This is a title by a studio at the top of its game, lovingly crafted for players who enjoy lavishly crafted worlds and delightfully creative gameplay challenges. It's for the thieves, the mischief makers, the lovers of experimentation. It's for playful thinkers, for explorers, and for idealists and cynics alike. Dishonored 2 is stealth-action at its finest, and deserves every one of the awards it will no doubt be lavished with this winter.
Welcome back, Yoshi. Come give us a snuggle!
Despite its issues, both technical and philosophical, I'm giving Freedom Cry a "must play" rating. I think it's an important start in tackling such a difficult and tragic topic via the medium of interactive entertainment. Few companies are brave enough to even bring up topics like slavery and genocide in a real-world setting. You should play it, and you should feel uncomfortable, angry, and sad while playing it. Adéwalé may not have been a real person, but this is our history, and the reality of slavery was even more brutal than the game depicts. Freedom Cry may stumble, but it opens up some important discussions that we should be having as gamers and human beings.
If you enjoy MMOs, WildStar is an excellent choice that should have some good legs to it. If you hate everything about MMOs, WildStar is not going to change your mind. It was made for traditional MMO enthusiasts, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. If you're itchin' for some exploration, questing, player-killing, raiding, house-decorating, and monster-slaying, then saddle up, Cupcake. WildStar is a fun ride.
For puzzle lovers, you can't do much better than Pushmo World. It's a great deal with tons of challenging puzzles, lots of variety packed into a simple premise, and tons of play value via the World Fair. The best puzzle games are easy to learn but difficult to master, constantly challenge the player to think in new ways, and ensure that players can't be permanently stumped on a single puzzle. Pushmo World does all that and more with style and charm. Go pick it up on the Wii U and get ready for block-pulling bliss.
Providing that the upcoming raid is strong and we see good support and content-rich expansion during Destiny's second year, we could see this MMO-shooter go from a game beloved by a dedicated core of fans to one that excites the mass market for years to come. It got this RPG fanatic invested in a shooter for the first time since Hexen, and it might just hook you, too.
Xenoblade Chronicles X is the ultimate game about exploring and conquering a hostile alien planet. Its design hitches, though occasionally annoying, simply cannot take away from the triumph that is the planet Mira and its fantastic creatures. There are literally hundreds of hours of potential gameplay here, but even if you don't tackle everything, getting to know Mira is exciting, full of breathtaking surprises, and downright fun. If you find the patience to get over its learning curve, Xenoblade Chronicles X will reward that patience with a wealth of memorable experiences.
The love and care that was poured into this title is obvious, and translates into a terrifically entertaining experience that I encourage everybody to try out. Play with your friends, your parents, your kids; anybody who has ever enjoyed a video game should have a blast with PvZ Garden Warfare 2. In fact, I think I'm going to go load up Rose and turn some more zombies into goats right now.
I'm so happy that Ubisoft remembered to put the fun back in Assassin's Creed. The series just turns out so much better with witty protagonists and lots of room for creativity. If you enjoyed Assassin's Creed II/Brotherhood and Black Flag, Syndicate will be right up your alley. It doesn't deviate enough from the formula to pull in players who don't enjoy the series in general, but it does evolve and polish the base systems considerably. The fun times greatly outweigh the occasional frustrations, and I can only hope that Ubisoft can be convinced to spread out series entries a bit more so that every Assassin's Creed game can be as good as Syndicate.
I'm so happy that this team at Eidos Montreal was able to continue on with the Deus Ex series. While Human Revolution was a promising title with some glaring issues, Mankind Divided is the work of a mature development team that has had the time to fix their weak points and improve on their strong ones. The result is a quality cyberpunk spy adventure with strong visual and level design, true opportunities for players to exercise choice, and some really cool cybernetic toys to play with. Go ahead, be the kind of Adam Jensen you want to be. Just don't forget to watch your back.
These complaints are rather minor in the grand scheme of things, because Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call is a fantastic tour of the series' musical history and an entertaining game to boot. It successfully combines the RPG addictions of leveling and customizing characters with the rhythm game addiction of mastering songs. Veterans of the first game and newcomers alike will enjoy its huge catalog of songs and fun features. If you like Final Fantasy and its music, you should absolutely grab a copy of this game.
In short, Bravely Default is the Japanese RPG that we've been waiting for. As many JRPG companies cram increasingly bizarre gimmicks, half naked underage-looking girls, or overly convoluted plots into their games, Bravely Default reminds us that it's possible to go back to basics without feeling stale. This classic Final Fantasy-style game is beautifully executed, fun to play, and not to be missed by anybody who has ever loved the JRPG genre.
Thanks to the strongest story since the original Disgaea, a battle system that is easy to pick up but has plenty of complexity, and the crazy amount of fun extra activities that can extend playtime, Disgaea 4 is a must-have turn-based strategy RPG. This Vita version is highly recommended for its portability and extra content. Playing politics in the Netherworld is a dirty and violent game, and genre fans will enjoy every minute of it.
With diverse, interesting gameplay, excellent production, and a world that sucks the player in, Bastion is a downloadable experience that's not to be missed. It's a game that every gamer should pick up, as it hits the core of why we all love our gaming hobby. Bastion celebrates experimentation, rewards exploration, allows room for growth and challenge, and never condescends. In the end, it leaves The Kid's motivations as an open issue. Are you a hero working toward a new golden age, a villain working out some major anger issues, or just a kid doing his best to muddle out of a bad situation? The Bastion ain't gonna tell you, son. That's gotta be up to you to decide.
First Light is an excellent introduction to the inFAMOUS series for new players, and series fans will enjoy this game's story and focused gameplay. Male and female players alike should enjoy playing as Fetch, thanks to her strong characterization and entertaining powers. In addition, the look and sound of this title serve as a good reminder of what the current generation of consoles have to offer. Go ahead... dip your toes into the world of inFAMOUS with this title, and don't be scared to feel the neon. Fetch says it's tasty.
Though I was a bit disappointed by the Guitar Hero Live portion of the game, Guitar Hero TV is onto something special with a lot of potential longevity. I've scored the full game just under a "must buy" because players who mostly enjoy a beefy single-player campaign will find it lacking. However, I encourage fans of Guitar Hero to check out this package for Guitar Hero TV. It's both a blast from the past days of music videos on television, and a step into the future of interactive entertainment. I'm looking forward to seeing where Activision and FreeStyle take GHTV in the future – things like a more formal vocal competition or user-curated channels are all possibilities for this new format. I'll be watching and waiting to strum along.
A Link Between Worlds captures plenty of that old Zelda magic with its excellent dungeon design and gameplay-first formula. Series fans will not be disappointed, although it may not deviate from formula quite enough for some. In my estimation, the developers stuck to the right parts of series formula while innovating in important areas, such as non-linearity and user-friendly interface decisions. This is yet another entry in a string of great 3DS games this year, making that device one of the best gaming investments out there.
Despite its lack of challenge, Broken Age is absolutely worth playing in order to explore its world, meet its wonderful characters and become hooked by the mystery presented by its story. I might even suggest playing Part 1 now and being forced to wait for the second half of the game to come out in the spring. It gives us time to ponder the mystery, come up with theories, discuss them with fellow fans, and get excited over the kind of mystery that's rare in this day of Let's Plays and Internet FAQs. It may not be the perfect game, but Broken Age is something special that any gamer with a taste for the fantastic won't want to miss.
Kirby and the Rainbow Curse is charming, lovely to look at, and fun to play—at least by yourself. It's nice to see Nintendo take advantage of the Wii U GamePad for something besides being a very expensive map display, even if that means the game's TV display is somewhat redundant. Kirby fans will be delighted by this series entry, especially if they remember Canvas Curse with fondness. Other gamers should definitely give this one a try. It has that good ol' Nintendo quality and sense of playfulness in spades.
Final Fantasy XV is imperfect, but the high points of this journey outweigh the messy bits. I recommend you learn to go with the flow, spend some time with your bros, and really get lost in the game.