Keri Honea's Reviews
Hopefully a patch will come down that will add at least an instruction on switching skills and fix the sound issues. Ys Origin isn't a great game, even with the various modes, difficulty settings, and characters that unlock for replayability, simply because it's straight dungeon crawl with little variety. However, these issues prevent Ys Origin from being as good as it could be, and they certainly make it difficult to recommend the title to newcomers of Ys.
I honestly dislike coming down on a game, because I know the developers behind it usually put their hearts and souls into their finished product. Perhaps if they baked their ideas a bit longer, fine tuned the controls, and fixed some of the latency issues (especially with loading), Divide could have been the big sci-fi adventure they clearly aimed for. But as it is, I was only relieved it didn’t take too long to complete.
One of the great things about the Tales of series is that you can jump in any of the games at any time and not be lost with either the story or combat. Tales of Berseria is a great launch point for newcomers, and of course a fabulous return point for veterans. JRPG fans who have never tried a Tales of game but always wanted to, this is a perfect place to start. Be sure to have the tissues close by.
I’d heartily recommend this for KH fans, although I caution that perhaps they should wait for the price to drop. Newcomers to the franchise entirely should avoid this title until the first two anthologies are under the belt. This is definitely not an installment that is easy to jump into.
Gravity Rush 2 lacks quite a bit in the story department, even with the side missions, but the improved combat and series-unique exploration make it difficult to put the game down. Even when Kat’s flailings are incredibly annoying and detrimental, and even with the awful stealth missions, it’s even more difficult to not have fun this adventure. Previous experience isn’t required either, as Kat basically has to learn everything all over from the beginning anyway. If Gravity Rush was always a game you meant to get into, there’s no better place to start than Gravity Rush 2.
Xenoraid is a unique spin on the space shooter genre that offers its own brand of challenge for seasoned players. The short missions are perfect for handheld gameplay, as well, making it easy to pick up and play whenever you have a spare few minutes. Space shooter fans looking for something new that isn’t a dual stick shooter should be fairly pleased with what Xenoraid has to offer.
Demetrios doesn’t take very long to complete, and the puzzles aren’t so challenging that you risk eating all of your cookies for hints before reaching the end. That may be a turn-off for some, but this game is more about the humor (especially the toilet humor) than the riveting gameplay. The humor is why I stayed up late playing, and it’s that humor that prods me to recommend this title to Vita owners. Even if you don’t like toilet humor, which did get rather old about halfway through, there is an option to cut it down or remove it entirely. It’s still just as funny without it. The important thing to remember about this Big Cynical Adventure is to not expect a deep story throughout. It’s about as deep as a toilet.
Square Enix has taken quite a few risks with Final Fantasy XV to make it different from past installments or even JRPGs overall. Despite some graphical issues, they have pulled off an amazing experience, and it's one that veterans and newcomers alike can immensely enjoy. This road trip has been well worth the wait.
Visual novels are an underappreciated niche of gaming to be sure, but games like this don’t do the genre any favors. This might have been fantastic as an anime series, but the lack of real choices in how the story goes kind of kills the interactive vibe a visual novel is supposed to have. Even though the text messages and phone calls alter the story, the length of the full story, complete with monotonous gameplay, doesn’t make replaying it for all the endings very enticing.
Despite how much Ezio Auditore da Firenze is showing his age, you can’t help but enjoy yourself as you stab your way through countless Templars. That said, it’s only fun if you already played and enjoyed the games the first time. I can’t imagine taking such a large backwards step in gameplay evolution for those who have only played Black Flag or Syndicate. The Ezio Collection is obviously for die-hard Assassin’s Creed fans who loved the original games. As such, it’s not recommended for newcomers to the franchise or those who have only played recent installments. Even then it’s hard to recommend this for die-hard fans, because the games look so rough compared to current titles. At least it has a frame rate improvement and two films, one animated and one live-action, that serve as bookends to Ezio’s overall story, giving hardcore fans a few more reasons to pick it up. To truly get newcomers and even veteran fans excited about Ezio, perhaps a remastered version is in order.
√Root Letter has many interesting ideas, but they never fully gel together at the end. I had high hopes after the first couple of hours of gameplay, but it was hard to continue after determining I did not like Max at all. It was even harder to like it after learning who Aya was. Perhaps the multiple endings do make it all easier to swallow and there is something mind-blowing within, but I doubt many will feel enticed to replay to find out.
Super Dungeon Bros. could be a really fun party game with friends, but starting dungeons over each time will still get old just as fast. At least the recent Gauntlet game saves progress so you can jump in any room you haven't cleared at any time. The rock-n-roll bro concept is very amusing, and the variety of weapons available to craft adds plenty of motivation to replay it. However, until the developer adds in the ability to save your dungeon progress, not many will stick around long enough to craft any of them.
With all of the side missions, skills to unlock, items to craft, hilarious side quests such as the milk delivery quests, Parallel Quests with co-op capability, offline and online matches, and not to mention the main missions, there is more than enough for players to sink their teeth into. It will feel padded to some, especially those who played the first game. Dimps undoubtedly forced in the RPG-grinding to lengthen the game and separate it from the Budokai games, which does it make more unique, and at the same time, a bit annoying for a title that is, at its core, a member of the fighting genre. Those who never picked up the first title will easily jump into Xenoverse 2 with amazement and wonder and love every minute of it. Those who already played the first game will appreciate the solid online mechanics, but won’t find much motivation in going through a main storyline that they’ve already done time and time again.
When Square Enix announced World of Final Fantasy at E3 2015, many of us in the audience and watching at home thought this game would be a complete joke. This would be yet another wasted effort when they should have focused on other more anticipated titles. The dialogue may be funny, but the game is far from being a joke. It’s in the running for RPG of the year, if not game of the year and is, by far, the best Final Fantasy title the company has put out in several years.
If you enjoyed these games the first time and just want more Trophies for your collection, then by all means, jump in a second time. But if you missed LEGO Harry Potter back then, it’s far too rough to come back to now. TT Games has improved their games so much since these, and the LEGO Harry Potter Collection has too many problems, old and new, to recommend to Harry Potter fans.
Know what else takes a cult, niche audience willing to devote several hours to fully delve into an RPG campaign? A Warhammer tabletop RPG. If you're missing playing Warhammer with a local tabletop group of friends, then Mordheim: City of the Damned will be the next best experience.
Despite this reining in on being a tyrannical god, Reus is phenomenal. It has that right balance of allowing players to move as quickly or as slow as they want for newcomers to the genre or seasoned god veterans. The only time I felt overwhelmed is when I let myself become that way by growing too many villages. With the number of unlockables for abilities and developments, even these veterans will find plenty to do in Reus for several hours, and better yet, they’ll enjoy that time as much as the newbies.
While there are plenty of co-op only titles on the console, most of these were built with consoles in mind and therefore had devices in place to make a mandatory teamwork experience a smooth one. It doesn't take long to see that Warhammer: The End Times – Vermintide for PS4 was certainly not constructed with consoles in the forethought; it's quite the afterthought, and it painfully shows. Stick to the PC for this one.
It’s easy to dismiss Dragon Quest Builders as just another Minecraft clone or a Minecraft-lite, but those who do will miss out on a very creative little adventure. I never thought building in the name of saving the world could be this entertaining or keep me up so late at night. I’ve always enjoyed the crafting side of RPGs, but this takes it on to a whole new level. It’s a crafter’s paradise more than it is a builder’s, something you won’t know until you pick it up for yourself. Come for the charming Dragon Quest look and feel and, yes, the Minecraft building; stay for the questing and crafting.
That's what we all try to do day in and day out in our own lives, right?