Jillian Werner

Jillian will play any game with cute characters or an isometric perspective, but her favorites are Fallout 3, Secret of Mana, and Harvest Moon. Her PC suffers from permanent cat-on-keyboard syndrome, which she blames for most deaths in Don’t Starve. She occasionally stops gaming long enough to eat waffles and rewatch Battlestar Galactica.

Reviews
March 11, 2013
Jones On Fire Review
By Jillian Werner
Gamers have received a lot of imperatives over the years: the empire is evil and must be stopped, this threat to the galaxy needs to be obliterated, shoot everything that moves. But none is so simple, so noble, as Jones on Fire's single sentence tagline: "Kitties are cute and should be saved."
Upcoming
March 9, 2013
Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues Preview
By Jillian Werner
Richard "Lord British" Garriott has a Pied Piper effect on RPG players; when we hear his enchanting pitch, we're compelled to follow. And with good reason—his prolific and genre-defining Ultima series and 15-years-running MMORPG Ultima Online put the player's immersion and investment in their worlds above all else. After an extended sabbatical focusing on non-Ultima MMOs and even Facebook hoarder fantasies, Garriott is back to doing what he does best in the mesmerizing multiplayer RPG, Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues.
Reviews
March 7, 2013
The Silent Age Review
By Jillian Werner
The Silent Age begins with a normal guy. Joe, the epitome of the "average Joe," works as a janitor at a national security agency in present-day 1972. Joe enjoys watching Dragnet, cares little about modern art, and occasionally dreams of an Easy Rider lifestyle. Joe is an everyman and a nobody, and then suddenly: he's a time traveler and the last hope for Earth.
Reviews
March 4, 2013
Driftmoon Review
By Jillian Werner
The lunar world of Driftmoon is in trouble. Soon after arriving back in your hometown of Northrop, a band of lizard warriors attack, leaving your friends and neighbors turned to stone and your alchemist father kidnapped. With few clues to go on, you set out on a journey to rescue your father and find a way to save the petrified townsfolk, not realizing that this adventure will take you around the moon and into the heart of an evil thousands of years old.
Reviews
March 1, 2013
Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien Review
By Jillian Werner
The BIT.TRIP series has brought gamers a lot of retro-inspired joy over the past four years. Although each title in the six-game BIT.TRIP collection (Beat, Core, Fate, Flux, Runner, and Void) features wildly varied gameplay mechanics—from Pong-like paddling to Gradius-esque shooting—they all share similar visual and musical aesthetics while abstractly telling the story of Commander Video. Runner2, the first direct sequel to a BIT.TRIP game, leaves the blocky Atari visuals behind but brings the challenge, charm, and superb gameplay of the series into the next generation.
Reviews
February 27, 2013
Partia Review
By Jillian Werner
With Fire Emblem: Awakening taking the handheld console world by storm, those of us with iDevices are left wondering: where's our Fire Emblem? Despite the presence of quality tactical RPGs like Ravenmark and Battle for Wesnoth, no iOS game has fully captured the epic feel of that classic Nintendo series. Partia: The Broken Lineage comes the closest, creating both an admirable homage to Fire Emblem, and a fulfilling experience all its own.
Upcoming
February 26, 2013
XING: The Land Beyond Preview
By Jillian Werner
The new Golden Age of exploration-focused adventures may very well be upon us. Journey snagged multiple Game of the Year awards in 2012, The Witness was a highlight of the PlayStation 4 reveal, and even Horn, ripe with sword-slashing and monster-slaying, is revered for its beautiful landscapes and immersive world. Into this atmosphere of placing environment over evisceration, puzzles over pugilism, steps XING: The Land Beyond.
Reviews
February 19, 2013
Valcarta I: Rise of the Demon Review
By Jillian Werner
The first title in a planned five-game series, Valcarta I: Rise of the Demon introduces us to the expansive world of Drachell and our young swordsman protagonist, Valak. On what should be an uneventful trip to a neighboring town, Valak is cornered by a witch and forced to choose between receiving the power of light or darkness, sealing his destiny and the path he will follow for the rest of the game.