DarkZero's Reviews
It's a great reboot/re-release. Maybe one of the best, but with a new story that doesn't focus on our heroes and the solidifying of their bond as partners I'm sure that newcomers to the series will only be staying for the fantastic gameplay, but quickly forgetting about the franchise once they put it down.
Tadpole Treble is a great example of how to blend art with gameplay; each enhances the other and elevates the game to something beyond just a fun distraction. If you love music, (and who doesn’t?) you would be doing yourself a great disservice by not checking this game out.
Quibbles aside, Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse is still a breath of fresh air for the buried concept of sprite-based 2D platformers.
It bums me out that Zheros isn't a better game. It begins with such a promising start with its beautiful visuals and art, but trips up where it matters with scrolling beat 'em ups – the gameplay. There isn't enough variety in its level design and themed environments, the difference between characters isn't enough and awkwardly implemented traps cause frustration.
The game’s dramatic victories and crushing defeats genuinely feel like your own – and it’s all wrapped up in an excellent portrayal of one of the most enduring and well-developed settings in science fiction. The lore is pompous, the weapons are deadly and the ships look like floating cathedrals from a Hieronymus Bosch nightmare. It’s Battlefleet: Gothic!
I have nothing but praise for Codemasters' return to the muddy motorsport of rally. This might be barebones when it comes to its presentation, but with the loudness stripped away, what is here, and what matters, is the amazing execution of its gameplay. Dirt Rally is a visceral monster of a rally game, bringing an additive and unforgiving driving model that makes it all so more rewarding when a stage goes right.
All in all The Bug Butcher is a distinct pleasure I keep finding myself going back to. It's got that great arcade feel and frantic pace you look for in a title like this, and is so deftly executed it could delight the most stridently anti-nostalgia gamer. But when you get right down to it, The Bug Catcher just makes it so darn fun to wipe out wave after wave of those gross bastard bugs, and that's really all I need to keep me happy for a good hour or two at a time.
Given the problems with the previous episodes, I would class the whole game as a solid 8, though this episode in particular was an excellent, climactic and, above all, affecting foray into the mind of Michonne.
Inconsistencies aside, this is undoubtedly the definitive version of Final Fantasy IX, which to this day earns the distinction of being a truly classic Final Fantasy experience.
It sounds like I am being hard on Return to PopoloCrois, but that is because I am a little disappointed with Return to PopoloCrois and how it doesn’t blend the two things I enjoy (RPGs and Harvest Moon) in a way that sets a good example for both properties involved.
Airscape: The Fall of gravity is an action platformer that delivers on all that it promises. The gravity defying physics, inventive level design, and variety of charming characters all come together to make an extremely enjoyable gaming experience. Even though some may find the game's difficulty to be daunting, it never feels like the game is being sadistically hard. Anyone who's a fan of challenging, action platformers will definitely find plenty to keep them entertained.
Nights of Azure has a story that could have been great, especially with its same-sex relationship between the two main characters coming across as natural and not judged in the game's world.
In the end, Trillion: God of Destruction is a surprisingly innovative RPG from a company that is normally content to release/re-release a new Neptune game every month, and further testament to the Vita’s resigned fate as an RPG lover’s dream machine.
I do not think that this game’s flaws outweigh what it is trying to achieve after finishing it though.
This is a burgeoning sub-genre but Layers of Fear has to be a high-point, and it deserves to be seen as a standard bearer.
This episode seems a slight disappointment on the first, mostly due to the narrative hand-holding.
Stranger of Sword City takes the fundamentals of the dungeon crawler and coats it with a twist of Japanese.
There really isn’t much else to say about Ares Omega. No additional content is hidden away, as this is a small title with one mode. While I like the roguelike progression, the rest of the game feels like an prototype, lacking any sort of redeeming presentation, polish or any score tracking to keep you coming back. Mix these issues in with the soulless procedural generated levels and there isn’t anything in Ares Omega that has any redeemable qualities to recommend to anyone but only those that have exhausted all the better games that have come before it.
Nevertheless I have to give BetaDwarf props for trying something different here by mixing up an original blend of genres and for creating something innovative. And although I’m afraid I’m going to have to recommend the original Forced over Showdown any day, I really hope that this team keeps striving to create new and interesting concepts because that is sadly something pretty hard to come by nowadays.
In short, Chronophantasma Extend is the biggest, densest and all-around definitive version of the BlazBlue series, but the overarching story mode and massive learning curve may put off potential newcomers to the series. For those brave enough to venture forth, this mechanically solid and visually resplendent fighter might just have enough features to make a BlazBlue fan out of you.