Drew Hurley's Reviews
Tales from the Borderlands: Episode Three - Catch a Ride on PlayStation 4 is easily the best episode to date in a series that is already full of fantastic chapters. Brimming with the trademark stellar storytelling and character development that made Telltale what it is today, Catch a Ride continues to develop the story in original and unpredictable ways, delivering an all round superb experience.
LEGO games may very well be formulaic, but the old adage of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" applies very aptly here. There is the same comedy and parody of the source material as with many of the other releases, which while is done to make the game more family friendly, has the added benefit of resulting in some genuinely funny moments. The games are simple and fun to play for audiences of all ages and sizes; for fans of Jurassic Park or the LEGO games in general, LEGO Jurassic World is a must pick up.
J-Stars Victory Vs+ is an exceedingly hard game to effectively score. It's aimed at a very specific fanbase, and those not familiar with at least a few anime or manga series will find little to catch their interest here. The target audience will find fanservice through and through, and this will be an instant buy regardless of reviews or scores. For those on the fence it's worth the price for the experience alone, and to help support more of these titles being released outside of Japan. While J-Stars may be fundamentally flawed in many ways, it offers something many fans never imagined they would get to experience, and it has some truly great moments.
Game of Thrones: Episode Five - A Nest of Vipers is possibly the weakest episode thus far. Although there are some fantastic moments, it suffers at points where it feels some of the progression of the story from previous episodes took a step backwards. This, in combination with the limited gameplay segments, makes for a disappointing entry in the series.
It was quite a feat to top the last episode, but they've done it with Episode Four of Tales from the Borderlands. Quite honestly, this is possibly the best thing Telltale has done. It sets a very high bar for the final episode, and leaves Cubed3 desperately ravenous to get hands on the finale.
The Swindle is superb: a truly original entry to stand beside Spelunky and a great opportunity to test the player's ability not to snap their controller in half. The stealth combat is an interesting new take on the rogue-like genre, the gadgets and abilities are fun and interesting to experiment with, and - most importantly - there is a quality to the game that makes the player want to come back to play again and again. A trait system and an infinite mode would simply serve to make an already fantastic game even better.
Although there are points where the grind becomes dull and seems to be quite endless, the highpoints of the combat, the great fan-service-filled story, and the amount of content, paired with the new translation and low price point make this a worthy purchase for any fan of SWORD ART ONLINE. Following on from Sword Art Online Re: Hollow Fragment, the next release on the calendar to watch out for is the next Sword Art title, Lost Song. For now, though, keeping on enjoying this treat.
It's a great time to be an anime and manga fan... and a gamer, with Bandai Namco bringing some great licensed releases to the West, at long last. Although disappointing to see some major characters being absent, this is by far the best One Piece game out there. Tecmo Koei will be taking time off the series after this release so sadly it may be some time before we get Pirate Warriors 4 but at least it will give the source material time to introduce more characters and tell more stories.
Fans of interactive story experiences, or just horror in general, would be wise to give this a shot. Supermassive Games has done a great job and hopefully they will have the chance to experiment more with titles of this ilk in the future.
There's a great, yet flawed, game here. The open world is a joy to explore, but grows tiresome for those who want to get 100% completion. Combat is fun and brutal, but not varied enough to stay interesting long term. These flaws are not enough to highly impact the end product, thankfully, which manages to be a superb open-world experience, with a real unique style and character.
This title will be showing up on many "Game of the Year" lists, and rightly so, with a memorable story, filled with truly original, smart and witty writing, set in such a fantastic universe, this is one not to miss.
CD Projekt Red has lived up to its word and, apparently, this is just a taster of what is yet to come. The next DLC, Blood and Wine, will come in at double the cost, but promises double the content and a whole new land to explore. Admittedly, Hearts of Stone's content is very much focused on the story it is telling, resulting in a very narrative-focused final product with lots of dialogue and cut-scenes, but that is not much of a negative considering the quality of the story that is told. It's a truly original and fantastic piece of storytelling, filled with great moments and set pieces that any fan of the series truly needs to experience.
LEGO Dimensions is filled with promise, but the paywalls and the requirement to regularly interact in-game massively impact upon the final product. Thankfully, this is only the first step of a very long-term plan - there's still plenty of time for the team to balance the paywall and the amount of content per level pack. The team at TT Games has always been fantastic with its fans, happy to take on-board any criticism or suggestion. There would be nothing stopping it from patching more content in for level packs at a later date, either. The core is a solid LEGO title through and through, but it could have been so much more. Cubed3 will cover some of the key level packs very soon.
A great return to form and on par with Black Flag for the best in the series. It's certainly not flawless, but Ubisoft have clearly taken their criticisms on board and hopefully will continue the series with this kind of quality. The combat, exploration, and parkour are highly enjoyable and the story and characters well written and compelling. Definitely worth a second chance for those driven away by Unity.
The Ice Dragon feels like a great setup for a sequel, but lacking as a finale. Although it manages to wrap up some storylines, there's not enough closure and certainly not enough cathartic moments. There's plenty of building for the sequel, however, and with the numerous possible endings, it will be interesting to see how Telltale can incorporate them all into a second season. Although there have been flaws throughout, it's evident that Game of Thrones and Telltale are a good fit. Hopefully, the second season won't be as far away as the sixth book...
The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited has taken significant strides to correct the wrongs that plagued its initial release and although there are still a number of issues, they don't massively impact the end product. Admittedly, it has a huge lineage to live up to and when compared to the legendary Skyrim it comes up slightly lacking, but it is still a game that deserves experiencing.
While it's great to see Bandai Namco continue to support Otaku fans in the West, Sword Art Online: Lost Song is a lost cause for anyone who isn't a die-hard SAO fan. With a weak story, recycled areas, and a short length on the whole, even long-term fans won't find much here to keep them entertained. There is one title left to come in the series, Hollow Realisation, returning to the fan favourite setting of Aincrad next year. Hopefully, it can learn from the many mistakes of its predecessors.
Basketball gamers have never had a better simulator than 2K16. It is a complete improvement in every way over the games that came before it, and has addressed most of the issues that its predecessor suffered from. That being said, there are still plenty of new issues, the main problems being the story mode and the severe issues with online play. The game even used the tagline "Story is everything" in regards to Spike Lee's creation, so the question has to be asked, if the story is very poor and "Story is everything", what does that say about everything else?
There's a reason that Skylanders] has survived so long. Even without the Toys to Life aspect of the title, the game is addictive fun whether played alone or, even better, in co-operative mode with a friend. The new aspects added in this latest incarnation add a whole new dimension to the play and it is done very well indeed. The vehicle-based parts of the stages are great and all of the race-based aspects are a superb addition to an already established universe. Skylanders SuperChargers is the best in the series yet and proves that LEGO Dimensions and Disney Infinity still have a yardstick to reach.
This is, regardless of medium, one of the finest time travel stories to have been told, and a superb example of a true artist plying their craft. The other titles in the Science Adventure series have all been great and worth experiencing, but Steins;Gate sets itself completely apart as something truly special. Not only is it a requirement for any visual novel fan, but it is also an ideal title to introduce potential new players to the genre.