Review - Artibeus (PC)

Artibeus is a simple indie game for the PC which tasks you with collecting fruits around a spooky castle. Oh, and you are a bat. A fruit bat maybe? (ho ho). Terrible jokes aside, the game is a 2D game that requires nothing more from you than using the arrow keys to move said bat around the single screen stages, nabbing all the fruit and avoiding the instant death enemies that float randomly around.

Review - Eldritch (+ Mountains of Madness DLC) (PC)

Don't mess with the librarian!

As anyone who has played Spelunky or any other excellent roguelike (or, more accurately, games with roguelike elements) knows, death can come swiftly and without much warning. You can tread carefully though the world the game presents to you, surveying the area for danger, navigating your way around traps and hazards, scooping up every little piece of helpful loot along the way and, generally, just trying to survive, when, bam! A misstep can land you on an unseen set of spikes, or face to face with one of the most feared adversaries. Death can be sudden and unexpected, undoing all your hard work up until that point. But it is this perception of 'real' danger - the fact that death is final - that keeps you coming back to try again. When a game is a solid and enjoyable experience, randomly generated stages can be the difference between something you will play for a week, to one you will still be enjoying many months later.

Retro Spirit Games Halloween Special 2013

Be afraid.. be very afraid

So, Halloween is upon us again once more and, if you listen very carefully, you can almost hear the sound of game journos rushing to compile a list of games to play on this spooky celebration. If you close your eyes and use your imagination, you can easily predict what these lists will include - is this a special kind of black magic being practiced on this ghoulish holiday, or the predictable nature of these lists that materialise in October / November of every single year? 

REVIEW - White Noise : A Tale Of Horror (XBLIG)

White Noise : A Tale Of Horror [80 Points]

Coming from the dependable Milkstone Studios I was expecting something better than the usual XBLIG standard, and I was not disappointed. White Noise is a pure horror first person game. There is no 'shooter' part to this game though, it is purely explorational. Armed with only a torch, you walk around a dark and sinister graveyard and forest area, trying to locate 8 hidden tape recorders. As you near the items you hear radio static, much like that heard in the original Silent Hill game.