Despite some initially awkward controls, a few difficulty spikes and some fool hardy camera angles, Steel Rats is a wheelie good time. An excellent art style, nuanced and enjoyable combat, testing platforming, metroidvania-esque level design, meaty audio and some unique traversal mechanics combine to make this game feel much bigger than the sum of its unoriginal parts. While it’s not going to win any Game of the Year awards, this is a game that’ll keep you highly entertained for a week or so.
Timber Tennis: Versus will become repetitive long before you’re unlocked every skin it has to offer and doesn’t do anything unique, proving to be little more than super powered Pong when you really get down to it. A lack of innovation however doesn’t detract from what is a fun little pixel art arcade game with surprising tactical depth and a cracking soundtrack.
Grip: Combat Racing is a content filled tribute to a fan favourite racer from the good ol’ days. If you liked Rollcage, you’ll likely love Grip. Slick combat, fast racing, splendid visuals and a pumping soundtrack from the likes of Hospital Records including Full Kontact and Mart-E that’s driving you ever forward, it’s a joy to play…eventually. The track design and it’s lack of obvious visual clues on where to go next, however, make the first few hours with Grip a litany of crashes against its unpolished edges.
A lack of official music from the TV show and being devoid of any vocals from the pups themselves does dampen the excellent attention to detail applied elsewhere however, which is a big disappointment to the young fan in my house who is so used to singing along to the theme song and to the Pup Pup boogie.
LEGO DC Super Villains delivers good, clean, accessible family fun with recognisable comic book villains getting up to mischief. If you’re a fan of the LEGO games, rest assured, this is another fantastic, content filled entry into the series. It’s not the best entry point for new comers and has a few technical niggles but for those in its target demographic, it’s a real hit.
It does become incredibly stale well before the credits roll but Heavy Fire: Red Shadow is “take your brain out and just shoot” dumb fun. For those moments after a bad day at work, when you just want to pop some melons, sink some ships and blow up a Jeep or 2, Heavy Fire: Red Shadow offers that catharsis but very little else.
Fast Striker then is a competent score focused shooter that’s short but satisfying. It’s missing some modern day features like online leader boards but it’s a visual treat for the eye balls that’s accessible for newcomers on the Novice difficulty and a real test for shmup veterans on Manic or Omake. If you already have the 1.5 edition on the Dreamcast, the only new additions here are screen sizing and button mapping so it’s probably not worth the double dip but if this is the first you’re hearing about Fast Striker and you fancy a coin-op inspired shoot ‘em up to tide you over, Fast Striker could fit the bill.
Fossil Hunters is, in almost everything that it does, good, clean family fun. My young tribe and I have had a real blast playing it together despite the technical hiccups and the fiddly nature of some of the controls. It’s a game best played in a team, when you can all have a responsibility, but it does require at least some gaming experience in the group to overcome its toughest challenges that’ll frustrate the younger gaming archaeologists out there. If you’re looking for a game to play with a bunch of Dinosaur obsessed children or with a couple of older friends who’re up for a laugh, it’s worth digging into Fossil Hunters during the upcoming Autumn/Winter nights.
8-bit Armies is an easily accessible, visually appealing RTS game with a top quality soundtrack. If you’re an old-school Command & Conquer fan that’s looking for something to scratch that itch on the PlayStation 4, this is undoubtedly the best option in that regard. It’s fun, as tactically deep as you want it to be with a enough content to keep you busy for a few weeks. Unfortunately, while most of the game play staples have translated well from classic C&C to this, the control options are still lacking, begging for a mouse and keyboard with the Dualshock 4 acting as a poor translator. It’s also lacking some charisma, feeling almost sterile at times, falling an FMV or 2 away from greatness.
Explanations of the lore, the world, and your place in it are in short supply but over time, you live, die and learn, rewarding those that stick with it with some of the slickest, well implemented writing in gaming.
That’s that take away message I have about Donut County. This game isn’t the only “game about a hole” out on the market but this is the one that feels like it’s been loved into existence rather than rushed out to be first. The visuals, the music (oh folks! THE MUSIC!), the character interactions, the little diorama during the credits all build up this quirky feeling to Donut County that make the plot and the game play shine.
While the innovations Super Destronaut DX bring to the Space Invaders formula are welcome, they don’t go far enough to really bring depth to the package. If you’re looking for a quick boost to your PS4/Vita trophy count, there’s a 30 minute Platinum trophy waiting for you here, otherwise, I’d just stick with the original and best Space Invaders.
A beautiful, mystifying adventure, Planet Alpha does a massive amount with very little.
Treadnauts is a fun couch multiplayer game that’s (I’m going to say it) easy to play but difficult to master. It’s an excellent session game that’d feel at home sandwiched between Nidhogg and Worms during a night of competitive gaming. It’s not a visual powerhouse but the art style is suited to the game play so who needs millions of polygons when you’ve got back flipping tanks that shoot ricocheting lasers?
Vroom Kaboom occasionally shows glimpses of an enjoyable, strategic game and an ingenious twist on the tower defence genre. Unfortunately, these glimpses are buried beneath a near impenetrable learning curve, an over powering AI and some poor design choices. I can only really recommend this game to those with a huge amount of time and patience, those that have a masochistic desire for hours of trial and error and those willing to forgive a lack of polish.
Despite the few bugs here and there, Phantom Doctrine represents an ingenious use of the XCOM formula in an enticing setting with a plot that’s as deep as you want it to be. With an excellent soundtrack, an intentionally drab yet appealing art style and a charismatic charm to it, it’s certainly a better-than-average turn based game. If you’re a fan of XCOM and are up for the hefty challenge this game presents, even on its easiest settings, this game will appeal to you. If your patience runs short and you want your fun to be more immediate, leave this game skulking in the shadows.
TT Games once again show care and attention for a set of beloved movie characters, bringing them to digital plastic life with a level of authenticity that’s a rarity these days. Adding some small additions to a formula that has worked for them for a decade, LEGO The Incredibles is a family friendly game that’s great for fans of the films and just as enjoyable for those that aren’t.
Despite some obtuse solutions, regular backtracking and inconsistency, Candle – The Power of the Flame has a tight weave of puzzles which are reminiscent of those found in gaming classics like Flashback and Monkey Island. It’ll pay dividends to those with the patience and mental fortitude to stick it out, push through the frustrations (and resist finding a guide online) with an abundance of rewarding “Ah, THAT’s how you do it” moments.
It’s such a shame a few technical issues exist because when Blacksea Odyssey is doing what it does best, pitting you against giant space beasties armed with nothing more than a toothpick, and you’re not caught in a mess of vines, this game is a tough but enjoyable title. It’s not as readily gratifying as other games in the genre and if you like a long tailed reward, it certainly has that whiff of Dark Souls inspiration in the finer points of its design.
The art style is charming, the music is excellent and despite telegraphing itself from early on, the plot to the campaign is enjoyable. It’s the game play mechanics which really shine here though so if you’re looking for something easy to play while being deceptively deep, Insane Robots should be your next port of call.