At the end of the day, the game was fairly average when it released on the PlayStation 3 and here we are on the PlayStation Vita and the game is still just average. The changes brought about with the Remake System does add value to the game and the combat is still fun. The game also scores points for going mobile, as it allows you to play a bit more at your leisure, hitting up a few missions and then putting the Vita down. The sad thing with this series and game, is that there is a great concept here that is hidden under layers of lame puns, bad jokes, and annoying characters. If you can get passed the story and added fluff that drags you down, there is enough here to keep you entertained for awhile.
With all the bad I have said, there is an audience out there somewhere for Natural Doctrine. If you enjoy mindless hours of grinding with no clear goal or instruction, and if you enjoy hour long battles on the "easiest" difficulty setting where you still feel underleveled no matter how much you grind, then this game could be right up your alley. The system is there to try and be a good game, but it is given no chance to shine and no clear direction on what to do, leaving you with a mess of missed opportunities and frustration.
As someone who plays every NHL yearly release all year long, it is unfortunate to see just how badly this has gone. I can somewhat understand taking out 6v6 online play if it wasn't ready, but taking out features in Be a GM or making Be a Pro completely unplayable is just ridiculous. If you are not a hockey fan at all but you want to slap around a few pucks, this might be the game for you. However, with all the lost features and left out modes, NHL fans might want to wait until everything is patched in to jump on this ship. EA Sports: it's in the game… eventually.
For a game that I knew nothing about until maybe a few days before release, The Last Tinker: City of Colors really did surprise and impress me, even with some of it's hiccups. What you have is a colorful and vibrant world full of cute inhabitants, quirky moments, and a great done soundtrack that do enough to keep you interested. This is the perfect example of a game that you could called a jack of all trades but a master of none. The combat, platforming, and puzzle solving are all serviceable game play elements that function well without being spectacular. Each section is just good enough. With over 10+ hours of game play, it is longer than I expected but has almost zero replay value to speak of. The Last Tinker: City of Colors is a throw back game that provides gamers with a simple approach to fun and it works.
A minor issue I found too was while playing co-op with my wife. The game lets you visit two different areas of the map and work on separate things, which is nice. However, if I was working on a specific quest and then my wife started talking to an NPC to gain a new quest, the game collapses the split screen and reads you the quest. This becomes increasingly annoying when one person is in the middle of doing something and a quest is started, sometimes accidentally. This would be fixed with an option for online co-op, however that has still not been realized in the series sadly.
On the presentation side, the game is a bucket full of colors, with every world being vibrant and bright. It is a very appealing and cute look that works well with the equally childish look of the characters and planets. As with the presentation side of things, the audio is a mix of 8 bit quirkiness that really shines during the levels. Though the game has some rather annoying sound effects throughout, like the random fart noises that seem to play every time to go to summon an item or way too often when you are talking with people. Outside of that, most of the noises found in the game just work and really expand the experience.
On the presentation side of things, the game looks solid, yet unremarkable. It is far from an ugly game, however, there is nothing here that really screams PlayStation 4. The world is nice and bright and the character models are kind of adorable. The audio side of this game is pretty good, with quirky dialog from the mad scientist and a mildly addictive main track that plays throughout. It is that sort of tune that is just perfect for an addictive puzzle game, which this is through the challenge modes.
Another change I found in this version of FIFA was the amount of shoulder to shoulder combat happening all over the pitch. Lose your step for a second and you have someone bearing down on you and shouldering you off the wall. The soccer ball also sees a change, as in years' past it felt attached to a players' foot. In this version however, the ball rolls off your foot a lot easier and bounces around between players with greater frequency. This causes a lot less static play, with a greater sense of battle and strategy to be found at a quicker pace.