Cubed3's Reviews
The Banner Saga 2 is an absolute joy, with its simple, yet deep, strategy, and its hard-hitting narrative. Not only is it a worthy successor to its predecessor, but it honestly can stand on its own as an introduction to the series. It is a lot to get into at first, and the barrier for entry might be a bit high for those unfamiliar with the genre, but it's absolutely one of the most compelling strategy titles out right now, for those willing to get their feet wet.
A good recommendation when starting Justice Chronicles is keeping your expectations to a cautious high, at most. While the systems at work here are fantastic, the dressing for them is very hit-and-miss; the pixel art is very nice, but the story is bogged down by off-putting cut-scenes and weak dialogue, and, finally, the menus are easy to navigate, even if the local area map is distressingly unattractive. Most will definitely feel a sense of pride upon completing every battle, but they'll have to fight through the odd story and art choices to get to the next one.
Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel is a competent, but fun, fighting game. The biggest strengths this title has are found in the varied selection of fighters and secondary characters to choose from, plus the polished fighting mechanics ensure that both casual and hardcore players can have a fun experience. Overlook the fairly cutesy and somewhat suggestive nature of the game and there is a good title that is worth a look.
Fallout 4: Automatron is a fun, yet brief, addition to the game. The story is enjoyable enough and has some great moments, while the extra features, such as the companion crafting and the new encampment buildables make for enjoyable additions to the existing world. Sadly, though, for what the DLC consists of, there just isn't enough of the content to really justify the cost.
With the involved and great story, lovely art, and multiple paths and outcomes, there is little doubt as to the quality of the game. It is a wonderful story, packaged up as the third part in a much larger, epic tale. It feels a bit short at times, but makes up for it with multiple paths and several ways to handle situations.
Nights of Azure is a fun, if flawed, game. The RPG elements are workable, though leave much more to be desired, the action is passable, and the minion system is arguably the best part. Picking and customizing the minions is about the only joy in a repetitious combat system. Despite being touted as a darker direction for the company, the blatant and misdirected sexual focus, mixed with the very adolescent-leaning view of relationships, makes the already-slow story harder to connect to in any way that will leave players with fond memories after moving on. The potential of a darker, nuanced story is lost in endless ecchi and slapstick humour that is woefully misplaced.
Dance Magic has some really unique and interesting things going for it, and it's easy to come back to the battle system over and over just for how addictive it is to string together musical combos. That being said, the core game does struggle with occasionally imprecise inputs, and the actual tracks don't really feel that great to listen to again and again. While there's a lot to like here, it's definitely a title more geared towards fans of its core rhythm genre; the ones who don't mind delving into a more combative style of dancing.
Perpetual Blast is a boring 3D space shooter that absolutely fails in bringing back the genre. Its good physics are nothing in comparison to its absurdly repetitive and tedious gameplay, inferior presentation and counter-intuitive controls.
This is a fantastic game, even someone yet to try their hand in the dungeon crawling genre. The characters, atmosphere, soundtrack and gameplay create an amazingly immersive environment (especially with headphones on). The fact that it can be played portable on the PS Vita is something that really helps boost its fun factor, as it is also the best way to play many visual novel games. Stranger of Sword City is a great production that is well worth the investment of both money and time from those who are willing to give it a shot.
This is tough to nail down. The random generation of enemies on screen is frequently too unpredictable to provide a consistently enjoyable experience. The controls are spot on, and the artwork is beautiful. The game does manage to retain value, but the value of the additional modes is something that could vary from person to person. It's a solid shooter that works well in the player's hands, and erratically on screen. It shouldn't be overlooked, but for those seeking a deep, challenging experience, Steredenn isn't the cure for that itch.
Toy Soldiers: War Chest - Hall of Fame Edition is a fun way of combining toy combat with varied and uniquely colourful armies. While the design of various maps is generic, the core mechanics of the game are enough to be engaging for a short time. However, once the campaign is completed, there is little need to go back and play as the other armies, due to their lack of diversity. While the action can be frenetic and heart pounding in some exciting moments, the game-crashing bugs, the extreme load times, and the constant shoving down the throat of signing up to Uplay, puts an ugly stain on what would have otherwise been a really fun game to play. Contrary to what this is called, this latest entry in the Toy Soldiers franchise does not feel like a "Hall of Fame" at all.
While not a bad game, Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright is one of the biggest disappointments in the series in years. It manages to have more map variety than the previous instalment, but it's pitifully lacking in every other regard. Even with better map design, it's so poorly balanced that the hardest difficulty feels less like a challenge of skill and more like an endurance match of how long certain units can go without being used before frustration kicks in. With an even worse story being fronted by one of the worst casts in the series, Birthright offers very little in terms of series progression, instead opting for an incredibly safe experience that, while not bad, doesn't push the series forward either. With context needed from Conquest, Revelation, and DLC content to fully flesh out and understand the story, Birthright, and by extension Fates, sets a bad precedent for not just the rest of the series, but for video games themselves.
What Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 boils down to is a mixed set of feelings, but one of mostly dissatisfaction. It is undeniably sexy eye candy, with a decent volleyball game thrown in, but it is essentially a collection of basic mini-games, of which many modes and characters have been removed or replaced, and quickly becomes a grind-heavy chore of replaying vacations and poker in order to unlock absolutely everything… at which point it seems mostly pointless. This is the type of game that warrants being supported, but it is extremely difficult to do so when it is so sorely lacking in features and suffers from cut content. The potential is there to turn this into a far more engaging and all around better series, but, sadly, Team Ninja squandered this chance. There is brief fun to be had in paradise, but the holiday may end up being cut short. Consider it, but make sure you know exactly what to expect before splashing out.
Plague Inc: Evolved is a fast paced RTS that puts players in a morbid position, and allows them to become one of the scariest enemies that mankind knows of. It stumbles to execute its HUD in a way that allows the seamlessly moving between menus, and occasionally, defeat can sneak up in mere seconds. While it can be very unfair, it also gives the ability to micromanage well enough in order to still stand a fighting chance. This shouldn't be overlooked by RTS fans, or even fans of "idle" games. It holds together well enough, even if a few kinks hold it back from greatness.
There are an awful lot of match-three puzzlers out there, and with good reason, since the simple and addictive gameplay is hard to put down; the type of gameplay that makes 10 more minutes before going to sleep, resulting in lying in bed at 4am, refusing to put the Vita down until the next stage is complete. There isn't enough originality to elevate Sparkle Unleashed to something memorable, but there's enough to make this worth playing and keep people coming back to it.
At times, DiRT Rally can be quite the humbling experience. There's a good chance that casual drivers might crumble at the first hurdle, but perseverance brings with it a sense of reward that just can't be found by playing the likes of Need for Speed, etc. Victory is well earned, mistakes are swiftly punished - there's no middle ground. It is video game driving in its purest form, and much like the competition it emulates so well, it can be brutal at times. Motorsport fans will appreciate the lengths that Codemasters has striven towards, ensuring it's as authentic an off-road experience as is currently possible to achieve on a home console.
The game takes place as Trillion is killing the underworld, and the player must train his family to head into battle to die and slowly weaken the enemy. Most of this is done primarily through menus, with occasional random events that too slowly develop the character. The lack of engaging gameplay is marred by a story that never finds a rhythm, nor becomes deeply involved, despite the dark material it is dealing with. Pretty quickly after playing Trillion: God of Destruction, the feeling is, "Is this it?" as there is little depth anywhere. While it is temporarily sad sending a girl that much menu time has been spent with, it lacks the necessary punch or longevity, as there is a new one just as happy and bright to start back over in the menus with.
Despite coming from a pedigree of once-good games, River City Super Sports Challenge: All Stars Special fails to live up to modern gaming standards. Even with its obvious old-school styling, it simply fails of answering the fundamental question of "Is this game fun?" with 'yes.' The novelty will quickly wear off, and the grind will become annoying, as there is nothing new to do other than simplistic dodging or jump kicking over and over in true Nintendo fashion.
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games ticks the boxes when it comes to sticking true to the formula and delivering an experience that is competitive, fun and easily accessible for newcomers. The new additions like Golf, the playable characters and the Pocket Marathon features are good, as well as the twists to traditional Olympic events. For those of you who already own a Mario & Sonic game on 3DS, this particular instalment might be a difficult purchase to justify on the new content alone, but for newcomers, Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games is the most definitive handheld version yet.
Aegis of Earth: Protonovus Assault is a game that blends light city management and JRPG characters/plot with a rotational take on tower defence. Alone, each of these parts is not that great, but they work so successfully together that anyone with a minor interest in these types of games will likely enjoy the final product. Likeable characters, a simple but complex enough tower defence system, and a good coherency to the entire package make it a solid recommendation.