Citizens of Earth is an enjoyable charming retro-inspired RPG with clear inspiration from the SNES classic EarthBound. There are occasional pacing issues, as certain areas seem to be padded with additional areas and enemies. The writing hits the mark throughout, making jokes about the political system and the occasional pop culture reference.
Playing with a friend, either locally or online has been my highlight with Pure Pool. Being able to adjust the angles and power of your shots feels smooth without the restraint of on-screen meters. The way the balls react to the other balls on the table, reflect the lighting of the bar, as well as tuck neatly into pockets and softly touch the edges of the table is satisfying. At any point in a game, you are able to instantly update the color and decals of the table, as well as your pool cue (once unlocked). Pure Pool is a great addition to the Pure series, and the most realistic pool game to date.
Costume Quest 2 makes key changes to the way battles unfold, removing the unique play style of each costume. The streamlined mechanics work to the game's advantage, especially when you are trying to focus on bonus attacks, as well as blocking and countering. The dialogue is well-written, but the last hour or so of the game falls short of expectations. Parts of the narrative aren't explained as well as they should be, and the last battle in the game occurs rather abruptly.
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.
Skylanders has always focused on collecting various figures and even more apparent in Trap Team. You'll still come across in-game videos that show off new special moves and Skylanders you haven't encountered. As the villains are the best part of the game, you'll want to purchase traps for each element type. Each trap can only hold one villain at a time, so you'll have to switch them out between levels.
Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments is an enjoyable collection of different cases putting you once again in the shoes of the one man that can solve them all. The synapse style deduction board is a giant leap forward for the series, allowing you to finish cases with inaccurate information. I did end up sentencing an innocent man to death, but the game does allow you to go back and adjust your conclusions before proceeding to the next case.
If you are looking for a new multiplayer game to play on your PlayStation 4, Anomaly 2 may not fit the bill, unless the population increases. The narrative missions provide a challenging experience, even for veterans of the traditional tower defense genre and Anomaly series.
Worms Battlegrounds brings the chaotic Worms multiplayer experience to the new consoles for the first time in a solid package. I still think Team17 needs to add everything missing from the classic 2D games, but shows promise with the integration of the online clans.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Masterplan offers a completely open-ended approach to all of the game's heists, allowing you to return to the locations to test out different tactics. Heists may feel repetitious if you happen to replay them without changing your tactics. I've completed each of the heists multiple times however, using different tactics each time helped kept everything feeling fresh.
The sheer amount of things that can be done in Harold is astounding. I never thought an endless runner game could become as complex as the game Mood Spider has created, and yet I've found myself drawn to the challenge. Even after acing the practice segments, adding in the additional racers creates a new dynamic. Less hand holding and full on old-school experience, Harold's gameplay is only surpassed by the top-notch animation and vibrant visuals.
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.
Space Run has proved that the tower-defense genre can be molded into one of the more enjoyable narratives of the year, as well as keeping the gameplay fresh from start to finish. The dialogue between missions are chock full of sci-fi references and are fully voiced.
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.
Victor Vran almost does everything right but suffers from the same faults from just about every action RPG on the market. The story is uninspired, and unless you are planning to play with friends, you may have trouble finding other online players at your level. The combat system is enjoyable, as you test out different types of weapons. Even after completing the story, I had places on the map that I never unlocked. If you are a completionist, attempting to complete all of the objectives on every area will keep you busy for quite some time. Not to mention the allure of finding sick new loot, and the constant content being added to the game.
Tom Clancy's The Division is an enjoyable shooter with social implementation for those that want to play with friends. After putting 50+ hours into the game, completing the story and running around the Dark Zone as a rogue, Massive will need to keep updating the game with new end-game content. Daily missions are currently the same content, but harder, and running the same missions for the umpteenth time will eventually grow tiresome. The Division has a solid base to build off of, and I'm sure that Massive will keep updating the game with new activities for players to enjoy.
Dreadnought's gameplay is such a powerful experience, and it is a shame that the current population on PlayStation 4 is not what the game deserves. Matchmaking can take anywhere from 5-10 minutes, and even then, I've never had a full 5-on-5 player match without at least one AI controlled ship. Hopefully, the developers can help alleviate the grind at the higher tiers, and look to adjust how the customization system works, opening up purchased items across all classes.