Recent reviews by Burt Macklin

This is, quite simply, Brutal Doom in idTech6.

Navigation feels like a refined cross between Far Cry 3/THEIF - narrative cutscenes blended into first person interactions with enhanced animations for things like opening doors, climbing, combat, etc. with the ability to free-roam and parkor nearly everything. I appreciate the developers not highlighting 'parkour-able' ledges and buildings - if that were the case the entire game world would be highlighted. Did I mention you get a 'Just Cause 2-style' grappling hook?

The Parkour has a small learning curve - but once you spend a few minutes practicing and experimenting, you'll be pulling off acrobatic feats that would make an Elven Rogue blush. Be advised the parkour is most certainly not a pigeon-holed gameplay gimmick, it's integral to the very essence of the gameplay.

Experience gains and talent trees are a refreshing change of pace - the player accumulates three different pools of experience: Survivor (quests), Agility (parkour), and Power (combat) by successfully performing actions in those pools. You're gaining individual experience pools and levels by completing missions/quests, parkouring and fighting infected. Once you've leveled a pool, you can spend a talent in that pool's tree - which has an 'omni-directional' approach, much like 'Beyond Earth's' Tech Web.

Loot in the world is meaningful - unlike games like Far Cry, nearly all the loot you get from bodies and containers can be used in some way. Whether it be mundane things like screws and nails or rarer objects like electronics or power cords - these items are used to craft a slew of armaments; you can even 'craft' Air Strikes from an exploration-based hidden pattern.

Day/night cycle turns day-time-dust-for-brains-shamblers into blood-thirsty-nocturnal-murder-machines - Squiggly Death's review put it as concisely as possible: "'The Walking Dead' by day, 'I Am Legend' by night;". Playing this game at night, with no lights and a high-end headset, while be chased through the game at night by the hunter, through a rainstorm instilled an honest sense of PANIC in me.

Modding is now officially supported - after a "mistake" in a recent patch, Techland recalled the ability for mods, citing copyright infringement. After a universal player backlash - mods are now fully supported in an official Techland statement. "Mistake" or not - being able to mod an open-world-parkour sandbox is going to be amazing; (points to Skyrim).

tl;dr - horror fans can unite around this solid title. If the $60 price tag is too steep, put it on your Wishlist and pick it up on a Steam Sale. You will not be disappointed.

Super Mario meets Walking Dead. Best $3 I've ever spent on a Steam Sale.

Smooth, fast-paced, space combat with full controller support and an AMAZING soundtrack.

A surprisingly beautiful and interactive world with a slew of item and ability upgrades worthy of a Square-Soft game. The gameplay makes up for a weak and predicatble story, giving the character a free-roam-esque style world with 'Assassin's Creed'-like mobility.

Definitely worth picking up on a Steam sale for an enjoyable 10-hour Single Player experience.

7/10

While being the first Bioshock game I've played, it certainly won't be the last. This was one of the most brilliant storylines I've ever experienced. Play. This. Game.

Tired of having a social life? Are the pressures of keeping a job and good hygiene becoming too much? Skyrim can help with that.