Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas is a pleasantly surprising homage to a classic adventure series. It may not bring anything new to the table, but its mimicking of old mechanics and ideas are done well enough that you can forgive it. The game length is good, the presentation is close to excellent, and the gameplay issues you'll encounter are minimal. For those who want an adventure reminiscent of the classics, Oceanhorn fits the bill nicely.
Game of Thrones: Episode 4 - Sons of Winter is the first episode to end with both intrigue and satisfaction. Though the stories are far from finished, there's finally a feeling that the characters have progressed in positive ways. Only Gared's tale comes off as bland this time, but the interactivity of his episode makes up for it, and you get the sense that he's closer to his promised land. With only two more episodes to go, things will pick up rather quickly, and the wait for the next episode is going to be more excruciating than ever.
L.A. Cops is a sloppy game. The controls lack finesse in almost all areas, and the shooting is randomized enough to feel unsatisfying. The AI is a joke on both sides, so the strategic aspect of the game is a moot point. The theme feels wasted, and the graphical flourishes that were intended to make the game feel lively end up being distracting instead. The sound is the only saving grace, and even then, you may tire of it due to the amount of times you'll need to replay levels — and not by choice. Unless it receives an influx of patches to fix a bevy of issues, there's little reason to check out this title.
The presentation could be better, but the mechanics are so solid that most players won't mind the flat appearance and audio. For those looking for a punishing version of Puzzle Quest, Ironcast is it.
In the end, Guns, Gore & Cannoli is a pretty good side-scrolling shoot-em-up. The action is intense and challenging due to the mob mentality of the enemies and the sheer quantity of foes. The gunplay is solid, so each gun feels useful, and the gameplay flow is just right, whether you're playing solo or with others. If you can live with some projectile and platforming flaws and are a fan of the classic side-scrolling, run-and-gun titles, you'll have some fun with Guns, Gore & Cannoli.
In the end, Paperbound is a good game if you enjoy local multiplayer action. The core mechanics provide a good amount of chaos and strategy while remaining fun for players of all skill types. Though the modes don't seem to have much variance, the gameplay is solid enough that few will find the lack of variety to be detrimental, and the presentation is distinct enough to stand out in what is starting to be a rather crowded fighting sub-genre. The lack of a true single-player mode and online multiplayer hurts the game when you compare it to other titles, but if you play lots of local multiplayer anyway, you and your friends will have plenty of fun with Paperbound.
Tower of Guns is a nice application of the roguelike formula to the first-person shooter genre. The old-school mechanics fit in well with the game's pure randomization to create an addictive experience no matter how many times you go through it. Though the title could use some more variety in enemy types and boss fights and the presentation could be a little better, there's no denying that the experience is fun enough to constantly beckon for just one more round. If you don't mind mindless shooting, Tower of Guns comes highly recommended.
Overall, Mortal Kombat X is great. The small improvements in the fighting system make a huge difference for the better, and the new fighters feel like they fit perfectly with the old cast. Despite missing a few modes and features, this is still one of the most packed fighting games as far as content goes, with enough hooks beyond the Story mode to keep players engaged. More improvements need to be made to the online performance, however, and the constant presence and reminders to purchase DLC characters can be off-putting.
Blue Estate is surprising in both good and bad ways. On the one hand, it delivers some good action with a surprising amount of cinematic flair. It also shows that the lack of an actual light gun can work quite well. On the other hand, the rather short game can feel too long, and the humor fails at being funny. If you can live with those shortcomings, the game is worth checking out for light gun fans who are jonesing for a new experience.
Painted with a mostly authentic blend of 8- and 16-bit with a few modern touches here and there, Axiom Verge is the perfect game for those who can't get enough of the genre.
In the end, ScreamRide proves to be fun in short doses. The four modes are quite entertaining if you love some chaos with your fun, though Engineering has some nasty difficulty spikes toward the end. The game is light on original content, but the leaderboard and many extra quests help give it legs, and the user-made creations give it some longevity. The presentation may be a little underwhelming, but few will mind since it provides such a distinct experience on the console. Gamers who are looking for something just a little different should check out ScreamRide.
Game of Thrones: Episode 3 -The Sword in the Darkness puts the series in a good spot. Asher has a decent amount of action, and his straightforward story is a nice contrast to everyone else's tales. Mira's situation is as tense as ever, and it doesn't look like the game will let up anytime soon. Gared's tale has gotten traction and gone from boring to exciting in one fell swoop. Rodrik's part in the episode still feels like it's spinning its wheels, but if you played things out a certain way, the events at the end signal the beginning of a spark . As long as the pacing of episode releases is right, there's enough here to keep players invested while the TV show rolls on.
In the end, Grey Goo is an interesting attempt at a simple but effective RTS game. Aside from the Goo, which is fun to play once you get used to its nuances, the other units are familiar enough that genre fans can immediately jump in without much complication. Genre beginners will appreciate the simplicity that eases them into the game while everyone will appreciate the presentation. The net code could use more tweaking, and the small pool of maps is a disappointment, but if that can grow alongside the community, then RTS fans will have a solid game to add to their libraries.
There's a good game in Harold. The frantic pace at which environmental manipulation can be done and its use in sabotaging the competition breathes some life into an otherwise straightforward genre. The presentation is fantastic, with excellent audio and visuals. The difficulty is appreciated, but the apparent grind is disappointing, and the controls seem better optimized for a touch-screen instead of a control pad. For fans of endless runners with a twist, Harold is worth checking out.
Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires breaks Omega Force's streak in releasing games that can change the minds of series critics. By reverting back to basics with so few modes, the title returns to something of a monotonous grind if you aren't playing as the kingdom leader. Campaigns blend into one another and have very few differentiating factors between them. The creation system is vast but not as much as the PS4 version, and the lack of modes makes the game feel quite small, even though the campaign can last countless hours. It spares Xbox One owners from dealing with a deluge of cosmetic DLC, and it doesn't have to compete with too many other Musou games on this platform. However, it is still the weakest in the series thus far and can only be recommended to lapsed fans and die-hard fans who play all of the entries.
Zombeer is bad. The humor is scattershot and groan-inducing, while the gameplay is barely functional. The graphics spend too much time on useless animations and not enough on anything useful, while the sound is awful except for parts of the soundtrack. The short play time is the only positive thing about the game, but even that isn't enough to recommend the title to anyone.
There's a lot of interesting setup in the first episode of Life is Strange, and this is a great start. There's the overarching mystery of the missing girl, but the smaller ones have the potential to open up interesting subplots later on. The time rewind mechanic is very convenient for solving simple puzzles and ensuring that the choices you make are ones you're comfortable with, but it remains to be seen how much of an impact this will all have. Like all episodic adventure titles, it's too early to tell if the entire game will be good. Based on this episode, there's enough intrigue that the wait for the second episode, which is currently scheduled for March, might be a tad unbearable.
Game of Thrones: Episode 2 - The Lost Lords is like the first episode in that it feels like a prologue to something bigger. Asher's appearance is more of an introduction to an upcoming bigger quest, and Rodrik's portion acts as a reboot of Ethan's story. Gared's tale features the least amount of progress. Only Mira's plot feels like it progresses, but the tension is kept at such a high level that the game remains intriguing and pushes things along nicely to the next episode.
Kalimba is a solid puzzle platformer that is trickier than expected. The puzzles and platforming are done so well that the ability to control more than one character simultaneously doesn't feel like a gimmick. The game may have a relatively short campaign, but there are many modes and difficult goals to keep the player coming back for more. Puzzle platforming fans should flock to this sleeper title.
Swords & Soldiers remains a great real-time strategy game for the Wii U. The mechanics may have been simplified when compared to other RTS games, but the fun and challenge is still there and enjoyable. The overall presentation is on par with the other releases made after the original Wii version, and the dual control schemes handle very well, so that's a boon for the revamped multiplayer. It could've used some of the newer things, like the extra campaign DLC and online play, but at a price ($2.99) that matches the tablet versions, there isn't much to complain about. Unless you already own it on another platform, you should pick up Swords & Soldiers.