Examiner's Reviews
Sniper Elite 3 provides a unique take on an overpopulated time period, in an overpopulated genre, but still manages to stand out. Utterly enjoyable, and customizable if you are not one for the X-Ray kill-cam, Sniper Elite 3 manages to make the carnage of killing something more about a means to an end. While the story may leave wanting, the experience within, and the collectible content, is enough to call Sniper Elite 3 a definitive step forward, and one we hope continues for Rebellion and 505.
Once you grow tired of the story, there's the Battle Coliseum Mode, featuring exciting match-ups with even more familiar faces and a growing challenge as you increase in rank. There are different types of matches to choose from including special matches where characters are often predetermined, 1v1's, all-out brawls and more. The coliseum is a great place to get used to each character, especially since there are no penalties for losing or surrendering.
Abyss Odyssey is going to appeal to a certain audience. If you are one with that audience, you will truly enjoy the experience that this game has to offer. For casual gamers, the difficulty might be too much, but it is an adventure game that you basically just jump into.
[I]t's a must for any gamer's PS4 collection. It's only one of the best games ever made, and something I simply cannot get enough of.
Disgaea 4: A Promise Revisited is spectacular. What Persona 4 Golden did for turn-based RPGs on the PS Vita; D4 does for SRPGs. Disgaea 2 and 3 were fun, but they lacked the irritable charm of the first Disgaea. D4 matches that first game's imagination and beyond. What was great on the PS3 is now a most own for the PS Vita. There has never been a better chance to hop aboard the Disgaea train. Get on it Dood!
Though our time with Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty was a mixed bag, the overall experience was one of delight. Clever puzzles and imaginative settings kept us entertained enough to overlook our control issues. Fans of the series and genre should definitely invest in the title as it is rewarding and offers plenty of content for the asking price of $30.00.
The added characters and backgrounds, as well as the rebalanced gameplay and features do an excellent job of rounding out the final package. Regardless of how many other versions of "Street Fighter 4" are available on other systems, "Ultra Street Fighter IV" is by far the king of them all.
Overall, Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare is a thoroughly enjoyable experience on the PS4, much like it was on the Xbox One. It still remains one of the best shooters of the year, and that's with no story or campaign mode being attached to the game. PopCap Games and EA have a gem on their hands and if we could be so lucky, we'll see a return to the garden sometime in the near future.
The Golf Club is par for the course. It's an enjoyable golfing game that lacks in charisma – mainly being character and career progression.
The long and short of Madden 15 is this; if you are a year in year out Madden fanatic, you will enjoy the latest addition to the series. It might not have a ton of new features, nor a breadth of new content, but there are enough changes to entertain, keep the games fun and challenging, and you have your football game for 2014/2015's season.
Dead Rising 3: Apocalypse Edition represents a few things; a good value, a solid game, and a good time. The story, as mentioned earlier, is one of the best stories in the series (if not the best), fun to play, and only better with a friend. Dead Rising 3's co-op allows players to jump in and search, collect, and slaughter together, with shared collectible findings so you don't have to worry about losing progress. I truly enjoyed Dead Rising as a game, and appreciate what it does. While it might not win awards for the best story, or the best anything really, it's a fantastic game, and deserves your attention.
Its a graphical showcase, fueled by plenty of solid gameplay tweaks to an already amazing game and makes us wonder where the series can go once everything extra makes its way to the current generation via the announced updates. Even with that, it's still a bit of a letdown in terms of extra content, it's far from a disappointment and is best judged by those who play for the love of the series and sport and not those obsessed with extra bells and whistles.
The Sims 4 is an enjoyable life simulator, and looking beyond its omissions is a fantastic game that keeps you entertained, for a bit. Ultimately The Sims 4 showed much initial promise, but the inclusions do not outweigh the omissions in this game, and the total package leaves us wanting.
We just wish Destiny could captivate those same emotions a little better because if they were, we'd be hooked and ready for more. Instead, we're left hoping post-launch support will make the experience more enjoyable for all of those who believed in their favorite developer while we wait again to see what the future holds.
With plenty of features, beautiful graphics and gameplay that is so solid it can turn you into a fan of the sport, "FIFA 15" continues its run as the best EA series and is easily the best sports game of 2014. Regardless of your affinity for soccer, "FIFA 15" manages to create passion and drama on the pitch that never feels flat.
Overall Crimes and Punishments serves as a deliberate, well put together mystery game. It serves as a great change of pace from the shooters and action fodder out there now and that will undoubtedly follow in the coming months. Unfortunately, lack of a cohesive story, feeling of being on a set, and the overall vapid nature of those sets lead the game to a somewhat boring end.
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor is an entertaining game. It is a great take on Lord of the Rings lore and delivers an engaging open-world experience that PS4 and Xbox One owners will thoroughly enjoy. The repetitive mission structure is disappointing, but the game's world, characters, Nemesis System, and the storyline make this game a must-play for fans of The Lord of the Ring and open-world games.
When I look at the overall experience that is DRIVECLUB, I find an addictive single-player campaign that left me wanting more and more. The online multiplayer is a fun and competitive mode to enjoy with friends. DRIVECLUB proves to be everything I wanted it to be, with a few exceptions here and there.
It's not perfect as a complete package, but in terms of gameplay and visuals, as well as its assortment of modes, "NBA 2K15" is easily the best basketball game on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
This is the best game that has ever been aligned with the Alien franchise and the rest aren't even close.