Cubed3's Reviews
There's a lot to enjoy in Dariusburst Chronicle Saviours. Fast paced gameplay, interesting reflex based mechanics, a catchy soundtrack, and plenty of modes to run through, but it never feels much more than a sit down and play game. For its base price, Dariusburst should be stirring up hours upon hours of gameplay, not inspiring quick burst sessions. On top of that, it's very easy to burn out on the experience. It's technically great and playing through the more difficult levels are a treat, but once they're done, they're done. It's certainly good fun, but wait until a sale or a price drop.
Forced Showdown combines overhead twin-stick combat, with a deck building RPG element that works very well and is pretty novel. Its major flaw is the unforgiving and random difficulty, and the ever present threat that even perfect runs can come to a sudden end that leaves the player feeling that it is unfair and the hill to climb simply too steep despite the what good elements there are here.
It is a really slow one to get going, but no argument can be made against how much care Falcom has put into building and developing the world and characters throughout the opening stages of Trails of Cold Steel. It very much hits the typical JRPG checkboxes, but with solid and safe customisation, and a great tactical turn-based battle system that adds a little something extra to the standard formula, this is a title that JRPG fans cannot afford to pass on - especially PS Vita owners - and will most definitely last right up until the sequel hits Western shores.
Despite being good, clean, mindless fun, Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair lacks the depth and polish to elevate it above its peers, and likely won't appeal to those unwilling to commit to the grind. Fans of past iterations in the series will no doubt lap it up voraciously and call out anybody who disagrees that it's the greatest thing since...well, the last EDF game. While it's fair to say that it does have a certain low-tech charm best enjoyed in small doses, extended sessions only serve to emphasise the shallow, repetitive gameplay, with prolonged exposure inducing what can only be described as brain atrophy. So bad it's good? Yeah, probably.
Despite nothing new or innovative, since this basically recycles past titles and just covers everything with a wild boar's hide, [i]Far Cry Primal/i] can be very entertaining, and the repetitive/simplistic task of crafting, upgrading, collecting, and capturing, can be very addictive and even cathartic. To put it another way, this is just a casual experience, but a very good one at that. It's all about having fun and getting engulfed in the magnificent primeval landscape while at it… as long as you can stomach the lack of any gameplay depth, the zero challenge, the generic, placeholder plot, the current price… and the need to use the very problematic Uplay client.
We Are The Dwarves on paper sounds like it might be interesting to fans of isometric tactical combat, and players of similar games might be hungry for more of the same. In practise, though, it's nothing more than a sad rehash of new (and bad) game design that replaces depth with death. It that demands the player perform random acts that usually results in restarts at the nearby checkpoint, while occasionally, luck comes out in their favour, and they can move on to do more of the same. Fans of perhaps masochistic and random puzzles may paradoxically find a squad tactics game like this interesting, but others lured in by its veneer of a RTS/squad game are unlikely to find anything recommendable among the annoyance.
There's nothing here that stands out as good or bad, and it's more or less exactly what would be expected form the phrase "fast-paced tower defense." Obviously, this means that strategy and tactics will play a smaller role, and that's disappointing, because tactics are a big part of the appeal with such games. The graphics and music are done well, but the limited options and single-minded commitment to haste hurt this title by forcing it to be shallow. It's certainly fun and enjoyable, but it also feels like "arcade" is thrown in here as a way of saying "don't expect any depth."
République Episode 5: Terminus is absolutely fantastic from start to near enough the end, and then cripples everything with a horrendous ending that does not wrap anything up, in fact throwing up even more questions than before. After being led along by the intrigue and mystery across the previous four episodes, building up the tension levels as high as possible, no matter how strong the core gameplay is here after the previous episode's dip in quality, the actual lack of direction in its story is so shockingly poor that it leaves a foul taste in the mouth and spoils everything. Ultimately, it is total dissatisfaction, smacking of a team unsure of how to tie up its loose story threads. What a sad way to see out a game with such promise…
Pokkén Tournament ran the risk of seeming like a bog standard fighter with Pokémon skins, but Bandai Namco and The Pokémon Company have served up a unique Pokémon setup that delivers a fun, flexible, and easy-to-learn experience for fighting fans. With so much history behind the franchise, there was a lot riding on getting it right, and this sits firmly within the legacy as a must-have Pokémon entry to add to anyone's collection. Despite there being clear conventions from fighters in its roots, Pokkén Tournament feels more like an exciting new take on Pokémon battles rather than an attempt at a standard Pokémon battle-fest.
Why exactly did Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak get so many favourable reviews? Sure, it has some interesting mechanics, like the mobile base, and, yes, it's not horrible, but it feels incomplete and… bland. The campaign is easy and short, the skirmish mode doesn't give enough things to experiment and try different strategies with, its two factions are almost identical, and the AI is quite stupid, to say the least. Want a good Homeworld game? Try out the previous two in the series.
As for the quality of this particular port, it has some issues, like the lack of cross-platform compatibility, along with its PS3, instead of PS4, visuals, yet, as a whole, it's a product of high quality.
The first part of The White March wasn't exactly a bastion of innovation, so fans who were satisfied with it will certainly enjoy this conclusion, as it is undoubtedly the better of the two halves, regardless of its steps toward stagnation. It's telling that, despite having already put around 100 hours into the first two Pillars of Eternity releases, this one was still thoroughly enthralling enough to sink in another 10-15.
It's really sad to see scores slowly slide down like this, but with Crusader Kings II seemingly starting to get stuck in a rut due to a lack of a desire to release things like new maps (hint: China/Japan or a fantasy-style alternate campaign), there wasn't really anywhere for Conclave to go that wasn't 'sequelitus.' As a content patch it would get an A, but as an expansion? Sadly, not so much.
It's sad to say, but The Walking Dead: Michonne - Episode 1: In Too Deep is a poor introduction to Michonne's story and Telltale doesn't have an entire season to build towards something special this time, as there are only three episodes planned… This is a definite pick-up for fans of the comic, but for those coming in because they enjoyed the previous Telltale The Walking Dead titles, this feels humdrum in comparison. With any luck, Episode 2 will be the one where Telltale turns things around.
Samurai Warriors 4 Empires offers a great experience in the long running franchise, and stands out with the strategical aspects that the resource system and empire-ruling simulator provide. At first glance it might be annoying, but after a short while it becomes very charming and gives life and personality to the game in a way that would otherwise be difficult. The possibility to create characters is also a neat feature, and it gives the player the option of playing as a character they feel comfortable with, both visually and mechanically. This makes Samurai Warriors 4 Empires a game that is easy to recommend to fans of the franchise.
All in all, Hyrule Warrriors Legends is the definitive version of the game, wrapping up some of the issues and storyline features from the original with additional content, refined controls and even more playable characters. It's an action-packed, worthy tribute to Nintendo's iconic adventure series that brings something new to the storyline and characters we've grown familiar with. If you've yet to play Hyrule Warriors, then the 3DS release is certainly the more comprehensive version - it feels as if it's more suited as a handheld, pick-up-and-play game. Those of you who have the Wii U version and intend on replaying the game, Legends is worth a look-in, but, otherwise, the additional content may not be enough to justify buying an expanded port.
Automatron doesn't reinvent Fallout 4, but it adds a great, fun feature that fits right in. The main quest has stellar writing, if falling a little short on length, but the ability to create an army of deeply customisable robots is something that permeates the rest of the game.
Sorry Neptune, but with this shortage of content (though what is present is at least 'decent'), and outside of the map variety, there isn't much choice for a score. This isn't a PC game. It's a port of a portable title and it shows. Maybe some of the flaws, such as character variety, will be fixed later on through DLC, but… the water is warm and, while people may be more than willing to welcome Hyperdimension Neptunia into this new field, this seems more than willing to just sit on the edge and let its feet dangle into the pool than anything.
République doesn't do itself any favours through its control system. It's definitely not the pinnacle of stealth gameplay but, luckily, it doesn't have to be. The characters and story are all interesting enough to grab attention through all five episodes, and each has its own unique elements of suspense and intrigue. It might be sometimes frustrating to play, but there's something utterly compelling that it's hard to want to put it down.
The Division is a solid shooter, but there's nothing compelling about it, either in terms of story or gameplay. Those playing with others will likely have a lot more fun than those playing alone, although it's safe to say anyone who likes a decent shooter will probably want to check it out. Like Destiny, there's sure to be a dedicated following of players for whom the game simply clicks, and the endless grind is reason enough to keep coming back. For the rest, it will probably disappear to their shelves after a few months' time - unless Ubisoft comes up with some compelling post-launch content to keep them holding on.