James Berich's Reviews
Windbound is a beautiful artistic accomplishment in terms of presentation, but fails to make good on its promise of bringing together an open-world single-player game and typical crafting-survival elements. Despite attempts to make it approachable for all, it is an ultimately frustrating affair that squanders its potential with the same rigid survival mechanics that we've seen in a lot of other games and that's a real shame.
Battletoads is a victory for Microsoft, Dlala Studios and Rare. It successfully takes a brand that's been dormant for over two decades, breathing new life into it and updating it for the modern generation ardently. While it's a huge shame that Battletoads isn't playable online, and makes some missteps in it's third act, it's hard to deny that this is the most charming rendition of our favourite videogame amphibians. But most of all it's funny, and that's refreshing.
Destroy All Humans! makes an earnest effort to improve on every aspect of the original, but it’s hard to avoid the issues stemming from the era in which it came from. Despite it’s numerous improvements, Destroy All Humans is still plagued with banal repetition and tedium especially as the adventure draws to an end.
Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing In Disguise is an earnest attempt to conclude the story told in the original game ten years ago. It’s engaging, the characters are a joy to observe, and the trademark zaniness is as intact as ever. Unfortunately, it’s hard to deny that the game’s egregious performance issue hinders it from standing on the shoulders of it’s predecessor.
It's hard to deny that Maneater has colossal potential – though the lack of mission variety and some simplistic combat does lend it to feeling repetitious as time goes on. Putting these flaws aside, however, Maneater deserves kudos for an undeniably unique premise and laying a solid foundation for a franchise that developer Tripwire should almost certainly pursue.
Streets of Rage 4 is a solid tribute to the genre it arguably helped shape, but this feels like more of the same with a fresh coat of paint rather than an all-out reinvention. What’s on offer here is reminiscent and nostalgic, and still a great time, but it ultimately lacks the oomph to elevate it beyond the games that came before it.
While some spirit has been lost in translation, Resident Evil 3 is superbly paced and one of the better modern Resident Evil games, and a chapter that any horror fan shouldn’t miss.
Doom Eternal is a bigger and better sequel in practically every way.
Nioh 2 brings together everything that was great about the original Nioh and builds upon it. The yokai form, while flashy, does little to diminish the challenge and instead adds a fun new dynamic to an already engrossing flow of combat. While it might not look as such, Nioh 2 is a fantastic sequel and one that action fans shouldn’t miss.
Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition on the Switch is without a doubt the best way to play Devil May Cry 3.