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American Truck Simulator, like the rest of the Truck Simulator series, is polished and entertaining. It's smaller than Euro Truck Simulator 2; it feels more like a foundation than a full game. No matter, the low price tag and addictive simulator gameplay make it a joy to go trucking through famous American cities like San Francisco and Las Vegas. American Truck Simulator is easy to recommend to series fans and newcomers alike, especially knowing that more content is on the way.
XCOM 2 checks many of the right boxes for a worthwhile sequel. The improved turn-based strategy gameplay and base management are the true highlights of the sequel. The game's random nature and urge for trying new strategies will keep players coming back. The game stumbles, however, at making the series accessible to a larger audience. The overwhelming difficulty is frustrating. That may be appreciated by series fans, but doesn't welcome newcomers.
While not quite as good as Tales From the Borderlands was, Minecraft: Story Mode Episode 1 is a pretty solid start to the series. The story is off to a pretty good start, the characters interact with each other nicely, and the voice acting is quite good as well. There aren't many puzzle interactions in the episode and the ones that are there are rather easy to solve, but hopefully that and the combat will improve in later episodes.
Once again, Zen nails the Star Wars look and feel with another set of tables. There are issues to be taken up with both, but overall they prove to be a lot of fun and great additions to the Star Wars Pinball line.
Fast and frantic, Not a Hero provides some serious satisfaction when things are running on all cylinders. There's nothing lack diving through windows and taking out bad guys, even if it is classic 8-bit sprites. The humor feels a bit forced at times, but the action wins out in providing a ton of fun.
Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroine's Infinite Duel is definitely an above average title. It's a shame that cutting corners in a few key places (like the online play menus, and the lack of a good combo training mode) really cheapens the experience. The wacky story is worthy of a playthrough, and the character roster is filled with some of the most unassuming combatants you've ever seen. Except Saber, she's a bad-ass.
A by-the-numbers tower defense game, Fortified is a campy fluff piece that will last you a few good, if a little mindless, hours. But you probably won't be driven to revisit it any time soon.
While the visual style of the cell-shaded tables took a little getting used to, the overall pinball experience proved to be fantastic. Fans of these shows will definitely enjoy seeing how Zen has adapted them to the pinball world, especially those who love Family Guy and Bob's Burgers.
Turok: Dinosaur Hunter is an intriguing walk down memory lane, and Night Dive Studios have done their usual good job of optimizing it for modern hardware. That said Turok hasn't aged very well at all, and there are some inherent flaws that keep the original from being as fun as the sequels.
Resident Evil 0 isn't a bad game. But compared to the original remake, it certainly is a step down. I can understand Capcom trying new things and increasing the tension, but it becomes tedious more than anything. Either way, it's still a good game and still worth playing if you have never played it before or want to replay it again after so many years.
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak tells one of the better science fiction narratives I've seen in a real-time strategy game. While the campaign is short, I enjoyed most of the Homeworld-inspired gameplay. Skirmish and multiplayer modes beef up the content, but the overall content-to-price ratio doesn't quite even out. Minor gripes aside, Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is one of the more compelling real-time strategy games I've played in some time.
A unique game full of familiar components, Dungeon of the Endless is as its best while you're still figuring it out, but continues to entertain many hours in.
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen is not only a great role-playing game, but also one of the best ports to PC I've seen in some time. From an unlocked frame rate to perfect performance, the game hits all the right marks. It also helps that the game itself is enthralling because of its many departures from genre norms by providing players with a true sense of danger around every corner. Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen truly feels at home on PC with its in-depth gameplay and beautiful world.
Tharsis, you hate me, but I like you. Your small and meticulous craftsmanship. Your board game sensibilities. Your dancefloor rhythms thumping out the soundtrack to my cyclical death. I couldn't stop myself from voyaging (and dying on the way) to Tharsis again and again.
The Old Hunter's is a great expansion for die hard fans of Bloodborne. It brings a good amount of fresh content to the game without doing anything to alter the formula. It's more of the same, which is a good thing. Just be prepared for the difficulty as it is as unrelenting as ever.
Minecraft Wii U Edition is a fun game, but I feel that the additional $10 over its other console counterparts isn't quite justified. Sadly the game pad isn't put to much more use other than just being another controller to use and I don't feel that additional textures and skins warrants another $10. It's still a fun game but if you already have another console version, this might be one to skip unless you have friends who also pick up this version.
Typoman is a challenging, if at times frustrating platformer with a great core concept. It relies too heavily on trial and error and the controls could be a bit tighter, but the puzzle design and stark, haunting aesthetic more than make up for any drawbacks.
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing: Final Cut is an outstanding action role-playing game. It sets itself apart. The significant amount of content, and the entertainment value, makes for a game that will eat away hours. With a near-endless supply of quests to complete, monsters to slay, and loot to collect, the adventure to Borgovia shouldn't be missed.
Fans who enjoyed the F-Zero series won't want to pass up FAST Racing Neo. While a bit more difficult than the classic Nintendo series, most of the core gameplay is very similar while adding a couple of new mechanics. While the multiplayer is a bit lackluster in customization, there's a lot of single player racing to challenge players for quite a while. Fans of fast-paced racers won't want to miss this one.
Xenoblade Chronicles X is a landmark achievement in RPGs unmatched in depth, scope and beauty. While it suffers from a few common RPG issues like grind and fetch-quests, the overall quality of the experience far exceeds anything in competitors like recent Final Fantasy or Elder Scrolls titles. If you have the courage, Xenoblade Chronicles X offers a quest hundreds of hours long and rich in unforgettable moments.