I’m positively surprised by the end product after such a short window between its announcement and release, less than a week apart from each other. Zen and Nightdive have done a terrific job keeping it all hush-hush and I couldn’t be happier with how System Shock Pinball has turned out. So much so that I’m anxious to see what’s next on their plate for both Pinball FX and Pinball M.
Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island certainly succeeds at providing just enough clues of what’s possibly at the other end of the wall to make the arduous journey to climb it one that you’d want to partake in. It’s the sort of game where your investment won’t necessarily equal a tangible result no matter how much to kick and scream at it. Instead, it’s something that feeds our curiosity, and in that, there’s something to be said about having this be your entryway into this, one of gaming’s obscure and at the same time most influential of series.
Arrowhead’s newest multiplayer slaughterfest Helldivers 2 is a blast to play thanks to its over-the-top presentation, hilariously chaotic moment-to-moment gameplay and excellent team mechanics.
Having those extras would have upped the historical value of having such a compilation at the ready, but even so, at is it, Tomb Raider Remastered is still very much worth picking up, regardless of your experience with these games. It’s fun to think of an entirely new generation getting to pick what we had to play when these were new. Surely, they do take some getting used to, but the overall enjoyment comes from the challenge, and these three sure do have plenty of that.
There’s no denying that Half Mermaid Productions and Barlow have a knack for serving truly unique gameplay experiences, but they go beyond merely having their quirky style serve as a gimmick and crunch on which a game like Immortality can lean on. There’s actually an incredible amount of obvious care that has gone into making it something that folks will want to get through by providing a narrative that in all of its nonlinearity is shocking, but most importantly, very compelling, for as overused as that adjective is in gaming.
If you are a fan of excellent writing and don’t mind having to read more than your usual share of text in a game, as there is a whole bunch of it in these games, you’ll find them to be extremely clever and bursting with personality. It’s a shame that the series is on hold, but hopefully with the success in sales of this and other similar collections, maybe Capcom will finally bring gaming’s top lawyer back to where he belongs, and not just as a criminally underused character in one of their Vs fighters. Yes, I’m looking at you, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3!
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is an exciting addition to the admittedly crowded market in its particular style of play, but it’s one that does enough of its own flavor and delivery that makes it very much worth playing. That’s all too true for those who’ve enjoyed Prince of Persia in the past thanks to its ties in design to the classic games of the past in the form of traversal and to some degree, some of its combat encounters. For as limiting as these games can be simply due to the tenants of the genre, there’s enough here to make this one stand out from the pack.
God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla delivers some juicy story and offers plenty of entertaining gameplay. It’s a great excuse to jump back into the fray with videogame’s second favorite Spartan.
A Charlie Brown Christmas is an extremely cute table that should please fans of the cartoons and/or comic strip as well as those looking for something new to play on Pinball FX. Playing this during the holidays hit just the spot for all the feels that pop up during that particular time of the year. There’ll be more on other new tables on the site very soon as I continue our coverage of the game, so please keep an eye out for new reviews very soon!
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is a truly fascinating experience. After spending a few hours messing around with Baldur’s Gate 3 concurrently to this review, I couldn’t help but wonder how much better the combat would’ve been if Owlcat had decided to play it closer to Larian’s cRPG flavoring instead of Firaxis’. If only that aspect of the game were better, and elements such as loot would be better explained, then Rogue Trader would be an easy recommendation.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is the sort of tie-in game that does its source material justice while providing an enjoyable gameplay loop that will keep you entertained for quite a while. No doubt, it feels derivative in the way its structure is without a doubt built like a modern day Ubisoft product, with bases to take over, upgrade paths to take and increasingly busier maps with elements to check off a list.
9 Years of Shadows obviously leans on the genre’s trademark mechanics, but it brings enough of its own to make it stand out from the rest. Its world alone is reason enough to give it a spin, but add in its creative balancing of combat and magic/health regen along with how the game deals with color and you’ve got something special that shouldn’t be missed even by the most veterans of players.
Ashbourne Games’ Last Train Home is one of the most unique and captivating RTS and management experiences you are bound to have.
We take a look at Zen Studios’ Pinball M, a separate, mature-rated pinball platform and its launch run of tables based on popular properties such as The Thing and Child’s Play.
Jagged Alliance 3 still feels like a PC game on console, but works admirably under its strict control limitations.
The new biome fits in well with the rest of the world of Dredge, and if you have yet to get started in the game, it’s a location that you’ll naturally explore over the course of your adventure. For people like me who are coming back to it for this DLC, it might prove to be a tad too easy, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less of a pleasure given that it’s more Dredge to be had, and that alone is reason enough for me, really.
While not as known and loved as the competition in the arcade space, there’s much to be said about the quality and fun factor of Visco’s releases during the latter half of the arcade golden days. The handful of inclusions in this collection highlight the company’s efforts in trying to bring their own spin to established genres, and even though they pale somewhat in comparison in terms of personality, they are very well put together and are definitely worth having in your retro collection.
Don’t let its title fool you: quirky Powerwash Simulator took the gaming world by storm last year for a good reason.
Don’t let its looks fool you, Astlibra Revision is a great action RPG with hooks that will keep you coming back for more.
As long as you don’t come into it looking for an emotional rollercoaster or a whole lot of gameplay variety, but instead are willing to look past its faults – which there’s no denying there are plenty of – you might just like the way of living us virtual Alaskan drivers have for our day-to-day.