Cubed3's Reviews
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.
Hue is a visually beautiful title that begins with dreary music, as the greyscale world hints at hiding a lot of dread. However, before too long, the haunting environments become a crescendo of colour. While the story is simple and not all that important to the overall scheme of things, it is the gameplay mechanic of changing the background colour to bypass obstacles, or make new landscapes and blocks appear, that is at the forefront of what Hue has to offer. Clever stage designs get progressively harder as more colours are unlocked, and they constantly keep Hue on his toes, as he has to discover new methods of approach to each new puzzle. If there is any game that needs to be checked out, please make it this one.
Hue is a charming indie puzzle platformer that presents a very unique mechanic and makes it central to the game's progression. Its fantastic visuals, refined gameplay mechanics and intriguing story are truly a delight to experience. This should be more than pleasing to those who enjoy the genre or are just looking for a new gaming experience with a good story.
Sadly, despite an attempt to include in-depth story threads and bring in intriguing puzzles, Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma falls down on too many occasions. Be it the convoluted yarns that do not tie things together well enough, puzzles that fluctuate in difficulty and interest levels far too much, as well as a poorly thought out flowchart system that leads players into numerous dead ends, either requiring sheer guesswork and random replaying of certain scenarios, or caving in and using online guides.
To those players who always were interested with the hunting genre of games but couldn't get on with Monster Hunter, God Eater 2: Rage Burst may be the game for you. It's like an "Arcade" version of Monster Hunter, thriving on fast action and fun combat, while still capturing the feel of the genre. It has an engaging story, fun gameplay, and a mammoth amount of content - perfect for anyone searching for a game to really sink their teeth into.
Hue has gotten plenty of press, but it manages to be an absolute indie juggernaut that far exceeds its hype. It's a haunting accomplishment, and manages to be just short of a perfect title. Any gamer, whether a fan of puzzle-platformers or not, needs to dive into this. With any luck, Hue will become an instant indie classic.
Attack on Titan: Wings of Freedom is absolutely superb and is all the fans could have hoped for—and more. Exhilarating and addictive, it manages to do justice to the source material and deliver moments fans will adore. A must-buy for any fans of the series and even worth picking up for newbies, too.
For fans of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Eyes of Heaven is a dream come true, filled with nods to even the most obscure of references. It's a love letter to a decades long franchise that never forgets to cater fully to its audience. Compared to other competitive fighters, it might come off as a bit lacking, but more casual fans of the genre and those unfamiliar with the series will still be able to enjoy the more simplistic mechanics. This really doesn't require anything more than an open mind and a love of fun, and while that might not make for the best game ever, it certainly does make for one worth playing.
Lost Sea had an interesting premise from the get go, with its use of procedurally generated stages and the quest of finding the tablets in order to escape the Bermuda Triangle. However, the randomly generated stages seem there only due to constant necessity to replay levels because of the inability to save the progress. While this may have been aimed at increasing the replay value of the game, after a few hours of play, it still feels like little to no progress had been made. This is a cause for many infuriating moments and seriously detracts from an otherwise clean and simple game with a lot of potential.
Armikrog looks amazing, with the stop-motion claymation performed to perfection. However, that is as good as it gets, with clunky gameplay mechanics and the significant glitches found that are the true enemy for Tommynaut and Beak-Beak. This is the equivalent to being thrown into the deep end of a swimming pool without learning how to swim, and then trying to select the nearby life ring, only to discover that only the dog can select that option for some illogical reason. Armikrog feels like an unfinished game that was rushed out the door, with any form of character progression or story left on the cutting room floor. While it was created with good intentions behind it, Armikrog only serves as a sad reminder of just how great The Neverhood truly was, and that it may never be successfully replicated.
Worms W.M.D provides enough new features to keep it feeling fresh, with plenty on offer for solo players. Those with friends should also be more than content with the high amount of customisation, plus support for up to six players with eight worms each, potentially making matches of 48 worms. While it might not be a revolution, it is a very solid entry in the series, and at its core Worms is still Worms. It is to the TBS genre what Mario Kart now is to racing - both different and accessible enough for newcomers, in-depth enough for long-term fans, yet also enjoyable enough for those formerly not fans of the games. It's a title that's good to have in anyone's collection, ready for an unexpected batch of friends. For a lapsed player of old (or somehow having lived life to the maximum, without participating in mass wormicide), W.M.D seems a great time to ninja rope on over and join the creative carnage.
There's one great and one awful thing about Western Press, and both can be summed up in one word: simplicity. The non-complexity of going mano a mano against another gamer, and just having to press a series of buttons as fast as possible is surely fun, despite not being something special… but the excitement cannot exactly last for long - especially when the basic premise is as simplistic as the bonus stages of far older video games.
The irony of this re-release's subtitle is staggering. It's easy to become jaded with the experimental indie scene after seeing so many promising concepts fall flat, but Life Goes On: Done to Death accomplishes the difficult task of being both wonderfully original and fully realised. There's nothing life-changing here, but the healthy mix of personality, accessibility, and challenge makes it pretty much solid from start to finish.
Hitman: Episode 4 - Bangkok isn't bad, and it certainly isn't worse than the "just good" third one, but, it feels so… déjà vu! It's as if IO Interactive took the first episode and gave it a Thai skin, but, while the Parisian level was fun and all, it was just the first, the introduction, the beginning. In other words, while fun in many ways, this episode hasn't… evolved. It offers the same things all over again, when it should not.
There is no doubt that at its best Battleborn is a very fun game. It is a colourful delight and the visuals really pop amongst the chaos of flashing lights, explosions, and movement. The characters are all quite memorable and well designed, with humorous charismatic touches to their personalities. Not to mention it is a fine shooter in its own right. The disappointment is that a lot of the experience lacks a certain polish that would have really taken it to the next level.