Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival puts players in the virtual boots of Aidan Lynch who must use the the Genesis Configuration, a mysterious puzzle box, to save his beloved Sunny from the Labyrinth. After a night of debauchery, Aidan and Sunny opened the gates of hell by using the the Genesis Configuration, and Pinhead and friends took Sunny away from our protagonist. Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival is a first person survival horror game with a healthy mix of action and stealth. While you can go guns blazing, some areas will leave the door open for stealth opportunities to take down enemies silently to avoid being overwhelmed. Aidan can run, dodge and slide: all three movements will be a lifesaver throughout different parts of the game. As you progress through the game, you’ll be able to acquire additional weapons. While you’ll start off with a scalpel (which remains your default weapon instead of your fists and kicks), you’ll find a pistol. And when the shop opens you’ll be able to purchase additional firepower; shotgun, SMG, Revolver and AK47. Some enemies will also drop melee weapons while can others can be found by exploring. And yes, weapons do break. But thankfully, you’ll find basic and advanced repair kit to prolong the life of your favorite toy. Although, once it breaks, you lose it; you can’t keep it in your inventory and fix it at a later time. You’ll also be able to purchase recipes that will allow you to craft a myriad of items such as ammo for all your weapons, bandages, first aid kit; among others. Similar to the Silent Hill franchise, players will spend the game jumping between two worlds: the normal world where you’ll take on enemies, find keys and puzzle items to progress forward. And then there’s the Labirynth world where you’ll use need to move around treacherous areas, and use the Genesis Configuration to complete some platform puzzles. Speaking of the Genesis Configuration, you can also use it in combat. As you progress through the story, you’ll unlock some skills; telekensis to throw specific items, use fire and the might Hellchains. All three of these use the Suffering meter which can be filled up by killing enemies and dishing out damage. While the first two can be used at all times, if you have some Suffering in the metter, the Hellchains can only be triggered once it’s full. This devastating attack will capture and stretch out every cronies on screen; obviously doesn’t work on bosses. Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival looks great. Both the normal world and the Labyrinth offer two completely unique environments. With its moving parts, it does feel like the Labyrinth is alive. Enemy variety is a bit limited; between skinless walkers and Cultists dressed up in BDSM gear. Bosses are well designed and offer a new glimpse of gore. The voiceover work is absolutely spot-on. Doug Bradley, who played Pinhead in the movies, is back all pined up. Albeit a bit light and forgettable, the soundtrack is enjoyable. And not everything is perfect in hell. Every melee weapon feels cheap; they don’t take much to break and their longevity doesn’t seem to matter no matter the material; blade, baseball bat. There’s also some repetitive segments; such as being chased by The Chatterer; three times is a bit much. And playing hide and seek with the The Revealer, a.k.a. Leviathan, is incredibly irritating. Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival is easily a contender for my GOTY list. The game is perfectly balanced, combat, while simple, is quite satisfying, the puzzles are enjoyable and the story, while a tad predictable, is really interesting. This game feels a bit like Resident Evil, Silent Hill and Bioshock had a love triangle baby. While they are some sequences that are frustrating, they are far and few between. If you’re a fan of horror games or action game and can tolerate some gore, Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival is an absolute blast to play.
Project Songbird tells the story of Dakota, a singer-songwriter currently experiencing a writer’s block. At the recommendations of her agent, she decides to leave and isolate herself in a cabin in the remote Appalachian forest with her instruments in hopes of finding inspiration. However, finding such inspiration might pull her into the darkest depths. Project Songbird is a first person survival/psychological horror game. The game is split into two main worlds; the regular world and a nightmarish, dream-like world. The normal world allows you to find useful items such an axe, flashlight, firearms. Exploring the limited environments will pull Dakota into the alternate universe
Dynasty Warriors 3 originally released in 2001 for the PS2 in North America; it was also the second entry in the now long running Shin: Sangoku Musou series in Japan and was actually the first entry to release in the European market; releasing on Xbox via THQ. It introduced a myriad of improvements over its predecessor such as two player mode and new stages to name a few. It also received an expansion called Dynasty Warriors 3: Xtreme Legends while simultaneously acting as the first title in the Xtreme Legends sub-series. The events of Dynasty Warriors 3: Complete Edition Remastered takes place across China during the Three Kingdoms era at the fall of the Han Dynasty, shorthly before the death of Emperor Ling. Simultaneously, the leader of the Way of Peace, Zhang Jiao, led an uprising against the Empire. The game also includes the Dynasty Warriors 3: Xtreme Legends expansion.
Gears of War: E-Day is set during Emergence Day, fourteen years before the events of the original Gears of War, as Marcus and Dom, along with a host of other Gears, face off against the first wave of Locust. They’ll have to fight and survive against the unknown as they scramble to save civilians scattered throughout the city. Gears of War: E-Day is a third person action shooter where players will be able to use a myriad of weapons to take the fight up to the Locust. Returning players will notice that The Coalition have made a few tweaks in terms of controls. Given that our protagonists are younger, their movement is a bit more nimble. Running has been delegated to pressing the left joystick instead of holding A. Marcus and company can now jump and climb up reasonably high surfaces. There’s also a useful slide mechanic to dodge enemy projectiles.
The Walking Dead: Streets of Survival is a pretty mid run of the mill beat’em up that feels a bit slow, outdated and 10 years too late. I really did try to like this, but the issues kept killing my enjoyment. This game should’ve released about 8-10 years ago during the peak of the franchise. While the upgrade mechanics are a nice touch to the genre, there’s really no reason to buy this. There are so many better, more fluid beat’em ups than this. Unless you’re a die-head fan of The Walking Dead or you must play every beat’em up in existence, this is an easy pass.
The Soccer Kid is a 2D action platformer series that first began way back in 1993 on the Amiga system. It was later ported to a myriad of consoles/home computers such as the Game Boy Advance, Super NES, Jaguar, MS-DOS; just to name a few. This newly released “collection” (should’ve been called a duology and not a collection) includes two games: the Super NES and MS-DOS versions. The Soccer Kid games tells the story of a young soccer player who must travel the world in order to recover the fragments of the stolen trophy. In order to accomplish his goal, our young protagonist uses, as you’d expect given the theme, a soccer/football ball as a weapon. Computer& Video Games
Psyvariar 3 is a fun and addictive bullet hell shmup. The game has a lot of depth and variety due to the diversity of characters to use and the myriad of game modes to choose from. A proper optional tutorial mode/level would’ve been a nice addition here so newcomers to the series can be put through the ringer properly before jumping in the carnage. That being said, Psyvariar 3 is one of the best shmups out there. Whether you’re a hardcore fan of the genre or looking to take plunge, Psyvariar 3 is worthwhile entry.
I’m a fan of the car combat genre and was actually interested in Warhammer 40,000: Speed Freeks. But unfortunately, it falls pretty flat. This feels like an early access game that should be free to play given the limited variety. Due to being multiplayer centric, it’ll ride or die based on its fanbase. The combat in itself is actually pretty fun and there’s a great selection of vehicle with unique strengths and weaknesses, but that doesn’t make up for the limited gameplay. Always happy to see neglected genres getting some love, but Warhammer 40,000: Speed Freeks is disappointing. Unless you need everything Warhammer 40,000 or you’re a multiplayer type of person, then Warhammer 40,000: Speed Freeks, but for those hoping for some depths will be disappointed. It left me wanting more, but if and when they add more content, I’ll have moved on to something else.
ZPF is a great addition to the shmup gernre, albeit it is quite brutal. This will test your metal and force you to get better. The shop is an interesting addition and will level the challenge as you unlock new perks. If you’re a fan of the genre, ZPF is an absolute blast and must play. If you have yet to dabble in the genre, I still recommend it, but get ready to die. A lot.
The first problem with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown is that our fast paced heroes doesn’t feel right working within a restrained grid. It feels off and unnatural having fast paced ninjas move at a slow pace. The game can also feel unfair and brutal at times as enemies can surround you really quick and kill you in a single turn. The game also has a steep learning curve. And completing a mission feels more luck based than actual skill. As a long time fan of TMNT, our heroes in a half shell doesn’t work as a TRPG. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown takes the effciency and typical fast paced action of the turtles and brings it down to a crawl. The learning curve is quite steep and completing a mission feels more like you got lucky than actual gaming skills. Unless you must own everything TMNT related, this is an easy pass.
If you’re looking to fill that Bioshock void, Crisol: Theater of Idols is the closest thing we’ll get as of this writing. The combat is unique and solid, the atmosphere is top notch, and the island is really fun to explore. Despite the little aforementioned nuisances it won’t hinder the experience. Combat is fun and unique, there’s lots to explore in each burrough and the game is atmospheric. Highly recommended.
As a casual racing fan, I wanted to like Screamer; it had been on my radar for a while. But your enjoyment of it will depend on your commitment to it. The game looks and sounds amazing, the controls overall feel tight, albeit a bit more complex than the typical racers. The twin stick mechanic feels counterintuitive and requires an adaptation period. If you’re conquered every Gran Turismo, Forza Motorsports, Forza Horizon, Assetto Corsa Competizione, or the Project CARS trilogy, Screamer is for you. Otherwise, if you’re looking to dab into the genre, this ain’t it. Only hardcore racing fans need apply.
The game looks great and surprisingly combines two visual styles. While levels are vast 3D environments reminiscent of later boomer shooters from the late 90s/early 2000s, enemies and NPCs are 2D 16-bit pixelated characters. It works given the non serious tone of the game. Between missions, you’ll be treated to movie like cutscenes featuring General Johnny Rico and Major Samantha “Sammy” Dietz along with others characters looking to “recruit” you. On the audio side of things, nothing major to report. The soundtrack is minimal lost through the banter of your colleagues. Speaking of which, it’s enjoyable with a bit of humor. The game does have a few nuisance. The first one being the repetitiveness of the objectives. It often feels like you’re doing the same thing in different levels. Another issue is the lack of vehicles. While the maps aren’t that huge, running/walking from one objective to another is tedious and boring. Thankfully, with a mech, you’ll go a bit faster.
Rushing Beat X: Return Of Brawl Brothers is one of the best beat’em ups of the last few years. And a surprising entry in a series that had been dormant for so long. Having a decent variety of characters to choose from, being able to have an inventory of health items and weapons is more enjoyable than being forced to use them outright. While the movements do feel a bit stiff and the control mapping is questionable, once you get acclimated, you’ll find a fun and addictive beat’em up. Highly recommended.
John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando is an absolute blast to play solo with bots or with friends online. It has enough unique nuances that give it a different flair compared to Left 4 Dead and Back 4 Blood. The gameplay is solid, each class feels unique with their own perks, the driving is tight and it has a fun B-movie presentation. While it’s a bit annoying that it’s requires to be online at all times so people can join, playing with bots is as enjoyable as playing with others for the most part. John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando is one of the most enjoyable games of the year and it features big dumb fun. Whether to play solo or with friends or randoms, if you enjoy a good shooter, John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando is for you.
Ebola Village is an incredibly sloppy, unpolished clone of Resident Evil. It looks and plays like a PS2 game, the shooting is flimsy, the visuals are incredibly outdated, the voice over is hilarious, there’s also so much unnecessary backtracking. That being said there is a nugget of a good game here; that could’ve benefited from two years of QA and polish. I know that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but not sure this is flattering for Capcom’s flagship series. Unless you’ve 100% all Resident Evil games and cannot get enough of that formula, Ebola Village might tickle your fancy. Otherwise, stick to Capcom’s juggernant.
Basketball Classics is an absolute blasts to play and offers a surprisingly enjoyable experience and alternative to the recycled NBA 2K series that’s also polluted with microtransactions. Basketball Classics encourages replay by allowing players to actually unlock additional content. Whether it be solo or for some local multiplayer fun, Basketball Classics is an addictive gaming experience and can be enjoyed by casual and hardcore gamers alike. Highly recommended.
Backrooms Level X is another perfect example of great indie horror game and shows how indie developers are killing it. The tense atmosphere, unnerving ambiance, unique level design; whether it be a maze or a simple straight forward area makes this one of the most tense and best “horror” game I’ve played in the last year or so. It proves that less is more. If you’re looking for a creepy, tense experience, Backrooms Level X is a must play.
Unfortunately, Fatal Frame II Crimson Butterfly Remake is an unnecessary remake that wasted Team Ninja’s skillset as a developer; they should’ve been hard at work on Ninja Gaiden 4 instead. The fact that it looks and feels like a late PS3/Xbox 360 game is telling. Janky movement, clunky/jerky combat. Can’t help but feel that a simple improved port of the original would’ve been better. It’s not a bad game, it just feels generic. Unless you’re a diehard of the series, you can skip this.Ho pefully they focus on creating new entries without restraints of past stories instead of ruining the legacy of the original trilogy.
Originally released for the PC-Engine in 1990, and based on a manga of the same namesake, City Hunter tells the story of Ryo Saeba, a man known as a City Hunter. He’s basically a cleaner that tackles a myriad of jobs ensuring the protection of women from assassinations. His partner, Kaori, also helps him in his mission to clean the city of bad guys. City Hunter is a 2D action game where players run around buildings, opening doors for mission-critical NPCs and items all the while shooting various thugs barring down your path. Some doors won’t open, some doors will lead to empty rooms. It’s also trial and error. All doors are the same so you never know which one opens. This release includes the original default difficulty setting but also a brand new, more forgiving, Enhanced mode. Also as it is common with rereleases of classics from the 1990s, City Hunter features a rewind feature to correct some mistakes or come back from the dead. If you come across a scandily lady behind a door, despite her clear anger, you’ll get your health replenished