John-Paul Jones's Reviews
Full of emotional highs that will make you get out of your chair and cheer at the screen in a way that few games have managed to achieve in recent memory, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 represents Insomniac Games operating at the apex of its considerable powers. Spectacular and amazing, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is a superior, spectacle stuffed action adventure that provides players with the ultimate superhero fantasy. Full of surprising heart and delicate moments that balance beautifully with the sort of blockbuster superhero bombast that its developer has refined to a fine art, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is a toweringly polished, unparalleled masterwork that redefines the superhero video game genre at large and is better than the previous two games in every way imaginable. This is exactly what you've been waiting for.
Though Lil Gator Game isn't especially long, it leaves an indelible mark on you, like a high-five with a loved one that leaves your hand with a pleasant soreness to remind you of the fact. Lil Gator is restorative in a way that many games just aren't - it slowly strips away your layers of resistance until you fall in love with its straightforward, though greatly satisfying adventure platform beats. Lil Gator Game is unreservedly pure, distilled happiness and innocence all in one glorious concoction and couldn't we all do with a bit more of that these days?
Project Wingman: Frontier 59 will certainly slake your thirst for something Ace Combat flavoured, that much is for sure. Developer Sector D2 has absolutely nailed the fundamentals of that formula and has crafted an engaging dogfighting effort as a result. Though it lacks the sheen of its more famous counterpart, Project Wingman: Frontier 59 nonetheless arguably offers more over the longer term, thanks to its neat Conquest mode and limited, though still impressive, implementation of Sony's PlayStation VR2 technology.
Despite being a port of a nearly four year old release, Paper Beast remains a roundly effective showcase for the capabilities of PSVR 2. A ponderous flight of fancy into an alien world filled with exotic flora and fauna, Paper Beast Enhanced Edition invites players to play a key role in the development of its engaging ecosystem, all the while taking them on a stirring adventure through a realm that will remain long in the memory. If you previously owned a PlayStation VR and didn't buy Paper Beast, now is the time to correct that mistake.
While the relatively laid-back and plodding pace likely won't be for everybody, it's fair to say that Bilkins' Folly represents an almost perfect storm of engaging characters, gorgeously framed visuals and refreshingly non-combat focused adventuring that gamers of any age can fully enjoy.
I never wanted Trepang2 to end and that was the problem - it ended much, much too quickly for my tastes. While it lasted through, Trepang2 was a glossy, flying-kicking, baseball-sliding, slow-motion neck snapping first-person shooter extravaganza that provided me with some of the most satisfying shooting I've seen all year. More of this, please.
An unapologetically old-school shooter that has been brought kicking and screaming into 2023, courtesy of those remaster wizards over at Nightdive Studios, Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition is certainly one for experienced genre fans. This is in no small part thanks to its well-designed, FPS assault course style levels which will challenge even the most itchy of trigger fingers. However, despite the stellar work by porting studio Nightdive Studios, Rise of the Triad's aging tech often ends up betraying itself, often resulting in frustration, while a less than comprehensive feature set makes the PS4 version feel incomplete when compared to its more fully-featured PC counterpart.
Much like the Eldritch horrors that are chronicled in the works of H.P. Lovecraft, Forgive Me Father has seemingly manifested from nowhere. An inventive and hyper violent shooter laced with survival horror and ARPG style progression elements, Forgive Me Father might be less refined than I would like, but all the same I cannot deny just how well the central concept of blowing Lovecraftian horrors apart has been wrought here.
The Expanse: A Telltale Series is a hugely enjoyable analogue to both the beloved television show and series of books that it is based on, and one that shows that Telltale Games is still very much capable of putting out involving, episodic stories with a cast of characters that are effortlessly engaging. With Cara Gee's thoroughly excellent performance as Camina Drummer anchoring the whole package, only an emaciated final episode and divisive plodding pace tarnish this otherwise triumphant return to form for Telltale Games.
There's no denying that MythForce absolutely laser targets old crusties like me that used to sit cross-legged in front of a boxy CRT, with cereal pouring down my face as I sat agape at the Saturday morning heroics that were playing out in front of me. Peer beneath its attractive audiovisual presentation however and though a satisfyingly enjoyable roguelite soon reveals itself, it's also one rife with flaws which hint at an offering that has a wealth of presently unrealised potential.
Crossfire: Sierra Squad isn't Call of Duty VR and neither is it an ultra-realistic, tactical shooter in the vein of Pavlov VR. What it is however, is an eminently enjoyable appreciably straightforward arcade FPS that fees great to play, respects your time and has bucket loads of progression and replay values for folks looking to get stuck in over the long term. Crossfire: Sierra Squad is quite the pleasant surprise to say the least and sets down a compelling blueprint for other arcade style FPS offerings on PSVR 2 to follow in the future.
As arguably the biggest, full-fat PSVR 2 first-party release since Horizon: Call of the Mountain, it's clear that Firewall Ultra doesn't quite match the deservedly lofty expectations that have been set for it. This is thanks in no small part to a modest amount of content and a progression system that is currently grind-heavy to say the least. However, it's also clear that this is a gorgeously realised tactical shooter that approaches excellence when everything falls into place with your fellow human players - it's just that, as of right now, such occasions are more fleeting than I would like thanks to so much for Firewall Ultra's promise being locked behind promised future updates that have yet to arrive.
Agatha Christie - Hercule Poirot: The London Case is an enjoyable, if unambitious detective yarn. Though its simplicity might fail to stimulate the tactile minds of more practiced video game sleuths, the resolutely relaxed and accessible detective beats on offer mean that newcomers will find few better introductions to the genre and should probably feel free to add a point to the review score below in the process.
In the end, though Dust & Neon nails the fundamentals of a twin-stick, looter shooter it feels far too limited, familiar and simply isn't ambitious enough to stand out from its genre peers. Though still reliably satisfying to play at times, Dust & Neon just doesn't offer anything new.
Honestly, it feels churlish to chide Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew for being too similar to Mimimi Games previous output, not least because this enormously talented studio has a track record of kicking out superb stealth strategy offerings and has once again fashioned a relentlessly engaging tactical stealth effort that is absolutely at the apex of the genre. With Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew however, I'm not sure the concept has ever been executed with this degree of charm and that's something Mimimi Games should be roundly congratulated for.
Gord is an impressive marriage of base building, adventuring and storytelling across a ruined world fraught with horrors from Slavic folklore. Though it's more than a little rough around the edges, such issues aren't enough to considerably tarnish the uniqueness of what developer Covenant.net has wrought here.
If you're looking for an action RPG with a sophisticated martial arts slant that unfolds in a fantastical alien world with a driving central narrative that invests you in the key protagonists with ease, then Clash: Artifacts of Chaos is absolutely deserving of your attention.
It speaks to the level of ambition on display here - not to mention a tolerance for risk - that Everspace 2 essentially jettisons the roguelike mechanics of the first game in favour of a much more open and looter focused shooter and is all the better for it. A superior sequel in every way, Everspace 2 delivers on the premise hinted at in its predecessor with aplomb, even if the story campaign that anchors its super looter shooter beats seems to be little more than window dressing for the other impeccable aspects of its design.
The most interesting part of Double Dragon Gaiden's legacy is that it arguably shows there is a whole lot of untapped creative latitude when it comes to freshening up traditional concepts and mechanics. Most commendably of all, late game difficulty spikes notwithstanding, Double Dragon Gaiden manages that rarest of feats by fashioning an irresistibly engaging genre effort that cribs both from the old and the new to give wannabe brawlers one of the best genre entries since Streets of Rage 4 punched its way into our hearts.
Though its credentials as an RPG are both thin and largely uninspiring, Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes - Definitive Edition nonetheless comfortably cements itself as an engaging puzzler with an enticing progression hook. Don't let its humble Nintendo DS origins fool you, Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes - Definitive Edition is a whole heap of fun and is immensely respectful of your time.