Robert Cram's Reviews
I feel the developers need to look closely at games like Racket Fury to get some ideas on how to structure the game. Arcade and Sim modes, options for sensitivity etc. This would help greatly. As it stands, I cannot recommend this game in its current form. It’s pretty eye-candy until fleshed out with more modes, features and a tweak to the ball physics.
Issues aside, there's a cool, fun game to play on offer here (albeit somewhat bare-bones), marred by technical hiccups and an awful DLC policy. We can't fully recommend this game despite its merits. Once the technical issues get resolved and the pricing lowered then it might be worth a look.
All said and done though if you ignore the lure of DLC extras, the core package offers a fun-to-play pinball experience. It’s slightly over-priced though only really appealing to die-hard Senran Kagura fans. Pinball fans can get their fix from other games for less that also provide a little more diverse content. Hopefully Marvelous reduce the price in the future or offer a definitive version with all the DLC extras included.
To conclude then, there is a lot to like about Espire 1 VR Operative. The foundations are there for a competent stealth-action game. However, in its current state it feels like an “early-access” title rather than a fully-fledged finished product. With some additional time polishing the AI and making the game fun-to-play there is potential. As it stands the unforgiving AI, audio problems and poor instructions for new players make Espire 1 a game for hardened stealth players only who have tons of patience to fall back on. For those resting on the action side of gaming then expect a short-lived and unfulfilling experience, too easy to best as a result.
Is Corruption 2029 worth picking up then on the Epic Games Store? Yes and no as it’s relatively cheap for under £16. Fans of Mutant Year Zero will find this familiar ground and lap-up the change of difficulty. Tactical fans who like XCOM etc. might find it interesting to play. Anyone else looking-in will find a game that excites and frustrates in equal measure.
Foreclosed is an interesting stealth-action adventure game that offers a neat presentation and mildly interesting story. Whilst the gameplay could do with some polishing, it’s not all doom-and-gloom if you stick with it. There is some fun to be had here, but sadly it’s over far too quickly and could have done with some extra content, perhaps additional difficulty settings. If you desire a visually different game to play then Foreclosed is worth a look especially considering the asking price of around £12 which is quite reasonable.
Sniper Elite VR then grabs the cool features from the 2D game such as masked shots, the x-ray kill cam (which you can disable if desired), focus aiming and the fusion of stealth/action gameplay. For the most part it works well and converts to VR as expected. However as mentioned, the game isn’t perfect and perhaps depending on what setup you have will dictate your overall enjoyment. It’s a nice sniper based game that offers 6 hours or more gameplay (with leaderboards and collectibles for replay). We would have preferred the open-world approach of Sniper Elite 4 rather than shorter condensed missions though. For VR heads looking for a stealth sniping game, this is pretty solid and hopefully the developers can improve things with some post-launch updates once they have more player feedback.
Is Borderlands 3 Director's Cut worth it for its asking price? There are two perspectives here really. On one side having just spent in excess of 35 hours playing through the main game, the new content didn't matter much and perhaps there might be an element of Borderlands burnout or fatigue. If it wasn't for this review, there was still plenty to go back to with the base content. So, for newcomers it's not an essential addition to the package as far as we are concerned. However, on the other side, those players who already invested X numbers of hours and in need of more content will find the additions interesting but perhaps a little on the pricey side considering how long it will take to see it all (2 hours or less). Therefore, it's hard to recommend fully to both camps at the current pricing unless you have deep pockets or just have to play anything new as soon as it releases.
It's hard to say whether this game is better than Man of Medan, but in terms of story and ending Little Hope feels like a step-backwards. The characters were also not as interesting, despite having some cool moments. Where Little Hope excels is with its varied spooky locations which lend themselves far better to the horror experience than the gloomy and often confined ship interior of the previous game.
To conclude, it’s great fans have a new Leisure Suit Larry game to play with. Leisure Suit Larry Wet Dreams Don’t Dry looks good and plays as expected. However, it’s not the best game in the series and won’t entice new players into the fold. This is in part due to its poor pacing and archaic game design. A game which relies on obscurity, bundles players with numerous objects and basks in trial and error doesn’t make a good all-round experience. That is despite some pleasant positives with the script and cartoon visuals. If you can stomach aimless wandering around without giving in to a guide, then check this out. It’s fun to play and amusing to see where it ends up. Anyone else though should avoid unless they are quite happy looking up hints online every time thrown spanners hamper progression.
So, is Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal worth a look in especially with newer titles which offer more characters and spin-off gameplay (looking at Bon-Appetite and Peach Beach Splash)? Yes, if you’re a fan wishing to relive the handheld glory on the big screen, and wish to own a complete collection (assume the next game in the series converts as well). It is light on characters though which might bother some players expecting more content especially given the £35 price tag. All in, this is fun game to play predominantly for fans of the series. As an introduction to the characters and the premise of the two schools it’s also pretty neat. However, if curiosity gets the better of you as a newcomer then one of the other games Shinovi or Estival Versus offers more content and a cheaper price of entry.
World War Z does have its moments of fun despite offering a fairly basic game overall. The zombie hordes look good in their numbers as they climb over each other to eat your team’s brains. Additional special zombie types could spice things up a little more though which is where Sabre could add a dose of originality. As it stands though, it’s a basic zombie shooter with competent gameplay which presents itself. Definitely fun in shorter doses especially with others online, but not an essential purchase.
If you want a different experience to Beat Saber, then yes it’s pretty neat, a good workout and fun to play even if it’s exhausting. If you’re looking for a fitness game on the Quest then this is a rather focused effort which simply works as intended for those who are prepared to use the correct form.
The Church In the Darkness offers a neat concept with some solid gameplay quirks albeit a little sloppy in execution at times. Fans of stealth will enjoy what’s on offer here and those with an interest in finding out various fates of the cult will have fun replaying to see all endings (which are text and song based rather than cut-scenes). It’s a nice game and worthy of a look in despite its relative simplicity. By the end of it though Issac and Rebecca’s chilling words might get the better of you.
Rain of Reflections offers a neat adventure game fused with the combat element which sets it above similar games. Chapter 1 acts as an introduction and if the following two chapters expand upon the ideas here (especially the turn-based combat) then this will be an interesting series to dive into. The hacking lets the game down somewhat, but perhaps some players will enjoy the mild puzzle element here. For under £15 it’s not bad value at all but in terms of replay it’s not offering too many choices if any at all considering once you playthrough you know what to expect. Perhaps a difficulty option could have improved replay. As it stands, Rain of Reflections comes as a interesting prospect but not a game for all players.
It’s a fun game that really puts you into the moment at times making you feel fully immersed in what you are doing. However, the physics which are the main star-of-the-show aren’t polished enough making for a frustrating experience at times. With a better story this could have been far more interesting. As it stands it feels more like a VR assault course. Is it worth recommending? Yes and no. It’s probably prudent to wait for the patch to drop first (which addresses some of our complaints). But if you’re a sucker for VR shooting experiences then you can do a lot worse than this game.
Cloudpunk looks like an ambitious project that needed rounding-off before it could be fully realised. However, as it stands you’ll find an interesting cyberpunk-themed story to play through, and then there’s the amazing city to just fly around. Toss-in some awesome music and it’s almost worth recommending the game just for these two aspects alone.