Brian Hoss's Reviews
For a very short time, I enjoyed 'Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes' as I would any new, exciting, and impressive 'Metal Gear' title. I couldn't help but be fascinated by some of the turns assigned to 'Peace Walker' characters, and that is the game's fundamental issue. The game comes across as premium priced fan service. The PS4 version is doubtlessly better than the PS3 version, but the jump in price from $20 to $30 makes the pretty, fun, and short game only suitable for hardcore fans. Cut the price in half and clean up some of the locked features, and the game's rating would be much higher even without adding more content.
Initially, 'The Lego Movie Videogame' frustrates with a poor handling of the movie's awkward story, odd assignment of character powers, and subpar vehicle sequences. By then end though, the player is fully able to be immersed in Lego set recreations, offshoots of the best humor, creations, and visuals of the movie, and that special mix of Lego gameplay, exploring collecting, and co-operating. Some aspects of the game touch on new directions for the series, but ultimately a nostalgic enthusiasm for Legos and a growing fondness for some of the movie's characters mean more for the game and its review score.
Backed by the production values of 'Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag,' while highlighting some filthy all-too-recent history puts 'Freedom Cry' well above what usually passes for single player DLC. That 'Freedom Cry' also provides a stellar way for those unfamiliar with the franchise to experience the best of its current product, means it's perfect for those who haven't played 'Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag' at all, which this review score reflects. Even so, Adewale's tale only scratches the surface of what could have been.
When you break it down, the ingredients that make up 'Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc' can seem like a mishmash that shouldn't work. The whole of the experience, however, is a refreshing blast, and that's due to more than just the extraordinary setting. The PSP underpinnings make for some unfortunate limitations, but the game's ability to continual introduce story and gameplay twists keep the experience humming along. Though it's hard to keep capitalizing on something that worked so well the first time, it's not at all surprising that the game is a cult hit, and I'm hopeful that at some point in the future an existing or even all-new sequel makes its way here.
The first episode was something of a dicey proposition, promising, but also forced to expend a lot of time on exposition with mysteries featuring characters we'd only just met. The long interval, combined with a weak follow-up, could have really quelled interest in the whole series. Instead, my anticipation has skyrocketed. This second episode, 'Smoke & Mirrors,' features a much improved tempo and flow, ratcheting up the story while dialing back less compelling elements. Dare we ask Telltale not to make this next wait so long while maintaining such a refined quality?
Telltale has got something with 'The Wolf Among Us,' a fresh property and stylized noir trappings that should grab a lot of fans despite the lack of zombies. Even so, this first episode feels like a prologue that just gets some characters set up before touching on a mystery. The issues with the 360 version make playing on the PC dreamy by comparison, though the extended time since the game's release may have allowed for some important fixes to all versions.
For every time I've thought, "if only this game had a tight control scheme and consistent physics and scoring," the devs at Roll7 must have been furthering their plot to make 'OlliOlli.' I would never have guessed that I could be addicted to a skateboarding title, and I have some serious concerns that the Vita might not have been designed to support such a replayable (if brutally challenging) game. It might not be much of a looker and many will confuse it at a glance for an iOS title, but the gameplay really trumps such superficial concerns. If anything, they should make a version for the PS3/PS4, and put one of the DualShocks to work.
As an off-shoot title in a genre outside of the series' norms, 'Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance' succeeds, and its challenging core combat is a credit to Platinum Games. While I can't help but wish the game had a longer, better realized campaign, the plethora of assorted side content and value price speak louder than the game's flaws. As a new generation of consoles is upon us, the option of getting one of Platinum Games titles (a 'Metal Gear' no less) on the PC is much appreciated. When the action of 'Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance' is flowing, the game seems so good that I wish Konami would commission a retouched version for the new consoles.
The new 'Killer Instinct' is mired in free-2-play trappings, a lack of content and unnecessary unlock system, is very rough around edges. And yet, the solid and at times pretty fighting twist on 'Street Fighter IV' delivered by the game, is almost a must-own for fighting fans on the new system, which means that long-time fans have no choice but to pony up for 'Ultra Version.' It is almost as though if the game wasn't such a solid fighter, it might been free outright, and the potential (eventuality even) for what has been delivered to sprout a dedicated community, makes buying in now without knowing exact expansion plans and costs a nebulous prospect. Even so, Capcom may find themselves extremely late to the party when they release a fighting game for the Xbox One.
As a fresh alternative to meandering $60 games, 'Super Motherload' nails the kind of value proposition offered by good independent games. My towering expectations burned out during one of the many backtracks through the endgame area, and I can't help but wish for more than what the story delivered. But when the game is humming along, the experience is fun and unique among the offerings of Sony's new system. The game's charm, couch multiplayer, and Remote Play support make me treasure its presence on my PS4's hard drive.