Cubed3's Reviews
Treyarch has shoehorned an almost overwhelming amount of content into Black Ops III, with two sizable co-op capable campaigns, a gothic horror-flavoured zombie mode and an e-sports-driven multiplayer component that should keep fans of the franchise occupied for quite some time. Constantly getting humiliated at the hands of superior players has never been so much fun (note to self: get good!).
Poncho needs work before anybody should consider purchasing it. There is a strong attempt with this title, since the designers do not arbitrarily drag the user by the nose and let them freely explore the world. The whole game is just completely undermined by the bugs, which can be fixed. Gamers who are curious about Poncho should approach with caution and be ready to restart their sessions frequently. When it works, it's a solid game; it is just a question of if it will work or not.
For all its crooked edges, Albert & Otto is still worth venturing into, if not for the great atmosphere alone. It is a rewarding romp, as many difficult platformers are, but the lacklustre puzzles and cumbersome shooting, both of which are definitely a priority in this game, drag it away from greatness, and leave it grasping for any semblance of stability. Hopefully, further down the line, Albert & Otto will come into its own, but this is a rocky beginning for the episodic puzzle-platformer.
The Ice Dragon feels like a great setup for a sequel, but lacking as a finale. Although it manages to wrap up some storylines, there's not enough closure and certainly not enough cathartic moments. There's plenty of building for the sequel, however, and with the numerous possible endings, it will be interesting to see how Telltale can incorporate them all into a second season. Although there have been flaws throughout, it's evident that Game of Thrones and Telltale are a good fit. Hopefully, the second season won't be as far away as the sixth book...
Animal Gods is highly representative of a major flaw in the crowd-funding model: namedropping a classic series is practically a shortcut to financial success. Still Games sold its product almost exclusively on its superficial similarity to The Legend of Zelda and the works of Team Ico, so it's not much of a surprise that it doesn't follow through with its ambitions. However, even the most cynical observer would expect more from it than this. This is a vacuous mockery of the titles that inspired it, a boring art project at best, and a $10 insult to the customer's intelligence at worst.
While SkyScrappers is a fun arcade fighter, the enjoyment only lasts a little while, due to the easy AI and the lack of an online mode. The campaign can be completed in less than three hours with all of the characters, leaving the offline couch-multiplayer as the only mode with potential to aid the longevity of the adventure. A lack of variety in the way the characters are played also hurts its durability. While it isn't a long journey, playing in short bursts is a great way to pass the time and get some enjoyment out of battering opponents with falling debris from a collapsing skyscraper. To sum it up, as Kichirou states, "I'm exactly as one dimensional as I appear and have no hidden depths. Next!"
Knight Squad may bore many who want a solid standalone game to experience, but certainly stands on its own merits by being an enjoyable multiplayer title. The mechanics work well and don't require too much reflex, as the hit-box of other players is very large, making it so any player has a fair chance at winning. Ultimately, Knight Squad is a decent arcade multiplayer game that will be amusing for a while, but quickly becomes boring after a short amount of time. King and royalty, however, should look elsewhere for a more entertaining tournament.
As questionable as some of the outside marketing practises are, Disney Infinity 3.0 stands above all its competitors in the toy-gaming genre. What cannot be questioned is that Disney has control over some of the most loved and sought after licenses. The Star Wars campaigns that are just some of the available are very well developed and - most importantly - fun.
Pulse, if nothing else, doesn't feel finished. It feels like an alpha build that got pushed out so early it may have upset Early Access customers. While it obviously has potential (it's walked away with awards, after all), it feels largely incomplete, and like it should have been pushed through play-testing a bit further. If it gets some more depth, or, at least, if the depth it has gets fixed up and becomes more cohesive, it may live up to a lot of the hype it's generated. Until then, it's a game that exemplifies that just because an idea is good, it doesn't mean the product will be.
Jackbox Party Pack 2 is decent value for five party games, even if a few of them are pretty much duds. The inclusion of Fibbage 2 is well worth it, since it is one of the most exciting and mentally straining multiplayer games on the Xbox One. It is unfortunate that there is absolutely no option to use the standard controller at all and everyone must have a mobile device with specific parameters. However, if all these conditions are met, there is a decent amount of enjoyment to get out of Jackbox Party Pack 2 that Granny or even little Timmy and Tammy can enjoy, thanks to a family filter, which limits some of the game's questions from getting too adult. Jackbox Party Pack 2 is a solid party game that pretty much has whatever the party will call for - whether it's the childish noise games of Earwax, or the mind games of Fibbage 2, there is pretty much something here for anyone to enjoy.
The enjoyment of Etrian Mystery Dungeon will be very much dependant on how much a player enjoys the core experience of repeated dungeon excursions. While every other aspect added to the game is well thought out, nothing else is particularly substantial. The city management aspect is very lightweight, the story is fairly simple, and there are little other elements beyond item and weapon management. In essence, it's a very pure experience, which might be very appealing to some players, while being far too repetitive for others.
All in all, Stella Glow is a strong story that puts a clever twist on the tactical RPG format. The pacing could be better; watching the same battle animations can get annoying, but they can be skipped or disabled entirely. There's a lot of text to get through, but much of it is voiced, and the characters are fun and engaging, as well as attractively designed. Hours can tick by with only a handful of actual battles, which might be too slow for those looking for action or a more casual adventure experience, but anyone who wants to dive in will find a lot of quality content. It's not likely to reach Final Fantasy or Xenoblade levels of RPG acclaim, but it does its own thing well, brings originality to the mix, and is sure to catch many an RPG fan's eye.
Risen 3 is one of those RPGs that could've been much better, mostly because the action (combat, mainly) gets more attention than the RPG elements, and even then, the action isn't deep or varied. The story is very basic and the characters can only be called characters in the sense that they play a particular shtick. It is not a challenging game, not unless all points are allocated to skills not related to combat. Nonetheless, the environments are beautiful, it's good to get weapons and clothing that can be used to role-play, and the core gameplay is solid. There are some decent quests, too. Just avoid the immense amount of bugs by saving often; otherwise all progress might be lost.
Bedlam is, on many points, an interesting title. It has a fascinating story, nostalgia, and fun with universe meme. The world building around the game and the inclusion of old-school titles in the setting are features truly well-worked upon. Sadly, the same can't be said about Bedlam itself.
A great return to form and on par with Black Flag for the best in the series. It's certainly not flawless, but Ubisoft have clearly taken their criticisms on board and hopefully will continue the series with this kind of quality. The combat, exploration, and parkour are highly enjoyable and the story and characters well written and compelling. Definitely worth a second chance for those driven away by Unity.
[I]t's a bright flash of enjoyment that simply won't last for long once the main campaign is completed, due to a lack of alternate features. Having a friend can certainly prolong the enjoyment, but its downfall is almost certain in the end.
Rodea the Sky Soldier is simply a game that really needed more time, and a course correction. A lot of promising concepts are seen and experienced throughout, but the flying and Sonic homing-style combat would have been executed so much better with a bit more polish. The environments and visuals are possibly the worst to be seen in 2015, but at least the lovable character Ion provides charming quips of entertainment. The drunken and confused sky soldier Rodea, however, needs to have his pilot license revoked.
Back to Bed is worth a buy. It's a creative game with a lot of passion put into it, and its puzzles are fast paced and challenging enough for just about anyone. It's very short, though… to the point where a more frugal character might find it frustrating. Buy it on sale, but most definitely buy it.
If the measure of a game was purely its story Tales from the Borderlands would be an unquestioned dominator. The problem is that its gameplay is almost non-existent, with some of it feeling more obligatory than purposeful. Making some of the dialogue options timed also really hurts the game as it pushes the player to act rashly and in a manner they wouldn't normally do if they had just a few more seconds to ponder their preferred choice. However, the story more than holds its own. People looking for more action in their games may be disappointed, but those who simply want an active and pleasant adventure story and are fine with the setting will thoroughly enjoy their time spent.
There is a good reason why the Fatal Frame franchise is frequently placed in top-ten lists for scariest games of all time. This is a series founded on emotional dread and torment, with themes of sacrifice and spiritualism. Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water proves to be a worthy entry in one of the more classy and dignified examples of survival-horror. The sad fact is that they just don't make games like this too often. The censorship that the localization team and publisher implemented is deplorable and disrespectful to Mokoto Shibata's work, and making this title mostly available via eShop only is not doing it any favours either. Perhaps one day Fatal Frame will be in better hands, but for now Maiden of Black Water ranks as one of the better horror games to come out in a long time.