Daniel Vaughan's Reviews
ABRACA’s charming style and enjoyable genre blending gameplay make this a very enjoyable party experience, that'll provide many exciting races. However if you’re unable to gather a group of friends or family you’re limited to a single solo mode which is fun, but won’t hold players attention for long when compared to races.
Star Fox Guard is an innovative title with a good deal to do and a number of possibilities for its online community. Player’s ability to multitask and stay calm under pressure is the standout factor that will really affect their overall experience. Not being able to focus on multiple things at once will easily frustrate gamers as they are quickly overwhelmed by an army bots.
It's taken several years for us to get a new instalment into this series that can live up to the N64 classic, but with Star Fox Zero that wait is finally over. With a new lick of paint, a vast amount of secrets to discover and solid gameplay mechanics it'll easily provides players with hours of thrilling dog fights and action packed set pieces. The new Gyrowing and Walker vehicles are fun new additions but they're thrills that quickly wear off leaving you wanting more of the fast action packed Arwing missions. Star Fox fans will surely not be disappointed with this title.
Dark Souls III certainly lives up to the brutal difficultly levels of its predecessors. It constantly gets you to push your boundaries as you're encouraged to press deeper in each run, plus the tension and challenge very rarely lets up, even if it does occasionally resort to cheap tricks. It's robust, exciting combat is by far the most appealing element of this game, offering many ways to fight, allowing players a great deal of depth to character building and giving them many choices on how they would like to proceed through this melancholy world.
Beneath the stunning visuals there's an interesting deal of mechanics to learn which brings a fresh approach to the fighting genre. It's just a shame there's not more to do, and only having 16 characters is a bit of a let-down when you know the franchise has hundreds more. Pokken Tournament is a must get for any Pokemon fan, replacing the slow battles of the main series and providing us with the fast, energetic duels we've come to see in the Anime and Smash games.
Rainbow Moon is a pretty standard RPG with a lot of grinding required. It does have its flaws like it's Initially slow to get going, plus levelling up can be a slog but at the same time it shows a lot of promise with some interesting mechanics, enjoyable exploration and satisfying combat. If you're after an enticing, epic story then you better off looking elsewhere, but if you're interested in being pitted against tough enemies and lots of exploration in a bright vibrant world then this is worth a look
Hyrule Warriors Legends feels more awkward to control on handheld and doesn’t perform nearly as well as the Wii U version but it does add some interesting new modes and features like character switching and fairy skills. For newcomers playing on the New 3DS is recommended, otherwise you’ll be faced with naff camera angles, fiddly controls and massive framerate drops. Of course these flaws won’t matter too much to super fans who are sure to enjoy the experience, the many new features and the upcoming content, providing they don’t mind starting over.
What we have here is a simple free flowing hack n' slasher with a number of interesting mechanics that sadly fall a bit flat. Building Servan decks can be fun, but ultimately they don't make much of an impact in fights, and weapon switching adds some variety but none offer anything really unique. Despite this Nights of Azure is still an enjoyable enough experience, the character focused narrative is certainly worthwhile and there are plenty of talking points from both story elements
Kholat does a fantastic job at creating a tense, moody atmosphere in which you're completely alone in an unforgiving landscape. However for everything the game does right there is an equal flaw to break player immersion. The grizzly tail of a real life a real life incident immediately draws you in, but the narrative is often perplexing leaving you with a lot of unanswered questions. The open-world environment is realistic, beautiful and calls on your adventurous side, but the gameplay is overly simplistic and exploration is tediously long.
Over the top humour and busty hijinks are in abundance in, Senran Kagura Estival Versus. Creative Finishers and bombshells add something new to the gameplay, but it all still feels very basic with it becoming increasingly repetitive given enough time. Yet it still makes for good, mindless, button mashing fun. Long term fans are sure to get something out of this fun new addition to the fan service heavy franchise.
The decade old adventure has received a nice rejuvenation, that's fixed a number of gameplay elements, sped up inventory management and polished the aging, gritty visuals. That said it's also brought up a couple of new fiddly issues like laggy offscreen play and a lackluster new dungeon. Still The legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD is nice update to one of the franchises best, a great way for fans to reminisce and a fantastic starting point for newcomers.
The Deadly Tower of Monsters is a short but charming experience. The gameplay is what lets the game down needing an extra dose of polish in several areas but it's still decent enough to play. A creative style, a cheesy story and a stellar in-game commentary performance make this a title that shouldn't be missed for anyone with even a passing interest in classic sci-fi b-movies.
The steampunk artstyle is a nice approach but it hasn't been pulled off to well coming across more bland than enticing. The gameplay more than makes up for it though, kept fresh by procedurally generated missions and rewards it ensures that no two playthroughs are ever the same. Ironcast offers up plenty strategic possibilities for players to mess around with but be warned that luck plays a heavy role in progressing to the later stages.
Sickness is sinister, violent and bloody yet it's one you'll find hard to put down. It's a real stand out title from the visual novel genre, with much more brutality than romance. The protagonist for the most part can be very unlikeable as he takes some repulsive actions to which you don't have a choice over, but the rest of the narrative and characters more than make up for it. A must read for any visual novel fans looking for a bit of variation in their library.
Megadimension Neptunia VII's combat system is nothing really ground-breaking. There are a number of fun and interesting battle mechanics to play around with, but it takes a good deal of time before they're all really needed. However Neptunia title will obviously be welcomed by its fans, and it makes a nice entry point for those wanting to get into the series with it's fun and amusing plot, along with fantastic character development.
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 really embraces the style its anime roots. The frantic combat is very enjoyable, despite an initially steep learning curve, and there's a multitude of modes and scenarios to duke it out in. Combine that that with stunning, flashy action packed scenes and you don't just get the best looking Naruto game but possibly the best looking Anime style title.
If you're a fan of the same LEGO formula, then you're sure to find something to enjoy from Marvel Avengers. Just don't expect the slapstick and spoof jokes that we've come to see in other titles, as here you only get a cutup retelling of the two films, complete with LEGO animations. The gameplay too doesn't offer anything new, though the open world environments are a nice deviation from the linear plot scenarios.
Sora can offer players a fantastic challenge. However, it takes a lot of practice before you can really enjoy this title, even when playing on the easiest settings. The mechanics offer multiple ways to play scenarios, but trying to remember each of them can be frustrating, and a lot of time, they get in the way of the fun fast-paced gameplay. Whether just playing through the melancholy story, unlocking weapons, or competing for high scores, Sora still makes for an enjoyable bullet-hell experience.
Zombie Vikings is a solid brawler but it's a game that's more style over substance. The amusingly over the top plot can is good fun and while playing single player it can be key to pulling you through some of the repetition. The lack of variety and frustrating little glitches unfortunately give the game an unfinished feel but with a good group of friends it can still be good for a laugh.
Human Resource Machine is very clever little puzzle game. Coding enthusiasts may find the odd challenge but more likely to breeze through the games 38 puzzles in quick succession. Beginners on the other hand may find themselves bamboozled and frustrated by a lot of the tasks asked of them but it will certainly be an eye opener for some to the complex world of programming.