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The near-perfect controls combined with the great soundtrack and visuals mean it's difficult not to like Luftrausers, and its simplicity makes it accessible to everyone. There are a few small issues, such as a difficult menu and the odd frame rate drop, but none that impact the overall game significantly. Luftrausers is well worth your time and money, and is easily Vlambeer's best game yet.
This would be forgivable if the story was engaging enough to drive things, but it tends to devolve into a slog from one puzzle to the next, with the occasional trial in-between to brighten it up. It’s worth a go if you’re a fan of either series, and you won’t be disappointed by the story – just be prepared to invest plenty of time to see it through.
Nintendo are famous for reinventing the wheel with their games, and throwing new ideas into old series that should have long become tired and repetitive but, sadly, Yoshi’s New Island just isn’t one of these titles. It’s enjoyable enough and has its own sense of atmosphere as well as a few unique ideas, but overall this actually feels like one of the decent but highly-iterative sequels that Nintendo is usually unfairly criticized for making. It is still fun, though, and while it may not innovate or be a classic, its joyous aesthetic and “pick up and play” nature make it at the very least a good choice for getting through the daily commute.
When you're in the thick of the action, Titanfall is like no other shooter. It succeeds in making you feel like a superhero, piloting a giant mech to destroy your enemies with ferocious aggression. The fact there's no option for private matches is an odd one, and there's not a huge amount of guns on offer, really, but it's arguably unfair to come down too hard on a developer choosing to focus on gameplay innovation over peripheral issues.
It is strange to find an adventure game that you actually want to play through a second time right after completing it just to see what you could have done differently. Point and click games have notoriously low re-playability, so 1954: Alcatraz is unlike most of its contemporaries just for including such bold ideas as multiple solutions and narrative choice.
The Walking Dead Season Two may not have moved into top gear yet, but Telltale have already shown that they are more than capable of producing more gut-wrenching moments and difficult choices.
Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition is like the utter antithesis of The Last of Us, a top-down Left 4 Dead-alike that ignores pansy ideas like human emotion or common sense in favour of stuff that explodes and makes other stuff explode. It's colourful and loud and a ton of fun either alone or with friends, and is probably one of the best zombie blasters released in recent years. A guaranteed hit for anyone with an itchy trigger finger that needs scratching.
Gigantic Army certainly won't win any awards for being technically proficient or graphically impressive, but what it manages to do is take a well-worn gaming formula and add a few new elements to it – and in doing so, it manages to reduce some of the major bugbears that those frustratingly difficult titles often suffered from. The story and design may not be unique enough to allow the game to stand out and be a hugely memorable experience, but the gameplay itself is very satisfying and not purely a nostalgia trip.
There are a few more misses this time around, and if you're not already a fan of the film then you may want to skip it entirely, but if you absolutely love LEGO games, then it's another game in a well-made, well-presented series. Just be advised that the bright colours of Cloud Cuckooland, coupled with the overbearing music, can cause more than a few headaches. Everything isn't always awesome, but in small doses it can be.
If you wanted to barrel through and just see all the levels, you could probably do so in a few hours. But only the very skilled will get to see the bonus levels, and before the end it's likely you'll need to back to previous levels to get the requisite amount of stars to unlock them. But it's never punishing; it's just about skill.
Blackguards is a nice change of pace from the Deadelic. The story is well told, if a little bit clichéd, and the slightly sub-par visuals are off-set by the interesting and addictive gameplay. It does suffer from a common strategy game issue, whereby if you fail at something, it can be hard to motivate yourself to spend another hour doing it all over again straight away. Play it in short bursts, however, and you could find yourself spending many an intriguing hour in Blackguard's universe.
But it provides a different gameplay experience from the main story. You will most likely find yourself dodging Zombies and riding around on motorcycles, with the emphasis on killing other humans. Sadly, the game loses its identity a little when it becomes a simple biker game, and of course, once again it is all too short. The story ties nicely into that of Nick once you reach the end, but you will reach the end far too quickly.
Garden Warfare is different enough to compliment those long sessions of other online shooters, and acts as a great palette cleanser in a genre dominated by greys and browns that often takes itself far too seriously. The inclusion of local multiplayer is also a huge plus and, depending on how often you play with family and friends, can add much to the value.
Longevity is added by a huge amount of collectibles, from trinkets and rare treasures to documents and newspapers, but if you fancy leaving the story behind for a while you can enter the challenge maps and test yourself against the world in online leaderboards. There's an array of challenges (both timed and otherwise) that will test your skills and earn you bragging rights if you know how to use the shadows right.
When taking in the world around you, NaissanceE is a thing of beauty. The scenery is so bare bones that it walks a fine line between being soothing and unnerving in one fell swoop. It starts with such a care and precision, but quickly becomes less memorable once you are asked to be more precise in your own movements. A lot of that comes down to an to an innovative yet flawed respiratory design choice. With exploration touted as a hook, the disorientating nature of later sections is also frustrating, especially after a measured opening. Lucy is indeed lost, as are a number of features in NaissanceE.
If you're in the market for an on-rails shooter and love the Rambo franchise, then you may want to pick up Rambo: The Video Game.
Strike Vector is a solid shooter that is limited in some respects. The lack of game modes is an issue, but could quickly be overcome with regular updates. The weapon choices may also seem small, but with a decent amount of customising, there is enough there to last. The most pressing issue is the lack of community, with most servers empty at the time of this review. But if the dev can keep the content coming and work out the kinks, this game could really take-off.
Fallen Angel suffers from all of the same issues that were encountered with Operation Broken Eagle and perhaps even more. Whereas Broken Eagle at least changed the way you play the game, Fallen Angel makes no real attempts to differentiate play style at all. Angel is a one-dimensional protagonist and is unlikely to resonate with players greatly, and the DLC is again woefully short and lacking in content to justify its existence.
Strider doesn't do anything exceptionally well, but we get so few good Metroid-Vania style games these days that it's still definitely worth a play. On higher difficulties it will require skill, but otherwise Strider is a brainless exercise in platforming, exploration, and (button mashing) ninja combat.
However, each level of atmosphere conveyed by the visuals would be nothing if it weren't for an equally atmospheric soundtrack, and Tropical Freeze certainly delivers on that front. David Wise, the ex-Rare composer who worked on the original Donkey Kong Country trilogy, has returned for Tropical Freeze, after missing out Returns, and his influence is an incredibly welcome one. While fans of the original trilogy will recognise the odd leitmotif here and there, these new compositions are fantastic. The Lion-King inspired savannah themes, and the chilled underwater tracks are certainly the highlights of the game.