MathLand isn’t going to blow you away in any one aspect, but the sum of the parts makes for a quality educational game that deserves a nod of recognition if you’re in the market for this.
Though I could extend this article with more information and thoughts, the bottomline is that this is the type of game you’re either into or you’re not. The genre is fairly niche and from the little I have played of it in the past and from what I have read this week, there’s nothing really new here other than the crossover with Doraemon.
In sum, Necromunda: Hired Gun is a very mixed offering. It seems that for every pro the game brings, there is a con to match it. I still had fun with Necromunda, but the experience is tainted significantly by the various issues — technical and otherwise — that the game has at the time of this writing.
Bottomline, all things considered, if you’re looking for a fun, fast, short-lived, throwback FPS game, Hellbound is definitely worth considering. Just don’t expect too much out of it and you’ll find your time and money well spent.
Fighter Within has plenty of shortcomings, but more importantly, I'm having a lot of fun.
For those that really enjoy the point and click genre, Perils of Man is worth a look, despite its flaws.
If you're looking for an accessible and often-fun four player competitive splitscreen game, Cel Damage HD is worth a look.
WWE 2K's first outing on the PS4 and Xbox One is commendable, and gives us much to look forward to for 2K16. But unless you're a passionate fan of the WWE or this series, it's probably safe to rent or skip this year.
The sum of the parts makes for a game that’s very much aimed at GI Joe fans, and that’s great. There are a lot of fan service games out there, most of which have no interest from me, but this one did. Between that nostalgia and innate interest, and recognizing very early on that this game is by far best played with a couch co-op buddy, GI Joe Operation Blackout is fun in spurts. I enjoyed the different feel to the characters and the story was entertaining as well. There’s a lot of pretty good elements to the game, but repetitive level design and gameplay, blah AI, and aiming woes taint the experience considerably — not necessarily to deal-breaker territory, but just proceed with caution.
If you’re looking for an okay FPS sniping experience, SGW Contracts is not a bad choice, but it leaves a lot of room for growth.
If you’re a fan of the genre, appreciate fine artwork and want to experience a fairly interesting story, Trüberbrook is worth a look, just go in with expectations in check.
Omen of Sorrow offers a lot of modes, unlocks, characters, and some decent fighting elements, but it doesn’t quite have the polish or draw to keep me invested. For genre fans, though, it’s worth checking into.
Even with the reduction in graphical fidelity and the controller shortcomings, I still found LoFVR compelling to replay after five years from having played the original. The story is pretty good, but moreover I really liked the ever-changing mansion and Twilight Zone weirdness of it all. That kind of atmosphere and design lend themselves well to VR play, and to that end the game is interesting on PSVR, despite its shortcomings. Plus, at only $20, LoFVR is relatively light on the wallet for a few hours of spooky VR.
For visual novel/crime fiction fans, especially/obviously of the Jake Hunter lineage, you’ve probably played worse and this is worth the effort.
KSR is better and deeper than most motion controlled games that I have played, especially of the family/sports compilation variety. However, it's still light on content and just doesn't have a great deal of staying power or replay value you would hope for.
That’s not to say Maskmaker doesn’t standout on its own, it does. All things considered, at a $20 price point for a 4 or 5 hour experience, it’s hard not to recommend for someone looking for a pretty good story, average-ish VR gameplay that’s casually difficult (though sometimes a little frustrating), and solid presentation thanks to fine artwork and voice overs. If you’re in the market for an experience like that, Maskmaker is worth considering.
So there’s any awful lot going on in Bright Memory in a very short period. I can say that I had fun and I am looking forward to the complete game, but with some caution: I do hope and anticipate that FYQD will do a lot more to tighten up the experience on console as the cursor-driven menus are no fun, and this feels like a rushed port from its original platform (PC). Gameplay has got get more focused as well; I’m all for such an unusual mixture of enemies and cross-genre gameplay blends and inspirations, but it’s got to tie together somehow to make some sense and matter to the player. I don’t need a grand story, but I am hoping that the full game makes a lot more sense than this current offering which seems like someone brainstorming out loud, so to speak. All that to say, for $8, and with very limited new game+ options, you could do worse — but it might be just as well to wait until Bright Memory: Infinite launches in full next year.
Overall, Shadow Warrior 3 was fun to play through, but I’m glad it ended relatively quickly because the gameplay loop is very repetitive. Flying Wild Hog has some great ideas here, but the lazy arena battle design and some (not all) lackluster level design needed to be more robust and creative. As it plays now, the gameplay is just paper thin like an arcade game — and I love arcades games, but those are short by design because they don’t have enough substance and breadth to hold the player’s interest for very long. All that said, I still enjoyed playing through Shadow Warrior 3 mostly, though I won’t be coming back for seconds. With due caution, I recommend it to anyone that enjoys the franchise or likes a raw run and gun FPS experience, and especially if you can play it on PSNow or GamePass.
Tesla Force is one of the few rogue-lite games I have ever played, and I also rarely play twin stick shooters. I found the experience a little chaffing at times, in how I had to restart a chapter of random stages after dying, but there is a lot of satisfaction derived from unlocking better and better weapons, abilities, and perks and laying waste to the monsters. Best played with a friend or three, Tesla Force is pretty cool and reasonably priced for the experience it offers overall.
Keeping in mind the target audience and the price point, the Lego Movie 2 Videogame presents a game worth considering for fans of the movie, Lego, or casual, family-friendly play.