Recent reviews by sunbeak_vendo

Solid mini-metroidvania game with good controls, interesting levels to explore, and an air of nostalgia. Certainly a bargain, even at full price. I've had fun with it.

The controls are awkward, the plot is silly, every boss and strong enemy requires a WarioWare-esque minigame to defeat, and the art style is Myspace Emo Girl circa 2007.

Wouldn't recommend at full price, get it on sale. Regardless of whether you use a controller or keyboard / mouse, it's still clunky, though, which is the part that really ruins it for me.

6 / 10

At full price this game is $3.00 and comes with Cthulhu Saves the World, which is basically the better version of this game. It'll probably take you less than 6 hours to beat. It's a NES-style RPG that pays homage to other famous old-school RPGs. Think Final Fantasy, Shining Force, etc.

The combat and writing leaves a bit to be desired, which is unfortunate as that's most of the appeal of games like this, but both have their moments. Each character gets its own combo attack with another member of the party, which is kinda cool.

There's not a lot of other things I can say, which makes this review pretty similar to the game itself.

6.5 / 10

Borderlands is a hybrid FPS / RPG that combines elements of Diablo, Halo, and the old Mad Max movie series. It tells the tale of 4 mercenaries, called Vault Hunters, who scour the planet of Pandora searching for an ancient alien vault, rumored to contain treasure and power beyond belief. Along the way, they battle bandits, soldiers, monsters, and aliens, all the while helping out different townsfolk and eccentric scientists who are always offering weapons and cash in exchange for work.
The game is huge and offers a multitude of quests, literally millions of different guns, and four distinct classes that all manipulate the battlefield differently. It can be played solo, but co-op is encouraged and can add many extra hours of replayability. It's extremely enjoyable, has great storytelling although you'll be reading most dialogue, rather than listening to it , features a New Game+ mode, and has quite a few epic set pieces.
However, despite this, the original Borderlands is lacking in quite a few areas that make later entries in the series so spectacular...

Charismatic, hilarious villain? Nah.
Gripping storyline with plot twists and unexpected deaths? Nah. well, Steele, I guess...
Tons of great voice acting and dialogue? Not so much.
DLC out the ass that really expands the universe? Eh... Knoxx and Claptrap's, maybe...
Huge differences between gun manufacturers and the need for high level gear? Surprisingly, no.

But what this game lacks in what many consider the defining traits of this series, it makes up for in something else...

It has Brick as a playable character.

You see that badass enemy over there? Big dude? Definitely gonna shred your ass if you try and rush him?

Brick will uppercut that guy so hard his head will pop off explode. The soul of Mr. Torgue lives in Brick's hands, and ♥♥♥♥ goes boom whenever those beautiful meat hunks connect with any fleshy or armored surface.

You see that boss over there that will blast you if you even think about coming out of cover?

Brick punches the cover. Brick then runs over to the boss. Brick punches the boss's family, friends, and entire religion. Then Brick punches the boss. The boss is now dead. The universe doesn't even register the fact that the boss ever existed.

Brick does not care about being shot. Brick does not care how badass an enemy is. Brick will punch that enemy, all the while being filled with bullets, and that enemy will die be erased from history.

Borderlands GOTY Edition is often on sale for $8. For the price of some crappy buttrock album at WalMart; for the price of some crappy latte from Starbucks; for the price of a new pair of underwear (which you aren't going to wear anyway), you can own what is arguably one of the greatest games of all time.

And you can be Brick.

Buy this game. Experience Borderlands in all its glory. Be Brick. Punch things. Win forever.

This is a strange little game about stepping into the shoes of other people (and potentially murdering them). There's nothing very complicated about it; you interact with objects and NPC's to discover more about them, the town, and what exactly it is that's going on. The story is interesting and a bit humorous, the soundtrack is simple but pretty, and there's just enough going on to keep you interested in what happens to everybody. Unfortunately, the game is quite short, and even with 2 hours under my belt I've played through it three times and gotten all of the achievements. For the full price, that's not really worth it.

6 / 10, but only due to simplicity and extremely short length. Get it on sale, it's a neat idea that lacks depth, but still deserves some attention.

Reus is one of the best chill time games I've ever played. After a long day, the beautiful art, relaxing music, and simple mechanics are really nice to sit down and immerse yourself in. The humans can become a tad frustrating to work with as village upgrades seem to be randomized to a degree, and after a while some villages will try and kill the others no matter what, but it's pretty satisfying when you've completed a high level project, your towns are flourishing, and nobody wants to go to war. The game is pretty addictive, but since most game modes have time limits you can always get to a decent milestone and have the option to stop, so if you're trying not to sit and play for 8 hours it's also pretty nice about that.

Highly recommended.

8.5 / 10 would destroy entire civilizations with rock giant again

Pretty rad game. More of a spiritual successor to Diablo II than D3 will ever be. There's an interesting skill tree system that reminds me of Final Fantasy X, the currency system is a little weird (but easy to work with), and the actual abilities you learn come from gems that you socket into your armor and weapons. Environments are nicely detailed, although seem a little generic at times. The lore is interesting, but I never found it particularly gripping. For the price, it's one of the best games you can find on Steam.

If you're a fan of Diablo at all, I highly recommend this game. If, however, your internet connection isn't the best, the servers are unforgiving, and I'd sooner recommend Torchlight II (which has an offline singleplayer). In fact, the only glaring negative about this game seemed to be servers that were sometimes too laggy, even when I had a very good connection.

8/10

My shotgun called me a ♥♥♥♥.

10/10