John Walker

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Apr 29, 2017

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Horrible to control, horrible to listen to, really surprisingly ugly to look at, and and all-round mess, I've no desire to put myself through this. So, I shall state for the record: Maybe it's amazing! I mean, it obviously isn't, because it seems unlikely they'll fire the voice cast and implement a new control system some hours into the game, but I can't assure you they haven't. What I can assure you is I've been here too often, seen this too many times, to put myself through it again.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Apr 28, 2017

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Under Leaves either needed a lot more to do in a level, or a lot more levels, to feel substantial. As it is this plays out like a demo, over just in time for you to be ready to get to the meat of it. However, that's somewhat counterbalanced by the low price tag.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Apr 19, 2017

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In the end, this is Full Throttle made playable once again, and that's something to be celebrated. It's a really fantastic game, with a lovely story, and brilliant performances. And out of its original timeline it's free to just be itself, not compared to the last or the next LucasArts adventure to hit the shelves. If you loved the original, this is worth buying for the improved sound alone. If you never played it, then oh my goodness, hurry up!

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Apr 11, 2017

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As it is, it's very hard to recommend spending £12 on – already a tough call for such a short game. It's not fit for purpose, even if it could still stretch over its unacceptable flaws and reach me. I will keep an eye out, and enthusiastically let you know should such a thing come about.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Apr 6, 2017

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Bulletstorm is lots of silly fun, and deserved to do better in 2011. It's still lots of silly fun, but it's hard to quite get as behind the desire for it to do well when it's being released at full price with very little new put in.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Mar 31, 2017

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I heartily encourage you to grab this if you've got a kid trying to learn it at school. Heck, if you're a physics teacher you really should buy a bunch of copies, as this'll be a surefire way to gain the attention of some of your students. Or if you just fancy reminding yourself about logic gates, pulse generators and capacitors, this is a neat little thing.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Mar 28, 2017

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I've played it for so damned long, and have just run out of patience with it, and absolutely do not care any more about the arc story. It's taken so long to go anywhere, crawling along every few days of play, and just isn't compelling at all.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Mar 24, 2017

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It's tremendous at creating its distinct atmosphere and then drawing you deeper in. It's witty, spooky, and achieves an ideal sense of urgency. Weird, clamant and intriguing, this is well worth a look.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Mar 20, 2017

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As a follow-up to the previous trilogy, it's a timid and tepid tale too heavily reliant on what came before, too unambitious for what could have been, trapped in a gargantuan playground of bits and pieces to do.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Mar 3, 2017

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It all works really rather well, and is accompanied by a very pleasing ambient soundtrack, along with nature noises chirping and squawking over the Eno-esque keyboardy tones. And it gets rewardingly difficult, without feeling unfair, or relying on ninja reflexes.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Mar 2, 2017

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It delivers on what it delivers. The movement is fast but sturdy, the combat nifty, and the artwork is really lovely. Its choice of greys and muted greens and blues doesn't do it enormous favours, and each area is pretty monotone. Animations are great, and the world is pleasingly detailed, but it also feels flat and dulled.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Feb 28, 2017

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Stories Untold is bleak and disturbing, novel and experimental, and most importantly when doing all that, very clever. It's smarter than you'll realise, in fact. And why it's smart is all in the experience of playing, not to be given away in the process of reviewing. A pain in the arse for me, but worth it for you.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Feb 27, 2017

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I started off really not liking it, I grew to completely love it, and I walk away from it with so much love but a wobble of doubt. It's by far the most elaborately graphical piece of interactive fiction, but in being so it suggests it's going to be other things too, and it's hard (certainly at first) to let go of all that, just let it be what it is.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Feb 17, 2017

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The characters in the world are a lovely design, and the whole place is very pretty. It has some great music, and it plays in dynamically dependent upon where you're flying in the city. But it's glitchy as all hell, flight not letting you satisfactorily swoop and swish as you might like, with your bird unable to take off from far too many places it can land, and clearly there is such a high expectation that you'll get stuck clipped into the world that it monitors for it and respawns you after a few seconds.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Feb 16, 2017

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I completely love it. This is such a smart game, cleverly delivered both in style and execution, taking familiar puzzle ideas and making them feel bewilderingly original via its split-screen single-player co-op. I