Cubed3's Reviews
Calling INSIDE merely a "worthy successor" would be doing it a disservice. It's not just great relative to its sibling; it's great, period. Its cinematic, artistic, and structural techniques have set a new standard for 2D platformers to be measured against. It's possible that in the future, someone will piece together its occasionally disparate story elements into a more meaningful whole, which would likely make it one of the best games of all time. For now, it is "only" one of the best games of the year, an arresting journey, and a solid puzzler.
Tumblestone is delightful and surprisingly addictive. The wide variety of challenges, all which subtly change the pacing of the game, make for an experience that doesn't really grow old. The story mode keeps things fresh with twists on the basic mechanics, and the arcade and multiplayer modes present fast-paced challenges that really test observation and decision making. No matter what experience puzzle-lovers are looking for, they'll probably find it in Tumblestone.
For parties and families, this is a title definitely worth picking up and it does a great job in encouraging solo play, too. There's little new here, though, with most of the gameplay feeling old hat. Overall, Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on Nintendo's Wii U is a decent addition to the series but lacking anything special to elevate it to that next level.
A low price tag doesn't excuse the low amount of effort put into Ascent of Kings. Everything works on a technical level, but it's just so unimaginative that it can't justify a second play-through, let alone a first. It's a meandering mess of ideas taken from far better platformers, blended together in an hour-long hurricane that destroys any and all quality in its path. There's simply no appeal to the MS Paint drawn world that's been created; it's a boring and thoughtless mini-disaster that should just be ignored and forgotten.
For the devoted fans of the Neptunia series, this is definitely a title worth picking up. It's still the same reference overdosed, trope obsessed, fanservice heavy RPG series it's always been, and for some, that's great. The new characters are decently charming, and the story is substantially longer than some of the recent Neptunia spin-offs. If cute girls based off of the gaming industry's biggest titans (and has-beens) isn't your thing, though, there are other, better, RPGs worth your time.
While Table Top Racing: World Tour is a wonderfully designed racer, the lack of local multiplayer does hold it back from reaching its full potential as a party game - most of the fun of the genre is removed when there is no way to see or hear the reactions of the opponents when they fall into the malicious trap laid out for them. The campaign will at least last for a while, however, giving it some hours of fun and plenty of value - and who doesn't enjoy the charm of toy cars driving around in a sushi restaurant?
7th Dragon III Code: VFD doesn't deviate from the standard JRPG formula, but it does challenge players to think of unique ways to approach combat.
Barbie and her Sisters: Puppy Rescue would have done well as a Facebook game or smartphone app. However, as a console title, it suffers from downtime and repetition. For people who intend to play this as a five-minutes-at-a-time game, it will be a blast, but very few people play on consoles like that, making it difficult to recommend even to long-time fans of the Barbie brand.
The problem with Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus isn't its questionable, sexual hormone-fuelled visuals, but the fact that there's nothing more than that. Those seeking to see the girls of the - equally devoid of actual entertainment value - anime series fight, bounce, and get undressed, will have a blast. Unfortunately, those seeking a great hack 'n' slasher wrapped up in some cute girly underwear will be quite disappointed… and not from the underwear.
Robot Arena III offers a lot of fun for enthusiasts of robot wars. Some clean-up with the physics engine is needed, though, as well as a better in-game tutorial; as it is now, it's difficult to get into for newcomers and the physics do at times feel broken. The game is ultimately great fun, however, especially once the robot building is mastered.
The few good bits of Stranger of Sword City, like its immersive atmosphere and beautiful 2D art, amongst others, get drowned in a sea of problems.
Shadwen's first few levels will surely give some amount of fun to those who like this type of games, and the fact that the main character has to keep a little girl out of sight will, initially, feel like quite the exciting concept. Unfortunately, gameplay-wise this is quite a flawed product, with its main problem being the fact that it requires doing the exact same thing for more than 10, almost identical, levels.
While Ninja Senki DX doesn't really add anything new or offer anything that can't be found in dozens of old NES titles, it strikes all the right notes and fans of retro style platformers will find plenty to enjoy here. There is some really clever level design and enemy placement, and enough challenge to keep even the most masochistic of masochists entertained for quite a while.
When considering the volume and frequency of Milestone's motorbike-focussed output, it wouldn't be too out of line to suspect that MXGP2 might have been 'dialled in' to an extent, though making such an assumption would be doing the developer a great disservice, considering that it does everything it sets out to do very competently. While the managerial aspects of the campaign do feel like an unnecessary dressing used to pad out the experience, scramble fans eager to release the throttle and churn up the tracks should still enjoy the wealth of content on offer.
What an absolute joy to play through. With Kirby: Planet Robobot, Nintendo and HAL have delivered not only a standard Kirby platform outing for Nintendo 3DS that matches the usual high quality levels found throughout the series, but have managed to bring many new elements into the mix to ensure that this the freshest Kirby to date, merging clever ideas from other genre stable-mates with the traditional qualities everyone knows and loves.
Anima: Gate of Memories is going to appeal to those who enjoy dark action-RPGs, as it has many of the necessities, along with some improvements that make it comparable within the genre. It's tainted because there are many inconsistencies between quality throughout it, which are notable and many times hard to forgive, and which drag the game down.
Dreamfall Chapters Book Five: Redux may well be the fitting conclusion to this episodic series for many in story terms, and leaves it open enough to see a return in the (hopefully not too distant) future, but it is not anywhere near as enjoyable on the gameplay front as its predecessors. Looking at all five books together would mean that Dreamfall would shine bright, but on its own, Book Five: Redux is nothing more than a lengthy interactive movie sequence to try and wrap up loose plot threads. Highly pleasing on one level, it sadly leaves a big question lingering: why did it take so long to release this given the lack of actual puzzles and adventuring included? Poor integration of past characters and confusion over how everything actually fits together during the final sequences only add to the already mudded waters.
After years of delays and broken promises, Mighty No. 9 still manages to disappoint despite having the lowest of expectations. It controls, looks, and sounds worse than any Mega Man. Everything about Mighty Blunder 9 screams "amateur," with homage turning into borderline plagiarism most, if not all, of the time. Inafune and Comcept would have been better off canceling the project and refunding the Kickstarter; it would have saved them all the embarrassment of being attached to one of this decade's worst titles.
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE steals the spotlight with gorgeous visuals, memorable characters, and fast-paced, slightly over the top combat. While the gameplay won't exactly feel familiar to long time Fire Emblem fans, the characters and the relationships that they share will feel comfortingly familiar. While the developers could have gone a little further to stay true to the original inspiration for the game, there's still a lot to love about the brilliant and colourful idol-centric setting. Ultimately, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE delivers an encore worthy performance.
Gemology is a flawed game, with serious problems in its difficulty curve, which, as a result, makes for an unsatisfying playthrough. Its two modes aren't as addictive as a puzzle game should be, and its average presentation and handful of rewarding moments aren't enough to make the game worthy of a purchase.