Recent reviews by Kieran

Though it has level design by Lucifer and more guns than a russian child's christmas list, Hotline Miami 2 is still an amazing game.

The story is great, using a Pulp Fiction-style narrative that connects different characters (all with their own hidden motives and secrets). It made me sympathise with (almost) everyone, while hating most of them at the same time. The Pulp Fiction aproach allows the game to show different motives and viewpoints, expanding your understanding of the good and the evil of the world. The problem that arrises is how the story is SO expansive that most ambigious themes are lost. The great thing about HM1's story is that you feel so small in a big plan you know nothing about. You felt very in the dark, whereas in HM2, you're in so much light it's like San Fransisco in 1986 (If you've played the game, you'll get me). When the first game fed you small bits of infomation through the environment, cryptic messages and newspaper clippings, HM2 DUMPS infomation on you and you must put the pieces together. It still has the whole "stitch the story together yourself" theme but I don't think it really went about it in the right way.

The gameplay is pretty damn amazing, it is the peak of stylized ultra-violence in my opinion, nothing really beats it. The problem however is the level design. The level design lets down the gameplay SO much, when the gameplay is all about horrific melee massacres, the design supports playing peek-aboo with an AK47. When HM1 was all about tight spaces and small roomed, complex houses, HM2 has FAR too many open spaces.

The soundtrack is AMAZING. It took the first games award-winning audio and expanded on it, which is all we could really ask for. It SCREAMS the high octane feeling of the game in a way that fits perfectly with the brutal gameplay. Different characters have different music styles that reflect them, which I think works really well in the whole "stitch the story together" theme. The music really says things without words, if you listen and think about the context (or I've played a little too much).

So, to sum up, I would reccomend Hotline Miami 2 to anyone who enjoyed the first game and wants more raw, bloodthirsty action, and some closure (and more questions) on certain parts of the story. Though it is not as good as the first game in my opinion, it is still an epic-ly brutal game on its own.

Imagine a game run on the simple princible of causing chaos; welcome to Panau.

I decapitated 7 Vietnamese soldiers with my boomerang before it gracefully glided back into my hand.

10/10

Ah, Team Fortress, hello friend. As you may be able to see I play this game on regular basis and there is a solid reason for that; this game is bloody amazing.

What do I hate most about so many FPS games these days? THERE SO SERIOUS! Jesus christ, the reason Borderlands took off so well is because how DIFFERENT it was. The FPS genre has became a stale pile of grey, serious colour schemes and weird Kevin Spacey animations. Team Fortress 2 breaks this stale trend; it throws piss at it, hits it with a fish and gives it a hat to make it feel better.

So, what makes this game SO different. Well, the obvious reason, THE ART STYLE. This pixar-like art style makes everything look so fun and vibrant. Unlike games like Battlefield 3-4, these classes are easy to tell apart, all with very different features and looks. Secondly, the humour! This game is such a great example of satire done well. It makes everything that is normally serious, gritty and dark, comedical and fun. The random dialog that comes out of the Sniper's mouth will never cease to make me laugh. Finally, the gameplay! Bloody hell is this gameplay refined to perfection. It takes the most important aspects of an FPS game and refines them to their peak. Everything works so well and the class/weapon balance (except for the Pyro, at times) is just so perfect!

So, get this game. It's free. There is no logical explanation for you not to buy this, just do it!

(BTW the way this game just might be better than Hotline Miami and if you know me, that's pretty had to beat)

Guns of Icarus Online is an excellent game that promotes team building and co-operation that many multiplayer experiances today sadly lack. Guns of Icarus Online soars above other team management games as it gives each player on the ship a job to do that will bring their airship crumbling to the ground if they do not do correctly. Unlike for instance, Call of Duty, it is absolutly crucial that you work as a team in the battles as it is the team with the best co-operation that will win most battles. To adress the elephant in the room, there is quite a bit of movement lag when using an average gaming PC like myself but if you experiance movement lag I would highly reccomend playing as an engineer as that is the class best suited to your connection disablilitys. I would lastly like to note that it is highly suggested to own something to talk into, such as a headset, webcam or microphone as this makes the team co-operation much easier. I would reccomend this game to anyone who enjoys co-operation in multiplayer experiances, games such as Team Fortress 2 and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six series.

Though Realm of The Mad God may be an excellent game, I have no idea, I found many connection issues while trying to play. This may be due to servers being located in a reach from the UK or just my internet connection but sadly, I cannot reccomend this game as my experiance was very poor.

The Binding of Issac is a fun dungeon crawler that brings the rogue-like genre back to it's roots. The Binding of Issac understands how pacing works and that players need to spend most of the game gearing up for the final boss battle. It mixes a memerable soundtrack with an intriguing art style to create a difficult yet nostalgic game that will keep you playing for hours. While I am on the subject of The Binding of Issac, the DLC, Wrath of The Lamb, adds TONS more content for the mere price of £1.99. This is how I believe expansion packs should be handled rather than the current expectation of "a couple more skins". I would reccomend this game to gamers who enjoy dungeon crawlers, intense soundtracks and a beautiful aethstetics style.

Borderlands 2 is a fun trek through beautiful landscapes and hilarious encounters. It understands comedic value, something Gearbox have learnt from reviews of a game we would all like to forget, and uses it to lighten the feeling of a first person shooter. The 4 player co-op makes the game expandable to groups of friends who want to blast the heads of bandits into oblivion arm-in-arm. The beautiful aethstetics style gives a refreshing change from the average hyper-realistic shooter. I would reccomend Borderlands 2 to anyone who enjoys a light-hearted journey through the stunning visuals of Pandora.

Spelunky is a rogue-like platformer that takes the addictive nature of permanent death to a whole new scale. Spelunky shows the player the consequences of greed as you will learn throughout the game. This truly epic title blends platforming with rogue-like elements to create a geniunly challenging experiance that forces the player to become paranoid of every fall.

Hotline Miami is my favourite game of all time. The story alone is something all other games need to look at for inspiration on how to do it right. The intense gameplay mixed with the heart-pounding soundtrack make you feel so powerful but the story makes you feel so vunrable, a pawn in someones scheme. I would recommend this game to anyone ever born.