Cubed3's Reviews
Guacamelee 2! is a required pick-up. The Metroidvania genre has enjoyed a number of certified classics over the past few years, and this one of them.
A nostalgic-fuelled, absolute blast.
While the combative elements leave much to be desired, Mage's Initiation to pay tribute to the old Sierra titles of yore without failing to craft an identity of its own alongside the homage. D'arc's initiation is almost too simple for its own good, serving as a prologue of sorts to a grander adventure, yet so much focus placed solely on a single story beat is exactly what allows the narrative to lend impact to any given moment. The plot itself may never get too exciting, but active world building, endearing visuals, and focused puzzles ensure that in Mage's Initiation: Reign of the Elements there is seldom a dull moment in D'arc's journey.
The excitement of being able to play what is effectively a WarioWare game on the PC, quickly dissipates after realising that, despite being a recent release, Game Soup is actually inferior compared to its inspiration, with a severe lack of variety, and a couple of - easily fixable - rough edges here and there. A free addition of more mini-games, plus a little bit of fine-tuning, would certainly help this become much better.
Both Hitman: Blood Money and Hitman: Absolution are a stealth gamer's delight, and a decent addition to the PS4's growing catalogue of classics. Veterans and newcomers alike will find something to enjoy in this diverse pairing, but the over-the-top price tag is likely to discourage many who are on the fence. Nevertheless, the remastering is good, and both titles play well on the system, even though there are no major graphical changes over the originals, beyond a resolution bump and some minor interface tweaks.
Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force benefits from great sound design and artistic direction, and is uplifted by a story that's interesting to sit through, and, at moments, hilarious.
Episode 2: Suffer the Children gets off to fiery and heart-pounding start in the aftermath of the previous episode, as the various characters begin to draw their battle lines regarding their own morality of the situation.
Catherine Classic may not be the definitive way to experience Vincent's journey of self discovery, mainly due to some pesky technical issues, but it is a solid port nonetheless, with a few improvements of its own. Faster loading times, crisper visuals, and dual audio support, elevate the title from beyond just another bog standard PC port. It is unfortunate that English audio clips in when playing in Japanese, but Catherine is so thoughtfully designed, and so well-written that it's easy enough to endure the port's more disappointing qualities in favour of the incredible experience underneath. Catherine Classic is a great alternative to the PS3 original, if flawed.
Seeing as how Versus STGs are incredibly uncommon, Rival Megagun could easily get some recognition just for being part of such a rare niche. Thankfully, Spacewave Software went above and beyond to create a fantastic shooter. It has gotten the basics down pat, and delivers an exceptionally realized meta. Players are rewarded for thinking three moves ahead, reading their opponents, and finding the right opportunity to strike. For competitive gamers looking for something new, this is highly recommended.
Monster Energy Supercross 2 is a mostly fluid and enjoyable two-wheeler experience, which hasn't been reinvented, but has been polished just enough to be a decent follow-up. The standard cynicism of incessant iterative cycles still applies here, because if Milestone gave themselves two years for this follow-up, it would be drastically better, rather than the usual half-step. However, at least the studio's commitment to the Unreal Engine 4, and their policy of providing an accessible driving experiences for all skill-levels, ensures Monster Energy Supercross 2 is still fun and engrossing for fans of Supercross, as well as those of the genre at large. Improvements to air-control reduces some occasional handling frustration, but doesn't erase it. Likewise, whilst throttle and front/rear brake application appears to me a little more tactile, the general handling and physics still leave a little to be desired. Good acrobatic fun, but with ample room for improvement.
Dragon Marked for Death is a strong action RPG held back by a few strange design decisions.
JYDGE is an interesting title that keeps things simple.
Imagine, for a brief, painful moment that Sigi: A Fart for Melusina is an actual fart. What kind of fart would it be? Luckily, it's not one of those disgusting, watery-ones - sadly, it's not one of those glorious, last-night-I-ate-like-a-bison, volume turned-to-11 ones either. This generic action-platformer is just a boring, scentless, barely heard fart… and not even a funny one.
Human Re..., err, 7 Billion Humans is a fine puzzler-meets-programming, especially for those into titles that actually need some thinking (and then some). Just remember that this might be a bit too similar *cough*identical*cough* to a previous title for its own.
Resident Evil 2 on PlayStation in 1998 was one of the most enjoyable survival-horror games ever released. The remake continues that tradition and improves on all the aspects that made it great and the result is what could be the best Resident Evil ever made. It may even be the best horror title ever made just going by the sheer level of craftsmanship and detail. Is it the scariest? It is scarier than the 1998 original, but on current platforms such as PlayStation 4 one would be hard-pressed to find anything that's even half of its calibre. This is one that keeps on giving; highly repayable and full of interesting ways to keep playing, even after completing two campaign variations.
Ultimately, this DLC accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do. It presents more variables to consider. This not only spices up the average play-through, it also allows for more flexibility in determining that perfect level of difficulty. Just be aware that the full breadth of features requires a significant time investment. It's the whole "you get out of it what you put into it" adage. The rival colonies can seem a bit trivial, especially if one is never put into a position where they might have to deal with them. Expecting the player to invest hundreds of hours and pursue the toughest scenarios might be asking a lot, but if they're really enjoying the base game, then Surviving Mars: Space Race is worth looking into.
Ironically, by trying to bring to light all the issues plaguing video games in recent times, Shadow of Loot Box is not an overall enjoyable game to play because, as the novelty wears off quickly. Luckily, this is a two-hour experience, so at least it ends quite quickly. The loot box enemies are funny at first; but they are bullet sponges that get quite annoying, especially as weapon-upgrades do little to destroy them quicker. While platform elements and open-world stages creep in, the control mechanics are still clunky enough to detract from the larger issues that Shadow of Loot Box tries to commentate on.
Ultimately, Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is a valued successor in the series and brings the franchise right back to its roots. Graphically, the game is stunning. It pops with glistening detail and lighting, and lots of delicate touches, such as the raindrops on the windows. This is matched by the bombastic sound quality which delivers pounding thrust and thundering cannons through the clouds. Whilst the campaign could be a touch longer, and it is regrettable that the VR mode is not yet present in the PC version, overall the package on offer here is well worth it for any flight combat fans.
Given this should not be played until after experiencing the full visual novel, 8-bit ADV Steins;Gate immediately finds itself in a difficult position, as it fails to enhance the original in any shape or form. This extremely condensed version of the story adds nothing of value, and only serves as a nostalgic method of revisiting the universe in a retro format...which still doesn't capture even a part of what makes the characters and its world so special. It's just as well this is a freebie with Steins;Gate Elite orders, because it would be hard to argue a case for parting money with for it. Whatever you do, don't play this before the visual novel. No one deserves to have the real adventure spoiled by this pointless, but harmless, retro abridged version of events.
In conclusion, Genesis Alpha One is a decent way to spend a weekend, but it will wear out its welcome not long afterwards. Building, upgrading, and defending a starship is compelling enough. There are also those times when a large-scale invasion generates some real excitement. However, a lot of time is going to be spent performing mundane tasks. Although this does an admirable job of streamlining most of them, boredom will eventually set in. Still, the unique premise might be reason enough to check it out.