Brandon Howard's Reviews
Masquerade: The Baubles of Doom doesn't particularly succeed at anything it puts its hand to. It isn't funny, with its generically off-colour humour and a bad sense of comedic timing. It's not particularly responsive, with stiff controls and awkward level design. It's repetitive, tedious, frustrating, and completely lacking in the elements that make for a good action game, or for a good comedy game. Between its crushing lack of self-awareness and bland gameplay, it's one circus that's even unfit for the sideshow.
While there's a lot of small improvements all around, the same issues that plagued the first episode are still here, albeit a bit less noticeable. It's an enjoyable experience, but one that isn't quite living up to its potential.
A lot of the issues with Blues and Bullets come down to the pacing, both that of the story, and the gameplay itself. While it manages to execute them both well, it hasn't really grasped the best way to structure itself. There's a lot of information to take in, and piecing the information together along with Elliot doesn't always end up feeling satisfying. Despite its problems, however, it's a truly gripping story, and the style will definitely leave those interested looking for more.
Megamagic is surprisingly deep and enjoyable after its noticeably slow start. The gameplay itself only improves as more diverse spells and playstyles become available, and the story is engaging enough to keep you invested in it through the roughly ten hours it'll take to complete.
With an excellent roster and polished mechanics, this is a straight improvement over the last instalment of Guilty Gear. The problems with the series are problems common to the genre, and although they can't be ignored, they are lessened by the introduction of beginner-friendly mechanics and a cast that's easy to love. Full of gorgeous visuals and absolutely gushing style, all while retaining incredibly tight controls and mechanics, this latest entry is definitely one worth looking into, whether a genre vet or someone completely new to fighting games.
While Infinite Dunamis does have the familiar, comfortable feel a lot of mobile RPGs have, it's saddled itself with a number of issues that really make it a chore to play. It's badly optimised for the hardware, and suffers from multiple issues during regular gameplay. The characters are bland and honestly annoying, and there's very little to make Infinite Dunamis stand out in a long line of already lacklustre titles.
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE steals the spotlight with gorgeous visuals, memorable characters, and fast-paced, slightly over the top combat. While the gameplay won't exactly feel familiar to long time Fire Emblem fans, the characters and the relationships that they share will feel comfortingly familiar. While the developers could have gone a little further to stay true to the original inspiration for the game, there's still a lot to love about the brilliant and colourful idol-centric setting. Ultimately, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE delivers an encore worthy performance.
7th Dragon III Code: VFD doesn't deviate from the standard JRPG formula, but it does challenge players to think of unique ways to approach combat.
For the devoted fans of the Neptunia series, this is definitely a title worth picking up. It's still the same reference overdosed, trope obsessed, fanservice heavy RPG series it's always been, and for some, that's great. The new characters are decently charming, and the story is substantially longer than some of the recent Neptunia spin-offs. If cute girls based off of the gaming industry's biggest titans (and has-beens) isn't your thing, though, there are other, better, RPGs worth your time.
Tumblestone is delightful and surprisingly addictive. The wide variety of challenges, all which subtly change the pacing of the game, make for an experience that doesn't really grow old. The story mode keeps things fresh with twists on the basic mechanics, and the arcade and multiplayer modes present fast-paced challenges that really test observation and decision making. No matter what experience puzzle-lovers are looking for, they'll probably find it in Tumblestone.
When it does manage to deliver a hard-hitting narrative, This Is the Police really delivers. All too frequently, however, it's hard to connect with Jack and the other faceless denizens of Freeburg. While the core gameplay does succeed at conveying the challenge of being a police chief in the midst of a collapsing personal world, it doesn't exactly pull off being fun, especially during the frequent, slower moments.
Collateral Thinking doesn't suffer from a lack of variety so much as it suffers from its excess. The goals in each level are constantly changing, and with only 30 seconds per level, it feels like a mad rush to get moving, which is counterintuitive to how the sticky controls dictate the pace of play. The levels sort of work when confined to one specific design, but the constant jumping between objectives is annoying at best and frustrating at worst.
While No Man's Sky does suffer from some technical glitches that occasionally impact play, it's built on solid foundations, and it starts out feeling genuinely fresh and exciting. As it progresses, however, the experience peters out with the realisation that exploration is really all there is to do. Each piece of the journey only exists to further the journey itself, and there's no real reward except for additional opportunities for exploration, and any sense of personal achievement is wiped out. There's definitely something exciting about this infinite world, but infinity begins to look the same after a while.
Obduction might not be for everyone, but it's a strangely enjoyable experience, either for fans of Cyan's classic series, or for those first giving the genre a chance. The world is beautiful and complex, and the seemingly mundane environment is actually a carefully crafted world with intricate detail. There's definitely some frustrations to be had with some of the more obtuse puzzles and occasional technical stutters, but Obduction is definitely a journey worth remembering.
Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters: Daybreak Special Gigs has some neat ideas, but they end up getting lost between the lacklustre delivery. The visual novel elements are poorly explained, and the control setup in both sections of the game leaves a lot to be desired. The battle system is definitely unique, but it feels tacked on and actually detracts from the overall story. The visuals are certainly breath-taking, but there are enough issues that make it a tough sell for even the most devout of visual novel fans.
The biggest frustrations with Rogue Wizards come from the incredibly steep grind that exists right from the outset. While the movement controls are a bit sticky and choppy, the weapon and spell variety is a lot of fun to experiment with, and the changing nature of the dungeons really allows for a lot of variety, even while grinding. Unfortunately, the tedious nature of the combat and the immense number of dungeons that will need to be cleared simply to advance makes it a tough sell for those not devoted to the climb. There's a lot of good ideas here, but the execution is just a bit lacking.
Dear Esther has always challenged the definition of what it means to be a game, but the way that it controls the placement of the narrative with the player's advancement through the world creates an experience that can only exist within a game. The environments and the score create a world that's a little more like experiencing a classical art museum rather than a traditional game world. The audio commentary from the developers provides a nice little addition that really cements this as the ultimate release of Dear Esther.
Yo-kai Watch 2: Fleshy Souls isn't a game that's going to change any pre-existing opinions on the series. At its core, Yo-kai Watch as a series is more about the adventure than any specific goals, and that's evident in every part of the game. There are lots of good reasons to take time to thoroughly explore every inch of the game, but it's not really built for those looking for a more straightforward RPG experience. That said, for fans of the charming world of Yo-kai Watch, there's only more to love this time around.
Pokémon Sun and Moon come away feeling like a totally fresh experience for the series. After 20 years of memorable Pokémon experiences, Game Freak has brought out something that feels completely new, while still delivering on the core Pokémon experiences people crave. There's something for every kind of Pokémon fan here, whether they're looking to catch them all, or if they just want to be the very best. Pokémon Sun and Moon don't just feel like another entry in the long running series, they feel like an opportunity to let the series soar to new heights, and, boy, does it ever.
Rock Band Rivals is set to appeal to the fans who most wanted a competitive side to Rock Band 4. Other than the addition of the new campaign mode in the form of the Rockudrama and the titular Rivals mode, there aren't really any major changes to the core Rock Band 4 experience. There have been some definite changes to the game for the better in the past year, and if that competitive drive is what players were missing the last time around, this might be the reason to dust that guitar and drum kit off for another show.