PC Reviews

Crytek is a studio known for pushing the technological envelope in game development. The Crysis series in particular has become infamous for its incredibly demanding system requirements, alongside its staggering visual realism. With the third and possibly final numbered entry in the series, Crytek is looking to give the story a fitting conclusion, while proving to the world that they are the undisputed kings of gaming graphics.

Lara Croft is a gaming icon, a woman that, in the nineties, became the very symbol of video gaming and its place in society. Although many of the people who saw her in newspapers and magazines couldn't tell you that she came from a video game called Tomb Raider, they certainly recognized her face (and, perhaps, other part of her anatomy). The fame didn't last, and it didn't take long for the Tomb Raider franchise to drop in sales, and for Lara Croft to stop featuring on the cover of magazines. The last game in the series, Underworld, received mixed reviews ...

Football Manager 13 was released last September, just in time to cause poor exam results up and down the country this year. A crown I’m sure it was keen to keep from last year, as the Football Manager series has always been a favourite of the side-tracked student turned PC gamer. Some have even called it an addiction, but will this year’s instalment keep you hooked?

When Braid hit the Xbox, it was a wake up call to indie developers. Smart and simple games could flourish in this new generation of high-powered graphics. The Bridge is an indie 2D puzzle game where players control time and gravity to guide a man through a distorted world of M. C. Escher geometry. The Bridge owes much to Braid, both for paving the way for other indie games, but also for the quiet thoughtful tone that both games share.

Shootmania Storm was announced at E3 last year and then was instantly forgotten. Lost amongst talk of Assassin’s Creed 3 and Watch_Dogs, Shootmania didn't seem to offer an awful lot. A short match between two teams of pro-gamers did little to glue it into the minds of gamers, especially those not interested in yet another shooter. The beta shortly after displayed a game that was utterly unique but without enough depth to keep your mind from wondering back to your comfort title.

Baldur's Gate is often regarded as one of the finest role-playing games in existence. Initially released in 1998, it was BioWare's second title and proved to be influential not only for BioWare's later works but for other Western RPG developers. With a strong emphasis on storytelling and customization, Baldur's Gate paved the way for other RPGs to follow in its footsteps and ultimately change the landscape of the RPG genre.

Roguelikes can be an acquired taste. The randomness, the perma-death, and the genre’s notorious difficulty can leave a bitter taste in the mouths of some gamers. Well-crafted titles like FTL, however, can embrace these conventions and come up with a demanding but truly rewarding gameplay experience. FTL is a highly addictive blend of action and strategy that, for $10, you simply cannot afford to miss.

Battlefield 3 is a first person shooter from the development company Dice, and was the showcase game for their new graphics engine, the fabled Frostbite 2. The game features a compelling campaign based on a United States marine who is arrested on suspicion of murder and for ‘apparently’ assisting Iranian ultra-nationalists in nuclear terrorism. We follow Sergeant Blackburn as he tries to save the world from re-entering the Cold War. Battlefield 3 is most revered however for its expansive multiplayer, which, like all previous Battlefield games, has redefined ...

Saints Row III seems like a hard sell. It’s essentially “Grand Theft Auto… But More OUTRAGEOUS” and it’s easy to imagine consumers thinking that GTA is already sufficiently outrageous. However, while the GTA franchise uses satire as a form of comic relief, that series is really a gritty crime drama at heart. Saints Row The Third is actually the opposite of Grand Theft Auto. Saints Row The Third is almost entirely focused on comedy with just a pinch of seriousness; it’s a game where players can team up with Burt Reynolds to fight Mexican wrestlers, zombies and ...

The space shooter genre is relatively uncommon these days. In the 90s and early 2000s, though, they were a dime a dozen. These games were a staple in any PC gamers collection and recently there has been some minor interest in revitalizing the genre. Born Ready Games is composed of developers that obviously have an intrinsic love for arcade-style space shooters, and their Kickstarter-funded game Strike Suit Zero sets out to accomplish this daunting task. Story