David Campbell
Stories (6/0)
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Review
If you’re like me and grew up playing video games throughout the early 2010’s, you’ll probably remember when games had no microtransactions, no DLC, and often even no side missions or other bonus content. Just a single, straightforward adventure from start to finish. While extra stuff is still usually fun and some games do get DLC right, I’ll always welcome any game that brings back that old formula. Eidos-Montréal has done just this with Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, a fun, action-packed story with elements of choose-your-own-adventure and not a single microtransaction in sight. You play as Peter Quill, a.k.a Star Lord, the captain of a motley crew that includes Gamora, Drax, Rocket & Groot. If you’ve watched any Marvel movies lately, this will all sound familiar, but trust me - this particular version of the team is very different to their film counterparts. Even if you’re a stranger to the Marvel universe, this game is definitely an excellent introduction, and I’d recommend it to anyone.
By David Campbell2 years ago in Gamers
Kena: Bridge of Spirits Review
Some games feel like the developers intended it as a showcase of their capabilities more than an entertainment product, especially if it’s the first game released by an ambitious new development team. In many aspects, Kena: Bridge of Spirits is an impressive example of these “proof of concept” games, as if its developers Ember Lab created it solely to demonstrate how skilled they are at building environments and characters. While some of the gameplay elements felt underdeveloped, Bridge of Spirits absolutely shines in the graphics and design area. You play as Kena, a spirit guide tasked with bringing restless spirits to the afterlife with the help of a small army of tiny, adorable fuzzballs called Rot. Considering Kena’s role, it’s no surprise that the story is full of emotion and themes of grief and letting go. In both visual style and storytelling, Bridge of Spirits feels like an interactive animated movie - and during my playtime, sometimes I felt that maybe it would’ve been a bit more enjoyable as a film rather than a video game.
By David Campbell3 years ago in Gamers
Marvel's Avengers Review
Like heroes, every game has to start somewhere, and Marvel’s Avengers is a game that did not start somewhere good. The superhero RPG-esque adventure was certainly an enjoyable experience for a short while, but the game simply didn’t have nearly enough content or variety at launch to be worth the rather high price tag, with a number of technical issues on top. Live-service games need to have a strong beginning, a running start, to keep an active player base and then maintain that momentum with consistent content drops that add replayability. Avengers had a fun, average-sized story campaign and a small handful of bonus post-game missions, but it struggled to keep a grip on the initial player count, myself included. A number of extra playable characters and events added later on did help the game’s survivability, and some of the planned additions seem to give the game a moderately brighter future. But the future isn’t right now - and right now, these Avengers may not be worth assembling.
By David Campbell3 years ago in Gamers
Slime Rancher Review
Not all games need to have grand storylines, epic action or photorealistic graphics. Sometimes games can simply be a cute and enjoyable way to kill a few hours a day, like Slime Rancher. Slime Rancher is an adorable, cartoony farming sim that I played for far more time than I expected to. You’d be surprised at how much fun there is to be had simply from collecting the various different types of slimes and resources, and gathering and selling the “plorts” produced by the slimes. There’s plenty of scraps of story and a decent amount of minigames to be found around the game, but the main slime farming gameplay was more than enough to keep me coming back to my ranch every day.
By David Campbell3 years ago in Gamers
Horizon: Zero Dawn Review
Sometimes a game will catch your attention with its’ marketing and hype before it is released, but afterwards you never get around to actually trying it until it’s been out for years and everyone else is already waiting for the sequel. Horizon: Zero Dawn is one of those games for me, and I genuinely regret not playing the game on day one. This game is an excellent adventure across a breathtakingly beautiful open world. You play as Aloy, a young huntress searching for answers to a mysterious past - both the past of the world she lives in, and her own. Throughout the game, I truly felt like a fearsome hunter, tracking and defeating the machines that rule the lands. Did I mention that the main enemies are giant robotic dinosaurs called machines? Because that’s honestly one of the coolest things about the game. When you square up against a mechanical T-Rex armed with enough firepower to level a village with just a spear and a bow in your hands, the triumphant feeling you get when you actually win is something very few other games can match.
By David Campbell3 years ago in Gamers
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Review
After almost a full year of waiting and hoping for an opportunity to obtain a PS5, I was finally lucky enough to rip space-time a new one in the long-awaited latest instalment of the Ratchet & Clank series - Rift Apart. Five years since the last game (and twelve years since the last full-sized game), Insomniac Games had a lot of hype to live up to. As far as I’m concerned, they’ve knocked it out of the park. In my opinion, Rift Apart is not only the most visually stunning game there is at the moment, but is also extremely fun and engaging, and a worthy continuation of my favourite series. Jumping back into this universe, blasting foes with an arsenal of crazy guns and flying to new, weird and wonderful worlds made me feel like I was back in the early 2000’s, battling Dr. Nefarious on my old PS2 again.
By David Campbell3 years ago in Gamers