The Great Steam Playthrough (2012)

I actually beat this one. It gets a bit repetitive as you get deeper in the game but the atmosphere and core game mechanic are top notch. The writing is very mixed however. Its like they had a giant bag of meaningless metaphors and just pulled out random ones.

If Alan Wake was repetitive its standalone expansion where you play through the same levels multiple times is ultra repetitive. It does have the same great atmosphere and more enemy variety however, and the writing is streamlined and therefore much better. I didn't spend much time on its wave mode as I really only played half of one wave before I got bored.

I really didn't like this expansion. I beat it but you're basically playing through versions of the original game while following some batty story that makes little sense.

This expansion is a lot better than The Signal. It still has a mostly incomprehensible story but the environments are much better and actually introduce new game elements.

I didn't give this one much of a chance. When you're doing a rush through type gaming thing the game really needs to grab you by the throat. I played about 5 minutes had nothing to shoot and quit to pick up later.

I actually gave this one a couple hours of my time. It was enough to figure out that this game is just too obtuse for a quick look. Once my houses stopped advancing and I had no clue as to why they stopped I gave up and moved onto the next one.

Very dated but fun. Surprisingly destructible environments but the ancient game play mechanics are a real turn off. My coddled gaming self can't push on when dying leads to a level restart. On the plus, it is also quite funny.

Looks pretty, sounds pretty but the whole trace notes thing with your mouse is a bit repetitive. Got though about 6 minutes on first playthough before I moved on.

It has nice graphics and lots of different single player game modes (I don't generally do multiplayer) but the Marine mode is way to hard because your avatar feels like an underpowered weeneie when facing a single xenomorph. The alien mode is fun but very chaotic with tons of surface spanning and awkward reticule targeting. Haven't played Predator mode yet.

A neat throwback to the old days of adventure gaming past. Legacy is a point and click graphic adventure that follows Rosa Blackwell as she tries to help ghosts move onto their final resting places. This really is a nicely written and designed game. It mostly avoid the illogical steps of most adventure games and tells a good story to go along with it. The game is quite short and has some awkward controls (interacting with your inventory is tough) but is great while it lasts. I actually beat this one too!

Another great entry in the Blackwell series this one has an even better, meatier story than the first one. Great voice acting, good humor, great characters make it a must play for any old school adventure fan. The ending is a bit off-putting but it packs a great wallop and there's some neat easter eggs and extras to explore.

The third entry in the Blackwell series this one takes you back to the story of Rosa and Joey and is the longest of the three. I was a bit upset that they removed some of the more detectivey elements of the first two games and it seemed more like interactive fiction than a detective-like adventure game but it is still solid and features great production values. The graphics are noticeably sharper here.

This is perhaps the meatiest of the Blackwell series so far and it is also one of the best. It reintroduces the more detective-like elements of the first two games and makes joey a much more involved characters. That extra involvement however, leads to some of the more frustrating puzzles in the series and the admittedly excellent story ends on a slightly annoying cliffhanger making this a great but flawed addition to the series. Also, you really miss the cheeky facial animations that were found in the other games when a character spoke.

A very awkward game. I'm sure the depth of complexity would start to reveal itself after dozens of hours but it didn't grab me at all.

This was an amazing game. The design is impeccable, the gameplay smooth and responsive and it simply dripped with atmosphere. The story is serviceable but good because it gives you a tour of so many of Batman's enemies. It has some shaky sections (the scarecrow stuff) but overall a fantastic game.