Dan Zuccarelli

Reviews
November 24, 2012
The Walking Dead: Episode 5 – No Time Left Review
By Dan Zuccarelli
I have been along for the ride of The Walking Dead since Episode 1: A New Day. I liked it, but I didn't love it. It showed promise. By the end of Episode 2: Starved For Help, I was completely on board. It was at the end of Episode 3: Long Road Ahead where I first uttered the phrase "potential game of the year." The penultimate Episode 4: Around Every Corner wasn't as high a watermark, but it set up a compelling and harrowing finale. Does the newest and final episode of the season, No Time Left, possibly payoff?
Reviews
October 30, 2012
Spell Rift Review
By Dan Zuccarelli
I've said as much in the past, but crafting a puzzle game that sets you apart in the iOS space gets tougher and tougher by the day. At this point even the clones have clones. So while creating a game that stands out is a rarely achieved goal in recent times, I'm glad to see app developers are still giving it a go. Spell Rift doesn't quite reach that breakout status, but it's enjoyable nonetheless.
Reviews
October 22, 2012
Finger Tied Review
By Dan Zuccarelli
I love playing an iOS game that really embraces the strengths of the touch-screen interface, instead of trying to force other control schemes onto it. Sure, some of the dual-stick shooters or FPS games turn out fine. Heck, even a few of the platformers are good. But there's nothing like playing a game on the iPad that simply couldn't exist on another system, one perfectly suited to the device. Finger Tied is just such a game.
Reviews
October 15, 2012
The Walking Dead: Episode 4 – Around Every Corner Review
By Dan Zuccarelli
I... I'm writing this as a broken man. I've always done my best to give everyone a fair shake; to always do what I thought was best. I was never selfish, and without fail put myself in harm's way to protect others. But I reached a breaking point I didn't even know I had, and not by just a little bit, either. Now I'm here trying to put the shattered pieces back together after saying and doing things I can't take back, and this blood just won't wash off my hands so easily anymore.
Reviews
October 1, 2012
The Room Review
By Dan Zuccarelli
The Room is a puzzle-adventure game that will instantly remind you of the old Myst games - assuming you're as old as I am, that is. If it's before your time, keep it to yourself; I'm still trying to come to terms with the fact that The Princess Bride is 25 years old. Where were we? Ah yes, The Room. It's a riddle, wrapped in an enigma, wrapped in a box. A beautiful, devilish box.
Reviews
September 3, 2012
Cabinet Noir Review
By Dan Zuccarelli
Never in a million years did I ever think the text adventure game genre would make a comeback. I mean, it's sort of ridiculous. While I have many fond memories of navigating my way through Zork, those games are by all accounts antiquated. They were a product of their time, certainly, but with desktop computers now more powerful than the shuttle that delivered men to the moon, why would we choose to play a text adventure game? Cabinet Noir and the StoryNexus system makes a compelling case.
Reviews
September 2, 2012
The Walking Dead: Episode 3 – Long Road Ahead Review
By Dan Zuccarelli
I felt like Episode 1 of The Walking Dead was better than okay, but not by much. The storyline was good, but the gameplay seemed to flounder a bit, not sure where it wanted to concentrate. Episode 2 honed the story down to a razor's edge of awesome, and the gameplay was tightened up to serve the game's quiet moments as well as its pulse-pounding action ones. I'm happy to report that Episode 3 doesn't regress at all.
Reviews
August 27, 2012
Lost Cities Review
By Dan Zuccarelli
Lost Cities is a 2-player card game where you and your opponent vie for the most treasure points by going on adventures. There are 5 different-colored card sets numbered 2-10, each of which represents a separate treasure hunt. Players play cards in colored tracks on their side of the board to try and end the game with the most points. Of course, there's more to it than just simply playing a bunch of cards haphazardly to get the most points.