My time with Rollerdrome was filled with ups and downs. The core idea is great, but it took a while for me to warm up to an extreme sports game that puts pressure on you to juggle multiple things at once.
To be clear, this is the Saints Row game you know and love (or hate). Sure, they’ve slapped a new city and introduced a new set of characters into the formula, but everything is rooted in that purple-tinted glow.
For every vomit-inducing scene of body horror, you’ll also lose your lunch at the game’s technical and design issues. Like the creature and the protagonist, it just feels as if Scorn is fighting against itself at every step along the way.
While it’s not breaking any new ground in the exploration-based gameplay, the core tenants of what makes a good Dark Pictures game are all here. The Devil in Me is one of the better page-turners in the genre, leaving enough room at the back of the book for the team to make it even better when Season Two kicks off.
With Like a Dragon: Ishin seemingly in my rearview, I’ve completed every Yakuza game released in the West. This isn’t me bragging about being better than you. In fact, I would bet you would give me a good, old-fashioned Mr. Shakedown beating if we met in the Kamurocho streets. Instead, I want to set the table for what I’m about to say. Even with a story that ends with a bit of whimper and substories that feel stuck in 2014, Like a Dragon: Ishin is now my third favorite game in the series behind Yakuza: Like a Dragon and Judgment.
If you just want to sit down with your friends, zone out, and murder some zombies, Dead Island 2 is exactly what you’re looking for. The game is far from perfect and, in some respects, is a little mindless, but that’s exactly what I want from time to time. I said it at the top and I’ll say it again, Dead Island 2 nails it if you’re just looking for dumb fun. There’s nothing wrong with trying to be the Fast and Furious of video games.