing ever.

The gameplay is the standard point & click formula, with a twist. You have 20 seks, to complete a level, in that time you can do only one action. If you get in wrong, you watch a funny fail animation, and if you get it right, you watch an even funnier success cinematic.

This is one of those games, that are best played with fiends. You just give the game to someone that never played it before, so he doesn't know the answers, and you will have the time of your life.

You will sill enjoy the game, if you are alone, but not nearly as much.

To top it all off, McPixel is a very funny game, if you play it with friends, or alone, its up to you.

I hope you liked my review of .
If you did, comment, share with your friends, like me of facebook, or follow me on twitter.
My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

Shank Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Manolov) — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 13:45:00 +0000

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Shank is a side-scrolling, beat 'em up (or brawler) that is in the style of Streets Of Rage, or Double Dragon.

The game has a classic revenge story. Shank is looking for the murderer of his girlfriend- The Butcher. Its a good, simple and well written story, that will keep you fairly interested.

This is one of the few brawlers, to come out in recent years and its a good one. Shank can perform three attack - light, heavy and range.

For your light attacks, you always use two knifes, a fast, but fairly weak weapon. For your heavy, and range attacks, you can choose from a large selection of weapons, ranging from chainsaws, to shotguns.

Your arsenal also contains grenades and a pounce attack, that lets you grab enemies and do powerful moves on them.

The most important thing for a brawler is combo linking, and Shank has perfected that to the limit. Every time you attack, you feel like a bad ass, because the combos link very nicely together, and the game has very satisfying ragdoll physics.

Also you can juggle someone with your shotgun, and that definitely is a selling point for Shank.

Of course, the game has some issues. For example the tutorial is kind of useless. You learn that you can attack ... but you knew that already. So you have to learn the controls, with testing all of them, or memorizing them from the controls menu.

Also playing with keyboard is hard, so i strongly recommend useing a 360 controller, or some kind of PC pad.

One last thing, this game has a really nice cel-shad graphics style, that reminds me a lot of Borderlands and The Walking Dead.

To top it all of, Shank is a great 2D brawler, that resembles a lot of classic games, but with a modern twist.

I hope you liked my review of Shank.

If you did, comment, share with your friends, like me of facebook, or follow me on twitter.

My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

Battle vs Chess Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Manolov) — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 14:18:00 +0000

Battle vs Chess takes all of the classic chess game and puts a twist on them. As strange as it may seam, this is a chess game with a story - the battle between heaven and hell.

And because of that, everything is very stylized. All of the chess peaces look divine, or infernal, depending on your fraction.

Same goes for the backgrounds. The heaven once are very beautiful with trees, rivers and magnificent buildings. And the hell once have lave, spices and ruins.

Of course, if you don't like that style, you can use normal chess peaces and board.

Battle vs Chess is also has a lot of content. If you are new to the game, there is a fully voice-acted tutorial, that explains the rules of chess fairly good. There are also challenges, that can help you become an even better player.

The game also has two campaigns, one for heaven, and one for hell. Bout of them are eventually more challenges, with some story.

And of course, there is a skirmish mod, that is just a normal, straight up chess game.

This game also has several multiplayer options - online, LAN and local (on the same PC). I just have to warn you that Battle vs Chess is a Games For Windows Live game, so the online play is threw GFWL.

Another problem with the port, is the fact that you can't rebind keys. I know that not a big deal, because the keyboard is for camera control, and you can do that with the mouse. But still it would be nice to see that.

To top it all off, Battle vs Chess is a very stylized chess game, with a lot of content. If you like chess, you will love this game.

I hope you liked my review of Battle vs Chess .
If you did, comment, share with your friends, like me of facebook, or follow me on twitter.
My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

They Bleed Pixels Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Manolov) — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 16:29:00 +0000

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

They Bleed Pixels is an extremely difficult platformer, somewhere along the lines of Super Meat Boy. The twist is that it has combat and an 8-bit graphic style.

The story of They Bleed Pixels is based on Lovecraftian mythos, so expect some weird stuff. The basics come down to, you are a girl that accidently gets involved in to some demonic ritual, that gives you nightmares. In them you are this purple thing, with spikes for hands, and thirst for blood.

But really now, who plays a game like that for the story? Well no one, you play them to test your platfroming skills to the limit, and to feel important when you complete a level. And of course, to rage as much possible, in the meantime.

If you are looking for that, this game will deliver. The platforming is very similar to Super Meat Boy, in the sense that you can stick to walls and jump from them, its also just as unforgiving. But Its a bit slower, because of the combat.

The combat is very violent and over the top, i would describe it as a 2D spectacle fighter. Its all done with one button, and therefore your moves are determined, by your direction and by the button press (hold, or tap).

The fighting gets really diverse, when you start using the environment in your combos. You can kick enemies up in to saws, or impale them on spikes. The game really encourage you, to chain big combos together, because of the checkpoint system.

When you kill enemies, the bar to the top fills up. If you killed them with a big combo, the bar charges quicker. When its full, you can cast a checkpoint. So if you play better - you can use more checkpoints.

The 8-bit style, suits this game very will, because of the weird nonsense in the story. But if you don't like the 8-bit style, you will hate this game.

I found several annoying things in the game. First - no graphic options just windowed mode. It doesn't even have resolution options.

Second - when you are on 1 health (out of 3), the colors change a bit and the music gets kind of echoey. This can get very irritating, if you can't heal for a long time.

And third - the ice blocks make you slide, but they make you slide too much ,and you lose all precise control.

To top it all of, you will like They Bleed Pixels, if you like games like Super Meat Boy, or I Wanna Be The Guy, If you don't, this game is not for you.

I hope you liked my review of .
If you did, comment, share with your friends, like me of facebook, or follow me on twitter.
My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

Jamestown: Legend of The Lost Colony Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Manolov) — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 14:22:00 +0000

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Jamestown: Legend of the Lost Colony is a top-down bullet hell, with a very authentic 16-bit style.

The story of Jamestown is kind of crazy. You are a prisoner who escapes earth, in order to clear his name. You go to Jamestown - a 17th century British colony, set on mars. The colony is currently being attacked, by the Spanish of course, and so you must defend it.

The gameplay is simple, but well polished. You have a primary and a secondary attack, which are ship specific. And every ship has what is called "Vaunt Mode", this makes you immune for a short time.

Of course, bullet hells are all about difficulty, and Jamestown is no exception. One hit, and you die, simple as that. Therefore, you must stay very focused and use your Vaunt Mode very carefully.

The game can be controlled with the mouse, keyboard, or xbox controller. Its usually played best with the mouse, but it all comes down to personal preference and ship choice.

Jamestown also features local (on the same PC), four player co-op, which can be quite fun, if you can get two, or three of your friends to play with.

The best, or worst part for some people is the 16-bit style. If you love that that SNES feel, Jamestown probably has what you are looking for. If you hate the 16-bit style, then you will hate this game.

I personally love it, and so i love how they used it in Jamestown.

The only problem i can think of, is the lack of LAN, or online multiplayer. But still, this is the first game from "Final Form Games", so i can't criticise them all that much for that one.

To top it all of, Jamestown: Legend of The Lost Colony is a great, top down bullet hell, with a nice 16-bit style.

I hope you liked my review of Jamestown: Legend of The Lost Colony.

If you did, comment, share with your friends, like me of facebook, or follow me on twitter.

My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

Neighbors From Hell 2 On Vacation Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Manolov) — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:34:00 +0000

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Neighbors From Hell 2 is a comedy, strategy game, that takes the good parts from its predecessor, and improves upon them.

In this enhance simulator, you play Woody - the host of a TV show called "Neighbors From Hell ". His job is to ruin his neighbor's vacation, in the funniest way possible, without being caught.

The game takes place on a cruise, that goes threw multiple tourist destinations. This gives you, a lot of environments, to prank Mr. Rottweiler - the neighbor.

As far as gameplay goes, the game has some good ideas, that are executed really well. On every level, the neighbor has a some tourist routine, that almost never changes. And its your job to find a way to screw with his route.

To make that possible, every map has different objects, that can be used.

For example, on one for the levels the neighbor swings on a rope. So you must find a sharp knife, and cut the rope a bit. Next time Mr. Rottweiler swings on it, the rope will tear and he will fall.

One of the most important things about Neighbors From Hell, is to do the tricks fast. That is required, because every time the neighbor falls in to your traps, his rage increases. And the rage decreases, if he has time to calm down. If you want the best score, you need to fill up the rage meter.

Some of the tricks have multiple steps, and you really have to think outside of the box, to make them. But the harder tricks, are by far the funniest.

Now i have to warn you, i had some problems running it on Windows 7, but it was ok after i patched it. Also i have no idea, how it runs on widescreen monitors, because i don't have one.

To top it all of, Neighbors From Hell 2 On Vacation is a intereesting game, with a lot of replay value and some very funny moments.

I hope you liked my review of Neighbors From Hell 2 On Vacation .

If you did, comment, share with your friends, like me of facebook, or follow me on twitter.

My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

Sleeping Dogs Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Manolov) — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 12:45:00 +0000

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Sleeping Dogs is an open world action adventure game, similar to GTA and Saints Row.

You play as Wei Shen, a detective who is undercover in the Sun On Yee gang, a branch of the Triads. For those that don't know, the Triads are a criminal organization, based in Hong Kong and of course the game also takes place in there. So your job is to get inside the gang, find the identity of the bosses and take them out.

The game puts a lot of focus, on grate story telling and excellent voice action, on the main missions.

But you will not be left out, if you want to have some fun, outside the main story line. The game provides a lot of things to do like singing karaoke, cock (rooster) fighting, street racing and much, much more.

Now lets talk gameplay. Guns are kind of a rarity in Hong Kong, so you will be fist fighting most of the time. Sleeping Dogs tries to copy the melee mechanics from Batman: Arkham Asylum and it does so quite successfully. The light and heavy combos, chain really well with your counter attacks. The combat is not quite as fluid as Batman's, but its still pretty good.

But the game also introduces environmental kills. What that means is, that you can grab an opponent and use things like fans, spikes, or doors to kill him. That adds a bit more depth to the fighting and it ultimately makes it more enjoyable.

Now the shooting, is the standard third-person cover bases formula, but with a twist. If you slide over your cover, time slows downs. Its not a very big change, but it makes the game more fun, than other third-person shooters.

Now a little grudge i have with the game, is that there is no good way to fast travel. Yes, there are taxis, but they can take you to a very limited list of places. And if you are not very careful, you will steal the taxi, in stead of going in it.

Fortunately, the driving is so enjoyable, that you will not need a taxi. All of the cars, even the crappie once, accelerate very rapidly and that gives you a real sense of speed. It almost fells like a Need For Speed game.

Now the PC port is kind of a mixed bag. The HD texture pack obviously shows that they made improvements, compared to the console version. But some of the menus can't be used with the mouse, for whatever reason. Still the problem is only in the menus and in the open world part.

To top it all of, Sleeping Dogs is a good game all around. Excellent story, enjoyable fighting and amazing driving, make it the first open world game, of this type, that i have liked in a long time.

I hope you liked my review of Sleeping Dogs.

If you did, comment, share with your friends, like me of facebook, or follow me on twitter.

My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

DarkStar One Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Manolov) — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 13:34:00 +0000

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

DarkStar One is a space combat simulator, that stands as an monument of terrible space games.

The story, of this disaster, starts with Kayron Jarvis, the main character, getting the DarkStar One from Robert, a friend of his father. The DarkStar One is an advance ship build by Kayron's father. This ship has the ability to "grow", if it absorbs an alien artifact.

After Robert gives the ship to Kayron, he tells him that his father's death was not an accident, but a murder. And so you must go and find the people responsible.

Along the way you meet with Eona, a beautiful young woman. She is a perfect example of a boring character being in a game, just because she looks good.

I could have forgiven the game for the bad story, if the gameplay was good. Is it? No! All of the guns feel equally bad and they all have the same sound effects - like a BB gun.

And that is a repeating theme in the game. Everything feels the same.

All of the systems, are just a station and some asteroids, or derby flaying around it. All of the enemies have ten lines, or so, that they repeat constantly. And the best part is, that in this vast galaxy there are five, or six ship types and you are all ways stuck with the DarkStar. So if you are looking for variety, you will not find it this game.

Not to say, that the game doesn't have its moments, but they are very few and far between. Still i have to give them credit for the mission, where you attacking a base on some planet. That required some skill, because the corridors were tight and filed with turrets.

I almost forgot, the PC port is also bad. The controls are good, but the graphics are not optimized at all.

To top it all of, DarkStar One is a terrible game, with bad story, god awful gameplay and forgettable characters.

I hope you liked my review of DarkStar One.

If you did, comment, share with your friends, like me of facebook, or follow me on twitter.

My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

Mouse and Keyboard Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Manolov) — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 16:03:00 +0000

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing my mouse and keyboard.

The Trust Red Bull Racing Full-Size Mouse.

Apart from the silly name, the mouse is great. Its very ergonomic, so it will never strain your hand. The two side buttons are very light, easy to press and are supported by most games.

The scroll wheel is bigger the usual and its impossible to slip, because of the rubber lining. Also the 1800 dpi rating is good enough for anything you decide to do.

Now the bad sides. The drivers are absolutely useless, so i don't even install them. They change the side buttons from Mouse 4 and Mouse 5, to the left and right arrow keys. And some games, like WOW, don't support the arrow keys for anything other then moving.

Also after about 2 years, the glue on the left rubber lining, stated to give away and i will have to re-glue it. Maybe its from the heat, i am not really sure.

To top it all of, this mouse is all it needs to be robust, reliable and comfortable.

A4 X7 G800

This sturdy, waterproof beast is probably the best thing in its price range.

This keyboard has 15 additional keys, but some of them are useless, like G13-G15. They are above "home" and "insert" keys, so you will never use them. But you will use the once below and around the space bar, because they are in the perfect place.

Another good feature is the rubber on WASD and the arrow keys. This makes them less slippery then a normal key. And if you dont like them, they keyboard also comes with plastic once, so you can replace them.

They keyboard has one problem, from what i saw for the two years i have it.

In the top left there are two keys,S and D, that adjust the speed and function of they keyboard. But every time you turn your PC off, the G800 forgets its settings. So every time i turn my PC on, i have to re adjust it. Its not difficult, but its can get very annoying.

Some may say that the smaller space bar is a problem, but i don't think so. Why it may be kind of uncomfortable at first, you will quickly get used to it and it will not bother you.

To top it all of, the A4 X7 G800 is an amazing keyboard, with an amazing price. So i highly recommend it to anyone who wants cheaper PC gaming.

I hope you liked my reviews of the A4 X7 G800 and the Trust Red Bull Racing Full-Size Mouse.

If you did, comment, share with your friends, like me of facebook, or follow me on twitter.

My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

Iron Brigade (Trenched) Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Manolov) — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 11:58:00 +0000

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Iron Brigade is a mix between third person shooter and a tower defense game. You may know the game as Trenched, but the name was changed, due to legal issues.

The game starts right after world war one, when a strange radio signal, known as "The Broadcast", kills almost anyone listening to it. The survires of the Broadcast are Frank Woodruff and Vladimir Farnsworth, they bout suffer from a "side effect", that maked them incredibly smart. Frank invents a prosthesis, to help crippled soldiers walk again. And Vladimir invents "The Tube"(the TV), as a way to bring the Broadcast to everyone and conquer the world. And so these two start a war.

Using his legs prosthesis as a base, Frank builds the Trenche. A mobile tank-like mech, that is designed to battle the Tubes, of the evil genius.

So you are a guy that drives one such mech. The problem is that you can't fight alone, so you must use turrets to support you in the fight. This is where similarities to Orcs Must Die come. But instead of traps, you have turrets and instead of spells, you have cannons.This sound like a solid concept. The question is "Is it done will?".

And that answer is a definitive "Yes", Double Fine has done it again. The guns feel like guns, due to the grate sounds and impact effects. The mechs feel like a more arcady version of MechWarrior. They are not as heavy as a mech, but the are not as agile as a human would be. So the developers have stuck a very delicate and enjoyable balance, between nimbler and slower combat.

As some of you may know, this game got a very late PC port and i have to say its pretty good. It has fully rebindable keys and a fair amount of graphics options. But i have to address the elephant in the room - Games For Windows Live. We all know the problems that come with GFWL, hell some people can't buy them legally. I don't know, It may not be a problem for you, but you have being warned.

One more thing i'd like to menthone, is the graphics style. Iron Brigade mixes steampunk with the high tech. Your mech usually looks like "The Wild Wild West" meets world war one and the enemies give me vibes of Protoss. Overall its a very unusual and strange style.

To top it all of, Iron Brigade is a good concept, that is executed correctly and it runs like a well-oiled machine on PC.

I hope you liked my review of Iron Brigade (Trenched).

If you did, comment, share with your friends, like me of facebook, or follow me of twitter.

My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

Darksiders II Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Manolov) — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 09:11:00 +0000

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Darksiders 2 is a spectacle fighter with RPG elements.

The game starts, where the first one left of. War is imprisoned, by the Charred Council, for starting the Apocalypse early and distorting the balance. Death is convinced that his brother, War, is innocent and he wants to free him. So Death makes a deal with the council, that they will free War, if he can resurrect the human race. Kind of ironic, don't you think. Death bringing life back.

Obviously, in Darksiders II you play Death, instead of War. The new character bring a lot of changes to the game. Death is much more agile and athletic then his brother. So the Angel of Death can do acrobatic tricks, like wall running.

But the biggest chance has his weapon. Death uses two scythes, that can be joined in to a double edged scythe.

This makes the combat very unique, because some of the combos use the two faster and smaller weapons and some use the slower single scythe. The chance between the two is very fluid and barely noticeable.

You also have a secondary weapon, that can be an axe, hammer, or anything you find in the world. The secondary weapon adds new combos and more varied combat.

Compared to the first game, the combat is much faster, much smoother and much more enjoyable.

And that is the entire theme of Darksiders II, its has improved. The puzzles are much better design, the acrobatic sections are more intuitive and the water sections are less disorientating. So you get less tings between you and fighting. However the game still has too many puzzles and stupid delays, that will annoy you.

The game also features some RPG-like elements. The vast open world is actually enjoyable to explore on horse back. In it you will find a lot of good side quests, that have some context and purpose.

And the best addition of all - the item system. You can change weapons and armor, if you find better once. Some items can even be upgraded, if you sacrifice the trash you find along the way.

But the system is not without problems. Sometimes its hard to compare two items, because the stats are not explained well.

The one big problem that i have with the game, is that its two easy, nothing can kill you. Even the bosses cant kill you. And the worst part is that on max difficulty, its still too easy.

To top it all of, Darksiders II is a grate game, with improved graphics, better level design and excellent gameplay.

I hope you liked my review of Darksiders II.

If you did, comment, share with your friends, like me of facebook, or follow me of twitter.

My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

DLC Quest Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Manolov) — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 20:49:00 +0000

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing

DLC Quest is a 8-bit style platform and is probably the funniest game i have ever played.

The story of this 8-bit masterpiece is really simple. You are good guy, of course, and you have to save the princess from the bad guy. So if played Mario, you know the very plot. But what you don't know is the answer to the simple question "What happens when DLC goes too far?".

Lest start from the beginning. What is DLC? DLC stands for Downloadable content and its usually designed in such a way, to make you play and get nothing in return.

And so DLC Quest mocks the idea of DLC, in a very satirical and funny way. The game's philosophy is "if you need it, its DLC", and you have to buy it with coins (not real money).

And when i say "if you need it", i mean you will need it. You have to buy DLC's like the "Movement Pack", that features next gen control, like jumping and moving left. You also have to buy things like music and animation. As you probably guessed, this game does not take its self seriously at all.

Things that the game does really well are satire, cynicism and exaggeration. The writing for the game, is just very funny, both in the DLC descriptions and in the conversation with the NPC. All of it is worth reading.

The game is kind of short, you can complete it in about 20-30 minutes, but feels just right. If the game was longer, the jokes would have gotten repetitive. If it was shorter, its not worth the price of $2.

To top it all of, DLC Quest is a great platformer, with a very nice 8-bit aesthetic and some of the funniest writing, ever put in a video game.

I hope you liked my review of DLC Quest.

If you did, comment, share with your friends, like me of facebook, or follow me of twitter.

My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

Warhammer 40000 Space Marine Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Manolov) — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 20:41:00 +0000

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Warhammer 40000 Space Marine is a third-person, spectacle fighter set in the warhammer universe.

The story is set on Forge World Graia, a planet used for weapon production and most notably, the giant "Titan" class robots. The planet is attacked by millions of orcs, so a squad of three space marines is send to take back Manufactorum Ajakis - the Titan production facility.

You play as Captain Titus, the leader of the Ultramarine squad, and your mission is to slaughter thousands of orcs, for the glory of the empire.

Being a space marine, you have a vast array of powerful melee and range weapons. It doesn't matter, if you like getting up close and personal with the chainsword, or you like more the third-person shooting with the bolter, this game has you covered. The combat feels just fun, because of the grate sound assets, the good use of screen shake and the well timed slow motion kills. And i dont know, butchering millions of orcs, always makes me feel good.

As a spectacle fighter, Space Marine is very standard. The combos are not too difficult and the enemies die fairly easy. You can execute orcs, in order to regenerate health and also use fury mode, that makes you hit twice as hard for a short time. So its very similar to games like Devil May Cry and Darksiders.

One of the things i love is that "in the grim darkness of the far future there is only war", no puzzles and no acrobatic tricks. Nothing to stand between you and the best part of the game - fighting (I hope that THQ uses that in darksiders 2).

I criticize a lot of spectacle fighters for this and Warhammer 40000 Space Marine, is no exception. Not enough combos. You can master the entire combo list in about an hour and that is just unacceptable, in my opinion.

Some may ask me, is the game accurate to 40k lore. I'd love to tell you, but i have no idea. I'v never being interested in the 40k universe and everything i know about it can be written on a tee spoon. So you will have to find for your self.

The game also has multiplayer, but its kind of boring, the best part comes when you get to level four. That is when you get to customize the look of you space and chaos marine and there is so much you can do to make the look awesome and unique.

To top it all of, Warhammer 40000 Space Marine is a wonderful spectacle fighter, filled with a lot of blood, gore, violence and a ton of orc slaying.

I hope you liked my review of Warhammer 40000 Space Marine.

If you did, comment, share with your friends, like me of facebook, or follow me of twitter.

My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

Unmechanical Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Manolov) — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 12:55:00 +0000

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Unmechanical is a puzzle game, where you play one of the cutest robots.

The game starts with a cinematic, of you being kidnapped and released in some sort of test facility. I am sick of this cliche, its so overused in puzzle games. Anyway, once in the facility, you have to complete some basic physics based puzzles, that get harder and harder. The only tool you have, is the tractor beam, that can be used to pull and lift objects.

One thing that the game has, is variety. You have weight puzzles, sequence puzzle and some that just require some common sense. What makes them interesting, is the setting of the game. From the adorable robot, to the beautiful backgrounds. From the sound design, to the ambient music. The game just has, so much character its unbelievable.It reminds me of Machinarium and that is never a bad thing.

One of the really grate things about the game, is the lack of UI. The environment, just telegraphs all that you need to know about the puzzles. But, sometimes it can be confusing and you will not know what is background and what is foreground. Another slightly annoying thing, is the with of you're tractor beam, its not wide enough and you have to be very precise, in order to lift something.

To top it all of, Unmechanical is a grate little game, that can be quite relaxing any fan of puzzles can enjoy with ease.

I hope you liked my review of Unmechanical.

If you did, comment, share with your friends, like me of facebook, or follow me of twitter.

My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

Spec Ops: The Line Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Manolov) — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 11:10:00 +0000

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Spec Ops: The Line is a very generic third-person shooter, with some unusual storytelling techniques.

The game starts, right after the biggest sand storm, that ever hit Dubai. The 33rd where send in, to investigate the situation, but they never came back. That is where you come in, as Captain Walker, the commander of a three man Delta force group. At first you're mission is reconnaissance, then it turns to find and rescue. And then it goes FUBAR and no one knows, what the hell is going on.

But what is really interesting and unique, is the way the story is presented. Spec Ops tries to show the horrors of war, in a realistic and believable fashion and it does a pretty good job. For example, if you listen you're enemies talking before combat. You'll realize that they are just like you - soldiers following orders. Another example is the chatter, that you have with your squadmates, Adams and Lugo, and the reflection that the current situation is leaving on them.

I can sit here and give you examples, but its best just to experience it. At then end of the day, that is good story telling and its refreshing to see in a third-person shooter.

Speaking of the part, this gameplay is paynefully standard. Its just cover based shooter, like gears of war, or army of two. There is one interesting mechanic - the storms. When they appear, you're vision is limited, you can't order you squad and you have difficulties when aiming.

One of the better things, is the level design. The ruined five star hotels, converted to refugee camps, really enhance the feeling of destruction, man made, or otherwise.

The graphics also look really good. The lighting and particle effect are of high quality, the textures are really high resolution and the game looks good in general.

To top it all of, Spec Ops: The Line is a third-person shooter, with interesting storytelling techniques and good graphics, bout of them add up to the overall feeling of the game. Alas the gameplay lets it down a bit, because its just too normal, too generic.

I hope you liked my review of Spec Ops: The Line.

If you did, comment, share with your friends, like me of facebook, follow me of twitter.

My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

Kung Fu Strike - The Warrior's Rise Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nik Manolov) — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 13:59:00 +0000

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Kung Fu Strike - The Warrior's Rise is a spectacle fighter, focused on high skill level and good reaction times.

In this terrible story, you play General Loh, a kung fu master who seeks revenge for his father's death. But the problem is that the story is very badly written and very boring. Fortunately the developers knew that, so they included a "disable cutscenes" option, so you never have to care about the "story" ever again.

But what you should care about, is the completely over the top fighting system. On the outside, its pretty simple. Easy to link combos and weak enemies at the start, give you a false sense of security. But when you get further, the real enemies start coming at you and the game really begins.

If you want to survive then, you have to deflect and evade most of the attacks that are coming your way. This takes good really good reaction times, especially on high difficulty levels.

Another skill demanding mechanic is braking an enemy block. It's an easy idea, your opponent will have a combination pop-up above his head and you have to execute it correctly, in order to brake the block. The combinations are simple, "like hold this, then tap that", but if you miss it, or mess it, the enemies will hit you with the force of a speeding truck.

To top it all of, Kung Fu Strike - The Warrior's Rise is a very hard, but fair spectacle fighter, with a very rewarding combat system. Unfortunately has crappiest story of any game i played this year.

I hope you liked my review of Kung Fu Strike - The Warrior's Rise.

If you did, comment, share with your friends, like me of facebook, follow me of twitter.

My name is Nik and i hope you are having a nice day.

Nik's Game Reviews

Garshasp Temple of the Dragon Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Dogfight 1942 Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Gotham City Impostors Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Borderlands 2 Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Black Mesa Source Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

FTL: Faster Than Light Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Unreal Tournament Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Top 10 Video Game Soundtracks

Hi, my name is Nik and today is a good time for a top 10.

McPixel Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Shank Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Battle vs Chess Review

They Bleed Pixels Review

Jamestown: Legend of The Lost Colony Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Neighbors From Hell 2 On Vacation Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Sleeping Dogs Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

DarkStar One Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Mouse and Keyboard Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing my mouse and keyboard.

The Trust Red Bull Racing Full-Size Mouse.

A4 X7 G800

Iron Brigade (Trenched) Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Darksiders II Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

DLC Quest Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing

Warhammer 40000 Space Marine Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Unmechanical Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Spec Ops: The Line Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:

Kung Fu Strike - The Warrior's Rise Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing: