Cubed3's Reviews
The Perils of Man has a great premise and the story will help to keep veteran point-and-click adventurers patient enough to see it out to the end, but with too much aimless wandering around, an overreliance on collecting everything, mixing stuff together and hoping for the best, and a very clunky inventory/item combination system, most others will get frustrated early on and give in. This is definitely a case of 'great concept, not so great execution.'
Avalanche Studio's creation doesn't care about the "are videogames art?" dispute, it doesn't give a dirty rodent's behind about realism, and it doesn't takes itself too serious. It's an unapologetic tribute to the best adolescent boy fantasy of all time, besides a gaming session with a young, black stockings-wearing Dolly Parton, which is none other than being a flying, bullet-eating cocktail of comic book superheroes, and all this with the sex appeal of a Mediterranean Nathan Drake. Sure, all this destruction and mayhem lacks the required depth and motivation inherent in other sandbox titles, and yes, it can all become extremely boring, but while this ultimately more of a somewhat flawed toy and not a "true" videogame, it's an extremely addictive and enjoyable one at that, nonetheless.
Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash should, quite frankly, not exist. It is an embarrassment with next to no content, absolutely no strategy involved, and feels like a blatant cash grab more than anything. Nintendo has gotten far too safe with the Mario IP if the developers felt that they could release a skeleton like this for $50. Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash is nothing more than a platform for selling amiibo and should not be purchased by any means.
Coming to terms with the concept of Typoman is surprisingly easy, but managing to switch the brain from simple platform mode, and all the instincts that go with the sometimes twitch-like gameplay, to conundrum solving in a split second, is tougher than it may sound. Brainseed Factory has pieced together a fantastically atmospheric ride, filled to the brim with engaging word-jumble brainteasers and supremely tight run-and-jump mechanics. Once that old grey matter kicks into gear, planning solutions ahead of time, so as to be able to focus more on the extremely accurate leaps and bounds required, will become second nature. There may well be the odd head-scratching moment, but the satisfaction of making eventual progress is pure elation. Similarly, whilst there are only three short chapters included in all, the numerous retries necessary during some of the more dastardly sections lengthens the adventure, and that sense of deep-seated pleasure when overcoming particular obstacles is remarkably gratifying. Enthralling, from start to finish.
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.