Dear Esther Review | Free Download

Dear Esther is not a video game; at least, not in the traditional sense. In 2008, it was released for the PC as a Half-Life 2 mod. Now, it has been rereleased as a stand-alone product with updated visuals and remastered audio. It casts you as a person stranded on a lonely island. At first, it seems you are the narrator, whose voice chimes in as you explore. However, even this easy assumption is called into question as the pieces of the narrator's story come together. If met with an open mind, Dear Esther can intrigue you with its haunting tale.

You're more of an observer than a participant in Dear Esther, walking and listening and doing little else. It's devoid of enemies to test your reflexes, and the only puzzles are those built into the story. The singular goal is exploration, albeit along a linear path. Your journey begins on a shoreline, staring out into the endless sea. Then, the narrator interjects. His voice--that of a seemingly middle-aged, well-spoken Englishman--is your only companion. He recounts events from his life, both past and present, that lead up to his incarceration on the island.

These snippets are automatically triggered as you progress, and their delivery is excellent. The lyrical prose blends exposition with poetry, and the articulate delivery injects hints of frustration and melancholy. Together, they form a consistent tone as somber and beautiful as the island itself. Dear Esther's visual update renders it almost unrecognizable from what it was four years ago. While the setting is realistic, Dear Esther plays with light and color in a way that makes each section feel distinct and, at times, otherworldly.

Eventually, you learn of the island's previous inhabitants and their toils. That, in turn, informs your own situation. As you start constructing what's really going on, more questions are raised than can be answered. Am I dreaming? Why am I here? Am I the narrator? One of the tale's few certainties is the significance of the distant, blinking radio tower, which is rarely out of view.

Read full review at gamespot.com

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Gotham City Impostors Reviews | Free Download Link

If you've caught a nasty case of first-person-shooter fatigue, you might be wondering what the genre needs to do to reignite your interest. Gotham City Impostors, a downloadable offering developed by the people responsible for the F.E.A.R. franchise, has one potential answer: add obsessed Batman and Joker admirers who can grapple, glide and roller-skate around arenas with aplomb. It's an unusual solution that produces a memorable game.

Gotham City Impostors doesn't star Batman himself or any of the traditional antagonists from the DC canon. Rather, the experience focuses on two rival gangs that are vying for control over Gotham City. They call themselves the Jokerz and the Bats, but they're not nearly as sophisticated as the hero and villain who inspire them. The differences can be explained by financial limitations; one of the Bats will inform you if you wisely choose to complete the Initiation mode. Batman can afford to be noble--to beat the stuffing out of a bad guy and let him limp home--but these gang members don't have that luxury. Death and dismemberment are their only options.

Apart from the brief tutorial and a more extended Challenges mode that turns the game's available arenas into demanding obstacle courses (consider this mode your boot camp; a chance to acquaint yourself with area layouts without needing to constantly look over your shoulder), the entire experience takes place online. You are randomly assigned to one of the two gangs at the start of a given round. You and as many as five allies try to demolish the rival team in one of three primary modes: Team Deathmatch, Fumigation, and Psych Warfare.

Read full review at gemspot.com 

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