- Vote for Your Favorite People's Choice - Vote for Your Favorite Transistor Reviewed on May 20 Transistor’s the kind of game that made me immediately jump back in to take on New Game Plus. I wanted to continue exploring the excellent combat in new, more challenging scenarios. I wanted to double back on the areas that I’d missed the first time through, and try to fill in the gaps of the fantastic story. But most of all, I wasn’t ready to leave Red or her world behind Banner Saga Reviewed on January 14 The Banner Saga deserves commendation for the strength of its art and music experience alone, which shatters conventions. That experience, in turn, complements a bleak story of a world teetering before its fall, where the harshness of the Scandinavian landscape mirrors the plight of mutually distrustful refugees. It's also a tough tactical RPG that rewards thought and careful strategy, although it stumbles a bit in explaining systems beyond its combat. Defense Grid 2 Reviewed on October 14 Defense Grid 2’s new variations on the original’s excellent tower defense gameplay pulled me right back into the compulsively addictive quest to destroy all aliens with a minimum of expenditure. I don’t recommend the multiplayer and the story doesn’t even compare to the standard set by the original, but its 20 maps absolutely scratch that same itch – and provide lots of tools to keep that momentum going for a long while.
- Endless Legend Reviewed on September 23 Endless Legend plays out on one of the greatest, most beautiful maps in strategy gaming history. It combines style, substance, and setting into a marvelous overall experience for both empire management and tactical combat. It struggles slightly with strategic depth, but this is a science fiction and fantasy strategy game with tremendous soul. Hearthstone Reviewed on March 13 It’s always a good sign when a game’s only major downside is that there just isn’t enough of it. The elegant simplicity of Hearthstone’s rules, its impressive attention to detail and personality, and the true viability of playing completely for free make it easy to fall under its spell and get blissfully lost in the depths of its strategic possibilities. But, paradoxically, the way the store works and the lack of a trading economy means it’s easy to feel disappointed when you do spend money.Hearthstone’s an amazing collectible card game today, and if Blizzard can deliver a steady stream of fresh content, I’m down to log at least another 1,000 matches in the months and years to come.