James Berich's Reviews
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles brings together two volumes of one magnificent story that no Ace Attorney fan should miss. The characters are fantastically kooky, the plot is as compelling as ever, and the writing is the series at its funniest. While there are some minor pacing issues with some of the cases, it's a fantastic package for fans both new and old.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD makes great efforts to improve the original to make it the definitive way to play the series' origin story. Whilst the game's initially poor pacing has improved, the game can still be slightly tedious and repetitive. Putting that aside, the dungeon design, item ingenuity, and some of the boss battles are series highlights that no Zelda fan should miss.
While Bloodline doesn't reinvent the wheel or take any substantive risks, it does a great job at bringing together the new world of Legion with old world of Watch Dogs and Watch Dogs 2 to offer a short but focused Watch Dogs experience.
Biomutant is a vibrant and beautiful looking game that unsuccessfully attempts to leverage so many different aspects of open-world games from the last decade. It buckles under the weight of its own ambition and is sorely lacking the focus needed to offer a stand-out open-world experience and carve out its own identity.
Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne: HD Remaster is an oddly self-aware remaster that does its best to make itself approachable for everyone by remedying most of its flaws. The new difficulty, new skill inheritance options and fully voiced dialogue all help to make the game feel modern and approachable for new audiences. It's just a shame that, for a HD remaster, it's not as visually impressive as it could be.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition stands tall as one of the best remasters that I've ever played. The amount of care and effort that has gone into restoring the original Mass Effect along with the other two games is unmatched. While there are some underlying minor design issues with the original game, Legendary Edition is the best way to experience the Mass Effect trilogy. Period.
In a genre that often isn't for everyone, it's hard to see who wouldn't enjoy what Subnautica: Below Zero has to offer. It flourishes an enthralling sense of exploration and progression with a serviceable narrative to boot. It's not without its flaws, but there's nothing quite like it besides its predecessor, perfectly encapsulating the curiosity and dread that comes with exploring the deep.
All in all, Wrath of the Druids is a great addition to Valhalla’s already well-bolstered package. Visiting Ireland, learning about its rich history and mythology is something I’d never thought that I would be interested in. But Wrath of the Druids is so engaging that it’s hard not to recommend to people who enjoyed Valhalla. Just don’t expect it to reinvent the wheel, but instead, bring a few more.
Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir and Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind are both well written adventure games with engaging stories. A striking visual overhaul does a great job of bringing both games into the twenty first century, without a doubt. Though this isn't enough to do the same for the gameplay, which could have used a bit more streamlining.
While Resident Evil Village channels the best bits of several Resident Evil games, it stands on its own to be something never done before in the franchise. A macabre potpourri of European, gothic inspired styles of tension and horror, Resident Evil Village is a worthy follow-up to Resident Evil 7: biohazard and one that any self-respecting horror fan shouldn't miss.