gameranx's Reviews
Born from a Ludum Dare scenario (an updated version of which has been included in the middle of the game) and spread into a full-length game, Gods Will Be Watching is far and away the most interesting game from 2014 thus far, and it wouldn't really be a stretch to call its design "pioneering." But the true joy, above its other admirable traits, comes from the emotional trauma and frustration it inflicts on the player. Accept no substitutes.
It's a difficult task to capture fully the experience of MMORPGs. The genre is predicated on tons of content intended to last players for months, if not years. It's made even more difficult when a game like WildStar comes along, content-rich and incredibly varied in its well-balanced features. That's why it is easy for me to recommend WildStar to new and old MMO fans alike, as well as to anyone looking to jump into their first MMO. The game literally has something for everyone and does everything incredibly well.
I cannot recommend Shovel Knight enough. Whether you played games during the NES-era or not, Shovel Knight is both a great introduction and re-imagining of 8-bit platformers.
And so it's a good try, Ubisoft Montpellier, but ultimately in your failure to commit to your high concept, Valiant Hearts is ultimately the same as every other pretty good game: flashes of brilliance countered by nonsense tropes that are inserted just because these are the things you do in video games.
Murdered: Soul Suspect didn't need to have the most original and compelling story out there to succeed. The greatest disappointment lies in how much it underutilized its potential to introduce brand new gameplay elements since it could have been Beyond: Two Souls meets L.A Noire.
That's by no means a bad thing; despite its similarity to its forebears, it's still a welcome escape from other city-building franchises, and is a deep enough experience to keep players engaged for quite some time. One can't help but feel like it's shackled by its presumably-slim budget, though, as its lack of radical improvements and its mediocre overall production value will make it a hard sell for people who were indifferent to previous Tropico games.
Wolfenstein: The New Order is a game for facing your fears and gunning them down. Thanks to great shooting mechanics and characters you care about, you'll want to do just that. The tightly scripted narrative works against replayability, and tedious boss battles bog down the action more so than any of the non-combat sections of the game, but otherwise the game is worth several run throughs. Wolfenstein: The New Order is a great game, and one of the best shooters I've played this year.
If you'd told me five years ago that a game of this scope, and this level of polish, would come out of a twelve-person indie studio, I'd have thought you were nuts…but here we are. Transistor is easily one of the best things I've played so far this year, and in a field of games made by hundred-person teams and with hundred-million-dollar budgets, that's an extraordinary feat.
In the end, I called Bound by Flame a "side-quest" because RPG aficionados could play this game to pass the time but it's not an essential experience for fans of the genre.
So while I do appreciate Daylight as an effective scare generator, its shelf life feels much shorter than Zombie Studios intended it to be.
Age of Wonders III is a game that excels at almost everything it set out to do. It has well executed turn-based strategy, beautiful freedom of choice and some really interesting, but definitely tried and familiar, tactical combat. It's major flaw is the clumsiness in easing you into the experience. The game almost seems set on alienating the player from the start, but if you if you stick with it, you might find a quite rewarding gem beyond.
Despite all I've said sound pretty down on the game, I do have a strange compulsion to continue rolling with it a while longer because I do enjoy exploring it. My impressions from the first week may not be so hot on it, but I don't hate it. Yet. I'll let you know if that changes.
The gist of Reaper of Souls is a good experience. It's more of stuff that keeps people coming back, but you'll have to trudge through dungeons for a few hours because there's another threat to all existence Tyrael says needs your attention before you can bathe in the cleansing waters of the main attraction, which is Adventure Mode. You do what you gotta do, I guess.
Titanfall is a shot of adrenaline. It constantly presents you with awesome scenarios thanks to its speed, freedom of movement and accessible content. I can't count the times I whooped and hollered in delight. Win or lose, I was having fun. That's not something I can easily say for its competition. But it also feels a little bare bones, missing some content we normally expect from such games. Regardless, if you're looking for your next competitive shooter, Titanfall deserves your attention.
With a clean, gorgeous new look, the Final Fantasy X games are good enough to hold up despite a number of surface elements not really aging well.
[T]he slow start and uneven technical performance don't stop "A House Divided" from adding new life to Telltale's The Walking Dead. The gripping, uncompromising episode expertly blends potent character moments with gut-wrenching loss, presenting enough narrative progression in this two-hour trip for two full episodes.
This may or may not be Professor Layton’s last ride, no one has said anything definitively either way, (as of press time rumours are swirling about this being the last Layton game proper) but it’s a great one to go out on.
South Park: The Stick of Truth may as well be an achievement. The soul of the show is captured perfectly with its visuals, consistently funny writing and ridiculous scenarios. It also happens to be damn fun to play. After the 13 hours it took me to complete it, all I've been able to think about since is going back to it to find every lost collectible and missed achievement. If you've ever enjoyed South Park, then you absolutely need to own this game.
If Lords of Shadow 2 were a film, I'd say it's well constructed in every way aside from editing. Unfortunately, editing is as crucial to a movie being watchable as its visibility. So for this game, it's all well and good that it's pieces are of quality, but they are arranged so carelessly and without regard to flow that struggle is more about staying awake than merely making progress. This subfranchise's muted tone — another non-flaw out of context — doesn't help that cause.
It's a vibrant shooter with finely tuned characters that play very well off each other, providing for an almost party-like experience that should be fun for almost anyone. This new direction for the series is mostly a welcome success, but fans of traditional tower defense games or those from Dungeon Defenders and Orcs Must Die! may bemoan the lack of strong strategic placement and plotting.