Toronto Sun
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I commend Nintendo for crafting a game that continues to cater to those who still love having friends over to compete, but Mario Kart 8 needs to step out of its comfort zone in other ways. Despite this game's gleaming high-definition sheen, there's little doubt this granddaddy of the karting genre is beginning to show its age.
Massive Chalice's personality and ingenuity ultimately win out over its shortcomings, and it's certainly worth a try for strategy fans who don't want anything too ponderous or serious. But its cup does not, as they say, runneth over.
For all its many flaws, Killzone: Shadow Fall deserves kudos for being such a spectacular early example of the PlayStation 4's technical potential, and the game's stunning visual design goes a long way towards offsetting the generic action, silly plot and rage-worthy bottlenecks. I wouldn't want to marry it, but I'd definitely love a hot, short-term relationship.
Trials Fusion is just one of those games that manages to pair frustration with desire.
For its vibrant visual design, wonderful music and sheer whimsical weirdness, Hohokum is well worth experiencing. But at times it seems to be meandering back and forth between a video game and a piece of interactive art, unsure of which world it belongs to.
Despite its flaws and despite its repetitiveness, I haven't been this invested in a shooter in a long while. Whether that lasts is up to fate.
Of course, speculation is that Disney Infinity 3.0 will come out next year and introduce Star Wars characters and worlds. In which case, all bets are off. And I'll need more room in my real-world toy box.
Good games based on J. R. R. Tolkien's works are surprisingly rare, and Shadow of Mordor is certainly a sword-thrusting lunge in the right direction. It's slick and fun, with solid production values and some new takes on what's becoming an overly familiar formula. There's just not quite enough here to make it truly preciousss.
Advanced Warfare brings some new elements to the experience that make it stand out, but some of these changes only serve to remind us how rigid the Call of Duty box is, and how unwilling the franchise is to think outside it.
The Resident Evil series clearly has experienced its fair share of peaks and valleys, and Revelations 2 hovers closer to the former. While I generally love me some co-op in video games, here's hoping that if Capcom adds it to future Resident Evil games, the AI characters are actually capable of outsmarting the zombies they're surrounded by.
In any other year, we’d probably be more in awe of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. But in 2016’s heavily contested battleground, its just one powerful combatant among many.
Genre-defining? Not quite. Maybe that will come with Gears 5. Or Gears 6. That’s the thing about a Fenix – they always rise again.
For the time being, though, this is a smashing return to form for one of Nintendo's most popular franchises, endlessly energetic and electrifying. Not unlike Pikachu's farts.
A lot of what's in Birthright may force a certain sense of deja vu, but if you're going to borrow from a game, you could do a lot worse than borrowing from Awakening. I may have done a lot of nitpicking, but Birthright is still undeniably a solid Fire Emblem entry. Let's just hope that when the next game in the series is released, there isn't a reality show star with terrible hair living in the White House.
But these are relatively small nitpicks for a game that's otherwise fun, fresh and full of flair. It's the most innovative shooter I've played in years.
While it's far from the typical video game adventure, That Dragon, Cancer is a reminder that games can be so much more than just wish-fulfillment power fantasies. It's an important and unforgettable experience, full of pain, love and grace.
While I'm not sure any game will replace my nostalgic, rose-coloured memories of the original Deus Ex, Mankind Divided is a small but satisfying step forward for the franchise, offering tons of player freedom in a dark, dangerous and intricately detailed future.
After the disappointment of last season's effort, NHL 16 feels like a solid rebuilding year. It may not go all the way to the Stanley Cup, but it definitely won't miss the playoffs.
The game is a slow burn, and you have to work hard for virtually everything you earn, but the payoff is almost always worth it. This is one of the most uncompromising games to come out in years, but it's reason alone for "hardcore" RPG fans to consider getting a Wii U if they haven't already. If you've mastered everything involving plumbers, apes and pointy-eared Hylians, there's a planet called Mira that has a heck of challenge waiting for you.
Just Cause 3 doesn't hold too many surprises, particularly if you're familiar with the previous titles in the series. But it offers an almost unlimited number of ways to create your own flavour of mayhem, and is a source of constant "did you just SEE that?" moments. If the next Michael Bay movie features a dude hanging upside from a helicopter while blowing up a bridge with a missile launcher, you'll know where it came from.