The world of Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor has a unique magic to it. Its alien world feels strangely familiar, and the mundane, everyday experiences of the cute, pixelated protagonist, will surely strike a chord with anyone who had suffered an even remotely similar fate. The problem? We get enough mundane in real life, and, unfortunately, this title has very little to offer besides that.
Some slack could surely be cut for Batman: The Telltale Series - Episode 3: New World Order if it wasn't the very middle of the whole journey - and, as one, it owed itself to be much better than that. The story is still good, the characters probably even better, and, generally, it's not a bad experience, but it pales in comparison to what most people expected from it. As for the cliffhanger ending, it surely ignites interest about how things will unfold, but that doesn't make this chapter any less mediocre.
No surprises, no innovations, nothing new or worthy of mention here. With that being said, Episode 6 - Hokkaido generally offers one of the finest levels in Hitman, despite it being somewhat short and easy. These aren't its biggest sins, however. The worst thing about the title at hand is that it's supposed to be the grand finale, only there's nothing really "grand" about it.
Cubed3 gives its old-school 'conglaturation' to Haydee Interactive. Not only because its first creation wasn't afraid to handle its sexiness at full force, but, mainly, because this is actually a great game. Those prejudiced against Haydee's tit… ular lead will lose the opportunity to experience a surprisingly fun indie action-adventure, with fantastic, yet simple, audio-visuals, an almost survival horror-like atmosphere, and a strong, unconventional (for modern gaming standards) attitude towards gameplay mechanics and challenge.
RPG turned-based combat, base management, a zombie apocalypse, survival horror premise, plus the typical randomisation that rogue-lites tend to offer. Sounds like a dream? Unfortunately, while Dead Age definitely shows promise, and is somewhat fun for a playthrough or two, it soon gets insanely repetitive, way too easy for the sub-genre it belongs to, and a bit too predictable for it to remain enjoyable in the long run.
Quality always beats quantity… almost always, because Ashes of Ariandel is surprisingly short for the price tag that it currently comes with. Its desolate, frozen world is majestic, the challenge is high, the bosses are pretty neat, but it's only a small taste, when it could very well be a full meal. Hopefully, Dark Souls III's next (and final) DLC will be way more satisfying than this one.
Like sports fans, those with a deep love for a realistic, virtual agriculture experience will have a blast with the next instalment of their favourite franchise, but that doesn't exclude Farming Simulator 17 from criticism. It's still a fun title (only for those into these, of course), but, besides a lack of polish here and there compared to the previous entry, you are only getting a marginally updated product - a few new crops to plant, new machinery to drive, and bacon - and no, bacon doesn't solve everything.
Necropolis had a somewhat awful start, with a product that was repetitive, buggy, and very rough around the edges. The problem is that, even after its recent Brutal Edition release, many of its flaws still persist. Repetitiveness and monotony, unrewarding challenge, bugs and glitches, an unfair for soloists focus on co-operative play, and still no way to re-map the controls. Ultimately, this is simply not worth the price-tag.
Unexciting battles are easy to stomach when the beauty of a title lies in its world building, and, thankfully, the drenched-in-evil universe of Tyranny is fantastic, both in the way it is structured and in how it handles the concept of morality. Unfortunately, its potential has been thrown from the tallest spire's window, and instead of becoming the magnificent masterpiece that it sometimes feels it is, it turns out to be a very rough diamond that reeks of rushed production.
The ball that is given to the Caped Crusader in Batman: The Telltale Series - Episode 4: Guardian of Gotham initially looks the most interesting yet; however, he takes it… and does nothing with it. Once again, this feels more like "another day in the life of Bruce/Batman" rather than an epic superhero story, with an exciting beginning, a riveting middle, and a dramatic finale - which, after the mediocrity experienced so far, makes hoping for the latter to be any good quite hard.
Don't get disappointed by a plot that is as far from ambitious, original, and engrossing as possible, because, as gameplay goes, few can hold a candle to Arkane Studios' Dishonored 2's level of replayability, non-linearity, and just plain fun. As for the gripes concerning the inexcusable framerate drops, follow this simple advice: wait a while, and then jump right in, because this isn't a title that's worth avoiding just because of its current technical issues.
Police Tactics: Imperio may not offer the coolest concept, but it could work as a fun strategy title. The problem is that it isn't, and while at first it may seem that the boring micromanagement and subpar UI are the main flaws here, in reality, it's the fact that this has a severe lack of content, and feels the same from beginning to end - which won't exactly take long to reach.
Yesterday Origins is the reflection of the team behind it; a team with a deep passion for the genre that it has been serving for more than two decades, but also one that's not "there" yet. While generally a nice ancient mystery/crime thriller, and although the puzzle-solving is quite good, it certainly needs some fine tuning here and there, both when it comes to its characters, as well as its gameplay mechanics.
Ever wanted to fight "The Powa" and be cute while at it? Then try out this awesome bundle of arcade-like simplicity and plain ol' fun, the adorable riot sim, Anarcute. It's not perfect, and it has some strong replay value issues, but indie aficionados will surely have a blast with it.
Despite a plot that shines through its absence, and that doesn't make any connection with the player, and although the puzzles offered here are insanely easy, the magnificently beautiful fantasy land of Silence is definitely worth traversing… but only if you are very young, or at least a complete and utter beginner in the genre.
The path that led to this episode wasn't the best that the Caped Crusader could follow, and, as a result, although an otherwise more-than-decent ending, Batman: The Telltale Series - Episode 5: City of Light can't do much to redeem the series' flaws, with the weak application of the choice system taking the biscuit.
Tadpole Treble has a nice and minimalist "kiddy" look, and a pretty neat assortment of somewhat catchy tunes. As a rhythm game, however, it's nothing special, mainly because one does not need to use rhythm in order to play it. Rhythm is just an appetiser here, not the main dish.
Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- is one of these pieces of software that, although its level of quality is worthy of applause, as a product alone, is almost "offensive" towards consumers. To summarise, this is a great fighter… but approach only if you haven't spent any money on the previous instalment, since it's almost the same deal… Not to mention that half of its newly added roster is hidden behind a pretty high price tag.
Bloodfall is another multiplayer DLC for Doom that is fine and all, but doesn't really try to offer either more or better material than the previous two. Even worse? The prices remain somewhat high, and will surely discourage most Doomers.
Doom: Hell Followed is, once again, a small, yet quite nice, addition, but, at the same time, a bit disappointing. It's good, but, undoubtedly, not a must-have, and, more importantly, the price doesn't exactly feel right.