Alex Santa Maria's Reviews
Zen Studios haven't faltered yet, and their Pinball FX series continues to be a bright spot in the digital pinball landscape. Outside of licensing troubles and new tables featuring less than accurate presentation, there's a great game of skill to be had here.
Wolfenstein II's combat is as intense as ever, and MachineGames can craft FPS story beats like few others, but something just feels askew about this sequel. Like a follow-up to a Hollywood blockbuster, everything is a little looser and the game suffers for it.
In the end, I found Battle Chasers: Nightwar to be a great game for a very specific group of people that I happen to be outside of.
Let Them Come is the ultimate turret sequence. The game blasts past expectations with simple arcade gameplay and a solid presentation that combines the best of 90s shooters with heavy synth beats.
Capcom's latest fails to impress when compared to the past. The improvements in accessibility and reliable gameplay don't redeem its bargain bin presentation, lacking roster, and forgettable campaign.
If you're just looking for a car combat game to play with friends in 2017, Auto Age: Standoff won't let you down. If you're looking to play any other way, you'll probably be disappointed by the bare-bones feature set on offer.
Nothing in Adventure Lamp is going to blow you away, but this is a relaxing platforming adventure that is well worth a few hours of your time.
Fast and frantic gameplay, crunchy pixel graphics, and local multiplayer that will have you playing with friends all night. Outside of a less than stable online experience, Windjammers on PS4 is the rip-roaring arcade experience you remember.
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle gets more right than wrong in creating a casual and fun tactics experience, but tedious puzzle sections and a shotgun approach to Mario references holds it back from greatness.
Sonic Mania is one of those games that many thought would never happen. A true sequel to Sonic and Knuckles that takes the series to new heights, this is the 2D arcade platformer that everyone who owned a Genesis has been waiting for.
LawBreakers innovates at every turn, backing up its demanding learning curve with rock solid gameplay that rewards skill and style in equal measure.
Gorescript achieves a lot in a small package. Iterating on DOOM and other old school shooters, it gives players a killer campaign and a few hours of throwback fun. If the visual design were a bit more interesting and the platforming was stripped out, it'd be a real winner.
Bandai Namco isn't reinventing the wheel with Tekken 7, but it's been long enough that a solid entry in the franchise feels fresh. The new additions are small in scope but deliver in a big way, making this easily one of the best entries in the series.
Danger Zone's gameplay is rock solid, but its sparse presentation and short length make for a pretty forgettable experience.
Prey has all the atmosphere in the world but feels held down by its need to conform to what came before, its lack of enemy and weapon variety, and its refusal to let players choose their own path.
Learning from games both old and new, Immortal Redneck is a gameplay focused old school shooter at heart. Once you get up to speed, you'll have a tough time putting this excellent game down.
This is another roguelike that pushes the genre forward, bringing pinpoint accurate jumping and shooting to the endless arcade randomization that players of these games love.
Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment is everything you could want in a 2D platformer, featuring mechanics from classic games brought forward in clever ways. Specter improves upon the original Shovel Knight in most regards and continues Yacht Club Games' tradition of excellence effortlessly.
Old Time Hockey rushes out of the box with a great presentation but trips up once it hits the ice and has to prove itself. The game just can't match up to the retro classics that were its inspiration.
Styx: Shards of Darkness will provide stealth fans with a brief thrill, but wading through levels multiple times and dealing with poor attempts at variety will grate at even the most jaded of players by the time the campaign is through.