What exactly should a game make you feel? Every time I jump on the unsuspecting head of a Goomba, there’s a sense of joy that sneaks into my gullet. In a Mario game, the goal is fun in its purest form, which is expertly achieved with each and every platform jumped. On the other hand, I was on the absolute edge of my worn, plush bedroom chair during certain scenes in Heavy Rain. Both Ethan Mars and I were tested to our limits throughout the brutal trials of the Origami Killer, instilling both fear and anxiety within me. The entire game left a deep, emotional impact on me, but I didn’t have a lick of fun.
Reviewing Alice: Madness Returns almost feels like a rite of passage for me. You see, I'm from the same town as the childhood home of Charles Dodgson, better known to you and I by his pen-name, Lewis Carroll. As such, he's a bit of a local culture icon.
I played Alice: Madness Returns for the first time last year. What an amazing game and adventure. It's a huge shame we aren't getting a sequel to it. It absolutely deserves another game.
oh yeah, I remember this game! I remember liking it, but found the platforming to be utterly obnoxious. Loved the world design.
Good review!
Of course Sunset Overdrive gets a nod. It's Insomniac!
I personally think there's better on gamepass then what was listed. State of decay imo is better then anything listed. Recore seemed alright for what I played on there also.
Replies(1)
Yeah, especially on One X or Series X. It kinda feels like a PS2 platformer, but in a good way. I liked it.
Odd that he specified 'Game Pass Ultimate' instead of just 'Game Pass' just so he could include a relatively weak choice comparably in 'Alice: Madness Returns' which is available with EA Play. SoD was a far better overlooked game to have listed.
Dont know why they keep listing ultimate. Gamepass is the better value....but the reason I think is that ultimate includes online gwg.
I mean, as someone who games both on PC and Xbox, Ultimate makes a whole lot of sense. There's console exclusives and PC exclusives. And, at the end of the day, EA Play is still a perk of having Ultimate. When I open Gamepass, the EA Play catalogue is sitting right there for me. It's as much part of Gamepass as any other title I'm looking at, right?
From Games Radar: "Alice: Madness Returns has been removed from Steam just months after fans fought to get the creepy horror back onto Valve's PC platform.
The sequel was removed from sale back in 2016 following a DRM problem, an issue that kept the game off Steam for a full five years. It was finally reinstated in February 2022, only for fans to notice that, once again, it had been mysteriously pulled again earlier this month.
The game's Steam page says "at the request of the publisher, Alice: Madness Returns is no longer available for sale on Steam", but that's a standard disclaimer that doesn't really tell us very much. "
If I remember correctly, aside from having to change something in the .ini file to unlock the 30fps cap, the game is actually a decent port.
Replies(1)
I LOL at title if a game is not fun then why even play it?
Yes, Just like Journey. That game wasn't exactly "fun", it was more of an EXPERIENCE. I was gripped by the saddening feeling of loneliness, and actually jumped for joy when someone would pop on my screen online. It really is an amazing piece of interactive art. But it isn't exactly fun. It was an eye opening experience of what complete utter loneliness would feel like. The Bible is an amazing book, and if you believe in it it will evoke many things in you. But it wasn't meant to be a "fun" read, but it's still the top selling, most read, revered book in the world.
The article makes a good point, Heavy Rain was a fantastic game but it wasn't really fun in that sense because it wasn't supposed to be.
I'm hoping Kara (if that ever becomes a game) will provide the same experience.
Agreed, Most gamers forget that there is a difference between fun and entertaining. Untimely a game has to be entertaining, weather it goes about method by being mindless fun like Mario games , or goes for a entertaining story heavy method like VNs do should not be used to criticize a game.