Josh Tolentino's Reviews
This is all stuff that a player can get used to given time and patience, and the quality of JoJo’s fanservice in the game is unimpeachable, enough that a forgiving fan can find much to enjoy in the package. All the same, it’s impossible to get past the impression that the game’s design is a distinctly B-team effort, driven more by a desire to differentiate from Cyberconnect2’s other flagship games than by improving on them or going with what’s worked. Simply put, we’re still looking for that definitive JoJo's game, because JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven isn’t it.
None of these niggles do much to detract from the overall experience, though, and despite them Brigador ends up a thrilling, hectic vehicle shooter that's quite a bit deeper than the forebears that inspired it.
These were moments of mild fun in an otherwise desperate game, and none of it justifies the time or money one might spend playing it. Alekhine's Gun occasionally reminded me of the fun I had with Hitman: Blood Money, and for that it deserves some credit. Then again, I could have been replaying that game -- or for that matter, earlier, better Death to Spies games -- instead.
By wrapping classical adventure writing in a thoroughly modern play experience, inkle have turned Sorcery! into a great testament to the power and place of text in gaming's canon.
In the end, Bluepoint deserves credit for managing to bring out the best in an already-pretty-good game, allowing PS4 owners the chance to experience the charm of Gravity Rush unhampered by the limitations of its original platform.
If what you miss most about games like Fallout is the act of rolling your character, exploring a space from that particular camera angle, allocating your AP in combat, or tweaking a build after several runs' worth of trial and error, you'll be in good hands with UnderRail. Otherwise, it may be more productive to simply play the older games again.
Ultimately, Sakura Santa fails to stand out from the growing crowd of visual novels on Steam and elsewhere, except in the single respect of being a Christmas-themed story, coming out just in time for the holiday. Unfortunately, one would probably have to be as lonely as the game's protagonist to find a compelling reason to play.
Unfortunately, Lost Song stumbles hardest when trying to engage players outside that sphere of pre-existing investment, and in some ways ends up an even less suitable jumping-off point for newbies who want to get in on enjoying the franchise. My advice to those folks would be to watch the anime or try out Hollow Fragment first. If they're still jonesing for some more of this motley crew of irredeemable MMO nerds when they're done, then Lost Song will be music to their ears.
Despite the gorgeously rendered city visuals and a goodly amount of text to be found by digging through random data terminals, Satellite Reign's city feel less like a world than a cyberpunk-themed playset. You direct your little squad of action figures around and play as you like, but rarely feel lost or immersed in the setting.
Zordon may have wanted "teens with attitude," but Chroma Squad and its unabashed, utterly geeky love-in for all things tokusatsu shows something even harder to find: A game with heart and soul. That heart shines through the rough edges, and in some ways even turns them to its advantage. It might have taken quite a while in getting here, but fans of spandex-clad superheroic finally have the videogame to help them fill that little fantasy.
Serving three masters as it does, Strike Vector might not have a whole lot of mass-market appeal, but what it lacks in that field, it more than makes up for by being a gorgeous, intensely competitive experience that matches its aesthetic appeal with pure shooter satisfaction. If you happen to be looking for that, Ragequit's new baby might send you soaring.