Valkyria Revolution fails to live up to the previous games in the series, and although it serves as a spinoff, the new system mechanics don't blend. The narrative approach is admirable; however, most sequences are dull and feel lifeless. Not to mention, the long loading times between each sequence leads to quite a bit of down time before you need to pick up the controller.
Too often in Rain World, death does not feel warranted, as the ruthless creatures make any attempt to advance truly punishing. I felt that many times that there was simply no way to avoid dying, which in turns sets you back in your progress to locate new areas to explore. There are thrilling moments in the game, but the poor design decisions in the game hamper any enjoyment.
1-2-Switch seems like a missed opportunity. With 28 minigames in total, there are too many of them that are wasted and limited in terms of enjoyment, The couple that seems to be the most enjoyable grow stale over time when played with the same crowd. Sure, forcing eye contact while you are dueling in the wild west or milking cows produces many hilarious moments, but the lack of depth keeps it from being a must-play title. On top of that, the asking price is too high for what the game offers and would have been better suited as a pre-installed game.
The reliance on trial and error gameplay does a disservice to the disturbing setting that 2Dark creates. The lack of checkpoints is frustrating, and I fail to see how having them would have harmed the game’s tension. Simply having to replay large sections of levels or stopping to manual save after every room just isn’t fun. The combat could be improved if bonuses were provided if you were able to sneak up behind someone, but as it stands, melee attacks are too weak to be effective.
At the end of the day, Double Dragon IV feeds off the nostalgia of those that spent their youth playing the NES classic titles. While some may argue that the Arcade version of the game was a better version of Double Dragon, there is a certain charm to the 8-bit NES visuals and sound effects. If online multiplayer had been added to Double Dragon IV, it might have helped alleviate the lack of replay value the game suffers from.
Space Rift - Episode 1 is an ambitious space adventure title, but developer Vibrant Core falls short on the execution of their first game. Although relatively short, and lacking any reason to return, I did enjoy the mining aspect much more than the combat. The constant waves of enemies were more a nuisance, and I wish the game did away with the majority of combat encounters. Exploring derelict ships, salvaging abandoned equipment, and mining resources from ice-encrusted asteroids were much more enjoyable aspects of the game.
Developer TVR (Time of Virtual Reality) and publisher Oasis Game are already planning for the future with Ace Banana. Currently, the game only has a single-player mode, but a two-player online cooperative mode will be coming to the game in the coming months. As it stands today, Ace Banana is an entertaining arcade gallery shooting game for the PlayStation VR. The bright, colorful visuals work well with the artistic approach and characterized monkeys.
You'll probably not enjoy playing SportsBar VR if you only intend to play offline. The game was designed for friends to hangout and socialize online, and play some of the more popular bar games against each other. While it isn't a perfect substitution for hanging with friends in real life, for those with friends scattered across the country (or world) it can be an engaging experience. That said, I haven’t seen more than a couple of open lobbies at a time randomly throughout the day. With the holidays approaching, hopefully, it can help boost the game's online community.
What you’ll get out of Harmonix Music VR depends on whether you really enjoy listening to music while shutting your mind off in various types of visualizers with different levels of interaction. The Dance and The Easel are clearly going to be the most attractive and are ideal for group settings, while the strict visualizer ones -- The Beach and The Trip -- are meant for only the person in the HMD.
Although Jon St. John (known for voicing Duke Nukem) is the voice of Jack Boyd, I found myself not genuinely caring how the narrative played out. I thoroughly enjoyed the management sim portion of the game and could see myself play through a sandbox mode for quite some time, if one is ever added. Add randomized cases and crimes, and it could be something special, but as it is, the lack of true freedom in the narrative holds the game back. Having your playthrough cut short after only a handful of days because you wouldn’t listen to the mayor’s racist request is something that should not happen. Don’t give the player a false sense of choice when in practice there is only one way to play the game.
The Assembly is a decent attempt at crafting a world that should make players think about their actions. Just as I was thoroughly enjoying the narrative, however, and the secrets within the organization, the game comes to a close. The moral gray areas ensure that good vs. evil isn’t clearly defined and since there are multiple endings, you'll want to play through it more than once. The game’s length will vary depending on the player’s level of exploration, as I spent roughly four to five hours on my first time through the game..
Dotoyou should be applauded for developing the first game released on the PlayStation 4 in the Western market. However, the experience feels half-baked at times. The soundtrack is breathtaking but at the same time, the repeated chorus portions drag on way too long. Collecting puzzle pieces completes paintings that tell a story, but I never had the drive to find them all. There are unlockable koi to replace the original orange colored one, but I just don’t think it is a journey that I would want to experience more than once.
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.
We Happy Few combines survival mechanics with a deep and thoroughly enjoyable narrative, but technical hiccups hamper the experience. There was a bit too much reliance on stealth, giving a one-dimensional gameplay sensation, but thankfully you don't have to confront to that type of approach (although things are harder if you don't). Side missions help give life to the charming and witty characters you'll come across but are entirely optional if you want to play through the main narrative. The technical shortcomings and terrible frame rate are disappointing, along with some annoying missions, but with a deep and thrilling story, I was able to look the other way on some of the glaring issues, as none that I encountered were game breaking in any way. It is just a shame that Compulsion Games didn't remove the boring open world sequences and focused even further on tightening up the narrative experience.
Firefall has the promise to be an engaging free-to-play MMO, but the current state of the game is far from a pristine experience. Endless repetitive Job Board missions will keep players from running out of things to do in-game, but you'll stop playing well beforehand from boredom. Some of the higher level missions are much enjoyable, but you'll have to find a way trudge through the early parts of the game to get there. Playing with friends certainly improves the experience, but be prepared for some frustrating moments, as simple mechanics like sharing missions in progress doesn't exist. The inclusion of PvP allows you to test your Battleframe against others, but the reward system doesn't appear to be worth the time investment.
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.
As the first rail shooting on the PlayStation 4, Blue Estateworks best when played with a friend, strictly for the cooperative experience. Playing through the game alone, the levels feel padded, with too many waves of the same enemies.
I almost wrote off The Last Tinker within the first couple hours of the game, mostly due to the bug that forced an additional two hours to the beginning of the game. There are redeemable concepts in The Last Tinker, but the entire experience is married by mediocre combat and disappointing audio.
The Legend of Korra may be the smallest title Platinum Games has worked on, but the inclusion of newly animated cutscenes, the original voice actors and a mostly enjoyable combat system should please fans of the series. In other areas, the game falls on the lighter side with horrendous level design and a sheer lack of content.
As it was in the original release of Destiny, The Dark Below features timed exclusives that can only be found on PlayStation consoles (until Fall 2015). The Undying Mind strike takes players further into The Black Garden to face a timeless Vex Hydra. The strike is a tad on the lengthy side and features multiple spots where you face incoming waves of Vex. The final showdown against the Undying Mind (the third Hydra boss in the game) features three force fields. The 4th Horseman, an exotic shotgun, is the other PlayStation exclusive. This four barreled shotgun can quickly eat away at foes, if you are lucky enough to have it drop.