David Lovato's Reviews
Snow Place Like Home doesn't do much for King's Quest in the gameplay department, but anyone who has played it this far is probably past caring much on that front. This story and these characters have cemented their place in our hearts, and the game feels like a good book that can't be put down. Lack of per-episode scenery or gameplay variety aside, King's Quest is everything an episodic title should be, as well as a pinnacle of storytelling all game developers should aspire to compete with.
Ico and Shadow of the Colossus set the bar ridiculously high, and years of delays didn't help, but The Last Guardian fits into the series and sets itself apart from the rest of the gaming world, rounding out the Ico trilogy as some of the biggest, prettiest, most unforgettable experiences anyone will find in gaming. Technical issues like framerate, glitches, and controls (most or all of which will hopefully be patched out as time goes on) don't stop this from being a gorgeous and highly emotional gaming experience—exactly what fans have come to expect from Fumito Ueda. The development team's vision was clear, if the execution was a little lacking, and the final product doesn't feel like one that should've taken ten years to hit shelves, but The Last Guardian is still an achievement in both storytelling and game development that gamers shouldn't miss out on.
Natural Disasters is the most interactive, exciting Cities: Skylines expansion yet. With each update, the game feels more alive and more complete, and those who perhaps don't find the content worthy of the price tag can take comfort in how much Colossal Order adds to this game for free alongside the paid content. All of these new features fit right in, and the disaster system adds a layer otherwise entirely missing from the game. The pressure is raised, gamers will have to think and act a little more on their feet, and Cities: Skylines remains one of the best city builders on the market.
King's Quest is shaping up to be one of the stronger examples of storytelling in modern gaming, and gives episodic titles a good name. Criticisms are taken into account and polished with each episode, but the writing and presentation aren't suffering at all. Characters are memorable and fun, brought to life by a strong cast and solid writing. The wait between episodes feels long, but The Odd Gentlemen and Sierra have shown that it's well worth it, with each episode improving in quality over the last.
I Am Setsuna is a solid title. The story and gameplay both have their moments, even if they feel a little too reliant on nostalgia, and the wooden battles don't stop this from being something JRPG fans will still enjoy. A gorgeous soundtrack accompanies a beautiful, if not repetitive, snowy landscape, and the game holds its own and should feel right at home to people who like mobile RPGs.
Crush Your Enemies takes itself just seriously enough to stand out as a full-fledged title, but isn't afraid to have fun along the way. There isn't a lot to turn the RTS genre on its head, but the gameplay is solid. The developers obviously put a lot of work into laying out and balancing each map, then packing the rest of the game with a sense of humour and a light-heartedness that probably could've carried even a poor game to goodness—and this one was already anything but poor.
Problems with graphics and controls are hard to overlook, and there's no denying that this feels less inspired and more lifted from other series, although fans of those might still find it fun to play. Its gameplay elements are solid enough, despite being unoriginal, and overall the game does run and play well. There's nothing special about it, but besides the resolution and maybe the dungeon design, there's nothing unforgiveable about it, either. Mind Zero doesn't fail, but it also doesn't exactly try to escape the shadow of the titles it was clearly influenced by.
Genre clichés and visual glitches aside, this is a solid visual novel. It isn't likely to appeal to a wide audience; fans of BlazBlue (and fans of graphic novels or anime in general) will enjoy it, but it's hard to imagine that anyone else will. Still, there's something to be said about making games specifically for the fans, and Xblaze Code: Embryo performs solidly on that front.
If this game were released in 2001, it would probably be hailed as one of the above-average games of the time period. By today's standards, it's a bit of a mess; no soundtrack, no physics, players are pigeonholed into playing a certain way, and things are just unpolished overall. That aside, it's clear the team at Nano Games has originality and some good ideas, and where the game does work, it works well; in particular, the management features and driving mechanics. It has a severe lack of polish and freedom, however, which, on the whole, makes it feel less like playing a game and more like doing work, but it'll be interesting to see what things this team can come up with and implement (hopefully better) in the future.
Automatron doesn't reinvent Fallout 4, but it adds a great, fun feature that fits right in. The main quest has stellar writing, if falling a little short on length, but the ability to create an army of deeply customisable robots is something that permeates the rest of the game.
The Division is a solid shooter, but there's nothing compelling about it, either in terms of story or gameplay. Those playing with others will likely have a lot more fun than those playing alone, although it's safe to say anyone who likes a decent shooter will probably want to check it out. Like Destiny, there's sure to be a dedicated following of players for whom the game simply clicks, and the endless grind is reason enough to keep coming back. For the rest, it will probably disappear to their shelves after a few months' time - unless Ubisoft comes up with some compelling post-launch content to keep them holding on.
Rough horse and camera behaviour, combined with a mostly empty Hyrule Field, aren't enough to bog down what's otherwise one of the best titles in the Zelda series - and arguably in gaming history. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD's story of the worlds of Light and Twilight and their citizens is presented in HD glory, with strong emotional threads running throughout to make sure players want to spend time with these characters and save the worlds, and expertly crafted dungeons and puzzles guide them along that path. Most will likely consider Ocarina of Time to be the high point of the series, but take away the nostalgia factor, hold these two up by their merits, and Twilight Princess gives Ocarina a run for its money, while HD improves upon that in almost every way.
Cities: Skylines - Snowfall adds some features that make sense and look nice, but for the price, there's just not much content here. The graphical updates are beautiful, but the content is severely lacking—those loading an existing file are likely to just dump all of their money into new pipes, while players starting anew can just build hot water pipes from the gate and might not know anything was even added. The changes make sense (excluding locking weather to certain maps) and they work well enough, but are so slight as to be almost offensive for their price tag.
King's Quest: Chapter 2 - Rubble Without a Cause presents a new environment, one that is attractive, if a little small, along with the same challenges as before, the same lovely graphics, strong morals, and goofy characteristics, along with a voice cast that is very talented, bringing a lot to the table. There have been some much needed improvements brought in for this chapter, thankfully, which bodes well for the next episode, although more emphasis could be put on actual decisions made throughout the adventure.
All in all, Stella Glow is a strong story that puts a clever twist on the tactical RPG format. The pacing could be better; watching the same battle animations can get annoying, but they can be skipped or disabled entirely. There's a lot of text to get through, but much of it is voiced, and the characters are fun and engaging, as well as attractively designed. Hours can tick by with only a handful of actual battles, which might be too slow for those looking for action or a more casual adventure experience, but anyone who wants to dive in will find a lot of quality content. It's not likely to reach Final Fantasy or Xenoblade levels of RPG acclaim, but it does its own thing well, brings originality to the mix, and is sure to catch many an RPG fan's eye.
This is an example of what video games can do that no other medium can; it wouldn't work to see these things happen on a screen or read them on a page—Life is Strange draws its power from putting choices in players' hands, and while it may not amount to a perfect experience, it is one that they are never going to forget.
Bungie has finally delivered something akin to promises it has made in the past. Destiny is still not the open-world exploration adventure everyone thought it was going to be, but it is carving its own path in the videogame world, and it's getting better and more fun with every step.
What replay value it has is dampened by how slow-moving Graham is and how cutscenes and bits of dialogue can't be skipped, but King's Quest begins a story anyone who plays it will want to follow through to the end.
The price might seem high for how subtle or cosmetic these additions are, but many will likely find enough value in the overall strong developer support and thriving modding community to justify the cost, if the new layers of depth aren't enough for them.
Anyone who loves city-builders and doesn't own a previous entry in the series will likely find a solid, valuable title in Cities XXL. It's not as snappy or attractive, or even as engaging, as some of its competitors, but it's a worthwhile endeavour in its own right.