BigPond GameArena's Scores

  • Games
For 334 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 49% higher than the average critic
  • 4% same as the average critic
  • 47% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 1.2 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Game review score: 76
Highest review score: 100 Dragon Age: Origins
Lowest review score: 10 Postal III
Score distribution:
  1. Negative: 31 out of 334
334 game reviews
    • 84 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Bulletstorm's best gag is that it'd be light years better if it didn't attempt to have any story at all. The story it does have is so clichéd they could almost credit Home Brand, and a large portion of the humour is written for 14 year olds. The skillshot system, the leash and the core game though - it's a fresh and interesting take on the FPS genre. There's genuinely more fun to be had playing through the Echo mode than there is putting up with the half-baked story in singleplayer.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    And so it is Fallout: New Vegas is both playable and enjoyable. It's variable too - Hardcore mode, playing a super dumb character, ramping up your charisma and speech from the beginning - all of these will result in a vastly different experience when you play the game.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    With the industry taking itself more and more seriously, Volition thumbs its nose at convention and gives you one hell of a ride. Expect that to escalate once you grab a buddy and hit co-op - just take my advice and keep friendly fire off, even if you're a masochist.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    It requires a significant investment of time before players will begin to enjoy themselves. It has loading times which are pretty bad at best and unacceptable at worst. Oh and for a lot of the game the only thing you'll be racing is your own PB time.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Skate 2 is an amazing skateboarding game. It's better than skate., the best skateboarding game out there.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    As singleplayer experiences go it's still phenomenal - especially for a loot ***** (rhymes with boar) like me. I've racked up 25 hours in the game now on just one of my characters - and I'll absolutely play it more.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 85 Critic Score
    As a multiplayer scrolling platformer, NSMBU successfully ad libs from a well worn Mario script to produce an evolution of the 2D platformer and importantly, a step forward for quality multiplayer games on the Wii U.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 95 Critic Score
    This is the best brawler I have played in years, and Fight Night Round 4 is going to have to do something truly special to take this one's championship belt.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 85 Critic Score
    Battlefield 1943 definitely has something for all shooter fans. Old school BF1943 will appreciate the map choices and the new ability to destroy what was once cover. New players will come to appreciate some of the best map designs ever all while immediately finding themselves able to compete against veterans.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    If it was a Wii game it would be one of the best on the console - hell if they stripped out the awkward, pain in the ass Land Battles it would be a much better game. Still, is it so much to ask that one 3DS game not be portable, one 3DS game not follow the format of 'pick up and play anywhere'? With the 3DS' currently small catalogue, I think so - but maybe in the future, things will change. I really hope they do.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    It's about expansion, trading, economics, boats, and staring at a lot of awfully pretty sci-fi buildings while you do so... which, frankly, is more than an enough for me.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Darksiders 2 "the game" is worth your time. Darksiders 2 the story is a little forgettable - and that's a bit disappointing, considering the first game contains one of my favourite moments in recent video game history.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    The core gameplay of ODST is decidedly average - as such it earns a decidedly average score.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    I wouldn't suggest purchasing a DS for Ghost Trick - it isn't a system seller. While it's definitely worth experiencing, it is more a story than a game and while I've reread plenty of my favourite books more than once, some time needs to pass before I can.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 85 Critic Score
    This is the biggest movement in any direction we've seen from a Call of Duty game since Modern Warfare - but unlike Infinity Ward's game changer, Black Ops 2 lacks a little in both the polish and conviction areas. It's going to be hard to go back to the same corridor shooters after Black Ops 2 - and it's going to be harder still for someone to convince me to play generic Team Deathmatch - but the game still feels like it falls short in some areas.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The more you play Need For Speed: Shift the more you find yourself forgiving the half-arsed attempt at vehicle damage.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    If you don't have time for an incredibly long game, don't buy Final Fantasy XIII.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    A little more spit and polish could have significantly elevated the title to the ranks of the FPS elite. The old school gameplay was a winner in my book; just don't expect to be wowed by the plot or anything else.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 85 Critic Score
    Stealing God of War 3's slightly adjustable camera and a little more imagination with scene dressing could have eliminated my only gripes with Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - the fixed camera and invisible walls. Still, with satisfying combat and great puzzles the journey to the end of Castlevania is absolutely worth it - and the destination is spine-chillingly awesome.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Darksiders is an absolute must have game, and the best possible way to start off gaming in 2010. In a year where almost every anticipated game is a sequel, Vigil Games has delivered a brand new IP the only way possible - flawlessly. The combination of action and puzzling is so perfectly calculated it screams 'gamer' - there's a gamer at Vigil with some power and s/he knows exactly what we want in a game.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 95 Critic Score
    The addition of UGC, the less angsty - but still serious - storyline and plethora of new abilities make inFAMOUS 2 a much better game than its predecessor.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Overall Call of Duty World at War is a great game with some great ideas, but it feels too familiar to be a real must have title.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Even with the pet and the infinite dungeon, Torchlight is very much the definition of a Diablo clone. If you liked Diablo and you want to play it again, saddle up because you are going to love Torchlight.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    So while World Cup South Africa definitely has some improvements, FIFA 10 is the better game.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    Hitman Absolution is a mistake. Even if in your mind the plot loops all the way past 'so bad it's bad' and back to 'so bad it's good' again, Hitman Absolution has more bugs than a service station meat pie and less direction than a headless chicken. A genuinely fun mode like Contracts can't save that. IO Interactive needs to restart from the Blood Money checkpoint and try again - they screwed up this run spectacularly.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    What Alan Wake is then is an outstanding piece of writing. The replayability will come from your drive to find all the manuscript pages you missed previously - you’ll need to put together each element of the story. You’ll want to just get lost in Alan Wake - and if you decide to pick it up, you’ll find it hard not to.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Valkyria Chronicles II is a great game. While it feels a bit more like a spin off than a sequel to the first Valkyria Chronicles story-wise, the gameplay is even better and much more involving.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    All over, F1 2011 is a fantastic simulation of the greatest motorsport in the world. It's sacrificed a little more game in favour of a little more sim this year - but the spirit of F1 is there in oodles, and for any F1 fan this year's game is a must buy.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 75 Critic Score
    If you don't need mods and prefer to play on your Xbox 360, Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition is much better built than its PC partner. Long time fans will no doubt find some of the differences disappointing - for instance the world is limited to 1024x1024 - and while this is small compared to the PC version, with an 8 player multiplayer limit it's still massive. If you are looking to finally see what the fuss is about, Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition is an excellent purchase.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 85 Critic Score
    A huge part of the NBA's appeal is the individuality of its players – 2K Sports has grasped this and more importantly – conveyed it. As a result, we’re damned if we haven’t noticed the maverick souls of Williams, Allen Iverson and Dawkins stirring within the 0s and 1s here - and the game is more "real" for it.

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