Cubed3's Reviews
Anyone with an amiibo should download this to try it out, especially if he or she enjoys puzzle games and/or Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars. Everything has been created with the same care that is found in other Nintendo titles and each of the abilities gives their collectible counterparts probably their best use yet. The mission to get gold trophies means that even the most hardened gamers will find a challenge, while those looking for a more relaxing time can complete each stage at their own pace. This makes it accessible to a range of people, as skill isn't an immediate barrier to enjoyment. The only real barrier is the cost of amiibo, but it could be enough to tip those who were interested in buying one over the edge. Anyone who already has a sizeable collection is sure to relish the extra content that is now available for no additional charge.
While it's certainly not 'bad', it's also not 'good', and is more like 'just there'. Our seas aren't that deep it seems, though not quite that shallow either.
It would be so easy to praise Stories: The Path of Destinies far more. So much of it is actually done right and is competent, from the great voice work and decent visuals to solid story and plethora of endings. The problem is that these multiple endings also offer little to no variation in regards to level variation, which quickly causes what would have been a fun and enjoyable story romp to, instead, having to start over in a "choose your own adventure" book from Page 1 every time an ending was reached. Even a bit more level variation would have easily driven this up the ranks, but, as it is, it just becomes a chore to play through. It is worth the play regardless, though. Just be ready to play through the same things a lot.
Level 22: Gary's Misadventures is an enjoyable new perspective of the stealth genre, with goofy personality and sense of humour, amusing and well-designed gameplay, and surprisingly great boss battles. Just the lack of a better closure leaves a few drops of bitterness in the mouth.
This is a fun, but relatively simple, Metroidvania - beginner-friendly, but a title that can easily satisfy a craving, especially if eager for a solid 2D platformer.
The first episode lacked that special something to elevate it to memorable status and comparable to the best Telltale has previously produced. At first, this second episode seems to suffer from the same flaws, but, thankfully, as the episode progresses and builds to its superb climax, it begins to turn that around. The Walking Dead: Michonne - Episode 2: Give No Shelter shows that Telltale may be able to salvage this series… now to see if it can pay off in the finale.
Whilst this ending somewhat redeems some of the flaws of the previous episodes, The Walking Dead: Michonne Episode 3 - What We Deserve is not without issues. The short nature of the episode and the lack of playable sections, along with the limited impact the choices have on the ending, really drag it down. This is still definitely worth experiencing for fans of Telltale titles or The Walking Dead in general but, considering the pedigree and promise of the premise, this ultimately is a disappointment.
Difficulty is hard to review, and most of Kalimba's issues stem from poor balancing. Running into devious sections only to find the follow-ups to be almost rudimentary is jarring. Fortunately, the core mechanic is very enjoyable. While Kalimba could have spent more time under the microscope, the interesting mechanic and beautiful visuals should be enough to convince even the most dismissive PC gamer that there's much more to explore here, and, for that, Kalimba should be applauded.
Minecraft: Story Mode - Episode 3: The Last Place You Look is a substantial improvement on the previous episode, and yet, it's still nothing to shout from the rooftops about, especially after taking a look at some of the masterpieces that TellTale has created in the past. This episode has helped get the story back on track, and was jam-packed with things to do, but almost felt like it was action for actions sake.
Telltale has clearly shown it understands the lore of Minecraft; however, that alone will not make you love the latest episode of Minecraft: Story Mode. A significant chunk of this episode was fairly dull and painfully slow, and the last 15-20 minutes were the main redeeming factor of this adventure. It'll be interesting to see how Episode 5 plays out, considering the events that happen in Episode 4.
Masquerade: The Baubles of Doom doesn't particularly succeed at anything it puts its hand to. It isn't funny, with its generically off-colour humour and a bad sense of comedic timing. It's not particularly responsive, with stiff controls and awkward level design. It's repetitive, tedious, frustrating, and completely lacking in the elements that make for a good action game, or for a good comedy game. Between its crushing lack of self-awareness and bland gameplay, it's one circus that's even unfit for the sideshow.
Melty Blood: Actress Again Current Code is a well-crafted title that highlights the best features of Japanese style arcade fighters. The simple, yet complex to master, systems keep the game rewarding. With the inclusion of online and offline VS modes, this stands out against other anime-style 2D fighters available through Steam and its lifespan is increased tenfold.
Adventure Time: Finn and Jake Investigations' biggest problem is that everything just feels bland. Quests are bland, the act of investigation is bland, and the combat is either fast and fun or slow and arduous. For fans of the series, this should surely delight and be a nice way to kill some time. For the rest of you, this might not quite scratch the itch you have for if you've longed for a good point and click brawler. At the very least, the developers should get respect for trying out two very different genres together, even if they failed to make them a good match.
Neon Chrome is a very fun top-down shooter with an excellent soundtrack, although has slightly uninteresting enemy design, lighting, and environments in general. It's not quite as deep as it ideally would be, considering many skills and enhancements are extensions of your character, rather than additions, but its flaws are fairly minor. Play this game if you enjoy top-down shooters, play it if you enjoy role-playing, play it if you like challenging yourself (because you die quickly). Just play it.
Retro aesthetics are starting to aim for the 90s, and Shutter brings that beautiful, low-res polygonal structure to the forefront. The problem is that it doesn't feel like a full experience. With annoying and clunky controls, a handful of subpar jump scares, and little to actually do, this is more of a trailer for missed opportunities than a fully realized game. The concept of taking photos of creepy areas could have been more, but Shutter seems content just letting the whole thing be.
Ookibloks really is a tremendously fun experience. It never feels too hard or too simple. While it is possible to fail, it requires running into enemies, and for a lot of the experience, it's harder to do that than to avoid them. Ookibloks holds up enough to be worth exploring, even if it begins to show cracks later on.
Ninja Senki DX is an arcade game, and with that comes some baggage. For it's incredible controls, it has balancing issues that seem easily rectified. Cheap kills can be made up for by an incredible world, and there seems to be some of it here. For the rather low-key graphics, it still manages to work. It would be foolish to miss out on Ninja Senki DX's retro charm, but if you have a hefty backlog, it's not something you need to rush into. So, in summary, it should definitely be experienced by fans of the genre, but it can wait.
Indie games have come a long way, but it's still obvious they are viewed as the lesser option when it comes to gaming for a lot of gamers. It would be a mistake to overlook Stikbold! because it's an indie game. It has its share of hiccups and can falter from time to time, but gamers don't play games for the amazing loading screens. They play them for the game, and once the game is loaded, it is a charming, easy-to-control experience that ensures hours of enjoyability, with or without a partner. Don't overlook this tiny gem because it has these faults; instead, push past them to a solid game that is genuine and truly fun.
Despite some minor flaws in its controls and systems, Good Robot is still an immensely enjoyable experience. The visuals and sounds all play together harmoniously, and it manages to blend two very different genres in a way that's not only fun, but completely approachable for newcomers. Easy to pick up and hard to put down, it's definitely worth a look.
It's great to see Zen branch out into such an iconic and timeless movie franchise for Zen Pinball 2: Aliens vs. Pinball, while staying completely faithful to the source material at the same time. These tables look and feel like the respective Alien titles each one is based on, all helped along by scenarios and sound clips right out of the movies and game. Of course, there are difficulties in trying to get the ball where you want, when you want on each table, but that is the nature of pinball, anyway. Needless to say, this well-designed package, offering a lot of variety, is more than worth the admission fee for tables that will entertain fans of the Alien legacy.