The Last Agent is right up there with Fallen Angel as the best of the DLC packs available for Dead Rising 3. Considering the issues that still occur here, such as lots of fetch quests and vehicle missions in such a short time period, that's not saying much. However, the weapons in this pack are very nice, and most of the side-quests aren't annoying. Though the character isn't very interesting, at least his story makes sense in the world of Los Perdidos. It isn't exactly a ringing endorsement for players to pick up the DLC, but if you already have the season pass, it wouldn't hurt to spend some time with this pack.
While Gigantic Army feels like it's intended for those who crave nostalgia, it comes with just enough material to make it stand out. The fights are exciting, and the inclusion of older mechanics strikes the right amount of balance. The technical aspects could've used some work, as the omission of a few things feels lazy when compared to a majority of indie games. However, for the low price tag, this is a fun jaunt that can be played between more substantial games.
Despite doing a number of things right, 1954: Alcatraz doesn't feel special. The characters are intriguing but ultimately one-dimensional, and the story fails to take advantage of the time, location, and the branching paths idea. Though most of the puzzles use common sense instead of asking players to use obscure logic, they feel easy and there's the sense that the title isn't very challenging. Combined with a less-than-stellar visual presentation, 1954: Alcatraz doesn't reach its full potential. Adventure fans may enjoy this, but they'll also feel that this could have been much better.
Strider is a great example of how you can reboot an old arcade game with modern sensibilities and still keep it true to its roots. The fast action is sharp and responsive, and it mixes nicely with the grand setting. The adventure comes in at just the right length, and the various battles, while easy for series veterans, still excite in how they play out — though it would have been nice to have skippable cut scenes. Fans of the series and action-adventure gamers will have a blast with this title.
flOw is still a good game, but its presence means different things, depending on the platform you're playing it on. On the Vita, it represents the better port of the PS3 game when compared to the older PSP release due to the better graphics and the presence of motion controls. On the PS4, it only benefits those who have just joined the PlayStation family, as the experience is largely unchanged from the PS3. The cross-buy option means PS3 owners will have this version either way, but unless you need a trophy boost or are a big enough fan of thatgamecompany that you need to play every available version, PS3 vets who have moved to the new console can know they aren't missing any improvements.
If you have even a small interest in role-playing games, Child of Light comes highly recommended.
Wolfenstein: The New Order is an excellent entry in the series. The gameplay is varied, with a combination of decent stealth and very solid gunplay. The levels may sport drab colors, but the variety in location and inclusion of secrets in the level design make up for that. The story works well in a series that's not really known for telling a good narrative, and the dual pathways mean that an already long campaign is made longer for almost all the right reasons. If you gravitate toward a strong single-player experience in your shooters, The New Order should be high on your list of games to play.
Super Time Force is a good shooter with some depth. The time manipulation gimmick works great for those who want to use brute force as well as those who want some strategy, though the latter won't be rewarded until the very end. It makes the well-worn genre feel fresh again, and even though the initial game can be short, the amount of secrets and the presence of further difficulty levels give the game some legs. The writing and humor may not be the title's strong suits, but with everything else running smoothly enough, it can easily be overlooked. For fans of the genre, Super Time Force is worth checking out.
The Last Tinker: City of Colors is a solid 3D platformer. If you can forgive the somewhat weightless feel of Koru, the platforming is exciting to watch, and the combat is smooth enough for what they're trying to accomplish. The balance between fighting, platforming, and puzzles is just right, and the progression toward new powers and abilities is paced well during the eight-hour adventure. The adventure looks and sounds beautiful, and it's just long enough to not overstay its welcome. For younger platforming fans, this is a very solid title on a platform that doesn't have too many 3-D platformers nowadays. The Last Tinker is definitely worth checking out.
Monochroma has the heart of a good dramatic game, but it has neither the soul nor mechanics of one. The presentation and premise are very good, but the lack of payoff hurts. The gameplay seems solid, but there are enough flaws to make it feel like it was put together without much care. The good news is that the developer has been trying to patch the game often, so there is hope that it can ultimately be good, but for now, you have to put up with a lot to enjoy it.
Scram Kitty and His Buddy on Rails is one of the more difficult games on the Wii U system so far. The level designs are devious, and the many restrictions on your spacecraft only increase the challenge. The difficulty curve is rather steep early on, especially given some of the requirements for rescuing cats and the high barriers of entry for each level. Despite this, the basic mechanics are quirky enough to get your attention, and the simplicity is enough to pull you in and tempt you with one more go. Those who frustrate easily should avoid this title unless they really want to risk damaging their GamePads, but for those who love a good challenge, this title is worth checking out.
The Intercept DLC pack may feel like something that should have launched with the base game, but it's a welcome addition. The forces are tough, and you can get all four classes to fairly equal ground. The only precautionary action one may need to take is to ensure that their friends also have this DLC, since the community is waning, but as long as you can get a crew of four together, you'll have fun with the Intercept DLC pack.
From top to bottom, Daylight falls short of being a good horror game. The gameplay is bare bones, and the attempts at scaring you fall into so many clichés that they're boring. It also becomes downright laughable once you discover how you can safely avoid combat with the main villain in a ridiculous manner. The story makes no sense, and it doesn't get any better after multiple playthroughs. Only the presentation can be called decent, and even that is questionable at times. Even if one were to consider this just for the sake of bechmarking their system against Unreal Engine 4, this is a very difficult title to recommend to anyone, horror fan or otherwise.
The Super Ultra Dead Rising 3 Arcade Remix Hyper Edition EX Plus Alpha DLC is a nice addition to a very solid core game. The arcade style gameplay is loads of fun, especially with friends, and the levels lend themselves well to replayability, even if you're just grinding for costume requirements. Nostalgic gamers will enjoy the references to Capcom's history, especially since it ranges from obvious to obscure, and the new presentation makes everything feel fresh. It isn't enough to make you forget about the four disappointing DLC packs that were previously released, but it's enough to get you excited about the series again.
To put it succinctly, Shovel Knight is great. It pulls off the trick of looking and sounding like a classic game (with a few embellishments here and there) and playing like a mash-up of the best game mechanics of the time. It embraces the old-school mentality wholeheartedly but leaves some room to pick up some modern trappings for wider accessibility. Even though it sports the perfect length for a title in this genre, the large number of extras makes it a title with more than enough staying power for all gamers. Unless you absolutely must have your games made of polygons or completely hate the indie movement, you need to have Shovel Knight in your video game library.
As a whole, Munin is fun. The gimmick of world manipulation is done well, and each level uses the mechanic to its full potential with some clever puzzles. The game length is nice, since it gives players plenty of levels to solve, and the different themes ensure that it's never long before a new mechanic is introduced to test the players. The presentation could be a little better, especially since it squanders the interesting setup it has, and like most games of this ilk, some of the puzzles can be maddeningly difficult, potentially scaring away casual puzzle fans. If you don't mind a high level of challenge, Munin is an enjoyable game.
Gods Will Be Watching is a divisive game. The bleak story and equally dark scenarios are interesting, even if they seem to go one for far too long. The sense of adventure is overwhelmed by the blatantly apparent resource mechanics and lack of character development for everyone, except for Jack and Burden. The random nature of the game mixed in with the lack of checkpoints and high probability of failure due to forces outside of your control would be more frustrating if it weren't for the game's (newly added) multiple difficulty levels. The lack of control over events can lead many to give up on the title far too quickly. The premise is solid, but the game relies too much on chance and trial and error, so it's hard to recommend this title to anyone but masochists and those who are hell-bent on experiencing the story — no matter what.
In the end, So Many Me is a puzzle platformer that works on so many levels. It has a charming cast of characters that are bolstered by a beautiful presentation and some funny dialogue. The range of puzzles rides a fine balance between elementary and impossible, and the wide variety of goals ensures that players of all skill levels can complete this title. As long as you accept the fact that failure will come often, you'll enjoy this great puzzle platformer.
EA Sports UFC is like EA Sports MMA in that they represent good starts to a franchise but need lots of work in their current state. If you can get past the new submission system, the overall fighting is very solid and satisfying once you learn all of the nuances. Online matches perform well for the most part, and the presentation is great despite a few issues here and there. Career mode can drag on at times, and the character creation system could benefit from some improvements. More importantly, the lack of modes when compared to older titles hurts the game, especially if you prefer to have a few offline solo modes to accompany the online fighting. UFC fans who live and breathe online or local multiplayer will easily have a ton of fun with this game, but those who'd rather play solo are best served by renting the title first or picking it up if it gets cheaper later on.
Taken as a whole, Concursion is an interesting and fun title. The mixing of mechanics and genres provides some nice and varied gameplay to stand out in a positive way from the rest of the crowd. When the title throws the various genres and mechanics at you at an accelerated pace, it can be a fun romp. You just have to contend with the fact that the game looks bad when compared to more recent releases. The mechanics, while serviceable, could use some tweaking and improvement. Unless you're an absolute stickler for these sorts of things, Concursion is worth checking out if you're up for a title that dares to play against the platforming norm.