Ever looked at a tricked-out automotive deathtrap then back at a zombie, and think “I want to run over that thing?” Apparently someone did. And so we have Blood Drive, an ingenious combination of vehicular combat and zombie slaying, and I’m actually quite surprised in the wake of the recent surge in popularity of the shambling undead that this hadn’t been done to this scale before now. Then again, considering the low-quality, rampant stereotypes, and mediocrity this game exudes, perhaps maybe I shouldn’t be too surprised. Sidhe Interactive, responsible for the considerably more competent downloadable offering Shatter, just couldn’t quite make the grade here. And for a game which such a promising premise as “run over zombies,” that’s kind of sad.
All posts in Impressions
Impressions: Blood Drive
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Impressions: Just Dance 2
I can see exactly why the Just Dance series has become the phenomenon it is, but you’d think people would see through its clever ruse. It’s asking you to follow choreographed on-screen moves while simply holding a single Wii remote as it tracks your steps and grades you accordingly. You could just as easily recreate the experience by surfing over to YouTube and partaking in one of the many dance tutorials sprinkles throughout the website, sans a scoring method. Still, many of us have been helpless under its groovy charms, and that attraction isn’t likely to stop as Ubisoft has just released its first true sequel, Just Dance 2. We can’t help ourselves! It gives us a license to look silly! And believe it or not, it’s fun!
Impressions: Fallout: New Vegas
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In my PC heyday, I powered through the original Fallout incarnations. I was younger and found them slightly cumbersome, but I reveled in the life of a vault-dweller. Then Fallout 3 surfaced and turned my world upside down. As finicky as its enormous, detail-rich world could be, Bethesda Game Studios’ near-masterpiece was a vast improvement upon the classic installments in many ways, making it so much more than just, as many put it, Oblivion with guns. And I eagerly sat down to play it the following Christmas right after its release, basking in its newness and uniqueness.
Impressions: Rocketeer
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Rocketeer is billed as an “extreme physics” puzzler, though it’s anything but extreme. In reality, it’s a subdued and often routine travel “thinker’s game” for the iOS (iPhone/iPad) that has little to offer in the way of graphics or plotline, but serves up 80 levels for eager gamers to plow through in a hurry. It’s nothing particularly standout, but once you start playing it can be tough to tear yourself away. And that’s where they get you, isn’t it?
Impressions: Halo: Reach
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Not long ago, I finished the fight…or so I thought. This September, I started it. While this ordering may sound a bit unusual to non-Halo fans, I’m talking about Halo: Reach, Bungie’s final heartfelt love letter to the fans; potentially the last “true” Halo. Considering the series’ massive popularity and rabid fan devotion (myself included) it’d be downright naive to think this the case. Reach is a fantastic and fitting end to the series under their direction (let’s not count ODST, travesty as it was) and an inspiring beginning to an accessible, easy to digest sci-fi saga that will entice you with tales of an epic narrative and keep you playing with solid multiplayer action through Xbox Live. It’s hardly perfect, but it’s very much Halo; noticeably tightened, nipped, and tucked. Its multiplayer mode will be remembered – and played – for years to come, as with the previous titles in the saga. But is it the conclusion series loyalists deserve?