With a minimalistic approach to the visuals, Race the Sun is quite pleasant to look at, even if the amount of colors are kept to a bare minimum. As you progress, the obstacles in the landscape become increasing more complex with a plethora of moving parts. Shapes will get increasingly taller, producing greater areas of shadows. For only $10, the endless replayability of Race the Sun is well worth the price. Excuse me; Race the Sun is calling my name.
I've found the narrative in Grand Theft Auto V to be more enjoyable than any of the past Grand Theft Auto games. This time I actually wanted to finish it, seeing what happens to all three of the colorful characters. In the previous games I found myself spending way too much time causing chaos in the city, but with GTA V, Rockstar has included so much content to experience even outside of the main narrative, I never felt the need to go full-on Rambo on the city's population. There's also the ambitious online part of the game, which could be more addicting than the single-player portion once the game breaking bugs are finally squashed.
As with many of the next-generation launch titles that released on last-generation platforms simultaneously, the content in the game remains virtually untouched. The most notable difference is the sharper looking visuals, running at a smooth 60fps at 1080p, compared to the PS3 version of game that was limited to 720p.
Unfamiliar with the original comic book series, I was initially worried I would be lost when it came to the game, even if it is considered a prequel. Keeping me guessing throughout, the unpredictable nature of the narrative had me on the edge of my seat. If I have learned anything from playing through Faith, nothing is what is seems.
Super Motherload features 4-player local cooperative play and is arguably more exciting when played with friends. Not realizing the benefit of combining elements at first, the strategy of maximizing benefits and cargo space later in the game becomes important (especially due to the high upgrade costs). I can't see myself playing through the game multiple times on my own besides for hunting trophies, but cooperatively it can be enjoyed in small doses.
Killzone: Shadow Fall will be best known for the visual showcase on day one of the PS4's launch, but looking past the graphics, the game boosts a very solid multiplayer experience and lengthy campaign. The campaign can be frustrating at times and the pacing is inconsistent, especially late in the game where it feels like you are defending a room against waves of incoming Helghast soldiers every 20 minutes.
A charming adventure, Knack will also push your frustrations to the limit with the occasional cheap death and discouraging checkpoints that will force you to replay sections of each chapter. Combat can be broken down into punching everything in sight, but the challenge is welcomed for those looking for a throwback to classic games that weren't afraid about being labeled as hard.
As someone that doesn't spend an exorbitant amount of time in Call of Duty multiplayer, Ghosts feels like a weekend rental at best. If you are one of the millions that play the multiplayer daily, Ghosts provides plenty of entertainment in the alien based Extinction mode and the new Squads mode. The rest of the multiplayer plays like Call of Duty, fans of the multiplayer will know exactly what I mean. I do have my concerns as specific existing game modes are missing, but the inclusion of dedicated servers should alleviate most of the issues with lag.
I have no problem going on records to say Battlefield 4 is the best and disappointing experience I've had in a long time. A month and a half later, Dice is still patching the game to where it should have been at launch. In my testing, the PC version of the game is more stable than the PS4 version of the game, but EA/Dice still has a long way to go to regain my trust.
Tiny Brains succeeds in providing a resurrecting to the on-the-couch party genre, which I haven't enjoyed since the original Mario Party. Although the game is functional with less than four players or when playing online, the experience is completely different. I'm a huge supporter of online multiplayer, but Tiny Brains is the perfect game to spend a weekend playing with friends and family squeezed together in the same room.
Danganronpa should be played by anyone looking for a different style of game for the PlayStation Vita. Investigating the different murders can be grueling at times due to the inconsistent pacing, as you fail to click on the one spot in the room the game wants you too, or you fail to realize you only spoke to a character once instead of twice. The trial gameplay mechanics can be confusing at times, but can be passed by trial and error if you become stuck.
I wanted to enjoy my time spent with Basement Crawl, as I gave Bloober Team plenty of time to iron out the issues with the game. Even after a month, Basement Crawl's online experience has not been improved. At this point, even if the network issues are fixed, the online community has abandoned the game, making it hard to recommend a multiplayer online game when you'll find less than 10 players at any given moment.
If you have no issues running Bounties and Rifts for the foreseeable future, the inclusion of Rifits and the new difficulty system will keep players busy for quite some time. There has definitely been a large spike in the player base for Diablo III since the release of the Reaper of Souls expansion, but the true test for Blizzard will be if they will stick around after the couple of hours it takes to get through all of the new content.
The Witch and the Hundred Knight provides more enjoyment when you put more into the game. The deep learning curve requires dedication and patience while you learn the more advanced game mechanics. I enjoyed the dark humor for most of the game, but the scene mentioned earlier, made even me cringe. Yes, the game could have done a much better job at explaining some of the finer gameplay elements, but overall I enjoyed through the game.
I found Daylight a better survival horror experience than any of the other titles that fall into the same subcategory. The game may only last a couple of hours, but the randomness of each playthrough and modest price point make Daylight an enjoyable and tense experience.
Strike Suit Zero: Director's Cut fixes many of the glaring issues from the initial release of the game, giving console and PC gamers the definitive edition of the game. The controls will take some getting used to, and in the heat of the intense dogfighting, it is easy to hit the wrong button or lose your target. Word of advice, don't crash into capital ships.
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II continues the humorous dialogue (be prepared for many pop culture references) between Van Helsing and Lady Katarina, who still follows him around. Not much has changed in how the game is played, but I still find the skill trees and crafting mechanics too convoluted and in need of simplification.
In the end, I wish there was more to Bound by Flame. I adored the crafting system and have come around on the combat system once I mastering the act of parrying, but I still wish there was more. Spiders has turned down the swearing in the game (compared to Mars: War Logs), but Vulcan has his/her outbursts for no good reason. The game is dialogue heavy, and provides a ton of backstory on the towns, the people and the quests in the game; just don't look at the characters while they speak.
Through all of my success, Constant C remained a frustrating experience, from cheap deaths, to my own ignorance by rotating the environment in the incorrect direction. Constant C provides an enjoyable and challenging experience that will have you literally standing on your head thinking of a solution.
With the release of the second part of the game, Full Bore no longer ends abruptly as it did in The First Dig, providing an enjoyable approach to a puzzle game from start to finish.