Andrei Dumitrescu's Reviews
Hard West is a good but limited game, and at its current price, it offers a solid set of mechanics for those who are twiddling their turn-based tactics thumbs while they wait for the sequel to XCOM to arrive next year.
Rising Tide is a solid package, and in many ways, this is how the game should have been delivered when it first arrived last year.
Wales Interactive clearly has great ideas, but Soul Axiom shows that the company needs to focus a little more on execution to make sure that they unlock their true potential for the public.
Kung Fu Panda: Showdown of Legendary Legends is a good brawler, but it's a shame that the development team at Vicious Cycle has only sought to draw inspiration from the leader in the genre and failed to introduce any truly innovative feature.
Ancient Space is a good game that fans of strategy titles will love to spend time with, but it might be too difficult and too limited in terms of content in order to attract new fans to the genre or to serve as a spiritual successor to Homeworld.
Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon is an interesting mix of the complex universe created by Games Workshop and the mechanics of the Panzer Corps which should offer fans of either of the two products hours of fun tactical engagements.
Until then, Kinect Sports Rivals will remain an interesting experiment that never manages to live up to the expectations linked to it.
I have never fully understood the narrative or the mechanics of the experience, but I liked its trippy vibe and the weird, weird spaces it allowed me to explore as I was searching for lightning and shelter.
Strike Vector is a solid design and it remains to be seen whether there are enough fans of its mix of mechanics to make it a success in the long term.
Train Fever is a good game for the passionate crowd and, If I did not have to deal with bigger releases, I could see myself spending more time with it in order to see exactly how higher ground can be negotiated and to make perfect sense of the way goods and city needs interact with one another.
The game will clearly appeal more to casual gamers than to the hardcore, but it does show how the Wii U can deliver interesting games when the developers try to introduce some innovation.
DriveClub is a great racing experience which includes enough content, both single-player and social, to keep fans of the genre occupied for months, especially if they are determined to always be better than their friends.
Titan Souls can be repetitive, difficult and frustrating, but it can also be the kind of video game in which one solid arrow shot can make a player happy for half an hour.
Nom Nom Galaxy is an interesting hybrid, although the variety of experiences might mean that a lot of players will have to fail a lot before they discover exactly how to approach the problem of soup production and shipping.
Considered on its own, Pro Cycling Manager 2023 is a good cycling management simulation. It’s fun to create a custom team, fill it with youngsters, and try to dominate the sport in 3 to 5 years. Playing the official stages of this year’s Tour de France with any team in the peloton creates interesting situations and challenges. But the title fails to offer enough innovation when compared to last year’s installment. Anyone who still plays PCM 2022 should stick with that game until their favorite mod is updated. Pro Cycling Manager 2023 has solid core mechanics but the franchise needs to be more innovative going forward.
Tour de France 2023 captures the atmosphere of real-world cycling, which is crucial for this kind of sports simulation. It feels good to control some of the best riders of the moment, think about the strategy that best suits them, and then try to use limited energy resources at just the right time to secure a prestigious win. The game allows players to create some impressive narrative around their own created cyclist, taking them from humble beginnings to prestigious victories. But Tour de France 2023 is targeted squarely at fans of the sport and other gamers might struggle to fully engage with its mechanics and presentation.
Batora: Lost Haven is a competent and mostly enjoyable action game. It has one big idea, the two natures of both Avril and her enemies, but never uses it in any truly unique ways. After a few hours, only the boss battles manage to break up the monotony.
Beyond the Long Night is a fun, focused experience that makes good use of both the time loop and the associated rogue-lite structure. Combat might not seem hard but it’s very easy to lose a heart focusing on enemies rather than their actual attacks. The universe is filled with discovery potential but some players might struggle to invest in that.
SOULVARS is a complex video game dedicated to fans of classic Japanese role-playing games and, especially, to those who love their deep combat systems. Newcomers might find combat hard to comprehend but the game does offer the resources to understand the mechanics and use them in cool ways.
Blooming Business: Casino is a good tycoon management game and will satisfy gamers who want to create attractive gambling rooms, keep them in tip-top condition, and find the best ways to satisfy customers and VIPs. The title’s mechanics are good and the presentation and narrative offer a laid back atmosphere.