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'Azure Striker Gunvolt' and 'Azure Striker Gunvolt 2' feel like the next evolution of the 'Mega Man' series. While it definitely has room to grow, the 'Azure Striker Gunvolt: Striker Pack' contains two games that aren't afraid to take chances. It's a refreshing take on a structure that was showing its age in 1993. If you're looking to get the taste of 'Mighty No. 9' out of your mouth, be sure to pick this up.
Despite its very rough edges, I ended up having a lot of fun with 'God Eater 2: Rage Burst.' Sure, I was constantly fighting both the controls and the camera while also battling Aragami, but it wasn't enough to ruin the experience. 'God Eater' is begging for an iteration developed for consoles from the ground-up, so hopefully that will happen soon. Until then, fans will have to settle for a serviceable port that sadly isn't optimized for the PlayStation 4.
'Batman' is gaining steam, a development I hope Telltale can maintain for the rest of the season. I am enjoying the narrative focus on Wayne and the dialogue that, while maintaining a familiar comics camp, can also be genuine when necessary. 'Children of Arkham' easily surpasses 'Realm of Shadow'.
'Marvel's Women of Power' is yet another solid add-on for 'Zen Pinball 2.' Clearly Zen Studios knows how to produce great pinball tables, and it's a pleasant surprise to see lesser characters from the Marvel universe receive the spotlight. It's not the best DLC, as 'Aliens Pinball' and other tables have topped it by being more inventive, but it's still worth picking up if you're a comic book fan or are just looking for some new high scores to beat.
After finishing 'Firewatch', I sat in a kind of stunned silence for awhile, the same way I do after watching a particularly powerful movie. It's the rare game that makes you feel something human, something ethereal and difficult to describe. It's not a long game but I finished it in one sitting, completely spellbound. If you are at all a fan of gaming as a method of storytelling, you should probably play 'Firewatch'.
Far from being a bad game, 'MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death' doesn't really try to be much more than simply competent. Its systems and ideas are all strong, but they're tackled fairly gracelessly and just end up feeling rote after a while. I didn't have a bad time with the game, but it's hard to not just recommend playing something like 'Demon Gaze' or even Idea Factory's own 'Trillion' instead for those looking for a great Dungeon Crawler or JRPG on Vita.
'ReCore' can be very fun at times, and it can also be very tedious. It has good video game conventions, like the awesome jumping-dashing-grappling bits, but also has some bad ones, like bosses that are made difficult only by virtue of having massive health bars. It isn't helped by the weak technical presentation. It's probably best for only the most ardent of platforming fans, the players who can put up with all of its hangups.
Where 'Lone Survivor' succeeded, 'Claire,' has trouble. It relies too much on being lost, both in terms of interaction and narrative drive. Even if it had a more interesting protagonist, the game's inconsistent ability to remain scary holds it back.
The worst thing about 'Forza Horizon 3' is that it may have stolen me away from the 'Forza Motorsport' series for good. There's an important freedom to be found in the Australian festival racing, and the land is a gorgeous one when alight or after the rain. For those of us on the HDR train, this is close to must-have demo material, but it's tremendous fun on top of that. Playing casually or with a crazed glint in my eye, 'Forza Horizon 3' is a fantastic playground.
'Dear Esther' helped spark a trend of narrative-focused indie games, and it's great to see it celebrated in such a nice package. The 'Landmark Edition' is the best way to experience The Chinese Room's gorgeous adventure, and the developer commentary is a fantastic addition. It's well worth the price of admission, whether one has played the original or are just experiencing it for the very first time.
This is not your father's 'Pac-Man'. 'Pac-Man: Championship Edition 2' is faster and busier, and the purity of the original has been sacrificed for variety and a more forgiving difficulty level. That being said, it's still a great score attack game, one that I will be enjoying whenever I'm in need of an hour or so of sparkly, candied arcade goodness.
I am happy to experience 'Event[0]' because what it contains is probably a harbinger of things to come in gaming. As a complete gameplay experience, however, it can be limited and flawed. It has evolved from its beginnings as a student project to become more than a mere tech demo, but it could have gone farther in its Turing test.
The 'Dead Rising Triple Pack' is a trip through memory lane that is helped tremendously by the games still being a blast to play. While the package falls short as both an update (none of the games have been mechanically improved in any significant way) and a historical package (the standalone expansions 'Case Zero' and 'Case West' are missing), it's still enjoyable getting to see how the series has evolved over time. It's a great appetizer before 'Dead Rising 4' releases later this year, and a reminder why Frank West is a great character.
'BioShock' is one of the few series that justifies a remaster. It was a watershed moment in gaming in 2007 and the gameplay still holds up after all this time. 'BioShock Infinite' is nearly as good and even the stepchild 'BioShock 2' is a blast to play. There's very little in the way of new content, but these titles are so enjoyable that I still enthusiastically recommend 'BioShock Collection' to old fans and newcomers alike.
One of the best games on the 3DS has been bested with 'Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse ', and the result is an exciting, smart, and amazingly complex RPG. I can't think of a game I've enjoyed this much in 2016, and I'm already looking forward to diving back into this again in the near future. While it's worth playing its predecessor before diving into this, Atlus has done a good job of ensuring that the game stands on its own perfectly, making it accessible even to series newcomers. For those who like JRPGs in the slightest, 'SMTIVA' is absolutely worth playing.
It has probably been a decade or more since I played a real board game. It's just not a medium that appeals to me. However, the unique brand of magic that League of Geeks has distilled in 'Armello' is intoxicating, and the Xbox One version has lost very little in the transition. What a wonderful and fun experience.
'Livelock' is a blast when played with friends. It holds its own in solo, but only for so long. The gameplay is sharp and easy to pick up and play for any level of player - I just wish it had longer legs.
This homage to the seminal days of RPGs is quite successful at what it set out to do. The strong points include character advancement, the village, and enemy variety, while I was let down by a slow plot and inconvenient save system. The Xbox One isn't exactly a haven for this genre, but in nostalgia value alone it's a welcome treat.
It is heavily derivative, but 'The Turing Test' is a worthy imitation of the 'Portal' and its ilk. It has fun, quick puzzles and a disquieting, thought-provoking dialogue between two minds whose true nature is unclear. It is a pleasant way to spend a few hours.
'Shiny' is very lightweight, too lightweight for its own good, in fact. It wants to tap into the ongoing retro platform revival that's so popular in the indie scene, but is a clunky, clumsy imitation without many redeeming qualities.