"The Forgotten City" Review

Publisher:  Modern Storyteller

Genre:  Adventure

Summary:  You are sent to a hidden ancient Roman city where if anyone sins, everyone is punished with a fate worse than death.

Gameplay:  The gameplay mostly consists of exploring the city, talking to the people, and figuring out how to solve quests and eventually escape the city.  The setting is just big enough to provide interesting exploration but not so large as to become exhausting or to cause you to get lost.  There are just enough people to provide interesting characters without being confusingly many, too.

The unique element is the availability of a time loop, so if the Golden Rule is broken (or you choose to break it), you can restart the day.  Despite this, the game is good about not making you repeat quests you've already done.

There is eventually a bow available that offers some (optional) action elements and ways to solve puzzles.  The game almost always multiple solutions to puzzles, multiple choices in how to respond to people, and varying order for competing quests, as well as several endings, though one is preferable.

Style:  "The Forgotten City" is lovely, with beautiful mosaics, rushing water, and variable lighting.  The music was great.  Sometimes I wished I wasn't entirely locked into third-person perspective, and the game's not a graphical wonder.  Despite this, sometimes it had to stop and load the new area, which seemed odd even on my older machine.  Overall these were minor complaints, however.

Story:  This story of a doomed Roman city has some great twists and turns and memorable characters.  The time loop element offers some unique gameplay options and is integrated into the story well.  "The Forgotten City" offers insight on philosophy, mythology, and Roman history all while providing great puzzles and exploration.

Random Thoughts Upon Finishing "Dragon Age: Veilguard"

 I finished my first (but probably not last) playthrough of "Dragon Age:  Veilguard", and I have lots of thoughts I wanted to share.

"Vampire: the Masquerade--Coteries of New York" Review

Publisher:   Draw Distance

Genre:  Visual Novel

Summary:  A new vampire tries to learn to survive and find allies amid the politics of the vampires of New York City.

Gameplay:  You have options in what quests to pursue when, what actions to take, and in dialogue choices.  There are three characters for the player to choose from, which influences a few story options and some of the vampire power use opportunities.

Style:  The art has a nice painterly look, with occasional movements in the backgrounds and characters to add interest.  The sound and music are good.

Story:  The characters and the various quests are interesting, with being able to choose your pace and mix it up for different games adding some nice variation, since you can't do all the quests in one game.

However, it is ruined by one of the more spectacularly horrible endings I've seen.  It might even make the list.  (Skip the next paragraph if you wish to avoid any chance of spoilers.)

A minor character with whom you may have had little interaction rambles incoherently (but is treated as amazing by the game) and takes over.  Your character is offered no closure against any of the enemies they have made.  I don't expect a glorious triumph in the World of Darkness, mind, but I do expect a more satisfying conclusion than a forced ending that's the same every game after having so many options in the game itself.

Summary:  Coteries of New York is an enjoyable, varied exploration of the vampires of New York, and a good introduction to the World of Darkness if needed.  That is, until the horrible ending rather sours the experience.

"Mass Effect 3: Omega" DLC Review

Publisher:  Bioware/EA

Genre:  RPG

Summary:  Aid Aria in retaking control of Omega from Cerberus.

Gameplay:  There are several new types of enemy to fight.  The companions, Aria and Nyreen, have some unique new abilities.

Style:  The excellently atmospheric locations of the asteroid space station of Omega, with neon catwalks, cramped service tunnels, dark power facilities, and vast mines, give a cyberpunk flair to the proceedings.  The music and sound design are good.  The cinematics are good as well, though some lasted a bit long and I wanted to get back to my own action.

Story:  The story is linear, a few hours of fighting, but in fun environments, as noted above.  The DLC feels like it peaks slightly before the actual climax, so the pacing feels a bit off.  More disappointing is the lack of choice and therefore replayability, especially when there seems to be several potential places for choices within the story.  The dialogue varies a bit because of Paragon and Renegade responses, but that's it.

Conclusion:  Aria and Nyreen are both interesting characters, and Omega is an interesting location.  Omega is not that great (mass?) effect to the overall game story, a small slice of the greater war of Mass Effect 3, but it's a fun few hours.  I just wish it had more variation and interaction with the rest of Mass Effect 3.

"Mass Effect: Pinnacle Station" DLC Review

Publisher:  Bioware

Genre:  RPG

Summary:  Commander Shepherd visits a station with combat training scenarios.

Gameplay:  There are four different mission types at Pinnacle Station:  Kill (kill as many enemies as possible in the allotted time), Capture (hold designated positions as fast as possible), Survive (stay alive as long as possible), and Hunt (kill enemies as quickly as possible) in several different environments.

Style:  The simulated environments are nice, though it is easy to see they are grabbed from parts of the game.  The edges revealing the holographic nature of the environment are a nice touch, as is the fading away of the holographic enemies.  The overseeing admiral's comments are at first amusing, but get repetitive quickly.

Story:  There is a bit of a story about Shepherd beating the scores of a posturing turian, but that's about it.

Conclusion:  It's odd coming to this DLC after years of playing Mass Effect games, as I can see here the genesis of the more elaborate combat simulator in Mass Effect 3:  Citadel.  Mass Effect itself offers more interesting combat with more interesting stories out in the galaxy, but Pinnacle Station isn't bad for what it is.

"Monster Loves You!" Review

Publisher:  Radial Games/Dejobaan Games

Genre:  Visual Novel

Summary:  Live the life of a monster.

Gameplay:  During the segments of monster life, there are icons to select for events which involve decisions.  These influence your monsterly virtues (ferocity, bravery, cleverness, and kindness) and reputation and eventually the relationship between monsters and humans, leading to a variety of possible endings.

Style:  The graphics have a cute cartoon look and the music is cheerful, matching the game's humor.

Story:  "Monster Loves You!" tells a quick story but it has enough variety for a couple playthroughs of amusement.

"Dragon Age: Inquisition The Jaws of Hakkon" DLC Review

Publisher:  Bioware

Genre:  RPG

Summary:  A hostile tribe makes the investigation into the last Inquisitor's death and resting place more difficult.

Gameplay:  Gameplay is the same as the rest of the game, but restricted to higher levels (somewhat to my annoyance, as there is no in-story reason), and there is a new ability available for the main character after a certain quest.  Unlike the rest of the game (but like other DLC), enemies level with you.

Style:  The Frostback Basin area is gorgeous, with an interesting variety of locations ranging from vibrant multicolored swamps to cliff-side Viking-like villages to frozen ancient ruins.

Story:  The Jaws of Hakkon tells a great story that enriches Thedas' past and lore, expanding on a culture and area of history not touched on much previously and adding interesting characters in past and present.  There is plenty to explore in the Frostback Basin, but smaller side quests and stories easily can be ignored if that is your preference.

"Valentine Otome" Review

Publisher:  Synokoria 

Genre:  Visual Novel

Summary:  After unexpectedly getting married on Valentine's Day, Mira might just fall in love with her new husband, but complications await.

Gameplay:  Although decisions in dialogue affect the relationship between Mira and her husband, through a day planner deciding how she spends her time over the months controls various statistics that also affect the story and ending.  Since these build incrementally over the game, it can be frustrating to replay after getting a bad ending, but there is a cheatsheet helpfully included in the download if needed.

Style:  The art and characters are distinctive, although sometimes seemingly-important characters do not have have sprites (probably a consequence of the number of characters and story options, but it still feels odd.)

Story:  Mira is a great character and all of the major characters are well-developed too.  The world-building is deep and it's interesting to see same events develop a bit differently if one of the other three husbands is chosen (or even if one of the other romances from Halloween Otome is picked.)  The stories can be surprisingly dark, which isn't necessarily a downside besides the aforementioned frustration of getting a bad ending.

"Shadow of the Tomb Raider" Review

Publisher:  Square Enix/Crystal Dynamics

Genre:  Action/Adventure

Summary:  In tracking down the nefarious Trinity organization, Lara Croft becomes entangled with apocalyptic Mayan artifacts and the fate of a secret city.

Gameplay:  As usual, Lara makes her way through the jungle ruins with a mix of puzzles and combat.  Despite the option of separate difficulties for puzzles and combat, tomb puzzles nevertheless seem unusually difficult in this game.  To the previous climbing and jumping elements have been added rappelling, diving, crouching, and overhead climbing.

Leveling has been altered once again so that higher levels require more points.  There seem to be fewer and less useful abilities than previous games.  Buying items is more prominent and a major way to get useful items and upgrades.

Stealth is an even greater part of combat; Lara can use mud to hide, various abilities to hide herself or bodies, and generally can pick off her enemies unknowingly.  Instead of just for healing, there are now plants for endurance, focus, and perception as well (which was too complicated and too many buttons for me, frankly.)

Instead of automatically reading (or listening to Lara read) about an artifact, you must choose to look at it in the inventory to do so.  While seemingly minor, this bugs the heck out of me.  Why did they make this change?  Were people mad they were forced to learn about things?

Also, the map feels less useful due to the increase in side quests which are first poorly marked and then seem to disappear at will from the map.

Style:  Each game has been more gorgeous than the last, and the jungles of South America, including green pools, fireworks, and cliff-side views, sometimes make for a beautiful game indeed.  Unfortunately, the game is also very muddy (so much mud!) and dark.  It shows off lighting and detail, I guess, but I must admit I prefer the crisp mountain aesthetics of the previous game.

"Shadow of the Tomb Raider" also brings back some of the gross gory elements "Rise" was thankfully lighter on.  While I expect a little blood and sacrifice from an action/adventure game with some Aztec influence and it's not quite as bad as the infamous first game, it was still a bit more than necessary in some places.

A new notable element is lots of people!  There are towns full of folk chatting, living, and complaining when Lara bumps into them (but not, oddly enough, when she shamelessly steals all their stuff.)  The only weak spot is how many of them have the same faces.

All of the "Tomb Raider" games have had great cinematics and "Shadow" probably has the most and best of them all.  Several times there was no dialogue and I was memorably impressed just by the acting.

Story:  "Shadow of the Tomb Raider" has an interesting, complicated story to tell with some good themes that nicely concludes the Tomb Raider games.  It's a pity it does such a bad job at it.  Oh, the themes and characters manage come through.  Although still surprisingly similar to the previous games, there are some unique twists and lovely thematic elements like Lara's repeated falling into water.  And there are multiple elements and characters that fit the title "Shadow of the Tomb Raider."

But crucial details are badly conveyed.  There are a lot of proper nouns and names that are referenced but not reinforced or further explained.  After hours of wandering around, I'm still not sure how the city of Paititi's politics work or the history of the cult of Kukulkan.

Usually reading documents to delve further into the game's lore would help with this (I love to do this) but these were so scattered and confusing in this game they did not help in figuring out the main plot, much less helping give additional information.

The pacing does not help.  Shadow of the Tomb Raider is organized around hub areas, but the side quests all badly interrupt the flow of the game.  They can't really be done logically afterward (unlike, again, "Rise of the Tomb Raider") and especially make no sense during the game!

Conclusion:  "Shadow of the Tomb Raider", while providing a good story and conclusion to the "Tomb Raider" trilogy, also suffers from some unfortunate gameplay changes and frustrating storytelling.

"Rise of the Tomb Raider" Review

Publisher:  Square Enix/Crystal Dynamics

Genre:  Action/Adventure

Summary:  Lara Croft's investigations into her father's search for a Byzantine prophet's source of immortality take her to Siberia, but the sinister Trinity organization is also on the trail.

Gameplay:  The game is similar to the previous in offering opportunities for exploration and puzzles by jumping and climbing and shooting with timing.  It gradually adds some new twists with swinging, swimming, cutting, and climbing on arrows.

"Rise" is also a bit more free-range than its predecessor, with several larger areas to explore and optional side quests, but also still more constrained narrative sequences (which can be jarring when unexpectedly triggering a transition from the former to the latter.)

Combat is similar, with Lara gradually acquiring more weapons, although there are (eventually) more options for types of ammunition.  Crafting is also a bit different, as there are various materials she collects from the environment or kills to make weapon or inventory modifications.  I enjoyed the greater specificity for the former, but I didn't like having limits on different types of inventory.

Style:  The game is beautiful, offering icy mountains, wandering animals, exploding fire, and gorgeous Greek ruins.  The music enhances the wonder perfectly.

Story:  While building on and referencing the previous game, I don't think "Rise of the Tomb Raider" requires playing "Tomb Raider" to understand.  I found "Rise of the Tomb Raider" more enjoyable than that game, although that may just be due to my liking of snowy landscapes and the Byzantines.

The twists in the game are all fairly predictable, but the characters are still complex and interesting.  The game also occasionally mirrors the previous game to a sometimes weird extent, but the different setting keeps it from feeling too much the same.

The pacing can also feel strange, with the biggest issue being at the end, which feels very rushed; I honestly wondered if there were expository scenes missing.

Conclusion:  "Rise of the Tomb Raider" offers fun exploration, puzzles, and combat in beautiful places while telling an engaging, albeit sometimes predictable and strangely paced, story.

"Rise of the Tomb Raider Baba Yaga: The Temple of the Witch" DLC Review

Publisher:  Square Enix/Crystal Dynamics

Genre:  Action/Adventure

Summary:  Lara Croft investigates the Wicked Vale of Baba Yaga.

Gameplay:  There are no new gameplay elements but the DLC innovatively uses existing ones, and rewards at the end include upgraded ability options.  The difficulty can be considered a step up, including the last puzzle and the last battle (to its detriment, as it's clearly meant to be an intense action-packed sequence, but the puzzle bits mean it always take me longer to complete.)

Style:  "Baba Yaga" features some neat sights like a new tomb and hallucinogenic nightmares.  The introductory character of Nadia feels miscast.  I realize she's supposed to feel young and helpless, but the overly American accent feels very out of place on a Siberian Remnant and takes me right out of the game.

Story:  The overall story is touching, but with an obvious twist (a common issue with these "Tomb Raider" games, it seems), especially if you read the documents.  It's also a bit hard to figure out how to fit it into the overall "Rise of Tomb Raider" pacing, although at least that is up to player discretion.

Conclusion:  "Baba Yaga:  The Temple of the Witch" is an interesting story with some cool visuals and frustrating gameplay.

"Rise of the Tomb Raider Blood Ties" DLC Review

Publisher:  Square Enix/Crystal Dynamics

Genre:  Adventure

Summary:  In order to prove her ownership of Croft Manor, Lara Croft searches through her parents' memorabilia and reminisces on the past.

Gameplay:  Although the DLC follows the normal format of Lara gradually finding helpful items that help proceed through formerly impassable obstacles, there is no combat and the puzzles are more logic-based.

Style:  Despite being set entirely in Croft Manor, it's in bad shape and it's a stormy night, so "Blood Ties" manages to match the feel of Lara's other tomb raiding.  Occasionally there's a bit of a golden glow as she recalls a memory; these moments are well-timed and do not drag.

Story:  I love backstory and nostalgia, so Lara learning about her parents and remembering the past as she gradually explores the manor is right up my alley.  Solely through short notes and journals characters and feelings are clearly conveyed.  The DLC provides a nice lead-in to "Rise of the Tomb Raider" (I believe it technically takes place after the prologue), offering further explanation and emotion for that game, but tells a nice complete story about the Crofts in itself.  

Conclusion:  While I enjoy the combat of the "Tomb Raider" games, it's nice to relax with an informative look at the Croft family and concentrate on more adventure-style puzzles with "Blood Ties".  The story is excellent and moving and adds to Lara Croft's character.

"Tomb Raider" Review

Publisher:  Square Enix/Crystal Dynamics

Genre:  Action/Adventure

Summary:  After her expedition to a mysterious storm-wreathed Japanese isle is shipwrecked, Lara Croft must survive a murderous cult and find a way to escape.

Gameplay:  Getting around in the game requires having Lara jump, climb, and shoot her way through obstacles.  Sometimes it requires good timing and sometimes it requires some thinking (especially in tombs.)

Lara gradually gains access to more options over the game, and this includes weapons.  Combat includes a good variety of styles with stealth or explosions or otherwise cleverly using the environment often possible.

Weapons can be improved through salvage Lara finds and Lara also has a choice of abilities that she levels up in over the game, although these are somewhat awkwardly tiered.

Style:  The game looks great.  The island has a nice variety of environments, from moody forests to snowy ruins to rusted shipwrecks, but what really impresses is the weather and lighting effects.  Lone lamps sputter in the dark, blazing embers fly away in the wind, and water spatters against the other side of the computer screen (I especially like the last touch.  It lends to the cinematic aspect of the game and also fits the story of a stranded documentary crew--as if this is the film they never got to make.)

It's also very gory.  Many of the settings abound with corpses and blood.  It got so in may places I found it went over the top into silliness.  A light touch would have kept it at horrific.

Story:  Lara's story is very engaging and fun to play, but there are a few problems in the telling.  The first part is that it's missing its first part.  The game begins with the shipwreck and we get flashbacks later to introduce us to the crew, but I found myself wishing there was a prologue to learn a bit more about everybody, especially Lara.  To emphasize her growth into a survivor and explorer, it would help to understand more about what she was like before.

There's also Lara's mutant healing ability.  Not including whatever might happen during in-game combat, throughout the story Lara suffers impalement (which goes without treatment through appalling conditions and then said treatment isn't exactly great), horrible foot injury, and getting knocked unconscious at least three times, in addition to various other cuts and scrapes.  I was half expecting some mystical explanation for how she was still moving.

I realize it's just the action hero cliche of being able to shake everything off, but it clashes with the game's story when Lara is inexperienced and reacts realistically to being wounded at the start.  Likewise, when Lara first kills someone and comments on it, it feels rather bizarre that the armies of men she has to slaughter later don't merit any response.

The plot moves easily through cinematic set-pieces, but I found myself pondering what a more open-world version of the game would be like that allowed for a bit more wandering (Lara does has some freedom of movement within some areas, but that just makes it feel all the more awkward when she goes off to explore a tomb when she's supposed to be rescuing a pilot or whatever.)

All that said, the story and characters are fun, even if nothing is too unpredictable.  I especially like the light parallels between the main villain and Lara.

Conclusion:  "Tomb Raider" is a beautiful and entertaining game.  Despite some oddities in the plot, it tells an engaging story about the growth of the adventurer Lara Croft.

"The Captain's Log" Review

Genre:  Simulation

Summary:  After a botched jump, you must get your spaceship crew the over eighty thousand light years home.

Gameplay:  Home (and its distance away) is always visible.  Bars indicate the levels you have of various resources, and nearby stars are color-coded to indicate which resources they have (but not how much.)  Run out of food and water and people start dying.  Run out of fuel and travel slows to a crawl.  Get enough wormhole material and you can jump large distances.

Occasionally your crew will make improvements (or you will have to choose between two improvements.)  Sometimes you can risk crew lives to get more resources.

Style:  The Captain's Log uses a simple but effective design of spheres for star systems, a line for your course, a simple ship design, lovely music, and text for everything else.

Story:  The titular captain's log provides the story of the journey home.  It's light on much detail, though there's enough to spark the imagination.  I would have liked a little bit more with additional events and variety.

"Pathfinder: Kingmaker" Review

Publisher:  Owlcat Games

Genre:  RPG/Simulation

Summary:  You attempt to settle a mysterious land.

Gameplay:  Gameplay is based on the Pathfinder system, which is similar to Dungeons and Dragons, with a variety of races and classes to choose from and abilities that increase each level.  Combat can be real time (with pause) or set to turn-based, and there are varying levels of automatic.

The game will sometimes have written sections with several choices in responses (which may be limited by character ability or morality.)  These can be surprisingly crucial, and I rather enjoyed them instead of having everything be combat-focused.

Then there's kingdom management, the system for running your land.  You must choose advisors and have them deal with problems and opportunities that crop up, increase their abilities, and give them orders on how to deal with situations they bring you.  You also gradually acquire land and build settlements (and buildings in them) and investigate treaties and similar matters, which will influence your kingdom's statistics.  This all takes time, so balancing it with exploring and other various quests of the game can be challenging, to say nothing of the death spiral that can start when things go wrong.

There are multiple levels of difficulty than can be changed at any time, as well as different options than can be changed to fine-tune your game to suit your tastes, which is much appreciated.

Style:  Although top-down, the game is still gorgeous.  Bright colors abound over a wide variety of landscapes with seasonal weather and excellent lighting.  Little touches like frolicking animals and characters with accurate arms and armor that dance or kneel to pray if not directed to move give a sense of life.  The music is very enjoyable.

Story:  The story "Pathfinder:  Kingmaker" tells greatly depends on your character and the choices they make.  It can be a tale of the power of forgiveness and friendship and of responsibility rewarded.  Or it can be a tale of the horrors of untrammeled power and pride.  I was impressed how the story adjusted to player choice.

The characters are fantastic, as are their quests, and several offer romantic opportunities.  The main story is intriguing and nicely develops from initial mystery to gradual clarity over the game.

The game's greatest weakness is its pacing.  It's all over the place, largely thanks to kingdom management, which takes literal years in-game and hours of actual play.  Often there will be a rush of main story, then hours of kingdom building again.  While I didn't dislike the simulation of building my kingdom, it didn't compare to the actual plot of the game, and the start-stop of waiting for more isn't much fun.

Conclusion:  "Pathfinder:  Kingmaker" tells a wonderful story with wonderful characters with lots of opportunities for player choice.  I just wish it didn't take so long to do it.  All those long stretches of kingdom building really hurt the momentum of the game, but despite that there is much to enjoy.

"Our Personal Space" Review

Publisher:  metasepia games

Genre:  Visual Novel

Summary:  A newly-married couple is part of a new planetary settlement.

Gameplay:  Names can be chosen, but appearances can not be customized.  A couple different jobs can be chosen for the main character and the game will vary a bit based on this.  After a bit of introduction and getting to the planet, the game consists of twenty-five months.  

At the beginning of each month you can choose what skill to focus on, whether to focus on work, and how to spend free time.  This will influence the events of the month (though some are set), although you can choose responses within events as well.  Your choices affect the main character's relationship with her husband, skills, and correspondingly the overall story.

Style:  The character art is a little rough, but the characters are distinct.  Backgrounds are likewise simple but effective.  The music is nice.

Story:  "Our Personal Space" stands out for being a story of marriage instead of beginning romance; a rarity, it feels.  Also rare is the almost relaxed (but still dramatic) tale of the space colony.  There is no horrible alien invasion or murderous rebellion, just the hard work of trying to survive and get along while settling an alien frontier, which is interesting enough.  Add in working through (or not, depending on your choices) a new marriage, and "Our Personal Space" is an intriguing tale indeed.

"Duke Nukem" Review

Publisher:  Apogee

Genre:  Platformer

Summary:  Duke Nukem fights through Dr. Proton's robot hordes.

Gameplay:  Duke can jump and shoot against an interesting variety of obstacles and foes.  New types of both are added as levels increase, as well as a few items that add additional navigational abilities.  Healing and points items are scattered throughout as well.  There are plenty of ways to gain more points if you're nimble or willing to explore.

Style:  Pixels form some nice post-apocalyptic and technological landscapes in picturesque if not necessarily logical backgrounds for Duke Nukem's adventures.  The sound effects are fitting but there is no music.

Story:  The very 80s "action hero fights evil overlord with robots" plot is barebones but serviceable enough.  It is a nice touch how Dr. Proton will show up regularly on screens and personally taunt Duke.

Conclusion:  Although with a basic story and some nonsensical level design, "Duke Nukem" is well made in its action, offering good variety and difficulty over its just-right length.  Of course, I can't really be sure that I am an objective judge, given my nostalgia from playing this game endlessly as a child.  Some levels I think are still ingrained in my mind (no doubt replacing much more useful information.)  Still, I found it held up as fun on replay even now.

"Oxenfree" Review

Publisher:  Night School Studios/Skybound

Genre:  Adventure

Summary:  Alex goes to a local island to spend the night celebrating the end of her junior year of high school with friends and her new stepbrother, but strange anomalies occur.

Gameplay:  A large part of the game is conversation, so much so that I was almost tempted to also classify it as a visual novel.  Alex has a choice of responses, but will also not respond if a choice is not picked quickly enough (or you can deliberately choose not to say anything.)  Depending upon when dialogue is chosen, she'll sometimes interrupt as well, resulting in dialogue that flows very naturally.  The conversation choices, of course, affect the game.

There are also choices in where to go when.  The other gameplay element is interacting with objects and especially adjusting radio signals to accomplish things.

Style:  The game has a beautiful style with rich colors.  Watercolor medievalesque landscapes and stylized cartoons blend together nicely.  The excellent music works hand-in-hand with the sound effects of static, which with other lighting effects is impressively eerie.  All of this works well towards making the game scary without it being gory.

Story:  "Oxenfree" is excellent at characterization and building a suspenseful and emotional story.  There is some ambiguity and uncertainty to some plot elements, which on the one hand could be frustrating, but on the other could be seen as freeing the player to decide.

Although dark and creepy regardless, the richness of the characters and the ability of choice offered by the game keeps it from feeling hopeless like I often fear horror will be.  There is also an interesting element where replays have an in-game reasoning and can be substantially different.

Conclusion:  "Oxenfree" offers a beautiful and fascinating story with great characters.  I'm not a big horror fan personally, but the unique art, story and characters, and many choices make me enjoy "Oxenfree" nevertheless.

"Halloween Otome" Review

Publisher:  Synokoria

Genre:  Visual Novel

Summary:  Emma wins attendance to a famous actor's two-week celebrity masquerade party and attempts to win a contest in a team with three costumed men.

Gameplay:  The gameplay consists of making decisions on what to say and do as well as some puzzles that are part of the contest.  The puzzles can be turned off and only determine if you win the contest and are not necessary for the romance story of the game.

The biggest issue is that to succeed in your chosen romance you need to be a bit psychic (or use saves, or a walkthrough), as you need to know where they are located sometimes to advance the romance.

 

Style:  The backgrounds are nothing special, but do the job of setting the scene.  The characters are designed well to be memorable.

Story:  The characters are all intriguing and distinct and their stories are engaging.  This includes the main character.  Although you can customize her names and choices, she has her own personality.  The possible bad endings to the romances aren't too dire, and the general ending is pleasant.

Conclusion:  "Halloween Otome" offers a some good length fun romantic stories.  It may require some investigation on how to get the best endings, but the game's worst parts are mild bad endings and optional irritating puzzles, so overall it's a positive experience.

"Dragon Age: Origins Return to Ostagar" DLC Review

Publisher:  Bioware

Genre:  RPG

Summary:  You return to Ostagar after the battle.

Gameplay:  There are a couple new types of darkspawn and undead, but nothing too unusual.

Style:  Ostagar was always well-designed, and it still looks good all strewn with snow.  Everything is unnecessarily labeled; I would have preferred to rely on my own memory to compare.  There are also some flashbacks to the battle to reinforce locations, which feel like cheats, especially since the character didn't have the viewpoint for some of them, and you just know Bioware wanted to milk those admittedly awesome sequences again.

Story:  It's a short, simple story of wandering through the remnants (Cailan's letters add some interesting knowledge to Fereldan's politics, but nothing game-changing.)  Only Alistair and Wynne have anything to say.  It makes sense because they were there for the battle, but it would have been nice if the other characters could have commented too.

Conclusion:  Return to Ostagar doesn't add much and isn't complex, but is nice for what it is, some good loot and a reminiscence on a momentous part of the story.