Crysis

Game Title: Crysis

Platform(s): PC

Stars (out of 5): 4.5

Content issues: There is strong language (the F-word), lots of violence (but you can turn the blood off). It is a first-person shooter, so it is mostly about killing bad guys. There is no sexual material, however, which is nice.

Brief Summary: Crysis places you in the role of Nomad, a soldier in an elite 4-man squad. Each member of the squad dons a suit that allows him to jump higher, run faster, become invisible, and have stronger armor. You are investigating an anomalous event that occurred on a beautiful tropical island.

Like: The graphics are superb, even years after it was released. The island is so beautiful, in fact, that sometimes it is a pity you are fighting for your life instead of enjoying the beach. There are frogs, crabs, turtles and more that add life to the world, and I really like that. The interplay of your suit's abilities makes for very fun and interesting gameplay.

Dislike: The foul language is excessive and totally unnecessary. You feel powerful as Nomad, but I wish that the developers had made you even more powerful. Invisibility and speed, in particular, last a very short amount of time. This forces the player to be more strategic in their use, which is good, but I think it would have been even more fun and satisfying if speed and invisibility lasted a little bit longer.

Replayability: I have played this game through twice. It is very fun to play and I think it has a moderate to high replayability level.

Beautiful skies, day and night.

Varied environments.

Dishonored

Game Title: Dishonored

Platform(s): PC (also available on Xbox 360 and PS3)

Stars (out of 5): 5

Content issues: There is some strong language, but it is infrequent and didn't stand out to me, whereas it is very prevalent and in your face in some other games like in some of the levels in Rage and in Crysis.

There is one level where you go to a bathhouse which doubles as a brothel. I didn't explore it in depth, because I wanted to just beat the mission and leave, but the women are not overly revealing in their attire and I didn't see any sexual acts taking place. It is more of a thematic element. That being said, I was bothered by that level and I found it very unnecessary as a location.

The protagonist that you play, as well as some of the other characters in the game, have magic. It seems to be a sort of dark magic and the magic objects that you find and use in the game are carved out of whale bone. The powers you have are extremely fun to use, but there is a feeling that this magic doesn't come from a holy source. I disliked that dark feeling.

There are also dead bodies in the game. Most of them are dead because of the plague, but I found one particularly disturbing body in the torture chamber in one of the levels. The torturer was beating a body that had clearly been dead for some time. That was very jarring to me and I recommend avoiding that part of the game.

Finally, the game can be extremely violent, or not very violent, depending on the player's choices. I chose the non-violent path, although it is still somewhat violent. It is possible to play the game with only rarely facing enemies and then these enemies can be put to sleep via sleeping darts or choking (the choking is violent, but induces sleep instead of death). The player may beat the entire game without killing anyone. I killed a few people at the beginning before I became more adept at stealth and the killing is quite graphic. You typically chop their heads off or stab them in the neck. If you elect to play this game, I recommend taking the stealth approach to minimize violence.

Brief Summary: Dishonored is a game that appears to be set is some alternate version of Victorian England. The attire, buildings, etc. all follow that style. The graphics have a realistic, yet slightly cartoon-like style which is very pleasing to look at. You play the Lord Protector named Corvo. You are a powerful fighter to begin with, but you gain abilities throughout the gain which make you a force to be reckoned with.

Like: The art style is beautiful and fresh. The powers (especially blink) that you can purchase with the gold you find are extremely satisfying and fun to use. The story is engaging and you start to really identify with some of the characters. One of the greatest attributes of the game is the fact that you can choose your play style, vary it at will, and ultimately have a different outcome based off your actions. The variations are nearly endless.

Dislike: The inappropriate content and the dark feeling in the game were unpleasant, but the theme of the game kind of made it necessary for good story telling, and the story is a powerful one that I am glad I experienced and helped create.

Replayability: Because the story and the world change based off of your decisions and because there are so many different ways to play, I can see myself playing through this game three or four times. The achievements are also interesting and I'd like to get most or all of them. This game has high replayability.

Beautiful and unique art style.

Engaging characters.

Even beautiful sunsets!