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Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is a competent, if linear and somewhat unbalanced, action adventure. You can tell that the game studio was made up of true fans who poured their love for the show into this game. But the scope and grandeur of the Samurai Jack IP are sadly limited by this game's low-budget restrictions. It's fun for what it is, but it left me hungry for more.
With some unexpectedly complex and challenging controls, Star Wars: Squadrons is not the sort of game that you jump into and play casually. Squadrons is a surprisingly deep flight sim-style space battler that benefits from all of the sights and sounds of the Star Wars universe. While fun played on TVs, Squadrons really comes to life in VR, despite some resolution issues. This is simply the best Star Wars space battle game ever produced, and is a dream come true for fans.
Good game design is good game design, regardless of age or platform. Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 + 2 takes the levels from the amazing original PS1 titles, and blows out the scope in every direction. Adding a ton of modernizing touches without ever losing sight of what makes these games great, THPS 1+2 is a riotous success. Lock in for some extended play sessions, and get your blister band-aids ready because this game is additive beyond belief.
Serious Sam 4 feels like a game that suffered through development hell. The core gameplay is still tight and satisfying. There are some innovative new ideas that expand on the series' longstanding formula. But there are a lot of elements that just don't fit, feel half-finished, or just distract from the best aspects of the game. I really hope the fans and Croteam can have an ongoing discussion about Serious Sam 4 and bring it up to a higher standard that everyone is happy with.
PGA Tour 2K21 scratches the itch for the hardcore golf fans out there, but casual players are going to find a game that is lacking deeper options even though the game itself is beautiful. It's a good entry that hopefully is built upon in the future.
Demolish and Build is enjoyable once you get a ways into it, but the early going can get pretty repetitive once you've gutted your second saloon and third gas station. Overall, though, it has a bit of a charm to it as you try to improve your company's rank and expand your business.
Apart from the humor, the well done mechanics, the unique presentation, the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh-water system, and public health, what have Here Be Dragons or the Romans ever done for us? My only real criticism is that while there is little to fault on that first go, the game does struggle to offer real replayability. It's an excellent strategy game. So play it once through for that good trip and let that be enough.
The AWE expansion is a fantastic addition to the Control base game. Everything about it is just that shade better than the original content. It delivers a horror experience that is a step above, a new weapon that offers something really unique, and a final showdown that is bigger and badder than anything you've done in this game yet. It's a few more hours of a good game, that this time around takes a slight step forward to be even better.
A great campaign is pretty much the only thing that saves Marvel's Avengers from complete mediocrity.
EA UFC 4 takes a few steps forward with the changes in the fighting game but takes some back as well with the career mode which was bait and switched once again and barely has any significant upgrades.
A beautiful experience. Even with the long load times and, overall, feeling that this game is catered to hardcore players, there's no getting around just how gorgeous and fun it truly is.
More enticing systemically than it is narratively, Windbound nevertheless succeeds as a sojourner's adventure of striving for survival and greater understanding.
Mortal Shell embraces the Souls-like moniker with open arms. They welcomed comparisons, and, for the most part, delivered. What's more impressive is that a team of only 15 people created it. Mortal Shell will make you to rethink your ideas around patience and frustration. You will love this game for all the same reasons that you hate it.
The gameplay of Faeria is top notch, adding a whole new layer of depth to the Collectible Card Game genre in bringing the map itself in as a critical piece of the strategy.
Inmost delivers a variety of gameplay styles, delivering three thoughtfully discordant narratives that tie together with a gut punch at the end. Beautifully constructed pixel-art graphics set a surprisingly somber tone, and the music is top notch at setting the horrific yet contemplative mood. Recommended.
Without much reward for playing single player-and an obtuse and difficult to navigate multiplayer system-Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition simply creates too many barriers to entry for the player to overcome. While the simple gameplay could be fun with an easier interface, the complicated multiplayer will likely only be enjoyed by the most hardcore of fans. Not an outright bad game, but certainly a difficult game to play.
Windbound is a delight. With a few UX issues and a bit of repetition holding it back from all-time-great status, this game is still a wonder to explore and discover. The sailing is fantastic, the island exploration is intriguing, and the sting of dying isn't so bad that it should scare away roguelike-haters. The world of Windbound is so well made that you may want to dip into it just to hang out for a while. Fun, exciting, and rewarding.
It's been over 20 years since the last Battletoads game-and it was worth the wait. Battletoads is an enjoyable game that brings back the fun beat-em-up aspects of the originals, as well as humorous cutscenes, and minigame stages that show just what happens after the Toads realize their glory days are over.
Despite a few rare difficult moments with finicky controls and timed puzzles, Helheim Hassle is well worth a look. The humor is lively, surprising, and wickedly funny, while never feeling mean. The majority of the puzzles are engaging and fun. Helheim Hassle is a good-natured good time.
Metamorphosis is a solidly made puzzle-platformer with a few adventure mechanics on the side for good measure. Taking a literary classic that some consider to be interminable and creating a lively and amusing game world from it, the devs at Ovid Works have create a deeply creative work that delivers a satisfyingly original experience.