PixlBit

Three fourths epic.

When I reviewed Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, I elected to tell a personal story of my journey through the game in lieu of a traditional review, since it best represented the strengths of that title. As I was playing through its sequel, Middle Earth: Shadow of War, I wanted to do the same thing. Unfortunately, there are enough complexities with this release that story time will have to wait for another feature. Shadow of War is simultaneously the most fun I’ve had all year and one of my disappointments for 2017.

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He is the snake to my mongoose. Or the mongoose to my snake. Either way, it’s bad. I don’t know animals.

I could write a perfectly standard review of Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor. I could go point by point and explain how this is a third person action game with heavy emphasis on stealth and melee combat in the vein of Batman: Arkham Asylum/City. I could talk about the great graphics and the satisfying fighting mechanics, and how some of the stiff animation and problems with context-sensitive button prompts are the reason why it doesn’t get five stars. I could do all of that and you would have a good idea of what Shadow of Mordor is, but you wouldn’t understand what makes it new and special. So I have a different idea.

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Light at the end of the tunnel.

Metro: Last Light's first achievement may be the fact it exists. As a sequel to an atmospheric first-person shooter adapted from Russian literature, it was already a risky game before development even started. Bad working conditions, delayed release, and THQ's bankruptcy followed. Yet despite everything going against it, Last Light has emerged from the darkness to become one of the year's best games so far.

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UFO gives us more of what it does best.

The 3DS eShop can be a dangerous place. Littered with just as much shovelware as gems, it can be tough to know what you're getting into after a brief skimming of the media associated with a given title. In the case of Johnny Impossible, the association with publisher UFO should already be enough to make your spidey-sense tingle, but if you’re still on the fence given its Metroidvania gameplay, let me assure you, it’s no diamond in the rough.

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