It's great that the tennis genre is being revived by 2K. It seems like a new addition to the studio's already quite extensive portfolio. In terms of atmosphere and game modes, there is still some room for improvement in the coming years because besides the MyCareer mode, there is not much to do in the game and even the MyCareer is far from varied. Online it feels much the same as offline and you can of course use 2 controllers/players offline. The gameplay, however, manages to keep the game afloat and matches really feel great to play. The timing mechanism and advanced game mechanics ensure that you can make it as easy or difficult as possible, which in turn influences the level of realism. I had a great time with this new game and it seems to be the stepping stone for more and better games in this franchise every year. However, the launch of this new tennis game has not yet been a very successful one. However, do you like tennis games and are you satisfied with good gameplay? Then this is basically the best tennis game on the court.
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Theoretically, Let's! Revolution! very little content. You play 10 levels and defeat the King who keeps tracking you down the levels before, and that's it. However, the characters and skills you unlock provide the challenge. In addition, you can increase the difficulty level to give you a little more challenge, without making the game really difficult. The visual representation of the game and the gameplay options and tactics you use take this game to a high level. Although a run feels conceptually the same, the skills still give the game an extra dimension, so you will soon be playing for dozens of hours. Let's! Revolution! This makes it a surprising game in my portfolio, which I really enjoyed and which also manages to live up to expectations on the console.
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Mighty Mage is available for little, but also offers very little for the money. All in all, the fifteen waves that you have to get through are not too bad and the gameplay is comparable to that of Hero Survival . However, the latter offers much more challenge and more replay value as far as I'm concerned. Mighty Mage is a mindless game that can be fun for an hour, but otherwise doesn't offer much of interest.
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Rise of the Ronin is therefore a very strong first game in a new IP. It's the Assassin's Creed in Japan that we've been looking for for years. It manages to create an epic story where choices really matter. The gameplay is deep and manages to find a nice balance in terms of difficulty and challenge. The game is extremely ambitious with sixty hours for the story and packed with various options, but this does come with a few downsides. Graphically, the game is less strong and exploring the many extra assignments and missions feels very repetitive. The many bosses and characters are similar and lack creativity. The three regions are not different enough, but the game still manages to keep you interested for sixty hours. It manages to tempt you into another mission every time. I can't wait to dive back into the game and see what I missed because of my many choices.
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After 6 chapters and about 6 hours of playing, the credits roll and you are immediately curious about other outcomes with other decisions, which makes the replay value of this game relatively high compared to, for example, Life is Strange, which is actually barely has different outcomes. This game does have that. After Dusk Falls grabs you by the throat from the start and continues to impress until the end, although the story drops off a bit after chapter 3, when you are halfway through. Zoe in particular feels like an unnecessary character. The game has almost no gameplay but mainly quick-time events. So you can't walk and the like. Still, the story is compelling enough to keep the game very interesting, especially by keeping everything to the point. The magnificent artwork-like graphics and the choice of stop-motion make the design a hit. With great soundtracks, especially in the main menu, I can only say that this next-gen version is a must-play for every movie game lover.
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Actually, Welcome to Paradize turned out to be a huge surprise for me and could even be called addictive! The game plays great, is accessible, doesn't go too deep in terms of RPG and has unique game elements, including taking over zombies that can work for you. It's not another dime a dozen game that we see on a regular basis. The game world is varied and not immense and in terms of missions you mainly get main quests and sometimes a small side quest that always keeps things clear. Welcome to Paradize definitely has its rough edges and the constant supply of annoying zombies can be frustrating at times; Still, this is a game that, in my opinion, you should play for the relatively good price that is already available at launch if you like a good action RPG. The fact that people don't take everything too seriously and look at current reality with a wink is something I think is a bonus and fits in perfectly with the setting.
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At first, Skull & Bones seemed to provide a little surprise, but the longer you play, the more frustrating it becomes. The same missions are repeated over and over and the fact that almost all of the gameplay takes place on the boat is simply not fun enough. The choice to focus almost the entire game on sailing was a mistake. The potential of Skull & Bones was enormous. There aren't that many of a major publisher that makes a pirate game. The big question is why they didn't opt for a complete pirate adventure, where you had the freedom to explore all the islands on foot and discover the secrets and treasures.
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It's been a while since I played a puzzle game to my heart. Quadroids is one of those games where the level design is well thought out, the gameplay is nice and simple, but the game is more than challenging enough for both novice and experienced players. Quadroids is a game that will certainly be worth the money, also considering the content you get. After about 4 hours I was halfway through the game and after about 10 hours I was at the end. One level takes you 30 seconds of work, the other level takes some thinking time and research and can easily cost you minutes. In addition, it is also a game that you can enjoy together on the couch, without too much stress, but with a lot of relaxed cooperation. And does something go wrong? No problem, just try again. In conclusion, I can say that Quadroids is a game with which I had a great time.
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A Little to the Left is a relaxing game in terms of ambiance, but it also has tiring gameplay due to all the puzzles that require you to move and click intensely. Organizing, sorting, stacking and arranging things takes its toll after some time playing, but that could have been just me. Graphically the game looks fairly sterile, but quite sleek and playful. The puzzles are varied, although you might not expect that and with the many levels and archive puzzles it will ultimately take you about 2 to 5 hours (depending on how quickly you ask for a hint or skip levels).
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Dead Man's Diary is a game that is well put together in concept and has the potential to be a great title. In terms of atmosphere, it works and everything feels oppressive, partly because you are often threatened by enemies, but practically never encounter them in the first hours. The bombastic sounds contribute to this. For example, the bear that is constantly on your heels, but you will hardly ever see, regularly causes you to break out in a sweat. The scary moments occur regularly, especially in the beginning. This is not a game like Fallout, where you can take out your arsenal and have a blast. Action is virtually non-existent. The puzzles, including fixing the electricity panels, lock picking and cracking safes, are fun and sometimes quite deep in that regard. However, the game also has its serious flaws, such as the lack of variation in the environments and certain components that are less developed, including the voice casting, overly complex controls (the use of R1 when switching inventory is unnecessarily cumbersome) and the changing graphics. Dead Man's Diary contains an excellent game, but unfortunately it is not quite that in the end. However, give it a chance, and you will be several hours and chapters further, with the necessary excitement!
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Bahnsen Knights is a game in which you have to maintain concentration more than ever. If you don't do that, death will soon be near and you will soon no longer follow the storyline. However, even if you skip all the dialogues, you will notice that you can still find a way through the conversations, even though that defeats the entire purpose of the game. The choices are not really very deep, and you can quickly do a retry and choose the next choice. However; If you keep your mind on it, the story of this game is quite interesting. I was through it in just over an hour and the credits were already rolling by. In addition, I did not really enjoy the gameplay of the game (i.e. the mini-games).
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It is clear that The Last of Us Part II on the PlayStation 4 was already great. With its 20 hours of campaign, we are also very spoiled in terms of content. It is actually a miracle that they have only now released a remaster for the PS5, but I understand that they wanted to have part 1 fully ported first. The graphic improvements are good, but not always consistently sublime, the DualSense features are certainly an improvement and the extra content and game mode No Return are also fun for enthusiasts. The Last of Us Part II could hardly fail if you consider that they played it fairly safely and kept the general basis 90% the same. In addition, the game really doesn't seem to have any bugs. With the many hours you can put into the story mode, and yes, it is still great even if you have already played it on the PlayStation 4, you will not waste any money with this Remaster. However; If you have seen the game on the PS4 and have no desire to experience this great adventure again on the PS5, then the extra additions probably won't convince you enough to justify this purchase. It makes a difference that an upgrade will cost you a lot less, almost nothing in fact, so the advice should be clear!
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Kingpin: Reloaded is about 4 hours long with about an hour per chapter. You can also get quite lost in the levels where everything looks a bit the same. However, the game itself plays quite well, although the performance of the game is very disappointing. The game itself is reasonably playable, but noticing glitches during the action in a game that is almost 25 years old is simply not possible. It makes the game tough to digest. The quality of the game is therefore quite poor.
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After about 7 hours of playing you will have reached the end of the game and actually after about 2 hours you will notice that the monotony and flat gameplay starts to seem quite the same. The level design is quite nice here and there, but you are actually constantly jumping, dashing and shooting. The latter in particular starts to get really annoying at a certain point. Do not get me wrong; The Smurfs 2 is certainly not a bad game, and may be quite challenging for real young people to master, but otherwise it plays well and doesn't do anything terribly wrong.
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It is nice that EA is also venturing into unknown territory for once, because the WRC is not something the company has ventured into so far. With Codemasters that step has finally been taken and that is to be commended. For a first game, we certainly cannot complain in terms of content and gameplay. The racing takes some getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, the game plays well. However, the game doesn't really excel in anything. In terms of audio and visuals, nothing is really special and in terms of game modes, nothing is really convincing or addictive. The game plays just fine and scores more than adequately everywhere. The first introduction to this racing genre is not yet completely convincing, but it is more than sufficient. It seems to be the prelude to more games, although it remains to be seen how successful this first game will be with the public.
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Overpass 2 is a game that does no more than an average racing game. The different ways of riding over the different terrains are the most groundbreaking, unique factor. You don't have to expect much in terms of content. Besides the career mode, you have actually seen most of it quite quickly. And even the career mode is not very special and extensive. To be honest, Overpass 2 is still a fairly rough diamond that still needs some polishing, especially in terms of AI and perhaps also the number of tracks that are available. These become quite repetitive after a while. Overpass 2 is certainly not a bad game, but it doesn't really excel in anything either. The genre must really appeal to you if you want to get this game as quickly as possible.
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The concept may be clear; That's too simple for words. Graphically and audio-wise, the game doesn't really know which direction it wants to go. Objects are sharp, yet angular. Bars, for example, is round, but you still see straight shapes, so it does not look round. Floors look blurry, but still quite superficial. Light should provide extra details, but the color transitions do not. The same can also be said in terms of audio. You hear sounds, but what is it actually? Music? Or simply some sound effects? The game lacks a bit of direction on every level. The depth could also have been better. This platformer just doesn't cut it in that regard. It is actually a great game offline and online, with which you can get quite a few hours of entertainment. However, it never really becomes very interesting, so the game does not score much more than adequate.
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EA SPORTS FC 24 marks the transition to a 'new franchise name', but certainly does not mark a transition in terms of innovation and significant improvements. In terms of content, there is very little new under the sun and you really have to look for actual improvements and changes in terms of features. In terms of experience, the game has improved considerably, with particularly cool cinematics that emphasize the atmosphere. The game has also improved slightly in terms of gameplay, although the AI is still far from optimal. The tweaks that have been made are fine, but the game may also become more surprising after years of tweaks and minor adjustments. HyperMotionV is therefore more something for the stage than groundbreaking. And actually that feature was already there. However, HyperMotionV has now been made more mature and more interesting than before. The same applies to Precision Passing, I don't notice it much, just like responsive shooting, which simply doesn't bring enough innovation. EA SPORTS FC 24 is a game that does little really wrong, but also plays very 'safe'.
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Days of Doom is an excellent example of a good turn-based game that is both accessible, but offers enough challenge. The events on the map are interesting to read and the choices you make remain risky. Additionally, you need to make sure you don't take too many detours because you can run out of gas if you don't collect enough. There is also a merchant where you can purchase resources and purchase inventory. The most important thing is learning the characters, which in itself happens fairly automatically. Based on that you can make a plan on the battlefield. Completing Days of Doom is quite a challenge, especially as the game only seems to get more difficult with each walkthrough.
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What makes the game special is the combination of the puzzles and the graphic style and animations of the game. That's where the game really excels. A game like this is actually unique of its kind. The animations are even incredibly well put together. As if someone who was heavily on drugs designed and developed this game. It makes the experience quite special. The illustrations are really razor sharp. Literally because you are even cut into pieces. However, the disadvantages also outweigh the advantages.
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