QCF: City of Brass

This review was freelanced by Jon McAnally. You can find more reviews and articles written by hiim over at https://dontfeedthegamers.com/author/jonmcanally/Follow me on the Twitterverse @McAnallyJon

pon first hearing of Uppercut Games’ first-person title, City of Brass, I was intrigued as to what Bioshock veterans could bring to the roguelite genre. Add that to the part of me that is desperately awaiting a new Prince of Persia title, and you can understand why I was pretty excited. After getting my hands on it, I wasn’t disappointed; at least, not completely.

City of Brass heavily pulls from the Arabian Nights stylizations. It’s very apparent even in the title’s logo that this game is set in the dark ages of the Middle East, and brings all the mystical Persian Empire-esque wonder with it. Desert sands, scimitars, magic genies, and booby-trapped treasures litter the title in the best ways possible.

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QCF: Alien: Isolation

hen done right, playing a scary video game that manages to be legitimately unsettling, can trigger an entirely different dimension of fear that other forms of media will never be able to emulate, and that even goes for film. Agency is no longer a power struggle, but now a will to survive, and every action has an entirely different weight behind it’s consequence than a mere failure—the test of nerve under these settings can be maddening for some; if the impact is there of course, but in more recent years, it’s been lacking.

In a twist of strange coincidence, Ridley Scott’s Alien license within the realm of games have also been lacking, so it was only a matter of time before we would see the iconic Xenomorph return to its roots, and Sega’s efforts have never been so determined like they have with Alien: Isolation.

As far as scares and anxiety go, Alien Isolation gets the job done, and does it with gusto; but while it's certainly effective with the space frights, this isn't a sensation that can carry an entire game into an experience that's worth playing, and much is the case with the latest endeavor of the Sci-Fi monster show.

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PAX Prime 2012: Dishonored Preview

Even though PAX is one of the best outlets for indie games to find a home on an expo show floor, the show can, from time to time, boast an impressive line-up of the most anticipated games revealed within the respective year. One of those said top tier games was Dishonored.

Developed by the fellas at Arkane Studios, whose rap sheet lists work on games like Dark Messiah: Might and Magic and Bioshock 2, Dishonored takes the first-person action approach to a whole different level of depth with the promises galore. Some of these touted features range from multiple circumstantial tactics that adapt based completely on your actions and decisions to limitless freedom with a user-supported magic ability palate that will push your imagination with every combination you create. With Bethesda hosting a playable build of the game, I jumped at the chance to see the title first-hand, and the result I came away with was, well…fulfillment followed by unbridled excitement, to say the least.

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