Examiner's Reviews
There's a lot of beauty in Halo 2: Anniversary, and even more if you consider the fact that all four titles are playable in a row. For new fans and old, the Master Chief Collection stands as a can't miss. And we haven't even considered the multiplayer yet.
[W]e're left feeling like there's greatness to come. Beyond Earth is a wonderful experience but we can't shake the feeling that the past holds much more than the future, at least for now.
Sunset Overdrive is not the best game I've played on Xbox One, it's the best game I've played all year. From start to as finished as an open world game can get, the game keeps you engaged, dangles carrots enough to keep you motivated, and injects such a fulfillment of power fantasy that the game sticks with you. Sunset Overdrive energizes, and proves that giving an extremely talented studio like Insomniac the trust and funds to do what they creatively envision on a new IP is a huge bet, but one that Microsoft saw value in. This bet pays off in the best way imaginable.
Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse is a short, but fun adventure that knocks a lot of AAA console games out of the park. The animation, gameplay, music, and style far outweigh any problems. Yes it’s repetitive, fairly easy except for a few weird puzzles, and the story and dialogue is hit or miss. Complaints aside, it’s a must play for sure.
Music Evolved has the opportunity to be the ultimate party game, as its creative depth, functionality, and fun-factor go unmatched in comparison to any other music game.
When Microsoft first launched Kinect for the Xbox 360, there was only one true must-have game: Harmonix's Dance Central. From 2010 to 2012, the Dance Central franchise was the premiere Kinect series, and now Harmonix is looking to repeat their success on the Xbox One with Dance Central Spotlight. This new entry returns to the series' origins with an emphasis on dancing, learning new routines, and having a genuine blast - be it with a group of friends or on your own. It's time to bust-a-move and Dance Central Spotlight is shining its light on you.
"Styx: Master of Shadows" has something special inside it, but with muddy, ugly character models, control hindrances and A.I. issues, a lot of the fun will be lost on casual gamers. Those who love stealth action games will find it an immense challenge however and will be able to look past most of the game's issues to, at the very least, have it steal about a dozen hours of their time.
Project Spark is an inspiration. A wide open toolbox that quite honestly isn't getting the marketing it deserves. A brilliant execution of a tough to perform idea, Team Dakota deserves to be proud of what they've done. While creation isn't everyone's thing, the ability to pick up and play other players creations or the premade campaigns while progressing characters is fantastic.
Those who were huge fans of Sleeping Dogs when it first came out and didn't bother with post-launch content might be pleasantly surprised at what United Front did after release. Neither expansion is particularly wowing, but the bevy of additional content packs sure makes roaming the streets of Hong Kong a heck of a lot of fun. For those of you who missed the original and are reading this article we only have one question. Why have you not picked this up yet?
This is the best game that has ever been aligned with the Alien franchise and the rest aren't even close.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.