Pads & Panels

#2 Batman: Arkham City (PS3, 360, PC)

Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment — Developer: Rocksteady Studios

Our Review

Batman Simulator 2.0 doesn’t disappoint, as it hits all the high spots gamers loved in Arkham Asylum and scatters them across an entire sandbox of a city to find. Rocksteady Studios is to be commended for continually getting what makes Batman fun. The double-edged sword here is – even though Arkham City is more robust than Asylum, gamers won’t get that stunning moment again where they realize that finally someone finally got a Batman game right. But the overall quality of the game is vastly improved, making it one of the year’s best. (more…)

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Best Video Games of 2011 – Honorable Mentions

Pads & Panels will soon be counting down its Top 10 Video Games of 2011, but before we get to that point, we’d like to pay mind to 10 other games that stood out as top contenders for the year. They were all part of our discussion and all deserve some recognition for their achievements in gaming, even if they didn’t quite make the cut of the illustrious Top 10. All 10 of these titles were games that earned our attention and respect in one way or another in 2011, the list of them effectively serving as our 11-20 choices, presented here in no particular order. (more…)

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Title: Bastion

Platform: 360 (PC)

ESRB: E10+

Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

Developer: Supergiant Games

Review By: Eric Stuckart

Rating:

Is it possible to reinvent the old school action RPG about the end of the world again? I was more than a little skeptical, but Bastion took the long-standing trope and grabbed me by the ears and made me pay attention and listen, and showed me a whole new world in a way that I haven’t experienced in a long time.

To paraphrase the world-weary voice of the narrator, the Kid wakes up on a floating rock in the sky after the Calamity, a cataclysmic event that much destroyed the planet and caused everything to splinter apart and become somewhat weightless. As he explores what’s left of his part of the world, he finds that paths will build themselves up right under his feet, always giving each of the game’s areas a “more than meets the eye” feel. The Kid eventually finds the Bastion, the meeting place for the residents if anything ever went wrong, but the only one he finds there is the old man, the one who narrates the story. He explains to the Kid that he needs to travel what’s left of the planet to find cores from each of the remaining areas so that they can rebuild the Bastion and use it to attempt to reverse the effects of the Calamity. (more…)

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Title: “Return to Ostagar” DLC for Dragon Age: Origins

Platform: 360 (Also PC)

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Developer: BioWare

Review by: Dan Braun

“Return to Ostagar,” the latest downloadable content for Dragon Age: Origins, provides an unfulfilling homecoming to Ostagar. It is skimpy on substance, length and content. The DLC allows characters to jaunt back to the original launching point of Ostagar, where the main plot is set into motion after a tragic betrayal. The strangest thing about this content is that there is no real reason to return to Ostagar after the game is completed. To start, the weapons and armor that can be found upon return aren’t really worth much for anyone who has played through the main plot and some side quests. Secondly, there aren’t many options for dialogue, which is where most of the significance and soul of the game is established. The entire episode is just one brief combat encounter after the next, for less than one hour’s worth of gaming. Finally, there aren’t even new enemies, save for the final boss and some variants of familiar foes. It may be only $5 to download, but only Dragon Age junkies will be interested in this lackluster package. (more…)

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West Coast correspondent Chris Park has been busy lately. Last week, he got a hands-on look at Risen, an upcoming action-role-playing game for Xbox 360, from publisher Deep Silver and developer Piranha Bytes, that mixes the standard RPG formula with a consequence system. Park reports. (more…)

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Title: Dragon Age: Origins

Platform: 360 (Also PC, PS3)

ESRB Rating: M

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Developer: BioWare

Rating:

Review by: Dan Braun

With titles like Baldur’s Gate, Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect under its belt, story-driven role-playing games are not unfamiliar territory for BioWare. The developer’s latest epic fantasy, Dragon Age: Origins, is replete with the strengths of its predecessors. Excellent voice acting, a robust plot, complex characters and simple (yet deeply detailed) gameplay make this an outstanding experience for fans of the genre, but it is easily recommended for beginning role-players who are willing to learn the nuances of the game. The game has a few shortcomings, but they are easy to ignore while traversing the immense fantasy world that it has to offer. (more…)

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Title: “Point Lookout” DLC for Fallout 3

Platform: 360

Publisher: Bethesda

Developer: Bethesda

Review by: Bill Jones

“Point Lookout” returns to the off-site method of Fallout 3 DLC. Players are called to the outer edge of the map and offered the chance to buy a ticket on a ferry to travel to Point Lookout State Park in Maryland.

Unlike the linear action of “Operation: Anchorage,” or the town-confined story of “The Pitt,” “Point Lookout” provides a brand new “wasteland” for the former vault dweller to explore. Point Lookout is much smaller than the original wasteland, but provides a completely new feel with its swampland aesthetics and backwoods characters. (more…)

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Title: “Broken Steel” DLC for Fallout 3

Platform: 360

Publisher: Bethesda

Developer: Bethesda

Review by: Bill Jones

While “Operation: Anchorage” and “The Pitt” offered off-map locations for gamers to explore whether they finished the original story of Fallout 3 or not, “Broken Steel” makes more drastic changes to the ever-expanding game and adds roughly four hours of gameplay.

Players first must complete the main story arc of Fallout 3 to access “Broken Steel,” and the original multiple-option ending is changed to require a certain path for players to access the DLC. The original ending is then altered to allow the character’s story to continue, something not previously possible. (more…)

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Title: Operation: Anchorage and The Pitt DLC for Fallout 3

Platform: 360 (Also for PC)

Publisher: Bethesda

Developer: Bethesda

Review by: Bill Jones

Fallout 3 is an amazing game, but at a mere 50 to 100 hours of gameplay, who can blame gamers for craving more? The title has two bits of downloadable content on the market, with a third announced on the way. Pads & Panels has played through the first two DLC offerings – Operation: Anchorage and The Pitt – and has the scoop. They each retail for 800 Microsoft Points on Xbox 360 or $10 on Games for Windows LIVE. (more…)

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Title: Fallout 3

Platform: 360 (Also on PC, PS3)

ESRB Rating: M

Publisher: Bethesda

Developer: Bethesda

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

It’s hard to figure out where to begin with a game like Fallout 3. It is a first/third-person role-playing game by the makers of Oblivion centered around a character exploring the wastelands of post-apocalyptic Washington, D.C. and fending off its dangers – human, animal and…other. (more…)

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