Cubed3's Reviews
Well, it was never in doubt really, was it? Super Mario 3D All-Stars represents the pinnacle of platforming goodness and with perfect ports, as well as top notch optimisation for the console, it's a must-buy.
It's great to have a new Vanillaware title on PS4. The bleak future presented with a writhing tangling plot makes for an excellent setting, showing that the team isn't just a one-trick pony. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is hampered by a slightly tedious battle system but, luckily, the adventure and story scenes are excellent and easily elevate this to greatness. An excellent, unique, niche title that is absolutely recommended to fans of Vanillaware and those who like things to be a certain flavour of Japanese.
Watch a video of someone playing The Eternal Castle [REMASTERED], and you'll love it. The faux-retro, 2-bit colour palette has been used to paint a dark, grungy, and deeply atmospheric post-apocalyptic Earth, whose style will surely be appreciated by - very - old-school PC gamers. A great art style can never replace great game design, however. The visuals make it hard to understand what's going on, leading to even more trial-and-error that's already needed, not to mentions that the controls are a bit of a mess. There are things to like here, but the ride isn't usually that exciting.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning's MMO beginnings are pretty obvious due to how generic the world and its lore is, and from how repetitive and… non-role-playing-game-esque it actually is. This is basically a simpler, more casual friendly version of Skyrim, and while definitely somewhat enjoyable, it's not exactly "the best RPG of 2012" as some have claimed. Even worse? The remaster of this generic MMO-ish "RPG" is a total lie. Put the original next to its new version, and it will be easy to assume that the developer just played with the contrast and saturation gliders a bit, and nothing more than that.
Activision have continued their revival of 'old-meets-new' with the latest Tony Hawk instalment.For all intents and purposes, it retains the charm and thrills from the original while adding on new quality of life bells and whistles. It hits the nostalgia notes whilst also completely revamping the stages, soundtrack, player models and almost everything else imaginable. This is now the definitive method to enjoy the first two games in this iconic franchise.
Tower of Time does everything right an RPG in this style should. It feels like a breath of fresh air, and a throwback at the era when PC games where in their heyday, with stellar writing carrying them instead of graphical prowess. The sense of exploration and story interwoven is very good. The sole thing, and it is a big one, is the controls and general port are a mess. Controls should not be this bad, and it drags down an otherwise great title.
Niche is cute, and has some interesting ideas about evolution and adapting to changing circumstances. One of its best charms is the feeling of connection with the first animals as it fades away into a unique connection simply with the continuing family line. These are marred by a very repetitive turn structure, and an exceedingly complex gene system - both serve to get in the way of having fun. The vision is exciting, but the reality is too much of a grind to recommend in any large capacity, beyond the novelty of interacting with life/death in a memorable way, if nothing else.
There are some games out there that are "so-bad-its-good," like most of Swery's games. Outbreak: The New Nightmare is one of those "so-bad-it-gave-me-depression" ones. The developer likely is inexperienced, and working with almost no budget, but not everyone should make a game. The saying "anyone can make a game", means that a good game designer can come from anywhere. All survival-horror fans must stay away from this one.
This is genuinely one of the best visual novels on Nintendo Switch, despite some short scenes with questionable moral content, which many get accustomed to enduring with anime and manga. There is surprising depth and gravity in Nurse Love Addiction, making it relatable despite the fantasy elements. Replaying the game won't be dull in an attempt to find out what happens when Asuka falls in love with characters other than Sayuri, where no doubt many more mysteries await.
Cat Quest II succeeds in taking the concept of the original further, and making it a more compelling experience. The improved story, co-op play, and extra variety, essentially make it the bigger, better, more interesting version of the original - almost like a GOTY, or complete edition. Unfortunately, however, it fails to completely remedy the repetitive nature of some of the content, and in taking the tedium out of the level grinding. Overall, a commendable second tale in the world of Cat Quest, and one which is thoroughly recommended.
Coming as a complete surprise, the quality of the art and characters deserves tremendous praise. A single story is interesting, avoiding typical RPG tropes, and engaging from start to finish, which makes it more insane is that there are six stories in this game. Frequently Brigandine will surprise you with moments of extra quality, like the frequency of the artwork screens depicting what's happening. The only thing holding back this title from being a truly phenomenal experience is the repetitive music, some small graphical issues battle-wise, and how much time the actual warfare can take.
There is actually a lot of hope for this. At this stage it feels like it still should be in a final beta stage as there are things that still lack polish, such as text spill-overs and unclear mechanics. While it is clearly a Master of Orion 2 clone, it has some ideas that actually are pretty cool and can really be expanded on. Notably the exploration system does a good job of keeping it relevant, unlike many games in the genre. Between the industry system, the terraforming, and the exploration, there are some neat ideas here - this just lacks some of that magic, and desperately cries out for a more coherent experience.
Great art and an intriguing story set a strong premise for Raji: An Ancient Epic. It's backed by some impressive experimental gameplay and combat that has a few flaws, but it is far from broken. Playing as Raji is a joy and many Prince of Persia fans may see some things they liked from that series reflected here. Exploring the mythology and beliefs presented is an experience that only this has provided - a unique premise, if you will. It's in need of some polish but it feels like the developer realised its dream and with this commendable effort it's a shining start for the team. Raji comes recommended to all players looking for a new mythological action title!
While Picross as a game itself doesn't offer much in the sense of variety, the developer has obviously made an effort to come up with new, interesting alternatives for the gameplay, which makes it interesting, and a good addition for puzzle-lovers' Nintendo Switches.
There is as much substance to Skelattack as there is meat on Skully. This is the barest of effort to put into a platformer's design. The over reliance on frustrating-to-control wall-jumping, and terrible combat that takes forever is what kills the experience. What is tragic is that Skelattack runs very smoothly, and is devoid of bugs or glitches. The developer was clearly competent on the construction of its product, but the concept that holds everything together is such a weak foundation. Most of this can be cheesed thanks to the generous i-frames, and how every level's start has a checkpoint. This makes so much of Skelattack redundant and pointless.
Saints Row: The Third Remastered is one of the most impressive guilty pleasures - one that also manages to be much more clever than it presents itself. All DLC is included, and the overall experience is polished to a mirror-like sheen. Anyone who initially wrote off Saints Row: The Third as a insipid Grand Theft Auto knock-off, might want to give it another chance. There is more going on than just being a simple third-person sandbox action game.
The tactical spin to the CCG model in Faeria ends up working fairly well, if being somewhat simplistic.
Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour is an excellent compilation of some of the best Duke moments, and a little bit of something new.
Excitingly fresh, Captain Tsubasa: Rise of Champions captures a fun arcade and anime-style, and prioritises a zany, wacky experience. There are a couple of performance issues that could have been improved before release, but nonetheless, these can be overlooked since the core-gameplay mechanics are fun and rewarding to master. If there was ever a time to try out a new football game, then this is it.
The previous entries in the Project CARS series catered completely towards the sim racer and the decision to break away from that is both strange and bold. Not only has the series abandoned its roots, it doesn't seem to acknowledge them, either, with the team stating this is still a sim gaming. It's not, though - at all. However, that's not a bad thing for the casual fans. The result is a brand new, arcade racer that wider audiences can truly enjoy. Slightly Mad Studios has crafted a fast, frantic, and enjoyable arcade experience. The new cars feel individual and there's plenty of incentive to replay challenges to get the career level increased and the career achievements completed. It's just a shame then, that there's a key part that so negatively impacts the whole experience of Project CARS 3, and that is the grind. It regularly makes things so much worse and it seems like such a quick thing to fix - just increase the money paid out. Make it retrospective for those who have already invested so much time and this will instantly address the biggest issue.