Cubed3's Reviews
Seasons After Fall is a beautiful piece of interactive art. The design and sound are all executed flawlessly and are a genuine joy to behold. Swing Swing Submarine has really set the bar high for indie game production values. Sadly, the game does begin to feel slightly repetitive and some more puzzle elements - and especially new locations - would have been most welcome. As it stands, Seasons After Fall is a very pleasing and competent puzzle platform attempt, which, although short, will leave most players more than satisfied.
Unholy Heights, though well-crafted and humorous, is far from perfect. The combination of the two genres may seem like a fantastic idea on paper (and it does indeed lead to some enjoyable moments of gameplay), but there's far too much empty space for extended play sessions to be consistently fun. That said, it fills a hole left open for two of the most starved genres on the eShop, and fans of either tower defence or simulation could do far worse than to spend a few hours in the devil's shoes.
This is all that Duke Nukem Forever could and should have been. A nostalgic blast, with gameplay that is fast and fun, comedy which while cliché actually delivers laugh out loud moments, and a story which is surprisingly engaging. Definitely, one title worth picking up in order to get ready for the upcoming sequel.
With Uno, Ubisoft has taken an old classic and tweaked the formula just enough to make it feel fresh without losing the familiar, addictive gameplay that it's renowned for. It's just a shame that the social aspects that made previous iterations an entertaining, unpredictable place to hang out, have been completely neutered, leaving behind an online component that feels comparatively sterile.
The Secret Monster Society - Chapter 1: Monsters, Fires and Forbidden Forests is a great precursor to the fully-fledged point-and-click adventure, filled with a pleasing selection of puzzle styles, some wonderful visual presentation, and great voice acting along the way. What it lacks in terms of overall length and taxing puzzles, it makes up for in the aesthetic stakes, with some really loveable characters introduced, leaving a strong desire for Chapter 2 to arrive quickly.
N++ wants you to let your guard down, but that's not always the most fun. While the level design is the closest to perfection many could ask for, the game frequently feels cheap or downright apathetic. Because it comes from a different era of gaming, it doesn't always feel like it cares if you succeed. Fortunately, a friend can be brought along, but it is still watching, waiting for the slightest failure.
Overall, Football Manager 2016 is definitely an improvement over last year's submission. It does a nice job of catering to those who want a faster-paced experience, whilst offering those who want to micro-manage every possible aspect of the game, a perfect sandbox with which to scratch that itch. Moreover, Sports Interactive has seemingly brought both experiences closer together, allowing an easier path for those playing Touch to promote themselves to the full experience at their leisure. The overall detail is astonishing and it will take far longer to get through a season. Gone are the days off finishing off a league in a night, but the satisfaction of reaching the summit of a league table after the arduous road preceding it, is that much greater. Aside from a couple of slight blemishes, with an under polished avatar system and a few presentation issues, Football Manager 2016 is without doubt a great accomplishment, which deserves anyone's attention. Just don't be surprised to watch your social life get relegated…
Dex is a fun and simple open-world RPG with a plethora of missions (both main and secondary), to get invested in. The characters introduced are done well thanks to the voice acting, which, combined with the artistic style of the "industrial" setting, helps set Harbor Prime apart from other cyberpunk titles. Though the story and the game world are inspired by other classic sci-fi's that do not seem original, there is enough soul here to actually warrant it a play-through. The poor combat and unfortunate glitches show the real flaws underlying what is otherwise a wonderful game; one that has shown enough to give hopes for a more refined sequel.
It's obvious there's something here in Unbox people may find entertaining. Even with the clunky controls, there's little nuggets of fun to be found in this throwback to 90s platforming wonders. It's just clear that it also brings a lot of the frustrations of that era with it. It's a bit late in the gaming industry to still be figuring out 3D controls, but if you can look past it, there is enjoyment to be had here, after all.
Mugen Souls Z is essentially a clone of the first game with a new story on it. For many this will be fine: the humour is mostly at the same standard. The battle system remains largely forgettable, dungeon crawling is uninspiring and some of the main characters are grating. This is the type of game that would be massively improved as an anime, allowing the story to be the main focus - for someone that wouldn't mind ploughing through a battle system that really isn't that good, they would enjoy the humorous story to take a break from so many games that take themselves far too seriously.
It will be impossible for Batman aficionados to not enjoy the first episode of Batman: The Telltale Series. However, while it's a very enjoyable amalgamation of all things Batman, it doesn't manage to stand out, or be original in terms of story. More importantly, it repeats the developer's frequent mistakes; boring QTEs, and useless (although immersive) "choose the answer" dialogue sequences and all. It's a good, promising episode, but it could be so much better.
Bear With Me: Episode 1 is a very intriguing concept wrapped up in a wonderfully dark world, with great narrative throughout and loveable characters. This first episode sets the stage for an adventure that is sure to get better as times goes by, but currently one that is held back by the bear's slightly off voice acting, and a few puzzles that are not solved in the most logical of ways, instead forcing certain triggers to occur before progress is made - a trap many games of this ilk fall into, sadly. So far this is enjoyable, but it has unfulfilled potential for the time being that hopefully forthcoming episodes will fulfil.
All in all, #IDARB is a very fun game with an original concept and very unique features. It implements all of these features very well, and even adds a nice comedic aspect to the whole thing. However, the gameplay becomes slightly stale after a bit, with not much variety after it's all been seen. This game is recommended for anyone who has some friends who'd like to come over for a game night, as it is much more fun with multiple players instead of just one. It's not recommended to buy this if all that is going to be done with it is passing the time on a boring night.
When it comes down to it, Riptide GP: Renegade is not a significant step up from its predecessors, despite the developer's PR rumblings. It is, however, a flashier, more content heavy upgrade with a lot to get stuck into, whether you favour single-player or multiplayer. While there are some obvious flaws holding it back, such as the lack of interesting varied tracks, if taken at face value, Renegade packs a big punch for its price point. This is not a Wave Race-like classic, but it has potential.
The all-important battle system is solid, but features such as a pointless story taint the game and leave it marred in mediocracy. Repeating the same dungeon over and over can feel a bit stale, although the randomised items and layout definitely help.
Resident Evil 4 is fun. It's excellently paced and contains fairly frightening cut-scenes. The characters are paper-thin and their actors ham it up, but it's more about the overall plot, anyway. The soundtrack increases the feeling of dread. It's just a shame so many environments have the same colours and atmosphere. Some enemies become underpowered and aren't as visually scary as they could be. Perhaps worst of all, the encounters become more and more scripted, and the locales more on-rails. As long as enemies' vitals are hit, ammo will pile up, making survival too easy. That said, it's as tense as Resident Evil 5, scarier, well-rounded, and doesn't rely on bullet sponge bosses. It's survival-action with decent horror, and worth a buy to see the series' wasted potential.
Sparkle Unleashed proves to be a mildly addictive ball-shunting diversion, and amply fills the Zuma-shaped hole that still inexplicably exists on the PS4, but it's highly unlikely that it'll rock anybody's world. In conclusion: this is best enjoyed as a palate cleanser between bigger, meatier titles.
If this piece of software was judged solely on its gameplay, which, flawed as it may be, is very enjoyable, everything would be just fine... but Deus Ex isn't just the sneaking, hacking, and shooting; Deus Ex is about moral dilemmas, engaging conversations, multi-layered characters, a world with personality - it's about the plot and how everything revolves around it. Long story short: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is a very good game, but a disappointingly forgettable experience.
While No Man's Sky does suffer from some technical glitches that occasionally impact play, it's built on solid foundations, and it starts out feeling genuinely fresh and exciting. As it progresses, however, the experience peters out with the realisation that exploration is really all there is to do. Each piece of the journey only exists to further the journey itself, and there's no real reward except for additional opportunities for exploration, and any sense of personal achievement is wiped out. There's definitely something exciting about this infinite world, but infinity begins to look the same after a while.
The King of Fighters XIV is a solid comeback for the series, and the generally subpar 3D visuals are quickly gotten used to after a few minutes with the game. The proof is in the pudding; the same classic 2D fighting gameplay KOF has been renowned for is meaty, with plenty of depth for series vets to work with, an easier time for newcomers looking to get into it, enough modes for both solo and online players, a supersized character roster, and plenty to unlock in terms of artwork, music and more. Improvements could have been made in other areas, such as the weak story and presentation (menus and models), but more importantly, KOF XIV should have some great competitive legs, and deservedly so.