Recent reviews by Ausdrake

It's a shame we live in a world where a 65 rating is considered bad and not just average. In light of this, screw Metacritic.

SSZ is a straightforward, arcadey space combat game with a twist. Being able to transform into what's essentially a Gundam is a great spin on the genre, and you get a real sense of power when you do; casually swatting away swarms of enemy fighters and missiles like they were nothing. Yet it balances this power with an energy bar of sorts, the more enemies you destroy, the more the it charges, making you swap between the two forms often, which keeps the pace of the action high and stops it from degenerating into constant dogfights.

Strike Suit Zero is a pure fun. If you like streamlined, action oriented space games, this is easily one of your best options available. It's a simple beast, but it's also a fast paced, satisfying, and damn good looking game.

A great reboot of one of the best old school shooters out there. Get this game for bunnyhopping, demon fragging fast paced goooodness.

Not so much a game as it is an "experience". I know that sounds pretentious so let me explain. The extent of the game is burning things in front of a fire place, fun things that have unusual behaviours when burned. It goes further than that however, between the letters your receive and the puzzle-like achievements there is enough to keep you engaged till the end.

That's the important part: The End. If you buy this, make sure you finish it because the end is the most crucial part of Little Inferno and what everyone will be talking about, and it is beautiful.

This could be called a "Triple A Indie" game and the quality shows. This is easily one of the best stealth games out there, which sounds bizarre given it's a 2D platformer but it just works through great design. Of course if you'd prefer to be a mass murdering ninja then you can do that to, but don't expect to live long if you don't utlise stealth. It also looks gorgeous in motion.

Controls fantastically and has a great pixel aesthetic. This is a pure and challenging platformer experience which I highly recommend.

A platformer of the highest quality. Giana Sisters controls extremely well, is surprisingly challenging without being punishing and looks gorgeous, almost as good as Trine. As you'd expect with a soundtrack co-produced by Machinae Supremacy; the music is also fantastic.

“It’s like doing bath-salts in Miami and chewing off a dudes face”, a rather apt description that doesn't quite do the game justice.

This game is fast paced. You're given a moment at the start of a level to survey the layout and the enemy movements, then when you've planned out your attack, as soon as you alert the first enemy the game gives you little time to think as you brutally murder your way through the level, all at the behest of strange voices on the phone. The story is subtle, requiring you to investigate once you've finished the game and piece together what's happened. Things just occur with no immediately obvious explanations which helps contribute to the game's psychadelic atmosphere. Hotline Miami has a perfectly realised musical score that truly compliments the mood.

If you'd like a drug-hazed ultra-violent top down action game with a layer of strategy and planning, subtle story and amazing music this game is for you.

Originally a fun game but rather sparsely populated, now free to play, plenty of players AND without Games for Windows Live? What are you waiting for, click that play button!

A classic adventure game in the vein of the Lucasarts classics. Deponia has a goofy sense of humour, fun characters, an entertaining story and a gorgeous art style. Unlike many adventure games the puzzles are usually pretty easy to work out, or at least very rarely throw abstract absurdism your way. It's a bit on the short side but you'll still get a good bit of playtime out of it if you don't use a guide. it's an excellent example of the genre.

Geometry Wars meets Beat Hazard. This is more than just a music game, it's a thoroughly entertaining mouse controlled shoot'em up with a surprisingly deep upgrade system. You can find an impressive variety of weapons after completing songs which you can then upgrade. This provides a bit more depth to the game and keeps things interesting as you progress through the difficulty levels.

This is a great way to enjoy your music, and much more involved than many other music driven games.