One Piece: Burning Blood does a good job of incorporating some strong story pieces from the Paramount War into what should be considered a fighting game and nothing more. The story does help alleviate the sense that fighting is as far as the gameplay takes you. Ultimately what you get with One Piece: Burning Blood is just a variety of different ways to fight against other characters in different fighting modes — nothing more, nothing less.
Overall, I think the intensity and value added in terms of power-ups, how the design of the game works (moving Pac-Man quickly, while making tough strategic decisions on the fly) makes Pac-Man 256 a fantastic experience, as well as a replayable one. Drop the dough on this one, folks. It’s worth the price of admission and then some.
OXENFREE is an amazing story that doesn't ask a lot of extra attention from its players other than listening and occasionally playing out some puzzles/problems/actions onscreen. It's one of the better stories that I've played in 2016 and I hope that Night School Studio does a follow-up to it sometime soon.
Infinite Monkeys has done a fantastic job with this small title. They have wrapped up the complicated and well thought through gameplay with humor and simplicity. They have certainly made a unique flower in the typically weed-driven world of puzzle games.
The Duelyst is a damn fun game that is deeper than it looks and quick tactical fun for those who enjoy this sort of game. Sure the main body of work is a card, tactical turn-based game that requires strategy and patience, but Counterplay Games makes it far better with additional offline options and rewards to back up the effort.
Catlateral Damage is a simple gaming experience that doesn’t offer up much variety outside of swiping items off shelves, but it does occasionally offer up some cute humor. Nothing really more or less than that, though.
Tom Clancy's The Division is almost everything that was advertised in 2013. While the visuals have certainly been pulled back a bit, probably because of hardware limitations, the gameplay has been delivered as promised.
Into the Stars is a fun adventure with a bit of everything (strategy, action, adventure). It would be just a bit better with improved UI, though. Regardless, it's certainly worth a look.
Pokken Tournament is a well crafted, yet simplistic fighting game. It won't compete against the Tekkens or Street Fighters of the fighting world, but it does enough to cater to the Pokémon crowd. If there was a bit more balance and a lot more characters, then this game would have been phenomenal. As it stands, it's still a good fighting game with lots of potential for growth.
Hitman's improved world, which includes smarter NPCs and versatile ways to complete goals, has brought the series onto a higher level of entertainment. Definitely worth a go.
This is a hardcore game. Honestly, if you're looking for a good challenge, then you've certainly come to the right place. The enemies are relentless, the environments are unforgiving and survival in multiple scenarios is the driving point of the title. We Are The Dwarves is not the best RTS game out there, but its difficulty is addictive enough to suck any good PC gamer in for more than a few hours.
Blade & Soul is a great MMORPG experience. It's big in scope, easy to pick up and play, and it's fun as hell. It's not perfect, but it has a solid formula to possibly achieve such a feat.
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 brings a lot of variety and fun to the gaming table. Multiplayer options and single player experiences aren't in short supply with this sequel. It isn't a perfect game, but there is enough stupid fun packed into it to make it worth your time.
NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja 4 sets new standards for the series. It excels in nearly every aspect, while merely stumbling here and there on minor issues.
Unravel is a unique piece of art in a gaming world filled with first-person shooters and epic AAA titles. It's not perfect, but it does a great job challenging one's brain, while delivering some visually stunning scenery to make you forget you're working hard to progress and push through. Certainly a must-have for 2016.
Awakening is worth the price of admission. Treyarch has always done well with creating a solid multiplayer experience through creative MP maps and Awakening just reaffirms that notion.
As a whole, LEGO Marvel's Avengers will entertain the young gamers in the household, while providing short spurts of entertainment to seasoned ones. Avengers may not be the best in the LEGO series, but it does fit firmly within the LEGO gaming family.
I like what Square Enix has done with Final Fantasy Explorers. It has some real potential to be great, but as it stands, it might fall short slightly with a more seasoned Final Fantasy adventurer.
Spelunker World relies a lot on gaming nostalgia to pull it through, while trying to mask the world of microtransactions. It works to an extent, but not completely. There is still too much simple, not enough modern and far too much room for frustration from failure. It's not a horrible game by any means, but it is limited in its capacity for fun in long stints.
At the end of the day Star Wars: Battlefront has some great positives, but also some clear negatives about it. The game takes current generation consoles to a new level with visuals, even setting some graphical benchmarks for online play, but it drags it down in sustainable substance that is required to keep a game going beyond a two month mark of the release. It needs a bit more to make it worth the price of admission, but there is enough there to keep a gamer entertained during the holidays, or at least until the free DLC arrives in December.