Cubed3's Reviews
Mushroom 11 manages to be fun, despite its few shortcomings. While there are parts that may prevent a second playthrough due to a frustrating amount of trial-and-error, it still manages to be enjoyable most of the time it's on. At the end of the day, its interesting concept and relatively good execution carry it beyond its shortcomings, and make it one of the best puzzle-platformers to come out of the indie scene.
This War of Mine: The Little Ones is not a happy game, or even a particularly enjoyable one. It's a painful, gruelling experience that really illustrates the horrors, choices, and atrocities present in war. It's not "fun" by any standard that is usually associated with playing a game. What 11 Bit Studios has done here, is create a masterful experience that lets players share, in a very small way, what it is like to live in a country torn apart by war. While it might be hard to think of This War of Mine in the same sense people think of other titles based on the subject of war, it might just paint the most vivid, terrible picture about what conflict does to those embroiled within it. It's a painful experience, but it's one that is ultimately worth having.
Unlike a number of remastered games that somehow tend to fall way off the mark, Bluepoint Games has crafted the optimum versions of each of the three titles in The Nathan Drake Collection, with Drake's Fortune, in particular, benefitting greatly from the work that has been put in in terms of visuals and gameplay. This is hardly a quick and dirty cash-grab; it is evidently a package that has seen a talented studio put effort into delivering the ultimate Uncharted trilogy experience, and the results are there for all to see, especially when going back to compare to the PS3 versions. There has been no better time to join Drake on his past expeditions and to prepare for his final adventure in A Thief's End.
King's Quest: Chapter 2 - Rubble Without a Cause is ultimately a good experience, but for a game with only two chapters so far, the drop in length is a concern. The writing is still good when dialogue sequences take place, and the humour is excellent for the most part, although the length and atmosphere really bring this chapter down.
The wonderful irony of The Magic Circle is that despite the extreme cynicism that informed its creation, it's actually representative of many of the positive aspects of modern gaming. Its biting humour and brilliant premise place it as part of a vanguard of indie titles keeping videogames more alive and engaging than ever, beneath the AAA mire. It's a very human product and, as such, makes some very human mistakes (most notably dreaming up amazing gameplay systems that vastly outstrip its own scope), but that's an acceptable price to pay for a work of genuine creative vision.
There's no denying that style is an integral part of videogames. The thing is, though, that when 'looking good' becomes the main focus, and throws substance out of the window in the process, things tend to start leaning towards the disappointing side of the scale; and that's the problem with The Deadly Tower of Monsters. While far - very far in fact - from being a terrible piece of software, without the B-Movie aesthetics and the funny narration from the Director and his unfortunate audio technician - which it nails - this is just an action game, and an average one at that.
A stumbling point for many reviewers is that headache-inducing moment when it's hard to decide whether a remastered title should be judged solely on its improvements, or rather on its actual value as a game, upgraded or not. The best course of action is, quite possibly, to do a little bit of both, but mostly focus on the core material, instead of the enhanced "wrapping." Therefore, going back to the previously asked question: is this title worth returning to? For those who loved the original GameCube version, Cubed3's three-step advice is simple: open wallet, give money, and scream for joy, because, although Resident Evil 0 is almost identical to the original, the HD makeover is marvellous. As for the rest: tread carefully, because the heavily chore-ish gameplay overshadows its few good aspects.
Mayan Death Robots is essentially the Smash Bros of ballistic missile games. Almost certainly best played in multiplayer, it's for anyone that loves thinking from moment to moment, and for the results of their actions to immediately fill the screen with unpredictable chaos. The game's single-screen, single-unit nature is what keeps this action fast paced and fluid. However, it also results in a game lacking both the longer term planning as well as the variety offered by the Worms series. Depending on what the player is looking for, this loss may be acceptable.
Documentaries aren't known for being the most exciting experiences in the world, and, therefore, it should come as no surprise that a documentary-esque "game" is only mildly engaging. That being said, compared to the mental illness emulation of Depression Quest, or the political surrealism of The Cat and the Coup, Never Alone is a highly accessible version of the form.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is a forgettable and shallow Metal Gear experience, and fans expecting this to be on par with any of the previous mainline releases will be disappointed, and, quite possibly, drop the game altogether before the lacklustre story decides to show up. It looks and plays fantastic, and the freedom to apply weapons and items to effective strategic use is second to none, but after hours of similar, tiring missions, with no incentive to drive forward or even return to once it's all done and dusted, it can't help but be wondered how on earth this turned out the way it did. This is no phantom pain, it's a physical one.
Dreamfall Chapters Book Four: Revelations continues where Book Three: Realms left off, keeping the action flowing quickly to prevent boredom creeping in, and upping the ante in the puzzle stakes. Locations change regularly, the mix of conundrum types is more varied than before, and the dialogue feels fresher than it ever did, with witty banter causing raucous laugh-out-loud moments, adjusting the tone appropriately to avoid the seriousness of some of the subject matter from becoming too sombre in the long run. There is talk of the 'Balance' throughout the game's story… Well, Red Thread Games has certainly achieved the perfect balance with this fourth book.
FullBlast is hard to fault entirely in one particular of its many aspects. It doesn't do much wrong: it controls well, the music is nice enough, the visuals, while not impressive, do look clean. It gets the action going, yet it fails to capture the attention because it's too repetitive and not engaging enough. It's neither good nor bad, it just feels dull. Nothing outstanding distinguishes one level from the next, and the lack of anything truly surprising or groundbreaking means that it feels more like work than entertainment to get through all the levels and see the ending. Online leaderboards, while they are a good addition (and are seriously lacking in the brilliant re-releases of old classics on Nintendo platforms), won't be its saving grace. The boring repetitiveness of the action, music, and scenery is likely to put off the most purist of fans, who will likely prefer to whip out an old classic rather than sticking around for too long in this newer title. Lack of content, replayability, and engaging factors hold back what could have otherwise been a much better home console experience, and proves that copy-pasting a mobile game onto a home console is not a good idea.
There are many upsides to Prison Architect. From its smooth and easy controls, strong gameplay, and the chance for anyone to test how they would react when placed at a position of power. Of course, the game is not without its downsides either, such as the way it can end up fairly monotone once the game is mastered, but, as a whole, it's very worthwhile.
Those who are interested in Sakura Swim Club will likely know already what it is and have their minds decently made up about if it should be purchased or not. As a visual novel it's flat and basic, but it does manage to avoid being frustrating and isn't really 'harmful' in any way for its audience. People not interested in this "genre" will be just fine skipping it, as it holds no desire to deviate from it.
Ironically, the thing that can initially be seen as Xenoblade Chronicles X's biggest weakness will eventually turn out to be its greatest strength. While all of the details and the massive world will frighten people off at first because of its sheer complexity and depth, once adapted, it will embrace them and become an addictive and beautiful experience offering hundreds of hours of wonderful game time. It might, actually, be worthy of the title of being the ultimate RPG game for RPG fans, mixing the dearest elements of both JRPGs and WRPGs into the same package.
For avid pinball players and Star Wars fans, The Force Awakens pack is a must for any table collection. The two tables featured in the pack represent all the wonder that Zen Studios has provided, and it has opened up a whole world of possibilities in what the team could deliver next. Help Rey, Finn, Poe and the Resistance, or crush planets under the might of the First Order. These two new tables are a must own, and should provide many more hours of fun and enjoyment, while providing the right amount of challenge for new and experienced pinball players.
VR needs something that can be enjoyed timelessly, something that can be picked up and played for 30 minutes or an hour each day and provides some kind of unique fun each time. VR Invaders succeeds at this, with gameplay that is timeless, going back to the fundamental roots of the medium, but unfortunately with the same flaws, too.
Final Fantasy VI is still good, but its primary purpose is to kick gamers in the pants about bringing emulation discussions to the forefront. In an age where classic games are easily playable on modern systems, a rerelease should really amaze with its changes and new features, but because emulation is tainted by tangentially related conversations about piracy, it's taboo to point out that a better version is widely available with very little effort. If this release is stacked against the emulation scene, it's an absolute joke that people are expected to pay money for this, but the overall sentiment from AAA publishers is that emulation doesn't exist. There are plenty of legitimate ways to enjoy this game without the long list of flaws that characterise this port, and it is advised to explore other avenues; Square Enix shouldn't be rewarded for releasing shoddy ports.
Dreamfall Chapters Book Three: Realms manages to blow the previous two chapters completely out of the water, upping the ante in the story stakes, building more of a connection between players and the characters within, whilst also introducing some highly engaging new puzzles across both new and familiar settings, fixing any of the niggling issues found in Book One: Reborn and Book Two: Rebels. This is what fans were waiting for - and it can only get better from this point onwards.
Dreamfall Chapters Book One: Reborn was a revelation, tickling every nostalgic bone in the body, as well as introducing gripping new story elements and a thoroughly well thought-out decision making system. Book Two: Rebels starts off strong, but peters out somewhat due to too much backtracking and tiresome fetch quests. With enough likeable characters, intrigue regarding the overarching tale, and the lure of seeing how decisions already made will continue to affect future proceedings, however, this latest Dreamfall Chapters edition is well worth grinding through before diving into Book Three: Realms for more juicy revelations.