Recent reviews by Gilded Phoenix

This game is a blast to play with a friend in the same room, and rotating plays between friends while egging each other on is tons of fun.

A lot of other reviewers talk about the "balancing" of this asymetric game. Playing Dad, especially if you are unprepared (i.e. have never played before) leads to many very quick Baby deaths. That is exactly the way the game should be. It motivates you to play the best Dad you can, and actually succeeding feels very rewarding because you know it wasn't easy.

Playing Baby is all about instant gratification. How quickly can you ruin Dad's day? And a competant Dad taking away all of your deadly toys creates anger and frustration as you try to find the thing Dad didn't think of yet. Ha, ha! Shouldn't have left the bathroom cabinet unlocked, because now there's a dead baby in it next to an empty bottle of soap.

So yes, it is unbalanced. It's a lot of fun that way, and I hope that doesn't change.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a fun turn-based tactical game with a healthy dash of procedurally-generated material. You level up your soldiers and make tough choices with limited time and resources to defeat the alien invasion of Earth. Like FTL and other rogue-likes, the random-number generator leaves a pretty wonky difficulty curve. So as long as you can take a step back and try to not yell "Bull-s***t!" too loud, you'll have fun.

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is the best Assassin's Creed since II. Many of the superfluous gadgets and tools have been stripped away, giving the game a refreshing "back to basics" feel. The same is true of the labyrinthine story of the previous titles, which is largely ignored through most of Black Flag. The ship combat is a blast. There's tons to explore in the open world, and the free-running gameplay makes navigating these locations easy and fun. So if you like open-world exploration, pirates, and Assassin's Creed gameplay, then this is the title for you.

If you like South Park and turn-based RPGs, then you'll love Stick of Truth. The $60 price tag is steep, but it shows in the quality and detail of the game. You definitely get the feeling the whole canvas was used. There's something amusing to see and interact with around every corner, and it's all hilariously and completely South Park. You may only get 15-20 hours of gameplay, but I guarantee every hour you will have you grinning like an idiot. The vast majority of the game will be easy to most players, but it actually serves to keep the mood light-hearted and fun.

Jazzpunk imagines itself in the same family as classic Leslie Nielsen (Airplane!, The Naked Gun) and Mel Brooks (Blazing Saddles, Spaceballs) films, reveling in absurdity. What Jazzpunk lacks from the classic films it's emulating is sharp timing. To be fair, setting the pace is a lot more difficult in a video game than a movie, and I can respect Jazzpunk for trying, but ultimately, it felt clumsy and awkward. Further held back by a mountain of glitches and unsatisfying controls, I cannot recommend this game.

Updated AI, graphics, and boss fights, as well as some quality-of-life improvements make this the definitive edition of Deus Ex: Human Revolution. There's a pretty good conversation engine here too, especially if you unlock the speech augment.

Bioshock Infinite is the Oscar-bait of video games. A genre-busting, adrenaline-fueled steampunk adventure from beginning to end, Bioshock Infinite succeeds in just about every way.

New gadgets, new combos, and new villains abound in this "bigger and better" sequel to Arkham Asylum. While it doesn't quite capture the atmosphere of the first game, it is a great sequel.

The best "blow stuff up real good" game ever made. The grappling hook and parachute combo give you amazing freedom on foot (or in air) and make seizing vehicles a breeze. Throw logic out the window: this is the type of game where you grapple on a moving car, ramp it into the air and crash it into a building, jump out in midair to grapple to a helicopter, and then set off the plastic explosives you attached to the car.

While the tower defense minigame is lame, Constantinople comes alive with a vibrancy parallel to Brotherhood's Rome. The middle eastern architecture harkins back to the cities of the first Assassin's Creed, while giving us the upgraded gameplay of the later games. The hookblade, while silly at first, grew on me. It's a fun, if gimmicky, new tool.