Cubed3's Reviews
Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization is a hard game to judge, since newcomers to the series will be baffled and even bemused by the overly complex mechanics and the unnecessarily convoluted story that seems to refuse to focus on the interesting parts. That being said, though, Hollow Realization is a great instalment for long-term fans of the series, as it is filled with enough fan-service to keep them entertained for a long time, or at least until the inevitable next one in the line arrives.
Aragami is a fantastic display of being a ninja, with throwbacks to the gameplay mechanics of the Tenchu series. Incorporating the Shadow abilities that enable Aragami to teleport to a shadow, while also having the power to create his own shadows, makes this a fresh experience in the arts of stealth-combat. With thirteen open-world stages to traverse, this game is a time-sink in terms of longevity, with hidden scrolls that open up new pathways to advanced abilities. With an interesting art style that contrasts the ninja with everyone else, this is a story of two opposing sides of “Dark vs Light,” with the dark taking centre stage in terms of gameplay. Though it is light in the combat side of things, those looking for a pure stealth-based ninja game will find plenty here to enjoy and salivate over.
It's definitely more "continuation" than "sequel," with Trails of Cold Steel II following on from not only the story of the prequel, but also with the already accessible (by JRPG standards) battle mechanics and character customisation features, which prove to work well to add a little strategy to the proceedings. Despite some shortcomings, there is a lot to like here, especially for Persona fans who have become so familiar with the calendar-based narrative and party member bonding sessions that affect gameplay, with a mature storyline that doesn't stray too far from its anime roots, but strikes a perfect balance with its wonderful characters.
Although initially quite enjoyable and filled with aspects that fans of the series will enjoy, the repetitive nature of the game is an absolute killer. The fan service is enough to get players interested, but not enough to keep them satisfied. For those in the audience that just happen to be fans of both Final Fantasy and Monster Hunter, this may be enjoyable in the short term, but, ultimately, Final Fantasy Explorers feels like somewhat of a failed experiment.
Necropolis had a somewhat awful start, with a product that was repetitive, buggy, and very rough around the edges. The problem is that, even after its recent Brutal Edition release, many of its flaws still persist. Repetitiveness and monotony, unrewarding challenge, bugs and glitches, an unfair for soloists focus on co-operative play, and still no way to re-map the controls. Ultimately, this is simply not worth the price-tag.
XCOM 2 delivers an excellent port to the PS4. It has been cleverly designed to take advantage of a gamepad and this alleviates many potential concerns. Below this lays an experience that is unrivalled when it comes to strategy titles, particularly on console. The constant feeling of 'backs against the wall,' with scant resources and war decisions to be made, conveys a constant feeling of tension, which only serves to enhance the story of guerrilla resistance. Of course, with the permanent death mechanic, the tales of battle with much loved soldiers are rich for sharing between friends as a badge of honour and craft a memorable experience, living long after the game is finished—which, of course, is not a short one, by any means, providing the substantial difficulty is not a turn-off.
Like sports fans, those with a deep love for a realistic, virtual agriculture experience will have a blast with the next instalment of their favourite franchise, but that doesn't exclude Farming Simulator 17 from criticism. It's still a fun title (only for those into these, of course), but, besides a lack of polish here and there compared to the previous entry, you are only getting a marginally updated product - a few new crops to plant, new machinery to drive, and bacon - and no, bacon doesn't solve everything.
This is one of those games where there is almost an equal amount to love and hate, so depending on what people prioritise this could either be a great experience or a dreadfully dull one. The boss fights are incredible, the world feels alive, and there is something soothing to the exploration. At the same time, though, the exploration segments tend to carry on for too long and without much interesting happening along the way, so a lot of the game feels like padding. By the end, some players may be desperately trying to rush on through just to get to the next boss, because that is really the only part the game does exceptionally well. Jotun: Valhalla Edition might not be entirely heavenly, but there is certainly enough here to keep it away from damnation.
Manual Samuel sounded great on paper, with the weird and wacky control scheme promising a tonne of potential for some fun gameplay elements. Unfortunately, the misses really drag down the overall tone. From the unresponsiveness of some button presses, to the cumbersome deaths caused by forgetting to breathe out while trying to control a manual car, to the humour-filled moments that seem to forget the humour - it just seems like a frustrating experience from beginning to end. The story is also weird, with each character playing a caricature of a usual stereotype found in other stories, but they do not seem to come together well at all. The only thing that does flow from scene to scene is the aggravating control scheme, coupled with the equally as annoying characters, and, as such, Manual Samuel is a tough game to sell.
It's not uncommon for a video game to borrow ideas from other titles. However, it is very rare to see something like Xanadu Next. It takes full advantage of every influence to deliver an absolutely terrific adventure. The engaging combat is bolstered by a variety of sub-systems. These ideas are seemingly disparate in their inclusion yet harmonious in their execution, which is exactly why they work together to create something very unique and impressive. Despite being released in 2005 by a developer that didn't have a lot of experience with 3D graphics, the game has aged quite gracefully. Falcom's sound team delivers an atmospheric soundtrack that is simply stunning. Altogether, this makes for a classic game that genre enthusiasts should pick up immediately.
Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin is a phenomenal game, taking the spectacular original and giving it fresh lease of life. Creator Hidetaka Miyazaki's grim and beautiful world is truly a wonder to behold, and this new journey into that world is filled with fresh challenges that will test even the most experienced Souls players. You will die over and over and over again, but the key thing is that you will love every minute of it.
Trillion: God of Destruction is a weird mix of good and bad ideas that makes the game this bizarre, fairly entertaining slog to get through. There is a lot to like here, between the fun characters and pleasing mixture of different gameplay features. At the same time, though, there is no denying the management features really start to drag after a while, and the combat is not nearly as entertaining as it could be. There is absolutely a target audience for this that will eat it up, but it is not really a broadly accessible title considering all the niggling little imperfections. The God of Destruction surely offers up plenty of challenge, but it would have been better if one of his more effective tools was not mind numbing repetition.
Infinite Warfare is very much the same slick, expensive looking/sounding, finely honed product that crops up every year, regular as clockwork. No surprises there, really. Maybe it's the COD fatigue talking, but the multiplayer just feels a bit regressive, all told, and the 'pay to win' aspect does a great job of killing any residual enthusiasm to persist with it. In direct contrast, the campaign is the real surprise here, as Infinity Ward has exceeded all expectations and delivered an action-packed sci-fi epic that elevates itself from the usual 'military contractor gone rogue' narrative that the series is known for. Zombie lover? The Hoff is in it... 'Nuff said.
Bears Can't Drift!? is not a bad game. It is actually quite interesting, mostly due to how bizarre the design choices are, which give it a weird mystery box quality to it. It engages curiosity and invites to keep on playing and see how deep the bear hole goes. While the hole is shallow, it is a compelling hole that looks cute and has up to four-player split-screen. Bears Can't Drift!?'s core game is just really boring at the end of the day, and as it turns out, nobody cares if bears can drift.
The knock-on effect the game's various problems is a somewhat hollow driving experience overall. WRC 6 is valiant in terms of its content and its knowledge of rallying, and fans of the sport and of the genre will find an enjoyable package here. However, the simple reality is that this year fans are spoilt for rallying games and there are many better experiences to be had. It targets neither DiRT Rally, on the sim-side of the spectrum, nor the more all-encompassing, centre of the road experiences such as Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo. The result is a somewhat diluted rallying title with plenty of substance, but less than ideal execution. This is yet another driving series that needs to go back to its roots.
Here They Lie is likely doomed to obscurity and it probably is for the best. This is a weird and cult type game that may one day find its fans, but limiting it to VR may not have been the best choice, since there really is nothing here that demanded it. If Here They Lie is ever on sale and you need to get use out of the PlayStation VR headset, it will make for an interesting experience, just not a deep game.
Stellaris is great for a play or two, but the content simply lacks the replayability. The Leviathans DLC fixes some of the issues of content being light in the midgame, but does nothing to remove the bog that inevitably comes mid to late game. As fun as a single play is, even a grind through the later portion of the campaign shows enough that little changes the player can make, such as the empire customisation or content added in the DLC, do nothing. For fans of Stellaris, the DLC will be pretty interesting, but those who have side-lined it are not going to be lured back by this.
The fact that there are a number of quirks still to work out with this kind of title is not really a surprise. This is a new medium; the early adopters are jumping on a virtual reality journey that will take many years to realise its full potential. That said, developers have a responsibility to do everything they can to make the experience as smooth and rewarding as possible. Alice VR fails to do this, with a movement setup that does nothing to persuade the player to endure the discomfort. For the price, if being judged as a non-VR title, the content and quality is extremely lacking. It is only the natural immersion that VR brings that elevates the experience. There is a very pleasant looking world here, and the outside sections are the best bits, but that alone isn't enough - gameplay is still paramount.
There's so much effort put into the actual gameplay and level design that Arkane Studios' laziness with everything else makes the unrefined parts stand out all the more. It isn't enough to ruin the whole experience, but Dishonored 2 absolutely suffers from its horrible story, voice direction, sound mixing, general lagginess, and sloppy optimisation. A video game's first priority should be the gameplay, but its other facets shouldn't suffer as a result. The actual game design is incredibly creative and the replay value is through the roof, but everything else is lacking in just about every other regard. As it stands, Dishonored 2 is certainly playable and fun, but never lives up to all its potential.
Destiny: Rise of Iron has absolutely given new life to a title which was dying for fresh content. As an expansion, it doesn't by any means feature anything revolutionary, but it surely brings plenty of fantastic missions, strikes, raids, and gear that players will be grinding away on for weeks to come. If a fan of Destiny's gameplay, this should absolutely be on your wish-list.