Adam Beck's Reviews
If you're still playing Dead or Alive 5 after three years on the market and have the desire to continue on a new set of consoles, then the price of admission shouldn't mean much to you. Even then, it's difficult to recommend only because of how little Team Ninja has added to the overall experience.
It's always scary to try new things, but what Capcom has done with Penal Colony helps relieve some of the concern fans may have had going in. While it's not the most innovative Resident Evil to hit the market, the new episodic format is a breath of fresh air, especially with Capcom following through with the weekly schedule.
Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires has all the entertaining, albeit repetitive combat the series is known for, but lacks the features to back it up. While this is par for the course for an Empires game, it's still hard to recommend as little has changed over Dynasty Warriors 7: Empires outside of some insignificant updates to the highly strategic politics that go on outside of battle.
There are certain elements to Contemplation that have been improved from the first episode, namely the more open environments and the new enemy types, but there are still apparent flaws to the story and combat scenarios. Claire's campaign once again trails behind Barry's, including a more direct conflict structure with no real puzzle solving elements to be found.
Resident Evil Revelations 2: Judgment is, at least thus far, the best episode Capcom has offered. While Barry's campaign starts off a little mundane, breaking Natalia off to do tedious button mashing tasks, the rest of the episode makes up for it.
Most of what made DmC Devil May Cry so enjoyable has been altered; some of it for the better, some for the worse. While the fluid and highly enjoyable combat remain intact, the restructuring of collectibles and scenarios such as the final boss tarnish the experience.
Final Fantasy Type-0 HD contains highly enjoyable combat that's unfortunately limited by its design. The repetitive nature of how the missions are structured damages the overall experience, not to mention it isn't until roughly halfway through the campaign before a meaningful plot is established.
Despite the lopsided breakup between the two campaigns, the conclusion of Revelations 2 will leave players satisfied with the hope of more bite-sized spin-offs in the series' future.
Resident Evil Revelations 2 is an absolute surprise. While the first game was arguably the best spinoff the series has seen, Revelations 2 steps it up by offering a perfectly suited episodic format.
Rockstar continues to improve upon one of the greatest games of all time, not to mention getting over the hump that haunted them for the past seven years.
Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition is a good game wrapped in a great remastered package. Capcom could have just slapped together something with a higher resolution and called it an HD remaster like many are doing, but they elected to actually build upon their seven year old game by adding meaningful content.
We couldn't have asked for anything better than Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward. It comes packed with a staggering amount of content that will leave players overwhelmed in both quantity and quality. It contains a storyline that's highly entertaining and rivals most RPGs in length, three new jobs that are more than welcome additions and flying mounts that help revolutionize traversal in Eorzea.
Prototype Biohazard Bundle is a questionable release. While it's an acceptable port to the current generation platforms, the Prototype duo don't hold up well in the current environment.
Onechanbara Z2: Chaos is one of the better entries in the eleven year old series, but that's not saying much. There's a decent level of character customization, relatively fluid swordplay and a ton of fan service to be found.
It feels good to finally get back into Gears of War. People Can Fly experimented with Judgment, but it ultimately didn't work as well as it could with the series formula.
Spotty performance, a terribly boring aesthetic and a messy, cobbled together combat system amounts to something that had potential, but was beaten over the head with a cricket bat.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is the epitome of stealth action. It contains not only some of the best combat mechanics available, but everything you could have wanted from a Metal Gear Solid game. Plus Kiefer Sutherland.
Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance is a step in the right direction for the series, adding various new mechanics that help streamline the experience. Having the ability to move freely after an initial action is something the series desperately needed, as accidentally placing characters in the wrong location has been a common frustration.
It might be best to put ol' Tony Hawk's Pro Skater out to pasture. It's best to remember what it was, rather than dwell on what it has become.
Halo 5: Guardians is a fine tuned machine. It has a robust and highly addictive competitive multiplayer component, a large variety of aesthetically pleasing customizations and some of the tightest controls to ever grace a Halo title. Unfortunately, the campaign leaves much to be desired. ... If you go into Halo 5: Guardians with the intent of primarily playing multiplayer, then this won't disappoint.