Tag Archives: review
Dishonored
Back when I was still actively playing World of Warcrap, one of the games’ many inside jokes were the pandas. According to the lore, somewhere in Azeroth there existed a race of pseudo-Chinese panda bears that were mostly known for … Continue reading
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
So, how did you guys like The Hobbit? I found it a little bit underwhelming. Then again, I’m not sure what could have been done differently to improve it… This story and this movie… They are what they are, and … Continue reading
Dark Knight Rises
I didn’t see Dark Knight Rises in the theater when it first came out. The timing wasn’t right and the logistics just weren’t right. Now I’m actually kinda glad, because the whole thing was rather disappointing. And I’m saying this … Continue reading
X-COM: Enemy Unknown
X-COM is not a video game – it is digital crack cocaine. It will suck you in. It will keep you up until 4am on a weekday. It will make you mutter “just one more turn, just one more spin … Continue reading
FTL
FTL is a new indie game that explores a novel concept: how do you fuck up an idea that simply cannot fail. It is one of the first games that was crowd-funded from the ground up via Kickstarter. The development … Continue reading
Line of Resistance (Linia Oporu) by Jacek Dukaj
If you asked me who were the most interesting SF writers of the last decade or two, I would without give you five names: Vernor Vinge, Charles Stross, Cory Doctorow, Neal Stephenson and Jacek Dukaj. Not necessarily in that order. … Continue reading
Diamond Age by Neil Stephenson
Oh, you liked Anathem by Neil Stephenson? You should totally read Diamond Age, they told me. It’s his best book yet, they told me. You know what? That’s bullshit. Diamond Age is nowhere near as good as Anathem. You see, … Continue reading
Red Faction: Guerilla
Red Faction: Guerrilla is a remarkable game. I don’t think I have ever seen a product with so many good ideas, all of which are implemented poorly. And it is not that the implementation is buggy or half-assed. The game … Continue reading
Dear Eshter
Can video games art? This is a really dumb question. Of course they are. Or rather they can be. Anyone who would say no to this is wrong. Artists can choose to express themselves in just about any medium and … Continue reading
Dead Space 2: The Good Parts
Last week I talked about why Dead Space 2 does not work as a survival horror game. This week I would like to point out the few things that I liked and that I thought worked well. And no, the … Continue reading
Dead Space 2: The Fear Factor
Dear diary, I played Dead Space 2 and didn’t fear even once. Is there something wrong with me? As you might have guessed, I spend a shameful amount of money on the recent Steam sale. It happened pretty much exactly … Continue reading
Celestis by Paul Park
Celestis by Paul Park is yet another book to add to my collection of stories with unconventional and interesting aliens. One thing I dislike in my science fiction are space opera style aliens. I’m willing to tolerate that kind of … Continue reading
City at the end of Time
I often rag on Fantasy for being redundant, but I have realized I might be unfair. Perhaps my definition of Fantasy is to narrow. After all, I like Neil Gaiman’s writing, and what is it if not Fantasy. Gaiman is … Continue reading
Avengers
I have been waiting for this movie since 2009. Actually, scratch that – since 2007 and it was worth it. I don’t have to tell you that Marvel’s grand experiment in bringing the comic book shared continuity concept to the … Continue reading
Chronicle
Over the last few years the phrase “found footage” became synonymous with “not very good at all” – especially in Hollywood. While there are some amateur projects framed around this paradigm that are surprisingly decent, big budget productions using it … Continue reading
Inverted World by Christopher Priest
As much as I love hard SF, I must admit that it often does not age well. If you pick up a 20-30 year old science fiction book, you will often find it full of outdated notions, discredited scientific theories … Continue reading
The Scar by China Miéville
China Miéville is probably most known for his oddball Fantasy/Steampunk novels. I reviewed the first one of them Perdido Street Station a while ago. You may remember that I liked it – or rather appreciated it for what it was … Continue reading
The Darkness II
I bought it, played it and decided it was not worth my money. That’s about the whole review. There is really not much to say about this game other than it really failed to deliver the entertainment I was hoping … Continue reading
Extensa by Jacek Dukaj
Here I am again, reviewing a novel most of you probably won’t be able to read. The good news it’s the last one I have for now. The bad news is that I might get more at some point. But … Continue reading
In Time
Old age is a fatal disease. It spares no one, and over the ages we have learned to accept it as inevitability. We have grown to expect, and even praise it as something good – something beneficial. But for all … Continue reading
A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
I like most of the novels written by Vernor Vinge (well, with exception of Taja Grimm’s World). I thought Rainbow’s End was inspired, and that Deepness in the Sky was a really solid piece of SF. Fire Upon the Deep … Continue reading
LA Noire and the Uncanny Valley
Lately I have been slogging my way through LA Noire. I have not finished the game yet because I’m a completionist and I want to nail every interrogation sequence. This means that if I blow one and I don’t think … Continue reading
Batman: Arkham City
Recently, I have finished Batman: Arkham City. I have been trying to figure out how to review it for a few days now. I’m really not sure what to say about it. I actually kinda liked Arkham Asylum, and this … Continue reading
Black Oceans (Czarne Oceany) by Jacek Dukaj
Back in July I have reviewed an excellent Polish SF novel titled “Perfect Imperfection”, which by the way may be getting an English language release soon. Over the holidays I acquired two new books by the same author thanks to … Continue reading
Season of the Witch
Season of the Witch… How on earth do I review this… Let me try to put it in perspective, but that requires a little bit of setup. I make no secret that I play pen and paper RPG’s from time … Continue reading