While I like the look and overall vibe of Black Future ‘88 there was never anything that really compelled me to keep playing, leveling up only unlocked things that I might find in Skymelt and while I found one playable character while exploring, I have no idea how I unlocked the second one. It's the little things like that make me feel Black Future ‘88 needs more polish and more carrot to live up to its full potential.
Even with a few technical flaws though Night School Studio’s Afterparty feels like a masterpiece of narrative gaming. And if you're wondering how it compares to Oxenfree, I'd suggest just letting Afterparty stand on its own as its own story and piece of work.
am insanely impressed with the world that Platinum has built-in Astral Chain overall. It is gorgeous, the plot is intriguing and it feels like something new when it comes to the investigations and police work.
It looks good, it plays good, and it is guaranteed to make you laugh out loud several times during your adventure.
In the case of Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain, in particular, the good definitely outweighs the bad. I love this game and I will probably be playing it until the next one comes out, which could be a bit since we just got EDF 5 and Iron Rain about four months apart.
What this game is really about is fan service and I must admit that it succeeds in offering folks up a hefty chunk in that department. Jump Force knows that it’s really for the Shonen Jump fans and if you are a fan there’s plenty to like here. One would probably be better off focusing on the core fighting game aspects though.
While I wouldn’t put this latest entry on the same pedestal, this is still a very solid game with a lot of what we’ve all come to love about the series thrown into a melting pot. I don’t think Nintendo would ever put out a “bad” Mario, honestly. There’s plenty here to keep fans and next of kin busy and entertained for quite some time.
Even with it's inherited flaws, this is still one of the best installments yet for the series. EDF 5 makes no apologies for what it is and is more accessible than its predecessors. The game has just the right blend of cheesiness and action-packed gameplay that makes for a cult hit.
Overall, SNK 40th Anniversary Collection has titles that old school arcade gamers are sure to appreciate and also does an impressive job of diving deep into the company’s four-decade history. However, this may be even more of a niche collection than the Capcom Beat’em Up Bundle, which could work against it in the end..
While Capcom Beat'Em Up Bundle does have some online multiplayer issues it's still a ton of fun overall. These are some great games for fans of retro games or the beat'em up genre and it will probably cost you less to purchase the whole collection would cost to beat using quarters in an arcade, and you still own them after you beat them, so that's a plus as well. Here's to hoping they're saving some of the titles missing from this collection for volume two.