Ultra Street Fighter II - The Final Challengers packs the punch of the 1991 original arcade release, and the inclusion of two new modes and all the SFII characters helps make the experience unique, but the price doesn't justify the package. There's just not enough here worth the asking price for the release.
Super Bomberman R falls short as a complete package. The single-player, while reaching for something a bit different with level design (and it achieves it), falls short with uninteresting bosses and slow enemies. The online play of the game is only good on a local level, while the actual online gaming experience is hindered by the lack of players and atrocious delay. Until Konami gets these things addressed, I can only say look backwards to the Turbografx or Saturn for the best Bomberman experience, as you simply won't find it here.
As it stands, Episode 2: Brave New World is far and away the best of the two episodes so far and has already made this game something special. Deck Nine did an absolutely fantastic job of creating a beautiful story and wonderfully tragic characters to make this type of dialogue-driven game a force to be reckoned with, especially when compared to the first game. It will certainly leave you hanging at the edge of your seat without apologizing for the drama and stress it creates.
South Park: The Fractured But Whole is still a spectacular experience
David O’Reilly’s Everything is quite the experience and journey to undertake. It’s simple, yet deep. It asks you to think about ‘just being’, but encourages you to explore the thoughts and emotions of other beings in the game. It’s a lightly addictive game that will have you staring at your television for hours and leave you wanting to keep the experience alive for no particular reason other than to keep going, which could be a metaphor for any living creature struggling to know the how and why they exist.
Dishonored 2 is a complex game with a simplistic first-person action wrapper. It offers up a variety of different gameplay options to run through the game with, while presenting a bigger world for you to stretch those options out in. It’s a great follow-up to the first game and certainly improves on its ideals.
Assassin’s Creed Ezio Collection is a great release. Having the ability to play arguably three of the best games in the Assassin’s Creed universe on a current generation console is brilliant, although don’t expect much of a significant impact in terms of upgrades for gameplay or visuals. Improved upon? Yes. Reinvented and completely remastered? Not really. Still worth the money, though.
Shu is a simple, pretty game that presents a tough challenge for even the most seasoned gamers. Its design is built for running and thinking on the fly, while at the same time asking the gamers to keep an active eye out for some collectible goodies. It’s definitely more than it seems on the surface.
Darksiders Warmastered Edition is a fantastic game that maintains all of what made it great in 2010. Its visual upgrades and smoother gameplay experience makes for a fun time at a very reasonable asking price. Maybe this will prompt a sequel? One could only hope. Until then, enjoy the hell out of this one.
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 nailed it in 2011 with great gameplay and all of it still stays relevant and fun five years removed. I wish more fighting games took heavy notes from this title and started to craft their own experience after it because this is how you make a fighting game.
The good folks at NetherRealm Studios made this fighting game much more than it should have been. They have essentially created an enjoyable balance between story, multiplayer and online experiences. The story mode is incredibly immersive, the multiplayer is teeming with a richer gameplay experience, including multiverse, which mixes familiar comic storylines with the fighting gameplay core, and the online modes are just as good as you want them to be. Nothing seems like a filler. If they could get rid of the microtransaction for Darkseid, then it will be a complete circle of near perfection. Until then, it's a great game.
It's better adventure than the first and hopefully they make more of these action platformers. Knack certainly deserves it after this release.
Frozen Wilds fits perfectly within the original content from Horizon Zero Dawn. The new weapons make for a better, more motivating experience. On top of this, the story expands upon the mythology that the original HZD built, making it a bigger world with more worthwhile content to live within. It's quite remarkable how well Guerrilla built this game and how perfectly the DLC fits within it.
WWE 2K19 is a solid step up from last year's title. It offers a bit more in terms of content, and a deeper MyPlayer mode. I still wish they would ease up on the control scheme complication a bit, maybe shifting back to an easier control scheme that focuses on fun, rather than trying to make the wrestling experience a challenge. Wrestling is a fun sport to watch, so controlling it should be equally as fun. Definitely a solid release overall, though, so you won't be disappointed.
EA Sports UFC 4 shows that the quality of a sports game is far more important than the amount of quantity in it. UFC 4 improves and adds areas that needed work. It brings in new systems and tighter control designs to make the experience for more entertaining than previous years. This is the best of the best in the UFC series right now, and there is still good room to grow it.
Nioh 2 is a balanced and beautiful game. It will certainly frustrate you to the point where you will want to walk away, but that first victory over a big bad demon will ignite a thirst in you to continue your difficult journey through ancient Japan. This game is not for the weak of heart, but most know that going into it.
In the end, Heavy Fire: Red Shadow definitely harkens back to a time period where point/shoot had a different meaning in an arcade experience than it does now. The game maintains a nostalgic design, which certainly makes sense for the experience, but the experience's longevity will be questioned depending on player expectations. This goes back to what you understand about a game's intentions. If you know going into it that you're going to get an arcade shooter, then you may not be disappointed. If you're expecting a deeper experience than just point/shoot, then you may not find it here.
Knowledge is Power: Decades is a fun trivia game that, like its predecessor, wasn't meant to be a longterm experience. It serves its purpose, brings some fun trivia (sometimes difficult trivia) to the forefront, and delivers a bit more variety when it comes to special moves in the game. It doesn't try to change things too much from what made it work the first time around, so don't expect something drastically different.
It’s the entire package on the PC, and should give something a bit different to those playing that Minecraft thing.
Fe is a wonderful experience that asks you to think a bit, while also entertaining you with a silent story and majestic moments that are Journey-esque. The gameplay for Fe is well designed, fits the bill for what is going on and does its best to make sure you're entertained and challenged.