Cubed3's Reviews
What replay value it has is dampened by how slow-moving Graham is and how cutscenes and bits of dialogue can't be skipped, but King's Quest begins a story anyone who plays it will want to follow through to the end.
On the whole, it's fair to say that most spin-offs are doomed to live in the shadow of their more popular source materials. Even so, Happy Home Designer did have the potential to stand on its own two legs - the sole ingredient needed to confirm that fact being the element of fun, which it sadly lacks. Everything is polished to a very typical high-gloss, Nintendo-brand sheen, but without any deep or meaningful gameplay system in place to bolster the charm, Happy Home Designer ends up feeling disappointingly shallow, with minimal longevity. Perhaps as an eShop game the effect would have been softened - at best, there are a few hours of enjoyment to be had, but the finished package lends little to the justification of a standalone release.
Sure, the replay value is somewhat disappointing, and, as a whole, this won't really threat the elites, but it's definitely on the right path for doing so.
The Astronauts made an interesting experiment with The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, and while the team's attempt to tell some kind of tragic and emotional story is kind of effective, the overall gameplay, which serves as the grubby middleman that glues the whole tapestry together, is just not the hours wandering around in the Wisconsin woods. This probably would have made for a great novel instead of a video game.
While it's hard to find anything overtly enjoyable in the experience, Expand never feels like a complete waste of time. It's a tough game to explain on many levels. It's more of a platformer than anything else, or perhaps a puzzle game. It's not horrible, and it's not amazing.
It might take a bit to get started, and too many of the puzzles can be solved by accident, but there is enough here to make it worth a look even two years after its original release. It might have taken a while from the construction to finish up, but this is a bridge worth crossing.
At the current price, Dishonored: Definitive Edition is a complete rip-off and Bethesda callously thinks they can dupe their customers into buying such a lazy port of a fine game.
The price might seem high for how subtle or cosmetic these additions are, but many will likely find enough value in the overall strong developer support and thriving modding community to justify the cost, if the new layers of depth aren't enough for them.
D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die is such an unsatisfying adventure game due to it ending way before it even truly begins. All of the elements were in the right place for a worthy successor to one of the greatest cult surprises from last gen, thanks to Swery's ambitious creative choices and boldness to have stat management in an otherwise non-skill oriented genre. Sadly, all of these flourishes are painfully undermined because of the story's abrupt cliff-hanger that is not built up to. The way D4 leaves so many plot threads unresolved and with no proper climax is guaranteed to frustrate anybody who plays this. The future of D4 is very unclear if it will ever get resolution, and while there has been an announcement of a second season, there is no indication that it will conclude the story of David Young. This game is very hard to recommend because, while it is interesting and is not like anything else available, it is also a massive tease with no promise of satisfaction.
It's business as usual for Sledgehammer, who has once more delivered a solid package that both compliments and adds longevity to the vanilla Advanced Warfare experience. There is a minor concern that a fracturing of the player base between those that own the new DLC and those that don't has started to impact slightly on the matchmaking, as finding Exo Grapple matches has started to take longer than it used to. However, those invested in the Exo-Zombies storyline should enjoy getting to grips with 'Carrier,' and the welcome addition of a wisecracking Bruce Campbell to the fray is a good choice that bodes well for an explosive final chapter.
Anyone who loves city-builders and doesn't own a previous entry in the series will likely find a solid, valuable title in Cities XXL. It's not as snappy or attractive, or even as engaging, as some of its competitors, but it's a worthwhile endeavour in its own right.
Skullgirls was one of the best new fighting IPs to come out in years, and Skullgirls 2nd Encore is everything that made the original game great and so much more. New characters, new modes, and improved visuals and sound make this the (hopefully) complete version of a fantastic title before the developers finally move on to new projects. This is a fighting game for fighting fans made by fighting fans, and the balance and creativity here is absolutely off the charts. It is a wonderfully enjoyable title to play, both for newcomers and the genre savvy, representing one of the most enjoyable, complete fighters in recent memory. The roster might be a bit on the small side and this package doesn't offer that much more for those that already purchased the DLC, but those that haven't absolutely need to pick this up. A game like this deserves a second encore, and Skullgirls has certainly earned it.
It was a bit surprising when Persona 4: Dancing All Night was announced and everyone learned the newest Persona spin-off would be a rhythm title. A rhythm game with Persona imagery draped over it is a bit bizarre, but even more bizarre is how thoroughly entertaining it is. It is a really competent rhythm game at its core, with solid mechanics and a stellar track list. Fans of Persona 4 absolutely should join along for Yu's latest adventure, but this really isn't a game for just Persona fans. This is an enjoyable title with a fun story, plenty of camp value, and an extremely entertaining and replayable series of songs that just happens to feature everyone's favourite Persona 4 characters. There are some minor issues, but the overall package is so well made that it is easy to forget some occasional game design wonkiness. At this point, it is worth checking out pretty much anything Atlus puts out with the Persona title attached to it, because if they can conquer the rhythm genre, they should be able to do just about anything. PS Vita owners might be getting desperate for some exclusive titles, but Persona 4: Dancing All Night is a title that was worth waiting up for.
Like it or not, Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls is an essential part of the series canon, despite the vastly different take on the previous visual novel format. Whilst far from perfect gameplay-wise, and dragging on too much for its own good, many of the positive attributes Danganronpa is known for successfully transfer across to this entry, filling in the gaps left between the previous two releases. It is the plot that carries Ultra Despair Girls along, but had it not been for the entries before it, this may not have been received as favourably. Either way, this is still a must-play for Danganronpa fans.
A few more RPG elements, such as exploration and true dungeon-crawling would easily have pushed Card Hunter higher, but there simply isn't enough to engage players long except the multiplayer, which, while it isn't Pay to Win, does give advantages through the store that are difficult to acquire otherwise. Card Hunter is fun to play, though, even with the annoying sound effects.
Disgaea 5 fulfils exactly everything desired and expected from a Disgaea title, though, and what more could fans or newcomers to the franchise ask for? Ultimately, Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance is a great game for any fan of the SRPG genre, and it shows why this franchise is a great entry port into the genre.
Extreme Exorcism is a action arcade game with a creative take on battling memory and reflex. There's not a whole lot to explore after playing for a few hours - just pick a room in the house, grab the weapons, kill the crowned copycat ghost, repeat. Do not expect this to hold attention for long, given that the only substantial purpose to press on is to unlock more weapons and see different rooms of the mansion. The battle against the copycat ghost is a selfless one, but somebody's got to do it… or maybe not.
Devil's Third might not be the cream of the crop when it comes to Wii U exclusives and may look a little rough around the edges due to its troublesome development, but there is a lot of fun to be had in both the single-player and online portions for those with an open mind and the ability to look past its rough exterior.
There's a great, yet flawed, game here. The open world is a joy to explore, but grows tiresome for those who want to get 100% completion. Combat is fun and brutal, but not varied enough to stay interesting long term. These flaws are not enough to highly impact the end product, thankfully, which manages to be a superb open-world experience, with a real unique style and character.
Whilst the originality of the game and its design can be seen, along with some humorous points to it, this alone doesn't warrant the need or want to download it - certainly not at the price tag it comes with. As a free download, it might (at a push) be worth the punt for a quick laugh between groups of friends, but that's where its potential starts and ends. Sadly, after little consideration, I am Bread lands butter side down.