The Dark Brotherhood is now arrived, and the clean and “safe” Tamriel we all knew in Elder Scrolls Online is changed for the better. With the addition of the guild proper, assassinations, and the familiar Gold Coast, Dark Brotherhood is the most exciting update yet for ESO, and a great sign of things forthcoming.
Guilty Gear Xrd: -Revelator- is a nostalgic look back on the golden age of fighting games that also manages to wrangle a ton of modern digital beauty and function into the mix. The result is a top notch fighting title that begs to be mastered. That mastery will not be an easy ride, but with the gorgeous design, heavy music, and plenty of fun, it will be easy to overlook the very frustrating, but minor control issues. Lay off the junk, and run to the sexy rock- and- roll violence of Guilty Gear Xrd: -Revelator- instead.
Atelier Sophie: Alchemist of the Mysterious Book aimed to be the best of the series with its PlayStation 4 debut and found great success. With highly expanded and perfected scavenging, item creation, and battle systems, Atelier Sophie is a top-notch JRPG experience and might very well be the best of the year so far in the genre. Surprising, fun, and challenging, Atelier Sophie is a must own in the PlayStation 4 collection.
MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies may not be the best game in the Neptunia series, but it is certainly the quickest paced and most action packed of any title. It is a more fitting format for what the game wants to accomplish, and this comes through with cleaner transition from battle to cutscene and vice versa, large and open battles, and a character selection variety that allows you to explore the cast better than ever. Fun, creative, and only a little monotonous, MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies is a top notch game worthy of a look.
Sebastien Loeb Rally EVO is a solid racing game that offers a mostly basic racing experience with a few unique twists. Rally-style racing with a co-pilot navigator proves to be both fun and challenging, but with an incredibly silly collision mechanic, the game does lack a little in immersion and realism. This game could have been the very best toy car racer ever created, but as- is, Sebastien Loeb Rally EVO is a decent racer that I'd recommend particularly to seasoned racing game fans looking for a real challenge.
Koi is peaceful, smart, and minimal, showing the cleansing journey of a special koi fish working against the odds and the forces of filth and darkness. Simple, but short, Koi is a refreshingly fun casual game that feels like a true video game without losing any of the casual qualities that make up the genre. If you’re an angry gamer, human, or just someone needing a break, Koi is worth a try.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Thieves Guild is the most promising addition yet to the otherwise bland and repetitive experience the game has offered in the past. With a new take on common theft similar in execution to the Metal Gear series, and the addition of a rather unique new land and a massive 12 man quest, the Thieves Guild expansion is a must get for all hardcore Elder Scrolls Online players, and a more than welcome positive sign of things to come for newcomers to the series or those looking to return to Tamriel.
Senran Kagura Estival Versus is the softcore contents of a hidden folder on a 13 year old boy's computer sprung to action, the results being a competent hack and slash bout of violence starring inappropriate, large-breasted women. The game is a total mess at its best, and is just cringeworthy at its typical worst. The Vita version of Senran Kagura Estival Versus is a competent game that has a very similar feel to the PlayStation 4 version, and the game itself is fun despite the immature themes. A portable version of this game seems unnecessary, and overall the game is not worth even a moment's time even from the most dedicated a hack-and-slash player.
Wow. I haven’t enjoyed a game as much as I am enjoying Tales of Hearts R in a long, long time. It has all of the classic elements of RPG gaming that the genre’s fans love, and an incredible battle system that stands high as a possible industry standard. The story is more than passable and the world is a large one, rife with discovery and exploration. There is nothing to not like about Tales of Hearts R, so I didn’t want to complicate the matter by rating it “appropriately” due to its being like so many games from before. This game is absolutely great, and everyone who loves RPG games should play it, without hesitancy. I hope that young gamers find this game at their local retailer and take a chance on it. Everyone should have the pleasure of enjoying this game. Without a doubt, this game deserves to be recognized for what it is: an absolute masterpiece.
Dying Light: The Following takes a gaming great and gives you the ability to drive a buggy over zombie piles on top of it all. A true expansion, The Following provides players with an all new area of Harran to explore, new game features and items, and the ability to drive a vehicle and level your skills as a driver and a runner. Even with a fairly high number of issues and drawbacks, the quality is far and above anything negative the expansion carries with it. A drastic departure from the original that manages to maintain all of the charm and character that makes Dying Light a flickering flame worth protecting, The Following is a must own for all.
Megadimension Neptunia VII is a story about a girl in a very strange world, but that world happens to be a apocalyptic bizarro dimension inside of a video game console. The game manages to be fun with only a limited amount of improvement. Continuing with its signature game within a game concept, Megadimension Neptunia VII is going to please fans and not do much to change the minds of detractors. Very similar to the past titles in the series, this game is tried and true because Neptune never changes.
Franchise Hockey Manager 2 is a wonderful entry for hockey into the world of sports simulation, and is of the highest quality in terms of design, layout, navigation, and accuracy. Nothing particularly special to look at when compared to other "action" sports titles, Franchise Hockey Manager is for hardcore hockey fans who are more interested in Euroleague transfer rules than on-the-ice action.
Attractio is a puzzle platformer that has a slight portal reminiscence and provides a bleak outlook for both humankind and Earth, but a pretty sweet vision of bloodsport entertainment casting off all ironic shackles. Fun, quick paced, but a little clumsy, Attractio is passable and provides a fun and unique alternative to a shooter.
Draft Day Sports: Pro Football 2016 isn't a beautiful game, but like a desk calculator sitting idly on a business desk in 1978, it just works. The game gives players an ability to run simulations of teams with high levels of accuracy. American football is an underserved sport in the simulation gaming genre, and Draft Day Sports: Pro Football 2016 has a shot to become a "division leader" in the sports sim world.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Orsinium is a pretty land with a dull set of tasks waiting for you to come and grind with. Large, stone-forged, and overloaded with simplicity, Orsinium does a great job of expanding a game for dedicated players while doing absolutely nothing to coax ex-players or new players into the fold. More than medi-orc-re, but less than spectacular, Orsinium seems more like a holdover expansion than an overall addition to the ESO experience.
Driveclub Bikes is a nice departure for the Driveclub franchise. This is an expansion that actually expands the game from a relatively competent title, in my opinion, to nearly a must own for racing fans. Others may feel they are adding a whipped cream dollop to their already delicious Driveclub pie. The gameplay mechanics and competitive A.I. make for the most interesting and challenging player vs. CPU racing that I've experienced in a long time. Driveclub Bikes is a highly recommended pickup, particularly for PlayStation Plus members.
Saint Seiya Soldier's Soul is a quaint fighting game that has its small playability value robbed by a unique fatal flaw in the restart option that drags the action and frustrates the player. While the game has some interesting features, it mostly just drags through monotonous gameplay and a confusing story. Too many features are hard to understand, and while unlocking features, items, and stages reminds me of old school fighting games, the problems of Saint Seiya Soldier's Soul makes the work to unlock them simply not worth the time and effort.
Pinball is pinball, but Zen Pinball 2 always tries their best to make an interesting product and has succeeded again with the Balls of Glory pack. While strapped with the same functional issues that all video game pinball titles share, the Balls of Glory table set packs four great Fox Animation programs into a fun, dynamic, and replayable pinball experience that can provide hours of casual fun to the young and old alike. If you ask me, that's pretty freakin' sweet.
The game is so deep that no review can capture all you will see and do in Prison Architect, but rarely does a simulation game hit on all levels from building down to micromanagement so well. Prison Architect overcomes a few minor glitches to earn extraordinary status, and is a must-play for anyone looking to kill some time punishing crime.
Rack N Ruin redeems itself with a second showing on PC, but only if you abandon your controller for the ol' fashioned keyboard and mouse. The black comedic story of a demon set to enslave the earth pops with colorful backgrounds and challenging, fast-paced gameplay and finds redemption in its PC release.