So, after reading tons of bad reviews from earlier this year I went into the free weekend with lack-luster expectations. I was very happily rebuffed by a fantastically fun game. The issues regarding finding matches, or matches that had already started, were non-existent (with the latest update[s]?). The gameplay seemed to be wonderfully balanced between good teamwork on the side of the hunters and solid, intelligent play on the side of the monster.

There are absolutely certain maps which 'favor' specific monsters -- giving the monster an edge in certain ways -- but this in no way keeps the game from being fair or playable. Often hunter losses are caused by a team that's not communicating and, surprisingly, I ran into a lot of PUGs that were actively using their mics and communicating. Only a handful of ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ soured that, and often they had a degree of poignance to their asshatiness (non-mic'd player totally ignoring everyone and legitimately helping the monster).

Unlike Titanfall which very, very loosely had a storyline stuck around its matches Evolve actually FEELS fleshed out and leaves you asking questions in good ways (e.g., who is CIG9? What happened on Shear? Is your preferred Hunter actually a good guy... or is he just doing it for fun?).

Of course, I can't support the tons and tons of DLC, but it's honestly cool. Each character in each class feels unique and fun and, I dare say, is worth the cash for them.

Overall, I'd totally recommend the game, especially at $19.99.

I wanted really badly to like Nether. I thought to myself, "Oh! A more arcade-like DayZ game that focuses more on fun, shoot-y encounters that are heart-racing!"

Wrong. From the get-go, Nether doesn't look quite as good as the stills portray it. There are little things that aren't quite right, just subtle graphical and sound issues that really break the atmosphere. The game runs smoothly at best and any time else it's jilt-y and awkward. The entire time I was playing I had the distinct feeling that my character's perspective was too low to the ground...as if the character models were from a different game than the environment.

I never once saw another player outside of a Safe Zone. The players who WERE in the Safe Zeon? Most of the time they were spinning in circles or running up and down stairs ad nauseum.

The (very limited) encounters I had with the Nether, themselves, weren't entertaining. All of the creatures essentially felt the same. About the only one that instilled any kind of sense of awe is the Screamer and, well, they're just not a good enouh reason to play the game.

Overall, the world felt uninhabited (either by people or mobs), sort of "off," and not just a little bit boring. I'll be keeping my finger's crossed that the developers release something to make me want to play this again, but in the meantime:

Delete Local Content.

Spec Ops is kind of like Dishonored in that it presents you with this pseudo black-and-white approach to killing people... by offering you tools of mass destruction.

The gameplay is nowhere near is broken or bad as people might lead you to believe and once you play through it however you want to, it's worth going back to each chapter with a "choice moment" just to see how the rest of the situation might have played out.

The 'revelation' feels a bit underhanded and there are at least two instances of really poor deus ex machina that come to mind. While nowhere near the caliber of story-telling in a game like BioShock, some of the set pieces Spec Ops throws you into are quite moving in one way or another.

If you got it when it was part of a bundle or got it for free over the Holiday sales and are just on the fence or disinterested... go ahead and invest the 6-12 hours it takes to experience the game.

It's worth it.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent redefines the idea of "survival horror." You have no guns, no weapons, no way to fight back against the monstrosities that roam the halls of Castle Ican'trememberthename. You play Daniel (or is it David?), an amnesiac fellow who writes letters to himself and tries to convince himself to do things that a normal man shouldn't want to.

The whole game takes place within the crumbling walls of a single Castle, though the environments change as you plunge further into the game due to Daniel's bleeding sanity. If you stay in the dark for too long, inanimate objects begin to breathe, Daniel hallucinates bugs crawling all over him, and he might even fall over, unable to take another step until he finds light.

If you're into atmosphere and immersion and being terrified by the idea of opening doors, try Amnesia out -- you won't be disappointed.

A follow-up // prologue to Shadow of Chernobyl, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky continues the franchise's brand of genuine fear, but with some interesting (and decidedly fan-splitting) twists. Factions play a much larger role in this installment and everything the player does is at the behest of one faction or another, though the over-riding story is involves the player leading a specific faction to the Center of the Zone in the foot-steps of the same target the player hunts in Shadow of Chernobyl.

The Zone is larger in some areas and certain parts of it that weren't available in the first game have been opened by its recent activity -- this introduces the player to new anomalies and new adversaries, mutant and human alike.

With the addition of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky Complete, any flaws that the game shipped with are put to rest and every texture is re-done by ArtistPavel to gorgeous extent.

Get this game ASAP!

F.E.A.R. wishes it was as frightening as S.T.A.L.K.E.R. actually is. While the former game relies on hollywood-esque tricks and a fear of little girls, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. supplants the entire concept through an actual feeling of being the new guy on the block, inexperienced and incapable. The sounds of a mutated boar or hairless dogs, or the chatter of heavily accented English or full-on Russian will fill you with a sense of alertness, fear, and urgency to dispense your brand of Cordon Justice.

The libretto of this game is phenomenal, with multiple endings and side-quests galore to earn you a foot in with different factions and their crucial discounts. If you're looking for a challenging, beautiful (if dated), and frighteningly fun FPS, look no further.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. has your back.