Don't Starve Review for PC

Don't Starve

An Epic Tale of Survival

Scavenging for resources, struggling to stay alive, and of course, trying to not starve are the objectives of the amazing adventure known as Don't Starve. The game puts you into an unknown world full of mysterious creatures and savage creatures that attack during the pitch black night. You play as Wilson, a man who has dedicated his life to science. You wake up somewhere in the huge world, and that is where you start to realize that you are the only human there, and there is no civilization, unless you count the houses constructed by human-sized pigs that you will stumble upon during one of your many, many playthroughs. You begin to gather resources and chop down trees. After gathering things like berries, you set up camp and try to survive the night. Each night that you stay alive in a playthrough gives you experience, which levels you up and gives you new characters. Don't Starve does a great job of throwing you into a world of endless discovery.

From what I have seen so far, Don't Starve is a game with an endless amount of replay value. Every time I started a new game after dying, during that journey I would always discover something new, or something that I hadn't noticed in the world. The game's map comes in handy a lot when you get lost in the woods and the sun is going down, especially when you do not have a source of light or a weapon. The only thing I didn't like about Don't Starve was that if it was night and you weren't in the light, you would die within a matter of seconds, unlike in games like Minecraft and Terraria where you can fight the creatures of the night if you choose.

In the end, Don't Starve is a great game and worth the $15. It is not a game that grows stale after playing it over and over, but one that gets better and better every time. You become more experienced with the world and your surroundings, making survival much simpler every time you play. Don't Starve is an absolute blast, and definitely my favorite survival game on the market.

The NERDict:

+ Cartoon-Style Graphics

+ Feeling of Constant Danger

-No Way to Defend Yourself at Night

+ Exploration is Encouraged

Rating: 8.75

Doodle Jump for Kinect

Doodle Jump for Kinect

Jump Your Way to Victory!

The other day while I was on the Xbox Live Marketplace, I noticed something new in the Arcade tab. Standing out from the rest of the games was a new Kinect title, which was "Doodle Jump for Kinect." I was already familiar with Doodle Jump from being a huge fan of the mobile game, and I was more than delighted to see it hit the Xbox Live Arcade. I downloaded the game and got right to it, and a couple minutes into it, I realized that I was playing one of the best XBLA games I've played in a while.

Screenshot of Doodle Jump for Kinect in action

Doodle Jump for Kinect is very responsive. Where you step, your little adorable green character steps on the screen. Where you move your hand, he shoots and destroys the monsters who are terrorizing the land. The game is an absolute blast, and the Kinect really seals the deal on this game. It makes the experience even more amazing, and immerses you even more into the world of Doodle Jump. This game really shows how enjoyable it can be using your Kinect for a great gaming experience.

My whole family had a blast with this title. My brother, who is 22, had a great time, along with my 6-year-old sister. We all thought that the game was enjoyable and extremely fun. That shows that its a spectacular game because three people from different age groups thoroughly enjoyed the title. I feel that Doodle Jump for Kinect is one of the best Kinect games out there and is one of my favorite Xbox 360 games in a long time! I would highly recommend Doodle Jump for Kinect to any casual gamer or hardcore gamer, especially due to the fact that I am a hardcore gamer and loved the Kinect title. Doodle Jump for Kinect is a shining star in the Xbox Live Arcade.

The NERDict:

+ Responsive Controls

+ Superb Gameplay

+ Beautiful Environments

+ Fun for All Ages

Rating: 10

Don't Forget to Pick Up Doodle Jump for Kinect! 

Injustice: Gods Among Us Review for the Xbox 360

Injustice: Gods Among Us

Best Fighting Game of the Year

Heroes will clash with villains and themselves in NetherRealm's newest fighting game: Injustice: Gods Among Us. In Injustice, you fight your way through iconic DC locations such as Metropolis, Gotham City, and Arkham Asylum, along with some new locations like Insurgency. The game has a wide variety of characters, with familiar faces and some unknown to non-hardcore DC fans.

The game also keeps itself fresh by releasing DLC every now and then, featuring new characters and skins. If you are interested in buying the DLC though, I would recommend purchasing the season pass for $15. It includes 4 characters (Lobo, Batgirl, Scorpion, Zod) and the Flashpoint skins pack. It saves a couple bucks which you could put towards things like the Arkham City skins or the New 52 skins, which I already owned due to me having the Collector's Edition of the game.

Solomon Grundy using his Grab Attack on Wonder Woman

Injustice is awesome, with great combat and an awesome new feature known as "Stage Transitions" in which you pull your left stick back and press A, sending the character through a series of events inflicting tons of damage and bringing you to a new area in the course, along with your now weakened enemy. The game also has some brutal grab attacks and special moves. There is one downer to this game though, and that is the gimmick known as the Clash, in which you select how much of your meter you want to bet, but that doesn't matter if the enemy has more in their meter than you. The enemy can just win the clash, and regain health, along with draining your meter, and you can do the same to them. I really didn't see the need for this to be included in this game. But overall, Injustice stands out from other fighting games.

The NERDict:

+ Stage Transitions

+ Great Solo Campaign

+ S.T.A.R. Labs Missions

- Clashes

Rating: 9

One Finger Death Punch Review for the Xbox 360

One Finger Death Punch

KA-POW!

Master the art of Kung-Fu at the press of only two buttons in Silver Dollar Games' newest title "One Finger Death Punch" In this title, you fight thousands of stick people as your character uses different weapons that are long range, close range, and fists. The combat is simple, and the only buttons that you have to press are X and B. And even though the game is simple, whoever is watching you will be sure to be amazed, as you tear through countless forces of enemies. The game is awesome and is a real steal for the price of 80 Microsoft Points.

It's a must-have for any player of indie games, and a great title overall if you have some loose change that you're willing to sink into the indie games store. I have to take a lot of guesses when I purchase indie games, but I always know that I'm going to get an enjoyable experience from Silver Dollar Games. This game is phenomenal, and I hope to see more games like this from Silver Dollar Games in the near future. They are quickly rising to be my favorite indie developer.

The NERDict:

+ Great Combat System
+ Low Price

+ Simple Gameplay
+ A Special Easter Egg for Players of "No Luca No"

Rating: 10

Defense Grid: The Awakening Review for the Xbox 360

Defense Grid: The Awakening

One Solid Tower Defense

Defense Grid: The Awakening is the newest title in Microsoft's "Games with Gold" program in which they are giving away games every month to members of their Xbox LIVE service. Defense Grid: The Awakening is their newest release in the set of games. Defense Grid is a Tower-Defense game, in which you try to stop aliens from getting to the "Core", in which they pick up these little purple spheres and have to bring them back to their base. But, it's pretty impossible for them to get away with your spheres if you know just how to place your arsenal of weapons at hand, such as Turrets, Lasers, Meteors, and much more.

The game is easy to pick up and play, and is well worth it's 800 Microsoft Points price tag if you are not an Xbox LIVE Gold member. The game has great graphics that were way better than what I was expecting, and the gameplay is fun, fast-paced, and an all-around great time when you really get into it. Between Fable III and this, "Games With Gold" is off to an amazing start!

The NERDict:

+ Addictive Gameplay

+ Rich Environments

+ Great Tower Defense Mechanics

- Slight Framerate Issues

Rating: 9