Cubed3's Reviews
Tomorrow Corporation has presented a clever satire with deep messages incorporated into both the story and gameplay, delivering a unique experience. The imitation of real CPUs is going to be a feature that will make programming enthusiasts crazy and puzzle veterans shake with excitement thanks to the challenge involved. However, due to some almost ridiculous difficulty spikes, Human Resource Machine will most likely not be played through to the end by anyone other than those in said groups, leaving more casual puzzle gamers behind. A smoother difficulty curve would have helped a lot to make this title shine brighter. Other than the steep difficulty, though, this is a memorable experience and a good starting point in learning how to program, starting with the basic code lines, allowing for deep gameplay.
When Clandestine works, it becomes wonderful. Two players working together to try and tackle a mission neither could handle on their own, trying to communicate in order to bolster teamwork; and it works more often than not. However, it struggles against some glaring flaws as well, such as the cumbersome controls, and the frequency of situations where one player will end up waiting around for the other to finish their bits. It's a good concept and core idea, and with a bit more polish, could be great.
There's a reason that Skylanders] has survived so long. Even without the Toys to Life aspect of the title, the game is addictive fun whether played alone or, even better, in co-operative mode with a friend. The new aspects added in this latest incarnation add a whole new dimension to the play and it is done very well indeed. The vehicle-based parts of the stages are great and all of the race-based aspects are a superb addition to an already established universe. Skylanders SuperChargers is the best in the series yet and proves that LEGO Dimensions and Disney Infinity still have a yardstick to reach.
Even though there's a steep learning curve that may turn many people off from venturing further into the world of Primal Carnage: Extinction, it is definitely worth breaking through that grind, because underneath is a great game with solid environments, and a fun gaming experience. Trekking through the jungles as a commando hunting large dinosaurs is a lot of fun, while hunting for prey from the skies above as a Pterodactyl is even more fun. While finding some matches may be annoying, once the online community grows even larger, this would be one franchise that won't go extinct.
One Upon Light is a great purchase for puzzle fans looking for something slightly different. It's an excellent first release from a previously unheard of developer, and could even be enough for Singapore to emerge as a new major contributor to the industry. It's fantastic that Rising Star Games has brought One Upon Light westward a year after its original release, and it should hopefully pave the way for new original experiences to be release here in the future.
At the parts where it shines at its brightest, G-senjou no Maou: The Devil on G-String is a wonderful experience, both emotionally and intellectually - with music that's almost in a league of its own(with glorious remakes of classical pieces), and the help of a highly complex, multi-layered story. While its strongest parts stand out, however, so do its weaknesses. A sometimes way too outdrawn storyline makes it occasionally difficult to remain interested, or feel the sense of suspense that the thriller genre is supposed to deliver to keep someone glued to the screen. 40+ hours is clearly too long a duration, and some parts could have been cut shorter to highlight those aspects that make this title shine. Fortunately, the quality of the experience as a whole makes up for those annoying segments.
The release of Treyarch's Black Ops III will no doubt impact heavily on Advanced Warfare's player base; however, its consistent stream of high quality DLC provides a compelling reason for season pass holders to revisit on a regular basis. With the Exo-suit mothballed and packed away, it'll be interesting to see whether it makes a return for Sledgehammer's next entry in a couple of years' time. Whether it does or not, Sledgehammer should be applauded for daring to take the franchise in a different direction.
Game of Thrones' plot would have been interesting to play in an RPG, but the way Telltale Games handled it led to something that is mostly dialogue trees and quick-time events. There are a couple of moments where the game lets people hold the control stick up to move forward, but this is not a game with substantial gameplay at all.
In the words of Sadie: "I hurt you, I heal you, I hurt you again. That's the pattern." That is the best summary of Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3: V Generation. It's following the pattern, and both the things that used to hurt and be wonderful remain the same. Those who were not already fans won't likely be charmed in by this one. Those who loved it will remain enthralled. It knows its strength, which is in its humour and characters, and doesn't even attempt to deviate from that path, for both the better and worse. It's a great title on the whole - just don't expect it to stray from the pattern.
There's a lot of charm in Lovely Planet, so much that it almost feels wrong to not recommend it fully. The initial presentation sets a fantastic mood and atmosphere, and there's a childlike wonder to the whole experience, but it sadly goes away as stages get increasingly longer and more frustrating. It's sad, really. Lovely Planet has such a strong identity, meshing actual platforming with FPS-style gameplay, but it all clashes so poorly by the end that it can't help but feel like a huge missed opportunity for something really great.
Basketball gamers have never had a better simulator than 2K16. It is a complete improvement in every way over the games that came before it, and has addressed most of the issues that its predecessor suffered from. That being said, there are still plenty of new issues, the main problems being the story mode and the severe issues with online play. The game even used the tagline "Story is everything" in regards to Spike Lee's creation, so the question has to be asked, if the story is very poor and "Story is everything", what does that say about everything else?
The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited tries to do many things, yet it is good at none of them.
While it's great to see Bandai Namco continue to support Otaku fans in the West, Sword Art Online: Lost Song is a lost cause for anyone who isn't a die-hard SAO fan. With a weak story, recycled areas, and a short length on the whole, even long-term fans won't find much here to keep them entertained. There is one title left to come in the series, Hollow Realisation, returning to the fan favourite setting of Aincrad next year. Hopefully, it can learn from the many mistakes of its predecessors.
If basing it on the combat alone, Rebel Galaxy fares high. Story and the like need consideration, though, and they are lacking. It's like having a fancy car with a low tank; fun while it lasts until it sputters down and out (due to the grind), and it takes a tediously and pointlessly long time to get up and going again, by which point the fun may have worn off.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited has taken significant strides to correct the wrongs that plagued its initial release and although there are still a number of issues, they don't massively impact the end product. Admittedly, it has a huge lineage to live up to and when compared to the legendary Skyrim it comes up slightly lacking, but it is still a game that deserves experiencing.
While it's more disappointing than bad, Coast Guard's overall quality doesn't justify its current £14.00 price. It tries mixing the replication of real life scenarios dealing with maritime law enforcement, along with a lot of detective work, but it fails both ways in doing so. The simulation part is almost non-existent, and the detective one an uninteresting and slow-paced fetch quest - and if that wasn't enough, the various bugs, almost broken controls, and badly implemented game mechanics are more than enough reasons to throw this back to where it belongs: the digital ocean of shoddy video games.
Mordheim: City of the Damned is stacked with every odd against those who live in its ruined streets. While a fun, challenging, and sometimes all too dehumanising experience, a steep learning curve and tricky management systems can make for a meaty dish locked behind a very tough shell. Still, it's definitely more than worth the time it takes to learn its systems, and strategy and tabletop gaming fans should definitely take the time to look at this excellent adaptation.
What an absolutely fantastic game. Bethesda has nailed Fallout 4; the world, the graphics, the perk system, the story - almost everything about this game demands coming back to over and over again, where players can happily sink hundreds of hours into exploring the harsh wasteland. However, it's disappointing to see problems that have plagued other Bethesda titles are still showing their gruesome face.
Grab that nuclear-fuelled Power Armor, then, step into the acid rain, and get ready to enter a world that might not be perfect, but is certainly hard to avoid coming back to again, and again, and again.
The Peanuts Movie: Snoopy's Grand Adventure does a great job of capturing the world of Peanuts and its characters. Well-themed stages based on each character is a driving force to explore and play the game from start to finish, and is sure to bring many smiles to the faces of Peanuts fans. Besides nostalgia, there is sadly not much else to get in The Peanuts Movie: Snoopy's Grand Adventure, though. Between backtracking and stages that hardly stand a second playthrough, it ends up being just another decent platformer. It is by no means a bad title, just underwhelming. More actual challenge would be a plus to the title, if only for the hunt for the collectibles, as, currently, nothing in the game is even remotely dangerous or challenging to bypass, which adds to the overall low replay value of the stages. For Peanuts fans, young and old, a charming reunion with the characters is to be had, but everyone else might not find many redeemable qualities to get this over other platformers on the market.