If you’re a fan of the old AW games, you owe it to yourself to pick this one up. Even if you’ve never played a game in the franchise, I still recommend this one. It’s a load of fun!
I recommend the game even to newcomers, though at least a cursory knowledge of the events of prior titles is mandatory. It’s a must-have for fans of the series, though I’m sure most of the die-hard Kingdom Hearts fanatics have already finished it by the time of this review.
Etrian Odyssey Nexus is a satisfying culmination of all the games thus far, even if there’s very little to set it apart from its predecessors. Wherever the series goes next, I hope there is at least enough of a change to shake up the all-too-familiar formula these games are known for.
Sadly, it just has too many problems for me to say it’s great in its current form. The devs have announced that they plan to work hard on fixing the many issues reported by players, and I really hope they succeed in that endeavor. Traipsing around 1980s Sweden surviving hordes of murderous robots is just too cool of an idea not to expand upon.
Apart from the slight foibles I’ve mentioned, however, Shakedown: Hawaii is a solid experience, full of fun segments and a ton of laughs.
The price tag is a little daunting, though. I can’t help but feel like $40 would be a better price, since paying a full $60 for a game you’ve already played before is a bit of a hard sell. I’d recommend waiting for a sale, though if you’re a super-fan of Catherine and want it now, don’t let me stop you.
Iga’s goal was to make a solid Metroidvania game, and he definitely achieved that in spades.
If you’ve got a friend and some free time, I think there’s a lot of enjoyment to be had here with River City Girls, and the amazing art and music certainly enhance that.
If you’re a new player just getting into the franchise, you might be a little lost with the narrative, but you’ll still have a good time with the fast and frenetic gameplay. For a paltry $15, the game’s meager length can be pretty easily forgiven as well.
The new monsters, locations, and quality of life changes are extremely welcome, and while $40 is nothing to sneeze at, I definitely feel like you get your money’s worth with this one.
In a way, I respect Kojima for coming out with something he had to know a ton of people wouldn’t like. At the end of the day, though, I just wanted to have fun playing video games, and slogging through snow for a half an hour just to deliver a jar of bugs to someone isn’t my idea of entertainment.
I give it a tenuous recommendation to fans of XCOM