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Reviews, Xbox 360

Army of Two: Veteran Map Pack [Xbox 360] – Review

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As I’ve explained before, I’m a sucker for achievements and trophies, at least on the home consoles, where most of my game time is spent. It was disappointing then, to learn that Army of Two had achievements tied a piece of DLC that was no longer available. Now, I wasn’t going to be able to obtain all of the achievements for Army of Two anyway, since many were tied to the game’s long defunct online multiplayer mode, but it was still disheartening to learn I’d miss out on some associated with the game’s single player/cooperative campaign.

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Reviews, Xbox 360

Army of Two [Xbox 360] – Review

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When Jeff and I started Kirby’s Epic Yarn a few months ago, we were just looking for something to play cooperatively. Little did we know then, that would set us on a path of playing the game’s spiritual successors: Yoshi’s Woolly World and Yoshi’s Crafted World. Since we enjoyed that first game so thoroughly, it just made sense to hop into the follow-ups. They offered us hours of inventive platforming and charming visuals, in addition to a sense of relief of knowing what we’d play next. Like figuring out what’s for dinner, deciding what to play next can be tough, especially when the deliberations include multiple individuals. With the completion of Yoshi’s Crafted World, the most recent of Good-Feel’s oeuvre, we were once again hemming and hawing about what to play next. We’d been on a kick of playing games with full-on cooperative campaigns and decided that was the only criteria a candidate needed to fulfill. Scanning the shelves of games before us, we vetoed proposals and backlogged others, agreeing that “yeah, this one is good, but maybe later,” before striking on one that was tailor-made for our situation: Army of Two.

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PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Reviews

Home – A Unique Horror Adventure [PlayStation 4/PlayStation Vita] – Review

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Home - PlayStation 4 - Logo

As its full title suggests, Home is a unique horror adventure. The 2D side-scroller wasn’t scary per se, but the disturbing story at its core was chilling. Created and published by Toronto, Canada-based indie developer Benjamin Rivers, Home debuted in 2012 and is available on a variety of platforms including the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita, where I played it. Blending nostalgic pixel graphics and creepy, minimal sound design, the game emanated a sinister vibe that kept me on edge as I uncovered a series of murderous events.

Assuming the role of an unlucky fellow awaking to find himself away from home and not sure why, I retraced his steps, exploring unsettling scenes along the way in the hopes of finding clues. They didn’t bode well. But maybe things weren’t all that bad, either. Taking certain items, putting others back, answering yes or no questions influenced the game’s outcome in a “choose-your-own-adventure” sort of way. Regardless of the choices I made, the endings were somewhat ambiguous, leaving plenty open to interpretation and further rumination.

Home - PlayStation 4 - Screenshot
The avatar’s flashlight offered a unique perspective on the game world.

It took me anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour to complete a playthrough, depending on how thorough I wanted to be. Because of dual trophy support on the PS4 and Vita and the game’s brevity, I played through the entirety of it twice, like a madman! It looked and sounded great on the big TV, but man was it perfect for the Vita. I can’t say that Home blew my socks off or anything, but its dark tale and interactivity was novel and thought-provoking.