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	<title>Pixelsocks.com &#187; Review</title>
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	<link>http://www.pixelsocks.com</link>
	<description>Where games go to find out what they&#039;re worth</description>
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		<title>Joe Danger: Special Edition Review</title>
		<link>http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/12/19/joe-danger-special-edition-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/12/19/joe-danger-special-edition-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 20 Dec 2011 05:54:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pixelsocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[XBLA]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.pixelsocks.com/?p=5353</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/12/19/joe-danger-special-edition-review/"><img src="http://www.pixelsocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/2d07c64.png" alt="" title="2d07c64" width="600" height="232" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5354" /></a>

It's the holiday season and there's a hell of a lot of cheer going around. So I'd like to call you back to one of your less pleasant memories. Recall opening up your presents on christmas morning as a wee tyke. You're drunk on the last six weeks of advertising and nothing eclipses your love for a toy car playset. There's gonna be ramps and loops and racing and crashing, and it'll be the best toy ever. Now recall what it actually was: a bunch of boring plastic that barely fits together and is fated for the first garage sale of the season. Remember that disappointment. <em>Joe Danger: Special Edition</em> promises to right that wrong, and for the most part it delivers.


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		<title>Orcs Must Die Review</title>
		<link>http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/11/30/orcs-must-die-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/11/30/orcs-must-die-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:57:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pixelsocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[PC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[XBLA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[orcs must die]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Xbox 360]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.pixelsocks.com/?p=5329</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/11/30/orcs-must-die-review/"><img src="http://www.pixelsocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/OrcsMustDiebanner.png" alt="" title="OrcsMustDiebanner" width="600" height="230" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5346" /></a>

It's hard to believe that just a few short years ago tower defense was mostly confined to cultish flash games. Indies have have since stretched the genre into multiplayer, dropped player perspective to the trenches, and even stripped out the walls. <em>Orcs Must Die</em> is best understood against that backdrop. It's a payoff game that emerges from so much industry to refine innovation into polish.


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/04/28/portal-2-review/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Portal 2 Review'>Portal 2 Review</a> <small> It's hard to talk about Portal games without spoiling...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/07/26/bastion-review/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Bastion Review'>Bastion Review</a> <small> Content is overwhelmingly visible in games. Mechanics, art assets,...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/08/09/cthulhu-saves-the-world-review/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Cthulhu Saves the World Review'>Cthulhu Saves the World Review</a> <small> Cthulhu isn't usually my go-to guy when I'm vetting...</small></li>
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		<item>
		<title>Data Jammers: Fast Forward Review</title>
		<link>http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/11/16/data-jammers-fast-forward-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/11/16/data-jammers-fast-forward-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:53:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pixelsocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[PC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Review]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.pixelsocks.com/?p=5304</guid>
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<em>Data Jammers: FastForward</em> teases apart the difference between casual and easy, which is a lost nicety in modern gaming. It's also concise, tightly designed, and pretty, but it's best distinguished as a casual game with fangs. All this is comes as a surprise from a game whose closest evolutionary relative is the racing genre, but there's just no accounting for indie creativity.


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		<title>Muramasa: The Demon Blade Review</title>
		<link>http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/10/11/muramasa-the-demon-blade-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/10/11/muramasa-the-demon-blade-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 12 Oct 2011 05:14:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pixelsocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wii]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.pixelsocks.com/?p=5272</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.pixelsocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Muramasa-Banner.png"><img src="http://www.pixelsocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Muramasa-Banner.png" alt="" title="Muramasa Banner" width="600" height="102" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5278" /></a>

Developers tend to have a signature--a type of game they make. Nippon Ichi makes grindy strategy games. Bethesda makes overambitious open world RPGs. Bioware remakes KotOR every few years. It's not ubiquetous or anything, but when you're in the biz, you tend to stick to what you're good at.

Vanillaware's makes a particular kind of brawler. They take a rich cultural tradition of myth, realize it lovingly in pixel art, and then insert some characters to punch everyone in the face. They did it to <a href="http://www.pixelsocks.com/2007/11/05/odin-sphere/">Norse myth</a> (which didn't really need more face-punching), and they've hit Japanese myth now with <em>Muramasa: The Demon Blade</em>. Mercifully, Vanillaware seems to have learned something between the two games, sparing <em>Muramasa</em> the ennui that ruined their first brawler.


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		<item>
		<title>Valkyria Chronicles Review</title>
		<link>http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/09/12/valkyria-chronicles-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/09/12/valkyria-chronicles-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 13 Sep 2011 03:08:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pixelsocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Playstation 3]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Review]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.pixelsocks.com/?p=5240</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/09/12/valkyria-chronicles-review/"><img src="http://www.pixelsocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Valkyria_Chronicles-016.jpg" alt="" title="Valkyria_Chronicles-016" width="500" height="188" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5241" /></a>

Valkyria Chronicles distinguishes itself as the most callous time-waster I've played. This is a terrible shame because there's about five hours of genuinely good strategy mired in the cruft, load times, gotchas, and overlong story. I suppose a briefer experience would waste the game's magnificent take on cell shading, but so does this drudgery.


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		<title>Deus Ex: Human Revolution Review</title>
		<link>http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/08/31/deus-ex-human-revolution-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/08/31/deus-ex-human-revolution-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:33:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pixelsocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[PC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Playstation 3]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[XBox 360]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.pixelsocks.com/?p=5224</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/08/31/deus-ex-human-revolution-review/"><img src="http://www.pixelsocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/deusex_banner.jpg" alt="" title="deusex_banner" width="512" height="146" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5227" /></a>

Deus Ex Human Revolution isn't as much a sequel as it is a remake. It takes the principles that made Deus Ex a landmark and recontextualizes them in modern design. The result feels familiar and polished, which is a narcotic mix for gamers of a certain age. It's a bit worrisome to see the franchise so static a decade later, but it's hard to argue with compelling play.


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<li><a href='http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/08/25/gamestop-pulls-coupons-games-from-shelves/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Gamestop Pulls Coupons, Games From Shelves'>Gamestop Pulls Coupons, Games From Shelves</a> <small>I always thought it would be nice if retail games...</small></li>
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		<title>Cthulhu Saves the World Review</title>
		<link>http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/08/09/cthulhu-saves-the-world-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/08/09/cthulhu-saves-the-world-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 10 Aug 2011 01:40:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pixelsocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[cthulhu saves the world]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[zeboyd games]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.pixelsocks.com/?p=5184</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/08/09/cthulhu-saves-the-world-review/"><img src="http://www.pixelsocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/107310.png" alt="" title="107310" width="469" height="80" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5185" /></a>

Cthulhu isn't usually my go-to guy when I'm vetting global saviors. Elder gods are pretty infamous for decending from the stars, driving men mad, and then consuming the world to slake their unknowable hunger. Still, <em>Cthulhu Saves the World</em> makes a compelling counterpoint, though that may just be the madness talking.



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<li><a href='http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/04/28/portal-2-review/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Portal 2 Review'>Portal 2 Review</a> <small> It's hard to talk about Portal games without spoiling...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/07/22/steam-pays-dividends-for-indies-xbla-not-so-much/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Steam Pays Dividends for Indies, XBLA not so much'>Steam Pays Dividends for Indies, XBLA not so much</a> <small>Remember waaaaay back when Shatter&#8216;s Mario Wynands told us that,...</small></li>
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		<title>Bastion Review</title>
		<link>http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/07/26/bastion-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/07/26/bastion-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 27 Jul 2011 05:01:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pixelsocks</dc:creator>
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		<category><![CDATA[XBLA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bastion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[supergiant games]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Xbox 360]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.pixelsocks.com/?p=5142</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/07/26/bastion-review/"><img src="http://www.pixelsocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Bastion_E3_6x31_Final03.jpg" alt="" title="Bastion_E3_6x31_Final03" width="600" height="183" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5147" /></a>

Content is overwhelmingly visible in games. Mechanics, art assets, narrative, and design spring to salience because those are the interactive parts. Really, what else matters?  <em>Bastion</em> is a rare game that answers that question, and it's a revelation. You owe it to yourself to play this game because it can change the way you look at others.


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		<title>Portal 2 Review</title>
		<link>http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/04/28/portal-2-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/04/28/portal-2-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 29 Apr 2011 03:12:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pixelsocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Portal 2]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Valve]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.pixelsocks.com/?p=4992</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.pixelsocks.com/?p=4992"><img src="http://www.pixelsocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/portal2banner.jpg" alt="Portal 2" title="Portal 2 banner" width="600" height="187" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5003" /></a>
It's hard to talk about <em>Portal </em>games without spoiling them. However, it's fair to say that a strong lineage carries a burden of expectation. <em>Portal 2</em> rises to that burden with a combination of diverse content, expert craftsmanship, and brilliant writing.


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<li><a href='http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/04/13/stop-procrastinating-and-buy-portal-2-already/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Stop Procrastinating and Buy Portal 2 Already'>Stop Procrastinating and Buy Portal 2 Already</a> <small>Oh hey, did you hear they&#8217;re making a sequel to...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/04/15/portal-2-arg-has-real-consequences/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Portal 2 ARG Has Real Consequences'>Portal 2 ARG Has Real Consequences</a> <small>Hints and rumors from the Portal 2 ARG have been...</small></li>
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		<title>Flower Review</title>
		<link>http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/03/15/flower-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/03/15/flower-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 15 Mar 2011 15:00:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>pixelsocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[PSN]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[flower]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thatgamecompany]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.pixelsocks.com/?p=4889</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/03/15/flower-review/"><img src="http://www.pixelsocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/flower-banner.jpg" alt="" title="flower banner" width="575" height="323" class="alignright size-full wp-image-4896" /></a>

<em>Flower</em> is less game than toy, but it will be one of your favorites. Its freeform flight and elegant design make it a flight sim with sandboxy undertones. You won't find love here that makes your heart race, but something more soothing and companionate.


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