Joey Thurmond's Reviews
The game's inspirations are obvious, and in terms of its safe puzzles and platforming, they don't offer much that's new or memorable. However, the opposite is true for the cleverly conveyed story, magnificent Mediterranean setting, and a strong score that will pull you into a whimsical, emotional journey in RiME that's well worth your time.
Absolver's fighting system and weird blend of ideas make it a genre-defying gut punch of innovation. You'll be in amazement with how much you can customize the fluid combat, but its complexity and intentional design to be constantly altered might be off-putting for some. The same goes for those looking for more to do besides competitive play in an open world begging to be absolved of limited scope and content.
There's a sincerity evident in Ether One's DNA that really shows the developer's passion and skill. With an attention-grabbing story premise, clever puzzles, and gorgeous music, this game seeks to tackle mental illness in a profound way. While cracks show in the sound effects, technical issues, and convoluted aspects to the narrative and puzzle solving, there's a charm and respect that you cannot help but feel for the game, which will be sure to remain in the canals of your memory banks for some time.
While we think that anyone who enjoyed Shadow of Mordor should submit to the Bright Lord's rule and purchase this DLC for the slight gameplay variations and advanced difficulty, those who aren't really drawn in by it might consider passing it up due to the low replay value and less than stellar storyline. Either way, it's more Shadow of Mordor with some slight twists, and that's still as good a reason as any to go there and back again with one of 2014's most triumphant titles.
Don't Starve may make your stomach rumble in frustration if you're not willing to invest the required time to master its complex systems, but triumph over its crushing difficulty, and you may find a satisfactory dish here. The beautiful art style, entertaining music, and solid gameplay mean that you owe it to yourself to at least give the title a try – but know that not everyone will want to stick around for seconds.
Broforce is everything awesome about action films amplified to a satirical degree that will leave you grinning non-stop. The tight run and gun gameplay never outstays its welcome with a steady stream of fresh bros, locales, and challenges. Fine-tuned visuals and audio serve to make its patriotic bent all the more entertaining, and even though performance issues knock the game down a peg for now, there's not much else that keeps this guilty pleasure of a game from resounding triumphantly like fireworks on the Fourth of July.
Despite everything that Dishonored still does right, the Definitive Edition is a lacklustre port. The 'improved' graphics can hardly be called remastered, and the lack of a better frame rate is very disappointing. As such, we wouldn't recommend this to those who've played it before.
In Too Deep is a stepping stone to introduce Michonne that detrimentally plays it safe. There aren't any advances in Telltale's formula or notable sequences that we haven't seen in other forms before, but the miniseries can be a cut above its predecessors if it takes advantage of the brutality and moral centre of the protagonist by embroiling her in more memorable confrontations with both the infected and the living.
Some titles have the fortune of making their mark with a refreshing concept in spite of multiple problems, and Typoman: Revised is one such example. Its puzzles can be aimless and time-consuming. A lack of length and platforming quibbles are notable issues to point out, too, but its equally clever concept and atmosphere are worth a read despite some obvious misspellings along the way.
Jotun: Valhalla Edition is an epic to experience, but more for its memorable destinations than the journeys to get to them. The gorgeous sceneries and animation combined with the amazing, authentic audio make its bosses something that should be hoarded like Fafnir's gold. Even though the gaps between bosses leave more to be desired with disappointing exploration, Thora's tale is one that manages to enter Valhalla's gates with an adequate amount of flying colors.
The patient, cunning mindset Aragami puts you in with its strictly stealth gameplay is something we long for with more titles. With simple yet smart level design and mechanics, it proves to be a focused title with heart and soul that has learned much from its old masters. But the game does lack polish in its performance and appearance, and the AI can be irritating at times. Fortunately, the release's story, visuals, and sound design ultimately help lift it out of the darkness.
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is a strong but unnecessarily pricey collection for die-hard fans, especially for those who don't intend to play Dream Drop Distance. For those who do, it most certainly is a wonderful game that has undergone an admirable transition between platforms. With a fair film and enticing episode in tow, there's only so much more our hearts can bear in anticipating Kingdom Hearts III.
The Evil Within 2 has fine-tuned its solid mechanical base and visuals, and even crafted some big improvements to areas such as exploration and character direction. Yet it lacks creativity and diversity with its level design and bosses. The game may be more presentable and refined than its predecessor, but it's also lost some substance in the process.
Touching base with your origins is necessary to not lose touch with your audience, and that's exactly what Call of Duty: WWII does without simply regressing. It gets to the core of its key modes and seizes on their intrinsic appeal with some neat, little twists thrown in. However, its campaign and zombies modes (while solid) feel unusually safe, whereas the multiplayer suffers from lacklustre map design and technical issues. You could say this Call of Duty is a sign of hopeful action to ground the series once more, but doesn't go beyond its iconic namesake to deliver something truly special.
While lacking in content and having some spotty controls, Sparc scintillates with a simple yet exhilarating sport that feels at home in virtual reality.
Final Fantasy XV is a last-ditch effort to keep one of the world's longest video game franchises chugging along. You can smell the fumes and hear troubling sounds with its bumpy story and out-of-place objectives on the road. The open world and gameplay also pose challenges to keeping you in for the ride, but after being behind the wheel for some time, there's something nostalgic and one-of-a-kind about this game that can't be shaken. It doesn't necessarily do anything new or different, but the manners in which it forges its own blend of ideas makes for novelties that gain your appreciation and surprise. Unexpectedly engrossing quests and combat scenarios, meticulous animation, grand characters, and a messy yet fascinating lore are some of those things. Notwithstanding rough patches, there's enough here to keep your interest fueled until you run on empty.
I want this franchise to excel, but just as the first game struggled to get off the ground, Catalyst struggles to soar as well. The core gameplay and artistic direction have vastly improved for this entry, and while it explores new territory with an open world and a grander narrative that act as solid foundations, they're squandered since little is built atop them to make this game tower above its peers. Despite these letdowns, DICE now has an even better framework to construct a phenomenal sequel, and I earnestly hope it will seize and run after this opportunity. I have faith in Faith's future, but her time to shine hasn't been struck just yet.
The game does boast high production values with its show and captivating graphical effects, which are aided by a thoughtful story that tackles time travel with a logical, thematic bend. However, most of this obscures half of the boring characters and the show's focus on mostly uninteresting side characters. The audio may be great all around, but the fascinating visuals and gameplay are marred by unfortunate limitations, respectively from a technical and imaginative standpoint.
This is The Order: 1886's downfall. It's so caught up in its orderly appearances that it fails to impress where it truly matters with gameplay and story, which is where the cracks start to show with its internal disorder.
As a whole, We Are Doomed doesn't quite meet its asking price. While what's here can be compelling for a short while, it quickly loses appeal. However, it's certainly not doomed, as it's a solid arcade shooter with a gorgeous – if occasionally distracting – art style and fitting music. Take it all in slowly, then, and you may be able to appreciate it like a fireworks display that you're in control of.