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Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark tries to coast on the goodwill established by the previous two games, but mishandles their gameplay concepts with a badly rushed execution. Boring level design, an awful framerate and a confusing story make this game a slog from start to finish.
Despite being a puzzle game with a very simple (albeit ingenious) gimmick, The Swapper manages to subvert expectations and tell one of the best science fiction stories of the year. Between its unique presentation and constantly evolving puzzles, this is one game I'll be talking about for some time to come. The Swapper is a masterpiece of design.
Overall, The Wolf Among Us has been an amazing experience. While the gameplay and layout are nearly identical to The Walking Dead; the tone, story, and artwork take The Wolf Among Us out of its predecessor's shadow and give it a permanent place at its side as a prime example of expert storytelling in gaming- with the side effect of the two games being cursed to forever being mentioned in tandem. I know I already said this up top, but if you haven't already started playing The Wolf Among Us (or The Walking Dead for that matter) you need to get on it ASAP.
Simple does not always equate with easy. War, the Game has stripped away the deep complexity typical of the real-time strategy game and left the player with a simple-to-learn, hard-to-master global dominance game that allows the armchair general to concentrate far more on the actual strategic planning and implementation of battle than on the logistics that support them.
At only two hours in length, Entwined could have been a short but sweet action rhythm game, but a number of small issues add up to big problems.
MouseCraft is a fun game, but the difficulty seems to skew a bit on the easy side with the ability to pause mid-level and undo any action. Still, unlocking new obstacles every few stages keeps things fresh, and going for perfect levels will force you to stop and think about how to do things--as opposed to just laying a few blocks and calling it a day. Give Mousecraft a shot.
Blue Estate is a light gun game that doesn't use a light gun. Grab your DualShock 4, because this on-rails shooter uses gyroscope technology to take players through eight exciting stages. Too bad the jokes are awful and the gameplay isn't as accurate as needed, because Blue Estate does a great job of staging action.
1001 Spikes joins a growing list of retro-themed games made for modern consoles. This PSN release (also available on every other system you own) will test your resolve through a series of increasingly sadistic stages. With deadly obstacles at every step, this is one game that never lets up. But fans of this type of punishment will enjoy the clever level designs and rage-inducing traps. Good luck.
Wolfenstein: The New Order surprised me. I didn't expect to like it much, but I found the action fun and the visuals impressive. Performance issues still arise on the PC. Some of those issues, which stem from the id Tech 5 engine, should've been taken care of by now since they were present when Rage first came out in 2011. Overall, a solid action shooter by MachineGames.
EA Sports UFC is absolutely amazing to see in motion. It is a lot of fun to play, too, assuming you have some friends along for the ride. Now, if the new development team can flesh out the experience with the additional modes and content fans loved in the previous release under THQ, EA could have another blockbuster sports franchise on their hands.
Transistor is one of my favorite games of the past year, easy. Without being weird and unrecognizable as a video game, Transistor turns many video game tropes on their heads—subtley. It also features an excellently written and likable narrator, a fully realized and meaningfully motivated female protagonist, a twist on the tired old tech tree of yore, a soundtrack that's integral to the storytelling fabric of the game, and a complex enemy composed of cowards, contemporaries, and anything-but-bloodthirsty rivals. There's not a note, pixel, or line of dialog out of place.
Whether you want to just jump right into a game or season, or want to create a league from scratch, Out of the Park '15 has the ability to do it and once again raises the bar for baseball management simulators. While the 3D effects to need some work, there's no doubt that this is an awesome simulator for those who want to customize any and every aspect of the game.
While obviously being influenced by games like Limbo, Monochroma has a flavor and story all its own. Monochroma is a good game at heart, but it's hidden under technical errors and gameplay flaws that gave me no end of frustration. If you're on the fence about buying this game, you should play the Demo they released with their Kickstarter project to see what you think. But at the very least, you should definitely check out the OST by Gevende.
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II is not just a Diablo clone. It's incredibly fun and offers a wide variety of unique aspects of the game to have it stand out on its own. If you didn't play the first game, you may be a little confused in terms of the story, but it's an incredibly fun game.
Bound By Flame was almost made to be divisive. If you love gameplay above all else, then this will be an enjoyable experience for you. But if you're more of a story-driven gamer, then it would be wise to steer clear of this particular title.
Tomodachi Life isn't for everyone, but it's still a fun game that can also be enjoyed in short bursts when pressed for time. While the main goal of the game is to basically keep your residents happy, it's a slight disappointment that you can't control their actions directly. I feel bad for a Mii who was shot down after asking for a relationship as I can't do a whole lot for them, but there's still enough to do in the game to keep things interesting.
Pushmo Worlds makes a solid if subtle landing on the WiiU platform, and offers a ton of fun in a small little package.
Well worth the time of any Tex Murphy fan. Even those that know nothing about the history of the protagonist will find something to like.
While it is amazing that all of this content has been squeezed down to a portable version on the Vita, it has lost a lot of its luster in the transition. There is still a ton of fun to be had here, but this is far from what has come to be expected from a Borderlands experience and nothing near the quality on either the consoles or the PC.
Daylight deserves credit for trying to spice up the first person horror genre, but its problems keep it from becoming anything more than an interesting experiment.