review – Michael Iantorno

March 1, 2022

Power Bombs and Glass Cannons: A Reflection on Metroid Dread

9 Min Read

01March

This is more of a personal reflection on Metroid: Dread rather than a review. I mention this off the top because I’m not claiming any sort of objectivity — my critiques of the game are firmly rooted in my ongoing love for Super Metroid and Metroid: Fusion. To put in bluntly: I’m judging Dread in comparison to two of the series strongest entries, which is unfair for innumerable reasons. As most of...

July 25, 2017

Risk Legacy: In Defense of a Disposable Board Game

By Michael

5 Min Read

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25July

Risk Legacy is a $50 board game that you’ll probably only play 15 times. If I had tried to sell you on that concept twenty years ago you probably would have laughed in my face. Board games have long been vaunted for their replay value and durability. If you grew up in the burbs, it’s likely you knew someone with a venerable iteration of Clue or a well-worn Monopoly set from fifties...

December 20, 2014

The Cave Review

By Mathew

3 Min Read

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20December

I really wanted to like The Cave. The premise caught me immediately. Start out by assembling a team of three from a rogue’s gallery of characters ranging from a perpetually flourescent time traveler, a knight in shining armour, and a pair of twins who look like they fell out of a Tim Burton movie. After making your pick, drop down into a mysterious cave and delve into the dark backstories...

July 23, 2014

ConBravo 2014: D&D Next First Impressions

By Michael

3 Min Read

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23July

This is part two of a three part series where Michael reviews his experiences as ConBravo. I actually didn’t get a chance to play any of the multitude of table-top games available at ConBravo. Sad but true! However, former Spellstorm organizer Dominic Amann was running a newbie table of D&D Next and let me sit in for the first hour to learn the rules and get a feel for the system...

July 4, 2014

First Impressions – Transistor

By Michael

2 Min Read

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04July

I think by now you are all aware of the love we give Bastion around here, and by extension, SuperGiant Games. So it is no wonder that I picked up a copy of Transistor a couple of weeks ago, SuperGiant’s sophomore effort released back in May. Much like its predecessor, it is an action-RPG rooted in an ability/item management system. Where it differs is its setting: a stunning futuristic...

December 21, 2013

First Impressions – Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together

By Michael

3 Min Read

1 Comment

21December

I’m a huge Final Fantasy Tactics fan, so when I heard that Squeenix had made another tactical RPG that looked essentially like the same damn game my interest was piqued. I picked up the PSP version with high hopes of playing another strategic masterpiece, and although I may have set my expectations a bit high I’m still pretty impressed. Below are my first impressions of the game...

October 23, 2013

The Pallid Plague Review

By Mathew

4 Min Read

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23October

There are two things that the average player will take away from The Pallid Plague. The first is a smug sense of satisfaction from trouncing an entire cult without breaking a sweat. This is, without any exaggeration, one of the easiest Pathfinder scenarios ever published. The brave Pathfinders are sent to the far off land of Andoran to investigate a plague that has been ravaging the fey residents...

October 16, 2013

Organ Trail: Director’s Cut Review

By Mathew

3 Min Read

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16October

Organ Trail is more of a prolonged joke than a game. Anything based on Oregon Trail would have to be, I suppose. For those of you who aren’t children of the 1990s, Oregon Trail was a computer game released to schools on floppy diskette. The player assumes the role of a man guiding his family across America to Oregon by means of covered wagon. Raging rivers, bears, and dysentery stand in the...

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