Cubed3's Reviews
It is tough to recommend this collection to even the biggest KH fan at its current price tag, because what Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 consists of is one of the weakest games in the series, a glorified demo and extremely short teaser of what to expect in Kingdom Hearts III, and a movie that many may find difficult to care about its characters. At a much lower price, however, this will be worth the investment, as the small story pieces in KH 0.2 alone set the stage and clear some things up. It is visually beautiful, and whilst the controls and combat need work, there is still a solid foundation there for fun and flashy gameplay. Anyone yet to dive into the franchise, wait for the PS4 combined bundle of 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX, then pick 2.8 up after it has reduced.
Make no mistake, The Sun and Moon is not to be taken lightly. It's a very difficult game, and achieving the best possible times will take a lot out of even the most hardened veterans. The method for unlocking levels is open-ended, so players should never feel like they have to repeatedly headbutt the same brick wall until progress is made. There's a sense of satisfaction that comes from just beating a level, which can't easily be found elsewhere. In conclusion, anyone seeking a serious test of wills should seek this platformer out.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Mega Battle hits the right nostalgic notes, but it's a clearly rushed affair. The most important elements are in place, the fighting system is solid and pretty fun, and the campaign is suitably lengthy. However, the lack of polish just buries it. The wonky hit detection and control issues are a constant nuisance. Support for up to four players is appreciated, but there aren't any online modes, which is just plain baffling. Altogether, this makes for a game that's just not as tightly designed as it could be. Another few months of development time could've made a big difference.
Ninja Pizza Girl is an unfortunate example of a game falling apart due to poor execution. It shouldn't be overlooked for platforming or runner fans, but it's not going to change your feelings on either genre. For all it does right, it manages to do twice as much wrong. If the controls were refined, alone, it would be one of the best runners available, but even then, there are too many rough edges to overlook.
Darksiders: Warmastered Edition sees a refresher on the famed franchise, which upscales the visuals to look right at home on the PlayStation 4. While the gameplay elements that hindered the previous iteration of the game still haven't been fixed, this is still a great game to own. While fans of the series won't find anything new except a chance to port over their old library to the current generation, newcomers to the series will find this and the Darksiders II remaster a great entry point into the series. This is a brutal hack and slash adventure game, where War finds a range of new ways to rip enemies apart with QTEs, while employing the various abilities learned throughout the game, in his quest to restore order between the balance of Heaven and Hell.
Whilst not on the same shaky ground as Final Fantasy XV by any means, despite Tales of Berseria bringing with it a great story, wonderful animation scenes, a sublime soundtrack and voice cast, it lets the side down with its dull environments, lack of engaging puzzles and quests, overly-wordy interactions that go off on pointless tangents, as well as a battle system that is quite hit and miss, resigning many gamers to mere button-bashing to get through most of the adventure. Bandai Namco has managed to deliver yet another solid Tales entry, but not one that will be remembered anywhere near as fondly as past classics, unfortunately.
Sceal is, in term of narrative driven games, a must-have. It comes with considerable baggage, but at the end, it's clearly worth the time spent. Again, if too much story and very little gameplay sounds like a big flaw, steer clear. As for everyone else, there's something incredibly unique to be found here.
One of the best just got even better! RIVE: Wreck, Hack, Die, Retry! was an exhilarating ride for fans of all styles of space shooters to start with, but now even more genre enthusiasts can enjoy this stunning effort thanks to the extra difficulty mode offered. As for those who signed up for the initial release, they also have some fantastic reasons to come back and enjoy the excellence that Two Tribes has delivered. Will this superb shooter be transferred to Nintendo Switch now, rather than staying on the near enough finished Wii U? Given how amazing this update was, the only thing that could possibly better it would be the promise of further tweaks, and maybe even a multiplayer element, all in time for a Switch release! For now, PC and PlayStation 4 gamers are in for a massive treat with this sublime update…
The New Order is a far superior game in many ways, but take Wolfenstein: The Old Blood as a companion piece to its predecessor, and there is still the same great arcade FPS and stealth gameplay here that will satisfy fans of MachineGames' previous entry. It isn't as fleshed-out or exciting as the 2014 title, but it holds up well as its own standalone Wolfenstein game.
For horror fans, this is definitely a title worth checking out, even if adventure games aren't your favourite. The writing is incredibly paced and well timed, and the setting is on point. It manages to be chilling and unsettling without resorting to unnecessary jump scares, and even manages to be a great adventure game on top. It's still got its fair share of frustrations, but it's a solid experience, and it's easily one of the best written horror games out there right now.
Yakuza 0's focus on refinement over ambition proved to be the right decision. This game features a very well-told story that's filled with an assortment of great characters and memorable moments. It's also a breakout moment for Goro Majima. He tends to get the short end of the stick when it comes to characterisation, but here, Majima really comes into his own. The style select sub-system is a fantastic addition, because it allows for a level of flexibility that hasn't been seen in any of the previous entries. The expected massive amount of side content also benefits from an increased level of interdependency. Pursuing the multitude of amenities around town is rewarding in so many ways. This entry raises the bar for both the Yakuza series and action RPGs.
Aqua Moto Racing Utopia is an uninspired experience, and everything the game offers has been done better in plenty of other titles. It is playable and can offer some thrills every once in a while, but the tedious nature of events can put a snag on whatever fun one might be having. Lacking in excitement and depth, this is one island getaway not worth travelling to.
Alekhine's Gun proves that ambition can only get a game so far. There are good ideas from both a gameplay and narrative perspective, but Maximum Games' implementation of all those features stops at the inclusion. The stealth aspect is never fully developed or utilised, while the gunplay has had the bare minimum of effort put into it. The story jumps between World War II and the Cold War, a genuinely novel idea, but mediocre writing and spastic pacing disallow the plot from actually developing any of its themes or characters. With no polish or direction to speak of, Alekhine's Gun is little more than a broken third-person shooter that believes it's so much better than it is.
Gone in November manages to be a nice insight into someone's final days, but it never really justifies being a game. It's confusing, often directionless, and its poor decisions involving text make it hard to follow the small grains of plot you're supposed to be finding. Perhaps in another life, it could have been a book or short film. Unfortunately, in this life, it is a game—and one that doesn't really work very well.
Snow Place Like Home doesn't do much for King's Quest in the gameplay department, but anyone who has played it this far is probably past caring much on that front. This story and these characters have cemented their place in our hearts, and the game feels like a good book that can't be put down. Lack of per-episode scenery or gameplay variety aside, King's Quest is everything an episodic title should be, as well as a pinnacle of storytelling all game developers should aspire to compete with.
Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star is something of a mixed bag. This style of game works well with the Fate backdrop, and the actual Area Supremacy Battle makes for fun and addictive gameplay, but the presentation of it leaves a lot to be desired, with battles that feel too brief with far too much story interjected in between them. Not to mention that this story is terrible. Even the side stories for the supporting cast are heavily uninspired.
The real trick of making a game work in this style is to ground it in some sense of normality. Where the Musou series excels, and indeed how it has survived for such a long time, is that for all the Japanese humour and charm, the core story is a simple one of warring kingdoms fighting battles. It is awesome when a story doesn't hold back on its vision and complexity and does not abandon its world. However, Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star gets lost in this vision at the expense of its Western audience. With that said, where it does succeed is in making a fun, if forgettable, action title that has plenty of content to work through, even if it does tend to get a little predictable and stale after the first few hours. There is definitely something to work on here for future titles, though, and it is great to see the Warriors style reimagined by another developer.
Anyone with forty minutes to spare can enjoy the entirety of Gathering Sky. They might find it difficult to come up with positive words to say about it, though. Aside from an incredible soundtrack, this game doesn't have any particularly memorable elements. At the same time, it's not all that unpleasant either, thanks to the quaint graphics and solid control scheme. Perhaps this is reason enough to give it a look.
What it all comes down to is that 99Vidas simply isn't as fun as it could be. A good beat 'em up is more than just hitting bad guys until they fall over. There has to be enough nuance and depth for skilful players to develop their own style, while using very little, if any, resources, such as health restoring food or lives. There also have to be enough leniencies to make the game appealing to someone who just wants a "mindless" yet still entertaining button masher. This game deserves top marks for its aesthetics and charm, but its mechanics and overall design leave something to be desired. If the difficulty was better balanced and the heroes had more viable attack options, this would be a title deserving of a spot in any brawler fan's library.
For anyone out there who has ever wished that Astro Port would make a shmup about schoolgirl witches instead of mechs and explosions, Witch-Bot Meglilo is the game for them. Like all of their other titles, this shooter is well-crafted and highly entertaining. Don't like cute stuff? That's fine, too. In fact, it might even be preferable, considering just how zany and sometimes dark the story and characters are. This game is well worth a look.