DualShockers
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With a cool cast of characters, a suspenseful story, a huge and beautiful world, unique exploration, addictive combat a and main scenario dozens of hours long, Exist Archive has quite a lot to offer the action RPG fan. You can and will spend many fun hour playing this. Despite the issues it’s worth the price of admission, particularly for its fast combat, a wonderfully pleasant contrast to the waves of purely turn-based JRPGs we constantly see.
Despite that pressure, The Coalition have proved with Gears of War 4 that the team is more than capable of providing an experience that falls in line with the titles that came before it by staying reverent and faithful to the original games (sometimes to a fault), but with enough layers of intrigue and new additions to make Gears of War 4 an admirable continuation of the Gears story. Like with the relationship of Marcus and J.D. throughout the game, Gears of War 4 sticks close to the legacy of its predecessors, but along the way is on the way to writing one of its own.
Paper Mario: Color Splash is a hell of a good time. If you are able to look past a gimmicky battle system and a couple of shoehorned mechanics, Color Splash oozes with both charm and humor. Sporting a great aesthetic, it is a title that should be in every Wii U owner’s library.
XCOM 2 rises above these small errors, and is still a highly recommendable strategy game for those both new and familiar with the franchise. Both friendly and hostile upgrades are doled out to yourself and the opposition over the course of the entire campaign, ensuring variety through to the end. Whether or not you will make it there is entirely on you, which is why success is celebrated and losses so discouraging. XCOM 2 introduces new elements that keep the strategy game fresh, continues to overwhelm the player with options, and challenges you to overthrow the alien overlords in power. There isn't much more I could ask for.
All this adventure and discovery made me think of times in my past that I sunk hours and hours into game’s like Dragon Warriors II and Torneko: The Last Hope. That being said, I feel as though Dragon Quest Builders is not only worthy of being apart of the long standing RPG franchise, but it also succeeds in making its mark and surpassing all competition compared to any game like it.
Touhou: Scarlet Curiosity is a game that is definitely made for fans that already know what to expect from Touhou doujin games. With that said, the game allows Western fans to spend some quality time with two of the more popular characters, but offers little beyond that in terms of story. I ended up enjoying the game more after the first few hours and I hope that players new to the series stick through the simplistic beginning and discover what this game has to offer.
There is fun to be had here, a good deal perhaps, especially for fans of visual novels. The beautiful visuals, compelling dark atmosphere and interesting story and dialogue are all strong reasons to give this a go. Be aware though that the jarring combat breaks up the flow of the game and sends the fun factor plummeting. It’s unfortunate that it would be so much easier to recommend as a simple visual novel.
Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 is a very solid 2D platforming experience. It has great controls, great level design, great characters, and interesting dialogue that keep the player engaged. The lack of an autosave feature and clutter on the top screen are annoying, but 2D platformer fans who can get past these issues will really enjoy this game. I am eager to see were this franchise goes next — this series has a lot of potential in a variety of genres.
Some people will have problems with Darkest Dungeon. It can (at times) be excruciatingly hard, to the point where you might consider quitting due to a frustrating experience. However, if you stick with it you will find an immensely hard, but still fair and rewarding experience unlike anything that has been released before it. All RPG fans and lovers of difficult games should definitely give Darkest Dungeon a look on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita if they haven't already. This game is not for everyone, but those who can handle the difficulty will love this game immensely.
At the end of the day, Destiny: Rise of Iron is more of the same. If you are new to the series, there has never been a better time to jump on board, especially at the premium for the base game with all expansions. Fans of the series will fall prey to the Destiny itch that has kept them hooked for hours on end. However, those who have felt burned or quickly lost interest after The Taken King can easily wait for Destiny 2 – there isn’t much new to draw you in.
All in all, the battle system of God Eater 2: Rage Burst is much more refined and smooth compared to Resurrection. Furthermore, your AI companions are actually dependable in an intense fight. These points coupled with the deep weapon customization and interesting characters makes God Eater 2: Rage Burst successful in making its mark in the growing genre of monster hunting games. Now if only they took more chances when making it stand out among the game’s previous entries…
Sonic Boom: Fire and Ice is a very fun game. It will receive a lot of hate for simply being a Sonic Boom title, but you can tell Sanzaru Games was determined to deliver a quality 2D Sonic game. While not without a few major problems, Sonic fans and fans of the show will definitely enjoy this game for what it is. If one can get past the fact that Sonic Boom now has more titles in it than the Sonic Adventure series, they can find this very engaging and enjoyable handheld experience with this game.
Lichtspeer won’t have the mass appeal of the AAA games coming out this Fall, but it is more than worthy of your time. With a fun and over the top aesthetic mixed with simplistic game design, Lichtspeer is pure arcade bliss with all the hooks I’ve been looking for in an indie title.
I wanted to enjoy Virginia, but the nonsense ending left me annoyed and puzzled as to its meaning. Even playing a second time, I still am not sure what really happened. Some aspects I understand, such as a scenario in which the player character ascends to her bosses rank and basically becomes him down to both the smoking and tossing a file to the person at your desk. I had someone else play for any insight, but the continual edits and metaphysics left them confused as well. There may be something there for others, but for me it was simply a good mystery gone wrong, and not one I enjoyed upon completion.
I very much enjoyed all of my time with Jazzpunk. Slowly understanding that a character from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas had made its way into the tropical resort level was one of my favorite realizations while playing. Jazzpunk knows its all about the joke and never spends too much time on one singular scenario. Due to the speed of which these are thrown at you though, you may lose your place or forget what exactly you were supposed to do and how to do it. Despite that I still find it recommendable to almost anyone who can appreciate absurdist humor and a irreverence for logic when it comes to comedy.
With that said, Harmonia is wonderful story that suffers from a not so wonderful cast. The second half of the story does well in capturing the readers attention and offers a strong conclusion. Fans will appreciate Key’s newest story, but I’m left with wanting more.
Even so, what game is here is rather enjoyable. The fast combat is refreshingly different, there’s tons of character development and dialogue, the visuals are gorgeous and there’s plenty of fan service, which is a plus in my book. That said fan service had to be censored is a tragedy (if expected), but genre fans should still find enough for a pretty good time.
Through the majority of its running time, The Bunker provides a tense ride that those looking for brisk horror experience may genuinely enjoy, though repeated trips back into its post-apocalyptic world may not be quite as fresh or horrific as the first time.
While I enjoy the arcade flavor of gameplay with high score chases and B-movie acting, all three Dead Rising games are not suited for the current generation. Zombies are played out, well beyond their shelf life and now devoid of any interesting storytelling. Beyond the zombie genre, the loading times and hard save system can’t help but show this series’ age. Some off-the-wall characters keep things engaging, as does the curiosity of seeing what weapons are most effective against crowds, but overall they are best left as fond memories than contemporary experiences.
Forza Horizon 3 is an unstoppable force of adventure and fun. Throughout my hours and hours of gameplay, I explored desserts, beaches, and festive cities, demolished my fair-share of farms, and blasted Beethoven over the speaker system, all with a goofy smile on my face. This isn’t a game to be missed by Xbox One or PC players, regardless if you are new to the genre or a Motorsport pro. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to the Outback.