SPLICED Magazine Issue 02 Dec/Jan 2014 | Page 166

SPLICED GAMING / ISSUE 02 MINI REVIEWS PLATFORMS PC GENRE Survival horror DEVELOPER The Chinese Room AGE RATING 18 PLATFORMS GENRE DEVELOPER AGE RATING Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs LEGO Marvel Super Heroes Amnesia: The Dark Descent is perhaps the most successfully frightening game I’ve ever played. Its pseudo sequel, subtitled A Machine for Pigs, substitutes much of the overwhelming, in-your-face horror of its forebear for something more cerebrally disturbing, more psychologically nauseating. There’s a greater emphasis on narrative, which is to be expected considering development honours were handed to Dear Esther developers The Chinese Room. Outstanding writing is its greatest asset, weaving a horrifying tale that by the end will have you torn between wanting to applaud or vomit. That’s not to say that it’s not traditionally unnerving as well, although far less so than its predecessor. While certain aspects of the original (like the inventory system) have been dropped, it retains its immersive physics-powered gameplay that sees you physically moving your mouse to swing doors open and closed, and to move objects. That feeling of helplessness that so strongly pervades the first game is present here too. With no way to combat the horrors you face as you descend into the titular machine, your only choice is to run and scream and swear and sweat until eventually you begin to despise yourself for loving this game’s hateful existence as much as you do.  by Dane Remendes LEGO Marvel Super Heroes is awesome! Yes, really. You want to know why? It’s filled with two of my favourite things – LEGO and a fantastic cast of villains and heroes that makes for a game that might just be the best one in the franchise. It’s filled with the trademark LEGO sense of humour, a massive cast, and a really fun and engaging storyline. In fact I think this might be the best storyline I’ve played in the LEGO series because it’s coherent and well put together. You’ll switch characters half way through levels, but it never feels as if there are two parts of an incomplete story happening simultaneously – it’s well handled and feels relatively seamless. The puzzles are perhaps not as challenging as they could be, and this indicates the targeting of the younger gamers, but they’re still fun to play through. The main campaign is somewhere in the