Everybody's Gone to the Rapture is an incredibly engaging piece of fiction. Its investigation into humanity and relationships far exceeds its desire to wow you with action. It is a slow game, a contemplative game, and it's one of my favorites this year.
Magicka 2 flashes potential in its gameplay, but can't come up with a way to turn that potential into a good game. Couple the boring design with the technical issues and it's a difficult game to recommend.
It is nice, refreshing even, to see Assassin's Creed doing something a little different from the norm. But the differences are only skin deep. Much of ACC: China is routine and unpolished, failing to capitalize on an opportunity to stand out from the rest of the series.
There's no arguing Mortal Kombat's timeless design, but the newest entry doesn't attempt to evolve the fighting genre or even the franchise itself. And yet, Mortal Kombat X is a competent fighting game, and it bears the marks of an experienced team that knows how to give their fans what they want.
Even with the bugs, Pillars of Eternity is an RPG that any fan of the genre must play. It keeps the old-school mentality of the genre alive, while also offering something fresh and original.
Helldivers can be quite fun, and the experience is so fine-tuned that the issues it does have - like matchmaking and the occasional frame rate issues - stand out like sore thumbs.
ScreamRide's fun is fleeting as the collection of mini-game physics puzzles recycles its material. The game has some solid mechanics, but is a shallow experience overall.
Evolve can be good fun. But between those moments of entertainment, the experience is often interrupted by unbalanced mechanics and matches that are over before they begin.
The core experience of Dying Light is a good time. For the most part, I enjoyed my time running from or dodging my way through the undead. But beneath the surface, the game drags itself down by futilely trying to fill a checklist of expectations.
Fantasia: Music Evolved breathes new life into the genre, showing that it can be as much fun to create music as it is to play it. It could use a few more songs and can be a little easy, but its game you'll want to share with friends and family.
Even with some downsides, I really enjoyed NBA2k15. It really tries to capture sports in way that goes beyond numbers and statistics. It's something I appreciate, and something I think a lot of sports games could learn from.
While The Evil Within never quite terrifies, it has plenty of moments early on where it threatens to wrap you up in its gory world. However, it never really delivers a completely engaging experience and by the end goes totally off the rails.
Destiny has many great elements at its core, with solid action mechanics and especially if you were already a fan of Bungie's previous work. But there are many design concerns which bog down the experience, from the boring story to the underdeveloped MMO concepts and dull mission design. Destiny rarely feels engaging or feature-complete. We can only hope the franchise finds its footing in the future installments.
While the title attempts to do right by Cybertron fans, it ends up making a mess of things. The core gameplay isn't bad, nor is the structure of the game itself, but it is simply boring. Mix boring with the game's technical flaws and there's not much to love about Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark.
MLB 14: The Show is a fair game, and those looking forward to a new generation of the series and the small upgrades it brings will enjoy what it has to offer. Those who have spent years with series might find themselves ready for something new. The technical hiccups, the lack of creativity in the single-player, the randomness of success, it all feels a little passe in a new generation.
Super Time Force relies heavily on the chaos of its time-and-death mechanic to keep the players moving. The game doesn't always strike the sweet spot and stand out, but it did always leave me smiling as I would watch the replay of a level and all my characters swarming through, firing waves of bullets. For those who love are looking for an action-arcade shooter with a neat hook, Super Time Force offers a fair share of fun.
Bound by Flame is playable, but it lacks anything compelling to keep you invested. When you aren't dealing with poorly balanced design you are yawning at its dull world and uninspired RPG mechanics. Bound by Flame is more akin to Spiders previous efforts rather than the many better action-RPG titles they attempted to borrow from.
The core of the Elder Scrolls experience lives on in The Elder Scrolls Online, and fans of series will love discovering never before seen corners of Tamriel, or revisiting favorite locales in a new way. However these experiences are muddled by balance issues, unclear design choices, and technical blips. This MMO is not for everyone, but those who are ready for a deep, consuming experience may find it here if they choose to look past the flaws.
Dragonfall is limited by the mediocre game it was an expansion of, but still manages to build a more interesting narrative with better characters. The overarching missions structure has improved, the way you complete these missions has become more varied. Dragonfall may wear the skin of Shadowrun Returns, but underneath it's a far superior game.
The concept of Octodad: Deadliest Catch is clever and the overall experience is good for some laughs. But it is hard to recommend a game that is fun for little over an hour. Young Horses just doesn't seem to know what to do with their good idea.