Bastion Review

Ever since I played the XBL Bastion Demo, I knew I would love it. Unfortunately it took 8 months to actually buy it, and I ended up buying it on Steam. So, this review will be for the PC version although the other versions are almost the same, the PC version being more favorable though.

Right from the start of the game you will be amazed by the visuals. The beautiful colors and details forming under your feet as you walk is simply stunning. The soundtrack is just as good; Bastion is one of the few games I actually downloaded the soundtrack after playing. So it looks good; it sounds good; but does it smell good? Err, I mean does it play good? Well the answer is yeah, it plays pretty well. The gameplay isn't necessarily revolutionary but it's pretty good. Once you get used to the mechanics of moving, shooting and what-not it'll feel just fine. There are plenty of weapons and abilities to unlock and upgrade, and some challenges to complete as well.

Not only the story but the storytelling is my favorite thing about Bastion. The story, while to too elaborate or original, is still a very good story by video-game standards and will keep you interested. The storytelling however is just superb and very innovative. Throughout the whole game there is a narrator telling the story as you play it, making the game feel like a visual novel a lot of the time. It should also be said that the voice acting is also great.

Besides that, there is good enemy variety the whole way through. The game is fairly linear, but there are hidden secrets, numerous weapon loadouts, a few choices to be made, etc.. It plays out like an RPG where you level up and get stronger as you play. You'll unlock tons of new things.

The game took me about 6 and a half hours to complete on normal, but I plan to do a New Game+ soon. This game earned a 9.5/10

Shank Review

Shank, a downloadable XBLA/PSN game about some guy who's wife is murdered and then he goes and gets his revenge. The story reminds me a lot of Kill Bill, or any other one of the thousands of revenge movies out there. But the story is still good, and it is very well delivered. The story isn't too complex or mind-bending or anything, but it's a fun ride, just like Action movies. The cutscenes are what makes it especially interesting, it feels almost as if you're watching an animated movie. Also, excellent voice-acting should be noted.

The plot isn't very innovative and neither is the gameplay. But that's okay because that's not the point of this game. The gameplay, which is comparable to Metal Slug, is still very good. You have numerous heavy and light melee weapons, numerous guns, grenades, and a pounce move, all of which will help you kill bad guy after bad guy. The single-player took only 3 hours to complete, which is good because I'm sure if it was longer it would have began to get boring and repetitious. Since the game is short (I actually beat it in one sitting) it never feels boring or stale. The boss fights, cutscenes, and new weapons keep it fresh. Plus the games beautiful graphical style is always a joy to look at.

The game also has a local co-op mode which I have yet to play. I'm pretty sure it serves as a prequel to the main story. I will update this as soon as I play the co-op.

My score for Shank: 8/10