With a slight lull in releases this week, our writers have been catching up on their backlog and here’s what keeping us occupied this weekend.
Abhishek Dahiya
This week, I have been playing Heavy Rain. I use the term “playing” very lightly though. The gameplay is about as interactive as fiddling around with the DVD remote while watching a movie. Still, I am enjoying the story. And while at times it feels like it is going for cheap shocks and over-the-top sappiness, it is still intriguing enough to make me want to see it through to the end.
Murali Venukumar
I have an almost unhealthy love for Trials Evolution, which is exactly why I’m now the proud owner of the newly released Origins of Pain DLC pack. With Evolution’s jam-packed user-generated content suite, you’d wonder if there’s any real value in spending 400 MSP on an official expansion. And I’m here to tell you there absolutely is. You not only get a set of tracks in varied, gorgeous locations to break your neck in, but there are also new track-creator objects for the community, skill games, and a new vehicle – a BMX bike – to play with. One of the best games of the year just got better.
Mithun Balraj
I have spent a lot of time this week rummaging through the contents of Edmund McMillen’s Basement Collection. The collection contains many of his older games, along with a huge amount of additional content, including deleted scenes from Indie Game: The Movie, soundtracks, sketches, pictures, early game prototypes and Q&A sessions. The games in the collection vary in size, complexity and fame, but each is a new and interesting expression – Edmund’s personal life and views greatly influence his work. Some games are less playable than others, but for $4, there is still a ton of quality content.
Sameer Desai
The week started out with the sublime Dishonored, along with a bit of FIFA 13 Career mode. An entire day was then spent reviewing Sports Champions 2, the sequel to arguably the best Playstation Move game yet. Does it live up to those high standards? Our review will be up on Monday night to answer that question. After that, it was brief sessions of LittleBigPlanet Vita. That franchise can do no wrong. This weekend though is all about Forza Horizon. I haven’t been this excited for a racing game in a while, and I’ll have my review up mid-week.
Vikram Subramaniam
While my adventuring in Pandora continued this week, I also had the chance to try out something that brought a big smile to my face. The original Carmageddon has found its way to iOS, and it is awesome. While there is undoubtedly a “rose tinted glasses” element to my recollections, there is no escaping the fact that I am going to relive a really fun portion of my childhood thanks to this excellent port that features a retooled interface, silky smooth performance, and no censorship.
Abhinit Prakash
FIFA 13 has been entertaining me these past weeks and after the new update, the online seasons are quite playable with no noticeable lag. The game keeps on getting better and the sheer number of modes available can confuse any newcomer. Before its release, one of the modes I was highly anticipating was Ultimate Team, and it surely lives up to expectations. I have been making my own team, scouting for great deals and investing in players throughout the day. In the near future I also hope to finally start Batman: Arkham City.
Roshan D’Silva
This week was all about playing Co-op games with Nash. With interest in Battlefield 3 waning, it was time to try something new (or old in this case). Steam had Serious Sam 3: BFE on sale, which is just what I needed. It’s just old school, mindless shooting with no tactics or complex mechanics to worry about. If you own a copy, join us as we’re always looking for fresh meat to feed the enemy. I’ve also been replaying Saints Row: The Third and most missions seem to be ending with Nash cussing every living thing in the game and then running them over multiple times.
Avinash Bali
I’ve been having a rather crappy weekend so some hyper-violent, mindless bouts of Serious Sam 3 with Snake have really helped. While mowing down hundreds of enemies per level with a mini-gun or a canon is insanely satisfying, the game’s plagued by painful puzzle solving and fetch quests that act as a major speed bump to all the kinetic action. Besides SS3, I’ve also been dabbling with some Borderlands 2 DLC and while that’s nice and all, not increasing the player level cap was a real d**k move by Gearbox.
