Chris Wray
- Final Fantasy IX
- Battlefield 2
- Rome: Total War
Chorus is undoubtedly ambitious, with Fishlabs undeniably putting in a lot of effort into their first full title. Aesthetically, there's a lot to praise the game for, with a photo mode that genuinely feels useful to capture the visual splendour of space and the action of combat. Combat here is also fun, responsive, and generally great to play, even if it can feel overused due to a significant lack of variety in the rest of the game. Add this lack of variety to an ambitious story, but poorly developed, and you get Chorus. For every positive, there is an undeniable negative. Is it worth playing? I would say yes, but how much mileage you get out of it will be very subjective.
Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water is a strange release. It's not a remake, nor a remaster, feeling more like a re-release with a few added features. Visually, it's barely different to the Wii U Release, so if you've already played it, then there's not much I can say. However, considering the original was limited to the Wii U, with a limited audience, this version brings it over to modern consoles and the PC, keeping the excellent atmosphere and different combat system and making it control better than expected. Is it worth buying? That is very dependent on if you like horror games.
Pokémon Unite is a genuinely fun and charming game, with quick and accessible combat with enough tactical element to keep it interesting, while not overwhelming newcomers to the genre. However, it is predatory in all the worst ways, copying the worst tactics of pay-to-win free-to-play games, such as five currencies, loot boxes, buyable (with real-money) boosts, and items that influence battle, and more. While the game can be fun, the predatory tactics leave a nasty taste in the mouth.
Tennis World Tour 2 is an undeniable improvement on the original release and it's also arguably a great tennis game for those who can get into it. Aesthetically, it looks good from afar, with fluid animations and speed that honestly gives the feel of a tennis match and features a wide number of game modes, giving you a lot to play through. The problem, however, is that the core game mechanics are inaccessible and unapproachable, offering no settings to reduce the reliance of awfully specific precision-based button pressing which can ruin the core career mode. A mixed bag, this will appeal for fans of tennis, but the opaque nature of the gameplay makes it too hard to recommend.
Iron Danger is a compelling real-time tactics game that's held together by its core feature and a few interesting characters. Sadly, the story is bland other than a few interesting characters and while the core gameplay elements result in a strong tactical game, the controls frequently frustrate and impede the fun you can have.
Were it not for the lack of resources and having to push the game out, I can honestly say that Dance of Death: Du Lac & Fey could have been a very good game, though not without the known issues of the tediously slow movement. All in all, if you want to play through an interesting story with a compelling core cast of characters, masterfully voice acted, then you could do a lot worse than Dance of Death: Du Lac & Fey.
MachiaVillain has a decent amount going for it, there's little doubt there. The concept is fun and one that isn't explored enough, with the added twist of a Cabin in the Woods vibe only helping matters. Once you get into it, the gameplay is engaging, particularly building. It does turns into a bit of a slog as you advance through the ranks though. A lot is also buried beneath the large amount of micromanagement.
The Crow's Eye is a strange title. It's a horror game in some ways, with great atmosphere for the most part. However, it's also not scary. For the most part it's more of a puzzle game, than horror game and has side-stories far more compelling than the main plot. In all, it offers an interesting, if flawed experience.
Urban Empire aims to offer an interesting mix of political intrigue with city-building creativity and management. However, it doesn't give anywhere near enough information or allow enough freedom to make it as compelling as the idea could have been.
WRC 6 has its positives. It's certainly more approachable than other rally games, but it's simply not improving enough. It's the best of the series but pales in comparison to its major competitor, Dirt Rally.
Ashes of the Singularity is a beautiful game, but that's sadly the best that can be said. It's just shallow. It will offer some enjoyment, but the game just doesn't hit what it wants to be and stumbles too much along the way with even the basics, even punishing you for doing what the developers tell you to do.
Cross of the Dutchman is a short game, it does have a bit of padding in there, but the unusual setting and story behind it, with a reasonably entertaining combat system make it worth trying out. Cheap, cheerful and entertaining - it's worth at least having a look at it.
Devilian is a well functioning MMO/ARPG but has nothing to set it apart from others, except possibly visuals. The real money elements aren't intrusive and wont force you to spend money, which is always a positive.
Grand Ages: Medieval is both deep and shallow at the same time, offering a detailed and interesting city development and trading system but letting itself down with shallow diplomacy and military options. A game where everything has been done before and, for the most part, better, it's a good time passer on the PC though something quite fresh and unique for the PS4.
Sword Coast Legends features a reasonably strong campaign as it advances and is great to listen to and look at, however it can be terribly linear throughout. The shallow combat system, with lack of skill variety and shallow dungeon master mode detract just a little too much and stop the game being great.
The Lamplighters League is an interesting and ambitious, albeit flawed, tactical adventure which invokes the fantastical elements of Indiana Jones (plus you're fighting Nazi's). The blow by blow gameplay is well developed and features interesting and varied characters, in both gameplay and narrative, but is let down by a large amount of repetition. A few technical flaws also let the game down in a market where stronger competition has already done the game thing. It's a decent game, and you could have a good time with it, but one to pick up on discount.
Gord is an interesting and, at times, good, albeit flawed, survival city-builder mixed with action RPG and strategy elements. The atmosphere is excellently done, but this is countered by the sanity mechanics taking too much from the rest of the game. Almost every positive has a negative. The character development mechanics bring a fundamentally broken inventory system. The excellent monster development introduces a few that are just outright broken. The (sometimes) interesting campaign brings a near-opaque element of worldbuilding, requiring much side-reading as names are unceremoniously thrown at you. All in all, Gord isn't a bad game, and while I can have a decent time of it, there are too many flaws to recommend it universally; hardcore strategy fans may apply.
That would be my verdict of The DioField Chronicle. It has some good elements, but they are often covered by the average, meaning little gets the chance to stand out. Were it a little tighter, a little faster and not requiring you to do so much busy work, I could see this being a more enjoyable experience.
Kao the Kangaroo is a mixed bag. Far from bad, it offers decent platforming across several well-designed levels, though some issues hold it back. Some bugs certainly impact gameplay, with camera control also a gameplay-inhibiting factor. The lack of real challenge throughout most of the game will also be a limiting factor for replay value, though there is a level of exploration and several collectibles to find. While certainly not up there as one of the best platformers, Kao isn't a bad way to pass your time, and it's fortunately not priced as high as most new releases.
Alfred Hitchcock - Vertigo isn't a bad interactive story, I'd even recommend the story, it misses the mark on too much for me to not offer some caution.