Evolve is a five person first person shooter much like the Left 4 Dead franchise, where four characters (the hunters) are pitted against one monster. The game is very flexible in the sense that if you want to play with other people you can, or if you’d rather play alone you’re welcome to make your team bots. At first the monster may seem intimidating to hunt, but with knowledge of each character’s ability, the monster won’t seem so deadly.
What makes Evolve interesting from a geographical standpoint, is how you can alter how you want the environment to play out. By making a custom match, you can select gametype, the map, and depending on what map, you can choose variations that either benefit the hunters or the monster. For example, a monster’s location can be triggered by scared birds. So, with the selection of more birds on the map, the monster has a greater chance of being spotted and this makes it easier to kill. There are quite a few power-ups to choose for each map, so it’s fun to mix and match. The actual map environments themselves can be altered as well. As the player (especially as the monster) you can destroy a lot of things like trees, rocks, stumps, etc. It adds a lot of chaos to the fray sometimes when large trees are thrown around like toothpicks.
If you’re finding Evolve to be repetitive and forceful, check out the custom options to mix it up. It not only allows you to see the different things you can do geographically, but changes the formula a bit.
What makes Evolve interesting from a geographical standpoint, is how you can alter how you want the environment to play out. By making a custom match, you can select gametype, the map, and depending on what map, you can choose variations that either benefit the hunters or the monster. For example, a monster’s location can be triggered by scared birds. So, with the selection of more birds on the map, the monster has a greater chance of being spotted and this makes it easier to kill. There are quite a few power-ups to choose for each map, so it’s fun to mix and match. The actual map environments themselves can be altered as well. As the player (especially as the monster) you can destroy a lot of things like trees, rocks, stumps, etc. It adds a lot of chaos to the fray sometimes when large trees are thrown around like toothpicks.
If you’re finding Evolve to be repetitive and forceful, check out the custom options to mix it up. It not only allows you to see the different things you can do geographically, but changes the formula a bit.
Rockstar has been known to make incredibly realistic games with meticulous detail, and Grand Theft Auto V is their best one to date. It takes place in San Andreas, Rockstar’s version of California. Experience vibrant city life, explore the mountains, collect nuclear waste in a submarine with orcas and dolphins, or watch TV in your home. GTA V is a vacation in itself. You as the character(s) can see real world locations with a Rockstar twist, which makes the game one of of the most immersive you can play. Aside from the realistic geographical details, the game even features a wide variety of websites on their fake Internet, radio stations with talk shows and commercials, movies, and TV shows; all of which so ridiculous it makes you think of how crazy the real world is.
If you get the chance to play GTA V, it’s a lot more than just story- it’s a way to see new places, feel immersed, cure homesickness, and get a good workout for your funnybone. It provides a rich environment that it doesn’t often get a lot of credit for, so be sure to do a great amount of adventuring and take in as many details as possible when picking it up.
If you get the chance to play GTA V, it’s a lot more than just story- it’s a way to see new places, feel immersed, cure homesickness, and get a good workout for your funnybone. It provides a rich environment that it doesn’t often get a lot of credit for, so be sure to do a great amount of adventuring and take in as many details as possible when picking it up.
Far Cry 4 is another one of those games that feels like a vacation, only this time you play as Ajay Ghale, who has come to his home country of Kyrat to spread his mother’s ashes. Kyrat is fictional, but it’s surrounded by the Himalayas and carries a lot of that culture with it. The game has beautiful environments, landscapes, wildlife, decorations, and people. Everywhere you look there’s something to see, and because of the first person shooter aspect of it you feel like you are Ajay himself. Kyrat has a vast amount of sights to see and objectives to complete, plus hundreds of collectibles and locations. How to keep track of it all, you ask? Far Cry 4 is a fantastically designed game with sleek menus and most importantly, a huge map with all the bells and whistles. At first, the map is covered with fog, but as you progress through the game, conquer radio towers, and cross into Northern Kyrat, more becomes visible: where to hunt certain animals, collectibles, treasure, missions, places to save, and much more. The map’s key organizes everything by category and icons since there’s so many things to take in. Whether you’re playing the story and trying to overthrow Kyrat’s king Pagan Min, hunting dangerous wildlife to upgrade your equipment, or libirating outposts with the Golden Path, Far Cry 4 will give you a feeling of an exotic adventure.
This game is a lot different than what I’ve talked about in previous entries. Limbo is a black and white puzzle game that might not seem like much at first, and no character speaks a word, but the ambiguity of it all pulls you in. With the shadowing and lighting, this game creates an atmosphere that makes you very cautious and uneasy. Every move you make can result in death, and some you won’t even see coming. The element that puts this game on the map is sound. Often, you’ll hear creepy, distorted sounds that sometimes sound downright disgusting. Paired with the darkness and feeling of helplessness, this game’s sound effects tie it in perfectly and gives you a unique feeling unlike any other game does.
In the video paired with this entry, there’s a secret level in the newly released version of Limbo. After you’ve gathered each collectible in the game, you can try the bonus level. This level is almost completely in the dark, so you have to rely on sound alone to succeed. This is no easy task- you must precisely jump to avoid sawblades, bottomless pits, and mind controlling slugs. Again, all in complete darkness for the majority. While it’s not a AAA title, Limbo gives you a completely fresh experience and tests your senses; whether that’s a good thing or not is up to you.
-Emily Wood
In the video paired with this entry, there’s a secret level in the newly released version of Limbo. After you’ve gathered each collectible in the game, you can try the bonus level. This level is almost completely in the dark, so you have to rely on sound alone to succeed. This is no easy task- you must precisely jump to avoid sawblades, bottomless pits, and mind controlling slugs. Again, all in complete darkness for the majority. While it’s not a AAA title, Limbo gives you a completely fresh experience and tests your senses; whether that’s a good thing or not is up to you.
-Emily Wood