Cubed3's Reviews
This is an example of what video games can do that no other medium can; it wouldn't work to see these things happen on a screen or read them on a page—Life is Strange draws its power from putting choices in players' hands, and while it may not amount to a perfect experience, it is one that they are never going to forget.
Elite: Dangerous is still considered a "work in progress" and will be getting updates and new features implemented over time. In its current state, it does have nigh infinite amount of content due to the randomly-generated nature, so there is usually something to keep interest, even if players are spaced out by what feels like hours at a time. It can be immersive thanks to the methodical pacing, but in the end, it is still boring due to the exciting bits being so few and far in between, so it's is a mixed bag in terms of how experiences will vary, depending on who is playing. Elite: Dangerous has its obvious flaws, but the game itself is unique and is unlike anything else on the Xbox One, so for just being different it can be worth a shot.
To be "one of the most relaxing games ever made" was a stated design goal of Lumini, but the only thing the experience has in common with relaxation is that both end in sleep. Come to think of it, sleep is an acceptable substitute for playing the game. At least in dreams, visions of alien worlds and meaningless stories don't come with a $13 price tag and a couple of hours of monotonous gameplay.
It's honestly pretty sad how disappointing Rakoo & Friends is, because it's an absolutely stunning looking game. The animated cut-scenes are a real treat, and everything looks so fluid on both the GamePad and television. It just isn't fun, though. Playing through the same levels over and over again to the same grating music can only stay tolerable for so long.
The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 is a great example of a point-and-click adventure, but, at times, the puzzles that make up a massive portion of the game are awfully difficult to figure out and sometimes don't make much sense. This causes constant hits into brick walls when it comes to progress and makes it drag on for several hours longer than it should already do. One massive redeeming factor is how wonderfully written it is, though; two or three chuckles are guaranteed.
Armikrog is a decent game that holds great respect to the classic 90s-style cartoon humour using clay as the art form. The responsiveness of clicking interactive objects of any kind is extremely poor, and may feel like it does not work in some cases, but will work later. The puzzles are excellent and provide great use of tracking down hints and clues throughout the areas. The voice acting is pure comedic art; however, not enough is in the game to truly allow it to reach stellar results.
Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash is not the best Chibi-Robo - it is not even that great of a 2D side-scroller or platformer, either. For the most part, the experience ends up feeling shallow and generic compared to the past games and aside from a few fleeting bold moments with the bosses, there just is not much memorable about it. The world may never see another game in this franchise, and it is sad that this one will probably be remembered as "that time Nintendo tried to give Chibi-Robo a desperate change." Perhaps the timing was bad for this character, or the world just wasn't ready for him yet. Zip Lash is a well-made title, just one that fails to inspire. Skip Ltd. should have played to its strengths as a quirky Japanese game developer, instead of aiming for a homogeneous 2D platformer.
Arcana Heart 3: LOVE MAX!!!!! provides an enjoyable experience for the most part, but it's let down slightly by the storytelling side. Given the oversaturation of similarly styled fighters in the genre, it struggles to find its own identity, although fighting fans that enjoy a fast paced arcade style brawler could do much worse than picking up a copy of this. It might not stand out from the crowd, but it's very competently executed.
While it does occasionally get repetitive, the solid play mechanics and constantly evolving challenge is just reward for those that persevere with it. Plus (and this can't be stressed enough)... it has a ship that transforms into a giant mech.
It's not perfect and it has certain flaws, yet this is still an undeniable blast from start to finish and will invite gamers to come back for seconds because Platinum Games' action stamp is just pitch perfect. Hopefully the partnership between these teams will continue and consistently deliver such wonderful action games for years to come.
Jotun relies too much on its impressive face value presentation. The gameplay is far too poor on a multitude of degrees - the combat (or lack thereof), the walking distance between anything of interest, the lack of checkpoints, and the overall lacklustre game structure. The art direction is definitely an iota that will catch the interests of many, but many more will not be pleased with the game itself. Few Valkyries will be willing to recruit Thora as an einherjar, and very few players will enjoy the journey of Jotun.
Cross of the Dutchman holds true lore-wise, explaining the tale of Pier Gerlofs Donia, but as a video game, the hero falls flat on his face with crippled combat mechanics, bland gameplay progression, poor animation, and an overall lack of content and excitement. It needed a tremendous amount of extra work and polish. If this game was a sword, it would be a blacksmith's worst nightmare, or a laughingstock of poor craftsmanship. Ultimately, some stories are just better told in books.
The biggest problems are the brevity, lack of story, and overwhelming sensation it leaves that Frozenbyte released this unfinished and hopes to create DLC to finish it. That may or may not prove the case, but it remains difficult to like Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power when looking at the whole thing.
Does Beach Buggy Racing deserve a place in the games library? Yes, it does. It may not be Crash or Mario, but then it doesn't need to be. It's fun and quirky, it's something that can be played at any occasion, and can be taken seriously, too.
Goat Simulator is a hilariously fun game, especially in multiplayer, that will offer many hours of fun during late Saturday nights, but due to the severe number of bugs and issues, it's impossible to give Goat Simulator a high grade while keeping a straight face. It is a horrible game done horribly right, a game that is so bad it actually becomes a great experience, so long as players enter it with the right mindset.
Bungie has finally delivered something akin to promises it has made in the past. Destiny is still not the open-world exploration adventure everyone thought it was going to be, but it is carving its own path in the videogame world, and it's getting better and more fun with every step.
If, for some reason, the 50-100 hours of content in Pillars of Eternity were not enough for some people, The White March Part I will fulfil their needs. However, "expansion" seems like too generous a word for what it is. "Expansion" implies branching out into new territory; all this DLC does is cycle back for another lap in the same territory.
For the uninitiated into the grand strategy genre this might be a daunting order, but for those who are it's a wonderful entry that shines. Both full of detail and freedom and simple enjoyment. Its faults are few, though frustrating when they rear their heads, and it's much easier to find enjoyable, happy things in it than anything bad. A delight to play.
The zombie apocalypse isn't a world of fear, but a world of bores and chores.
It is very difficult to find anything nice to say about such a poorly made product, and nobody should be subjected to it, especially fans of Saint Seiya - avoid, without a doubt.