Shaan Joshi's Reviews
If you've already had the luxury of playing through Second Son, you might be tempted to write off Infamous: First Light as a quick cash-in, but you'd be doing yourself a great disservice. At times, it can often feel like an overly distilled version of Second Son, but First Light works because it trims off the fat, leaving behind an engaging story and breakneck gameplay that will appeal both to returning patrons and first-time customers.
Despite its unyielding dedication for all things realistic, I rather enjoyed the demanding style of play The Golf Club prides itself on, even during the first few hours, where the game will either draw you in or turn you off completely. I wouldn't necessarily recommend The Golf Club to the less serious player (there are plenty of more laid back golf titles to choose from), but it's a no-brainer for golf enthusiasts and purists alike.
One might be quick to dismiss CounterSpy as nothing more than a half-broken stealth game, but you'd be remiss for doing so. I for one prefer to look at it as a half-working stealth game, one that has passion and enthusiasm where it counts. Dynamighty may not have hit a home run the first time around, but based on the love of the medium of the team there, I wouldn't count them out just yet.
In the end, this makes New 'n' Tasty less difficult than the original, but more enjoyable and easier to access this time around. While there are plenty of platformers around, few of them place such a heavy emphasis on stealth and puzzle solving.
While Abyss Odyssey suffers from a few design choices that ultimately hold it back from greatness, its easily ACE Team's most playable game to date, which doesn't come at the sacrifice of the look and feel we've come to love with earlier titles. Hopefully, many of the shortcomings can be addressed in future updates, which seems to be a big part of ACE Team's plan for the game post-release.
There are plenty of reasons to love Shovel Knight, and I'm sure more seasoned gamers than I will relish its mechanics, tight controls, or obsessiveness with all things retro. But more importantly, it's easy to fall in love with a game that manages to breathe new life into old mechanics, without feeling like a retro-throwback that is content with playing the same hand we were dealt all those years ago. It's the perfect example of a passion project done right, one that realises that it is important to look back, in order to move forward.
Like many of the games in the same league, it's hard to recommend 1001 Spikes to those who aren't patient enough to learn its deadly and intricate ways, or to those who are prone to smashing their controller through their TV screen in frustration. But to those who live off buzz words like "rage-inducing" and "old-school hard", look no further.
Machine Games has taken an aged franchise and brought it into the current world of gaming, yet they've done so without compromising the core tenets that are at the heart of Wolfenstein's identity. As competent as it is a shooter, The New Order elevates itself from your standard run-and-gun action game by crafting a world that is actually worth caring about, and it's done so with a level of confidence that is worthy of commendation.
And that is maybe the one issue that stands out the most with Tesla Effect; it's a game that is very clearly made for the fans, mainly those who have played the previous games. The puzzles, the writing, the acting, and the humor is all ripped straight from the 90's, and if you're fixated on modern gaming sensibilities, you probably won't last ten minutes in Tex's world. But for those who have been waiting for the return of the world's greatest PI, look no further. Tesla Effect is a love letter to a genre that is all but gone.
BattleBlock Theater feels like it was designed for the child that still lives inside me. It's juvenile, colourful, and silly. But more importantly, it achieves everything it set out to do, with a near masterful level of execution. The addictive multiplayer and excellent level creation tools are just the icing on the cake.
Still, even if you don't subscribe to that particular analogy; that Octodad is code for anyone a little different that needs to figure out how to act in mainstream society, there's still a lot of fun to be had here. Even when the overall challenge of living a day in Octodad's shoes bears too much weight, the game is amusing enough to quell most of the frustration.
Still, it's not hard to recommend Trials Fusion, especially to longtime fans of the series. I can't say it comes as much of a shock that RedLynx was not able to match the refinements from the previous outing, but even with its flaws and shortcomings, you shouldn't be worry about giving this one a go. Trials Fusion is a worthy addition to the series, even if it isn't the complete package we were hoping for.
I used to think that the joy of exploration and unbridled sense of discovery was lost to the games of consoles past, but Fez has not only proven me completely wrong, but it has given me hope for the future.
Dead Nation is a title that's actually deserving of your money, even if it's still carrying the same baggage from its first outing.