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As a competitive title and platform, though, Street Fighter V excels above most. The new design, excellent roster of fighters and re-vamp of the overall fighting landscape sets the stage for even more growth, and even more players to get involved in the sweet science. If you've been wanting a new title to sate the need for fighting and bragging rights, this is a solid entry, with a promise of even brighter things to come.
It's what you feel as the story unfolds like a short story on your television screen, visiting the private grief of others who can struggle to communicate just as torturously as all of us in the real world can. And although this dual character study can feel a little slight, and has a few improbable notes that are struck seemingly just to enhance a sense of mystery, that central friendship between Henry and Delilah is powerful. It feels real, and important for both of them, and it would be wrong to change or weaken it by playing the game again.
But that idea has so much potential, and when it's implemented eloquently I'm uplifted by it. When it gives you tasks that complement your powers, Gravity Rush transcends its mediocrity through the sheer power of flight. But then it tumbles back down into complacency, leaving me to wistfully pine for the skies again.
But it turns what could have been just another fantasy storyline into something closer to a puppet show. We, rapt by these figures on sticks, know it's all malarkey but can't wait to see what happens next. Even if—especially because?—we know they're all just cardboard and glue.
Despite the supernatural intrusion, Oxenfree never loses sight of the human drama at its core, remaining largely understated and tasteful in its exploration of the gulf that grief and insecurity can create in any relationship.
After playing (and dying) a few rounds in a row, I started tinkering around with a few of the game's settings and literally cackled when I saw there was a hard mode—though that's probably just the space madness setting in.
Neither issue proves to be a game wrecker thankfully, but do keep Mario Tennis Ultra Smash from reaching the heights of pure fun it might have. Just the same, if you love Mario, tennis (or Pong for that matter), Mario Tennis is still an entertaining option. For social gamers, in particular, who enjoy a good game night in front of the TV, this is a perfect choice.
As long as you don't think too hard when playing Just Cause 3, there's still plenty to like. After three iterations, however, it's really time for the series to grow up a bit more and expand the nature of the world and its leading man. Just Cause 3 can be a ton of fun, but the lack of just a little more depth causes its appeal to burn out far quicker than it should.
While Telltale's other recent games have very broad appeal, most of them are decidedly intended for a more mature audience. Minecraft: Story Mode feels like it's aiming lower… in more than one sense. It's incredibly easy to underestimate the complexity of material that younger audiences can handle, and it's something that happens constantly.
Blizzard promises that this isn't the end of StarCraft, and there are already plans for more balance updates and story campaigns. And I'll probably end up playing more of it, just to see how those plans play out. I still think I like the series' characters and world enough to check in with them from time to time. I might even go back and play through the whole series in the future. But at this point, StarCraft will have to find a newer, weirder place to be in if it really wants me back.
As fun as popping zombies in beautiful environments is, it's not enough to save Black Ops 3 from being just a miserable little disappointment, a cobbled together version of Deus Ex and Syndicate that can't do right by its pop sci-fi leanings or the series' run & gun entertainment. As someone who's always been an apologist for the series, it makes me a little sad to see that Call of Duty might finally be the creatively bankrupt game everyone believes it to be, unsalvageable even by the grace of Christopher Meloni himself.
Its individual moments might not always stand on their own, but it's amazing that something with Fallout 4's scope and magnitude remains as bewitching as this game does. Bethesda's formula is overly familiar by this point, but from a story perspective these games exploit the freedom afforded by the medium more than almost any other notable examples. Fallout 4 is built on mystery and discovery. We can charge through the main storyline as quickly as we'd like, but the true power of this game comes from exploring at our own pace, uncovering its secrets in no certain order and at no set time. Unlike a book or a movie, we can follow a specific subplot as far as we'd like before switching over to another one. We can jump between stories as we see fit, focusing on what interests us the most while ignoring whatever bores us. We can bend the story around our own preferences and desires, at least to a point. This world might be dead and emotionally sterile, and this apocalypse might be just like every other one we've ever seen, but its stories can still surprise, and that's something you can't say about most games.
Ultimately, Rise of the Tomb Raider is akin to a direct-to-DVD sequel. It apes the look and style of the original but nothing comes together in a way that's nearly as impressive. I played the reboot four times over and it remains one of the few games I've reached 100% completion, going around and collecting every trinket just because I wanted to explore every inch of its fantastic world. I doubt I'll ever touch its sequel again. It's a decent action-adventure game with some nice moments but it's also lacking in the ambition and artistry embodied by its predecessor. In the end it's merely a fun but mostly forgettable time.
Whatever qualms I might have with his prose or approach to self-promotion, I can't disagree.
Cibele, I don't think, was supposed to make me cry, I don't think it wants me to linger on how things ended. It's supposed to help me let go. I hope that I will.
It's not the gamey aspects that are remembered, but the small, personal elements that make up a relatable narrative. It just all happens to involve time travel.
If you don't mind shelling out yet more money for the new figures, Superchargers is probably the best Skylanders game yet.
On the whole Syndicate is entertaining and good at providing an enjoyable time while you thoughtlessly grind away at the completion meter, checking off lists of items and missions as you go along.
But at the end of the day, there just isn't that much here for me, even as a casual-sometimes-hardcore Halo fan. If you think Destiny could scratch the itch you have for Halo, pick it up over this game. If not, buckle in for an underwhelming mechanical retread with a so-so story framing the whole experience.
Most purposely difficult games that have arrived in the wake of Super Meat Boy, Spelunky and Dark Souls are embodiments of a failure to understand that there's more to those games than just how hard they are, often making the only thing enjoyable about them the fleeting sense of achievement you get when you finally overcome a poorly-designed obstacle through luck or trial and error. Downwell, with its velocity and elegant simplicity, does not make that mistake. It's a difficult game, certainly, but it's also a generous one, likely providing its player with great heaps of joy for a ludicrously small time investment.