Anthony Mann
It’s hard to judge Tracks on the standard aspects of a game, but with the issues I had with the controls (likely an issue stemming from porting the game from PC to Xbox) I don’t really want to engage with their creative mode for any length of time either
It’s a mistimed, mispriced decent game, and right decent isn’t enough.
This game isn't bad, it's annoying. With moments of really solid gameplay peeking through maybe pick this one up on sale but otherwise there are better games doing similar things out there.
There's some unique aspects that I hope are observed by other developers but there are better strategy titles out there like Invisible Inc. that do the core basics better.
This game is the definition of okay. It's not boring, there's definitely enjoyment to be had, but what enjoyment there is is hindered by poor decisions.
The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2 is by no means a bad game, but I'm unsure how it justifies its existence.
Ultimately, I like the concept of Detective Pikachu and will likely see the movie when it releases, but hopefully the developers choose to challenge their audience a bit more with any potential sequel.
There’s supposed to be four Kirbys racing at all times and the lack of an online player base and the lack of four player split-screen multiplayer just makes it hard to recommend this game at all. It’s a good game marred by the fact that like a lot of great multiplayer focused games, the player base is lacking and the game suffers for it. I would give this game an 8 had it not been for the fact that the online player base isn’t very strong and I do not want to recommend a dead game to people. At least it has an offline single player mode I guess.
I’m not sure whether to recommend Happy Game or not. I think most people will be disappointed with its short play time and easier puzzles. Any fan of Amanita will definitely find joy in this new direction for the studio but will maybe be let down in comparison to past titles’ puzzles. In short, Happy Game is good, people should play it, but wait for a sale.
I would pass on Mighty Fight Federation despite the huge amounts of charm this game has. Even the music is good. Unfortunately, it’s just an unbalanced mess.
My gripes really stem from the place of being a fan. Anyone entering Watch Dogs: Legion looking for a by the books open world game is going to find a lot to enjoy. There are small puzzles to solve, plenty of collectibles, lots of missions and I would say the shooting and driving are the best this series has ever been. Fans of the series like myself however will be disappointed by the lack of enjoyable characters as well as stand out missions and story beats. With how close Legion is releasing to Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla and Immortals Fenyx Rising it feels like Watch Dogs: Legion was left to fight for your attention and your money with less money put into development. I would recommend both Watch Dogs 1 & 2 as well as plenty of other Ubisoft experiences from the last few years before Legion at full price.
It’s a game that I think is fun and is worth a play, but I cannot recommend paying full price. $30 is the sweet spot because it just lacks the character that other karts racers have. It’s simple to pick up and play so if Mario Kart has run its course (heh) give this one a try with some friends.
Ultimately I would say this game would've done better with its tongue in its cheek rather than its heart on its sleeve.
Overall, Pepper Grinder is a very good game. Some stages have unique gimmicks that blend well with the base move set, others just challenge players with the basics. I like Pepper, she has a lot of character for a silent protagonist and the soundtrack is quite good too. There’s a lot to like with Pepper Grinder, I just really wish the boss battles were better or absent because they weigh down the rest of the experience.
I hope Turnip Boy returns to this format because I think this is a better canvas for the ideas the developers have character wise, but I also think it allowed them to be more creative with gameplay than Turnip Boy Robs A Bank (which the review for should be up alongside this one). I think Turnip Boy is worth people’s time, it just comes down to dollar per hour value because I think I finished most of what this game had to offer in about 3-4 hours and while I think $15 is worth that, other people don’t.
Overall, this is a great program as long as nothing else is expected other than dungeon creation and playing. It’s pretty easy to use and there’s definitely an audience that is going to make crazy dungeons with it, but that audience isn’t me. If they implement a dungeon code system, I can see myself being a player rather than a contributor, but anyone looking to make Zelda dungeons (and only dungeons) this is exactly what you are looking for.
I think the lack of a structure makes this more of a quick play experience on the go than something where people will sit down and play. I don’t dislike Party of Legends, but it’s better in short bursts which is an issue I don’t think a lot of other party games have. It did however capture that feeling of playing motion control games on the Wii quite well and with the fact that all base Switch models come with two Joy Cons, I think there’s at least some value in this if two people are traveling together and want to have some genuine laughs.
I simply don’t think this stands as tall as Super Metroid, Zero Mission, Prime, Fusion, or even Samus Returns. But to a Metroid fan it is worth playing and realize that these are problems I found with the game; other people haven’t had the same issues. However, to anyone who has never played a Metroid game before, I don’t think this is the place to start. I think it feels too different from the rest of the series (neither a good or bad thing) and the moments in the story that hit really well only do so because of everything that has happened before in previous titles.
I don’t think anything is gained by playing either Famicom Detective Club that can’t be gained by watching a playthrough because the puzzles are at best throwaway and at worst barely present. These are inherently flawed games, but if somehow the idea of slogging through menus isn’t a turn off there are absolutely two great, down to Earth murder mysteries to be experienced here.
Pacer is a good game on its own merits but it is nothing special, and when Wipeout HD Collection is still being sold for half the price of Pacer (and the other titles I mentioned at the beginning of this review are also less than Pacer) it is extremely hard to say this game that is just “good” is worth your money when competitors are out there for less. Pacer does not exist in a vacuum, and therefore I can not recommend it over other Wipeout inspired titles, which there is at least one on every current platform.