Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers

Graphic Adventure titles, ones made by Sierra especially, are a tricky genre. Infamous for their reliance on obtuse puzzles, strict adherence to sequencing and nonsensical deaths, Sierra graphic adventures like Space Quest, King’s Quest and Leisure Suit Larry are often seen as being incredibly daunting for a newcomer to the genre. Most people would rather play something like Monkey Island before checking out anything in Sierra’s vast library. This is a deserved reputation too, Sierra games have a tendency to be obnoxious at times but there are a few exceptions to this rule. Leisure Suit Larry 7 and King’s Quest VI make it clear that Sierra knew how to make a great adventure game without being overly difficult and confusing. Sierra’s “Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers” is another Sierra title which is more newcomer friendly although it doesn’t quite avoid the missteps that previous Sierra titles had made.

Alan Wake's American Nightmare

The original Alan Wake was one of the most promising titles to come out of the Xbox 360. It was the first post “Max Payne” title that Remedy worked on and it put forward interesting concepts that were made it an under-the-radar hit in 360 gaming circles. A sequel was fast-tracked and in 2012, we got the XBLA sequel, “Alan Wake’s American Nightmare”. Be warned though, American Nightmare is not the sequel that Alan Wake fans wanted, far from it in fact.

Bioshock

By Pirate_Higemaru

Overall Grade: A-

Bioshock was released in 2007 to unanimous praise from both critics and gamers. It was lauded for it's complex plot and inventive mechanics. It was also one of the main games in the "Are Video Games Art?" debate. Bioshock was a hit in the truest sense of the word. It sold well, it was beloved by just about everyone and it was even considered to be a work of art. So, is Bioshock truly the work of art everyone proclaims it to be? 

Sonic Adventure

By Pirate_Higemaru

Overall Grade: B+

3D has never been kind to Sonic. From a botched attempt on the Genesis and Saturn to recent failures such as the disaster known as "Sonic 06".  For some odd reason, only a select few Sonic games got 3D right such as Sonic Colors and Sonic Adventure 2. Sonic Adventure, however is a special case. It got it right but it still was able to be heavily flawed at the same time which ended up making for an incredibly confusing yet enjoyable experience. 

Streets of Rage Remake

By Pirate_Higemaru

Overall Grade: A

Streets of Rage is without a doubt, one of the most memorable beat em'ups of the 90s. It was beautiful, action-packed and had one of the greatest soundtracks on the Genesis. Unfortunately, it seemed to have fallen to the wayside when Sega made the move to 3D. As a result, we haven't seen any Streets of Rage games since Streets of Rage 3. People haven't forgotten about the series though and fans have been clamoring for a new game since 1994. These prayers for a new game have been answered albeit not legally. Enter "Streets of Rage Remake", a fan-game that has been in the making for the past 7 years. It includes all the playable characters from the past SoR games plus several new ones, it includes every stage from past games plus some brand new ones. On the surface it appears to be the most comprehensive Streets of Rage game ever envisioned but should it really have that title