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Having missed this title the first time around, there was no small amount of glee at the prospect of jumping in with the gussied up version. It is with profound sadness that it must be reported that this is a barebones port of an already middling game.
Judging a primarily multiplayer title always comes with a caveat. Chainsawesome has developed a game of excellent fundamentals that, under ideal conditions, could provide endless hours of fast-paced, chaotic fun. The lack of meaningful content for the single player is not a major issue – this is not a title meant for gaming's recluses. With already shaky matchmaking, and the chances of regularly rounding up four or five spare Xbox controllers (let alone willing playmates) in the same living room rather slim, however, some of Knight Squad's potential is sadly squandered.
Telltale's original story pales in comparison to the source material and it's not an especially satisfying adventure game, either. Your choices matter about as much as the points in Whose Line Is It Anyway? and the game's action scenes barely register whether or not you're even holding the controller. Even if you're a fan of the books or HBO show, there's not much incentive to play Telltale's Game of Thrones.
The Match-3 genre is one of the stalwarts of the casual game space, but all that means is that there are plenty of bad products trying to grab the attention of unwary gamers. With its depth of gameplay systems and huge amount of single and multiplayer content, Gems of War is one of the best across all platforms and one of the few high-quality casual games on current gen consoles.
Sword Art Online: Lost Song has so much going for it. The battle and flight systems are top-notch entertaining time sinks, the artistic style is nothing short of gorgeous and being able to hang out with characters from the show, with dialogue written by the creator, is an engrossing experience. The issue lies in how Bandai Namco did not take full advantage of the talent available to them. This title is simply hamstrung by a lack of investment. The decision was made, for better or worse, to not create an experience that lives up to its true potential, instead recycling assets and hoping for the best. The end result is a title for series fans only. Those who are not invested in the universe already would be better off moving along.
If everything about Hard West was as great as its combat and strategic layer, it would easily sit near the top of a list of memorable Old West-themed games. Take away the cowboy costumes and it's still an excellent turn-based game with some clever mechanics to mess with. A kind of bland overworld game experience combined with a hokey story arc bring Hard West down just a couple of notches. Still, it's a Western, and a great turn based strategy game, and we need more of both.
Bloodborne: The Old Hunters is a solid add-on to an already outstanding game. While it fails to try anything new and is relatively short, the bosses make this something worthy of trekking through, especially for existing fans. There's a bevy of weapons to add to your arsenal, additional lore to accumulate in your journal and luscious environments to keep your interest. It's a shame the majority of the new areas are rather straightforward and the standard enemies don't really offer much of a challenge, but there's something about figuring out the strategies of each boss and exploring every nook and cranny of the world that will leave you satisfied. There's a masochist in everyone and Bloodborne: The Old Hunters helps bring it out in people.
As unique as Typoman is, seeing the scale of its missed opportunity unfold only saddens me evermore.
Kromaia Omega is a giant hyper-saturated burst of color, speed and heavy firepower, as stylish as it can be difficult, and it's impossible not to forgive a few questionable design elements when the enemies are swarming and the action takes off.
It's hard not to be enchanted by Valhalla Hills and its beauty is more than skin deep: there are some relatively complex and robust systems and challenges underneath its charming presentation. Lacking a real story-driven campaign, multiplayer support or even a map editor, however, it falls short in both breadth of content and long-term sustainability. What's there is fun, and DLC is on the horizon, but the package is on the light side.
Last Horizon is a beautifully minimalist game of exploration and survival amidst the planets. It's simple enough to be easily pick-up-and-play, but with enough challenge that a brief run still feels satisfying. The drifting universe and ambient soundtrack are properly relaxing, while trying to land on a planet for desperately-needed fuel while it slowly rotates beneath you and you try not to drift into the ocean or a mountain makes for a nicely tense moment of piloting. Unfortunately, bugs hold it back from its full potential at point in time. The void is filled with asteroids and other cosmic hazards, aliens wander between planets, the sun is not only burning hot, but in possession of a worryingly strong gravity well, and stray comets briefly light up the sky. The quest to find and create a new homeworld has plenty of room for disaster to strike, but it's also a lovely journey through a vibrant night sky.
It's been a full four months since Episode Five ended on a massive decision that left players reeling. Given Telltale's past work on the series, it was hard to imagine that Episode Six would actually do right by that decision and manage to wrap the season up in a remotely satisfying way. Sure enough, huge chunks of Episode Six are just as middling as everything else in the season, and on a technical level, it's even worse. Still, there's bright spots throughout the episode, especially with Mira's storyline, that prove enjoyable enough that players who have made it this far should finish it out.
It's shocking how little content there is in Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash. As much as we'd love to explore the title further, the rabbit hole doesn't go any deeper.
FortressCraft Evolved has moved from being a "block builder" clone to something unique, especially in Survival Mode, which can be played like a multi-faceted tower defense game. FortressCraft Evolved contains the seeds to nurture creativity and imaginative play, but its first few hours are abysmally confusing and its UI is in dire need of a do-over. Not an especially charming or friendly take on the genre, FortressCraft Evolved has a lot of depth and potential for the dedicated player.
It's easy to compare Yo-Kai Watch to Pokémon (which we're we're guilty of ourselves), but Level-5's creature-collecting RPG is a delightfully unique adventure.
There is fun to be had, especially when the spectacle of Star Wars is in full effect. That spectacle, however, soon wears off and what's left is a game with too few weapons, maps and heroes. In the end, Star Wars Battlefront is all Binks and no Fett.
Legacy of the Void is an excellent conclusion to Blizzard's trilogy. While one can get impatient with the familiar mission structure, it's impossible to argue with the excellent faction balance and action. As a genre, real time strategy games have lost a bit of appeal and the StarCraft 2 trilogy doesn't move them into new territory. Let's leave that for the next generation. Right now, there's Legacy of the Void. It's all good.
Prominence hearkens back to the glory days of first-person point and click adventure games. Its intriguing story will keep you digging through terminals to find out more. Not only does it look like a classic game, but it plays like one too. It's a nice modern addition to our libraries full of old favorites.
Thanks to these problems, a visually charming and potentially enjoyable - if thoroughly unoriginal - tower defense game becomes much harder to recommend. Of course, grinding to earn upgrade points is always an option, but the levels aren't that charming. Tower defense games aren't exactly gaming junk food, but their secret is in rapid pace and a steady forward progression. Get that wrong and not much else matters.
Pitting the player's wit against a changing set of circumstances is a fun and exhilarating experience on paper, but ROOT makes too many wrong decisions in executing this mechanic that it's hard not to see the majority of its level-by-level progression as anything but malnourished of some much-needed player-support. Be it the lack of checkpoints, lack of salvageable health, lack of difficulty balancing; there's not even the ability to reload your weapon.