Boss battles engage that cerebellum, but I wouldn’t call them the central pillar of Evertried. The experience is really a deceptively fun way to improve situational awareness, a charming little escape with a hint of addictiveness. It’s not exactly designed for long sessions, however. An hour into gameplay, the freshness depreciates. Truly, the rogue-lite randomness and small game board levels work for when the mood strikes. There’s no elaborate campaign or page-turner, storybook adventure. But if you enjoy some strategy and rogue-lite retro goodness, Evertried makes for great satisfaction on a whim.
Drill Land’s few but varied problems, most of them, stem from the fact that it’s a 2002 game in 2021. It gets repetitive and dull within an hour of playtime, which is a caveat to its design and age. Pick it up, play, set it down and wait for the itch to come back. In the long term, one may call it a game that has outlived interest… or not. Being nearly two decades old, it has survived the attention span of one generation, but it may be ready for the next. The endless dig suffices for short bursts of fun, but it’s also more compelling when played competitively. Unfortunately, at the time of this review, online matchmaking is rather desolate. Because it’s so different from today’s console titles and part of a retro genre that’s more akin to modern mobile games, the time might be ripe for re-release.
I can honestly say that I enjoy Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires more than Dynasty Warriors 9. You may attribute this to the sorry state of the latter when it first launched. Although, I must affirm that I am a big fan of the simulation genre and empire management. The fact that battles affect the grand campaign, and vice versa, makes all the interactions in this installment meaningful. To what extent is up to you. Sadly, apart from a decent graphical upgrade, there’s not enough here to call it a fully realized sequel. The franchise is competing against itself. Unless the updated hack-and-slash gameplay and expanded character roster are enough to tie you over, consider this empire incomplete.