Was it pure luck that Rockstar's The Warriors came out exceptional ,or is the era just cursed due to it also being the decade when the video game crash occurred? Best to just ignore LA Cops and hope that it turns in its badge.
Anyone trying this will find that the time spent with High Strangeness is indeed interesting, but not for the price-point and it is lacking considering it took five years to make. Games of this ilk, back in the day, were more commonplace and tended to last around 12-15 hours, maybe more depending on the title at hand, and in the case of High Strangeness, which is a game that is set up to be a long and epic quest of discovery, is resolved suddenly, just when things are getting interesting. It is a massive tease of ideas and possibilities that are sadly wasted, never properly fulfilled, likely leaving gamers feeling very hungry. Steven Jenkins does have some interesting ideas and he really should continue developing more because High Strangeness does show promise. Perhaps with a bit more careful planning and more focused management, he can deliver a game that satisfies all his narrative goals, since this seems surprisingly rushed.
Tower of Guns is an experience that wears thin after a while, being best played in short bursts. It is an interesting experiment that should be further explored by Terrible Posture Games. Ideas and potential are not enough, however, to make a game compelling - they need thoughtful execution and variety. Fact of the matter is that randomly generated levels just aren't a graceful solution to make variety and, ultimately, the level design (or lack of) ends up being too similar and boring. To make up for the randomised level designs, the core gameplay would need to be expanded upon and less limits put on player-character actions. Tower of Guns is a title that is best for only the curious and the desperate for something new and different.
Tetsuya Takahashi and his team at Monolith Soft put a lot of passion and care into Xenoblade Chronicles and Monster Games has done a phenomenal job porting it to the New Nintendo 3DS platform. The journey that Shulk takes is a very well-told classic tale of a hero's journey and it's filled with a cast of memorable and likeable characters. Xenoblade Chronicles 3D is a complete package from beginning to end, wrapped around a very deep and intricate combat system that has a lot of potential for those who like a bit of thinking in their fights. For such a huge and long game, there is very little fat or filler since the adventure has all kinds of conveniences to never waste time. It is loaded with detail and heart for every character, while introducing some original ideas of its own. Is Xenoblade Chronicles 3D perfect? Almost - it's held back by a few lacking visual flourishes and some examples of goofy animation, and for a port it could have had some other substantial additions, as well as flaccid use of 3D. One of the most engrossing titles of the eighth generation is back and is now the most engrossing game on a portable platform.
Story of Seasons is a very run of the mill farming sim. It doesn't elevate the genre and it is a very long and tedious endeavour. It does have an unbelievable amount of options and fans of the genre that don't look for much will most likely be satisfied. For everyone else, though, it all just takes way too long to get interesting and is a sloppy game with a lot of slowdown. Never mind that there is an unfathomable amount of busy work the game calls gameplay, the rewards don't feel worth the effort. Are there better farming games out there? Probably, but Story of Seasons should be commended for how much content was put into it, even if most of it feels hollow.
It will intimidate with monstrous foes and unimaginable horrors, but the satisfaction that is felt when they are overcome is quite real. Is Bloodborne a reason to get a PS4? Maybe. This game will keep people talking about it for a long time.
While it plays solid enough, there are a few hiccups along the way like poorly coded AI, missing animation or some sluggish character controls. Episodic structure ultimately was pointless and the way it was handled ended up hurting the flow of the game by having players redo areas back to back with different characters.
Lack of control options and questionable direction in the visuals, compounded by the uninteresting story and low replayability, hold back White Night from being a recommendation. Only those who truly crave an old school survival horror might get some enjoyment from this title. Other than that, White Night is mostly forgettable.
DmC Devil May Cry: Definitive Edition even has a fair amount of content that is impressive and even pretty glitch-free, but when the core game is so poorly thought out, it's best to just skip this altogether. Best to wait for Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition for PS4/Xbox One later in the year.
This is a game that is not easily forgotten - its originality and creativeness is unheard of in modern games. Grim Fandango Remastered deserved better than this.
The pacing jumps up 10 notches and things become interesting due to the powerful super zombies and the urgency to not stay in a single place kicks in. It breaks up the monotony and it is these moments of originality that make Dying Light stand out from other games of this ilk, and is why it comes thoroughly recommended.
As is, this is a demanding strategy RPG that will turn away casually interested parties. The outrageous difficulty is admittedly a preference for some gamers, and those who are hungry for these types of games will not be disappointed. Natural Doctrine is a raw example of pure strategy with such delicate situations amidst a roaring hurricane.
While some of these issues are understandable for the last gen platforms to have, there is no excuse for the developer to waste the new hardware's horsepower and release the game running only at 30fps. All the new graphical effects won't mean much in the end if the core gameplay suffers. As far as sandbox crime games go, Grand Theft Auto V is an incredible achievement in world building, and comes recommended, but just don't expect the best action.
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker may be a humble little game that may not aim very high, but it succeeds as a quality and polished title for those who want a relaxing and easy going adventure-puzzle game. An excellent game for the kids, and any Nintendo enthusiast will enjoy this mellow title as an alternative to the frantic battles of Bayonetta 2, the wacky races of Mario Kart 8 or the beat downs of Super Smash Bros. Sometimes a fun guy just wants to chill and go on an adventure.
There have been many effortless cash grabs, but none as blatant as this, which is a $60 commercial. Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 is no longer the worst Sonic game, and it is tragic to see the fandom of Sonic be danced upon by such a cynical cash grab that was quickly slapped together by focus testing and lacks any soul at all. 'Buggy' and 'glitchy' are truly the best words to describe this debacle. Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric is the mark of the vulgar and should not be touched.
The nigh endless depth of the combat engine in this game is so full of possibilities and options, it is like staring into the graces of heaven itself. Bayonetta 2 is the nirvana of the character-action game genre and is one of the greatest sequels ever made. It is doubtful that there will be a better game this holiday season. Bayonetta 2 is a Game of the Year contender, which comes extremely recommended.
Daring, challenging and balls to the wall outrageous, Bayonetta on WiiU delivers the definitive action extravaganza. Despite a few obnoxious quick time events and one tedious level, Bayonetta still holds up today as it did years ago when it first debut. Even its contemporaries like Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge or DmC: Devil May Cry which came out years after and had the opportunity to improve on what Bayonetta had established, but failed. Bayonetta stands tall and casts a huge shadow on the competition as one of the greatest action games of all time. With such demanding action, it can almost be physically exhausting to keep up with the game and how the few fleeting moments of peace can feel so generous. It is almost unfair how competent and skilled Platinum Games are at developing action games like this. They have set the standard so high, that they ruin other seemingly good action games and make them look quaint.
While it may not satisfy those who are experts in this genre, The Legend of Korra is an excellent game for younger players and will be undoubtedly be a gateway game for fast paced character action. Hopefully Activision will hire Platinum Games for future titles and will fix their reputation for delivering licensed, assembly line produced, soulless cash grabs. Korra fans are very lucky.
If some of the technical issues could have been ironed out, such as the choppiness of the cut-scenes, clipping, or when the HAVOK physics engine goes berserk, this might have been a 10/10. As it is, Alien: Isolation is a very pure gem with some minor hairline fractures. This is a worthy game and comes highly recommended to anyone who enjoys excitement or is a fan of Ridley Scott's Alien, or for fans of survival horror in general.
There is no doubt that Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments will be a sleeper hit and will find its audience, but for anyone who would enjoy a procedural crime investigating game, this title comes highly recommended. By far one of the more interesting adventure games to have come out in years.