gameranx's Reviews
With Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Retro Studios has shown once again it could take just about any beloved Nintendo property and turn it into a unique, nostalgia inducing machine of pure fun.
I hated Lightning Returns, but I also love it. Its greatness nearly ruined by bad packaging.
Together with the Brave/Default mechanic, wealth of character customization, and overall streamlined approach, Bravely Default manages to maintain that classic JRPG feel while modernizing outdated conventions.
If you're a huge fan of last-gen's Tomb Raider reboot, you should probably pick this up. The same goes if you have yet to play it. If, like me, you played Tomb Raider the first time round and enjoyed it, there's not really enough here to justify another, full price purchase, however. This is for superfans and newcomers only – casual veterans need not apply. Now, where did I put my waterproof face cream?
Stoic had me hooked within the first five minutes through the visual and sound design alone. The hand-drawn art style is reminiscent of animated feature films, and in conjunction with a soundtrack composed by Austin Wintory (of Journey fame), The Banner Saga presents a melancholic, unforgettable atmosphere which will grip you immediately. It's a shame more couldn't have been done to give the battles more complexity, but the choices you're forced to make throughout the adventure, and the sheer beauty of the world, more than make up for a lack of strategic depth. In fact, I could've played The Banner Saga on aesthetic direction and risk management alone—both are that engaging.
[T]he core experience, the flying around and shooting things, feels just about airtight. It's intuitive and uncomplicated, and WoWP accommodates all the input devices, from mouse and keyboard to stick to gamepad, with all appearing to my hands to be equally viable depending on each player's personal proclivities.
Those few aesthetic points aside, X Rebirth is a deeply flawed game. Riddled with bugs, poor design choices, weak core mechanics, and a shallow world, X Rebirth is not a game that I can recommend.
Ryse: Son of Rome is a bloody, gorgeous adventure. It's a shame then that there's so much squandered potential. Its short length and the lack of variety bury what good the game has to offer. I wouldn't be averse to a sequel if they can flesh out the experience and tell a purely human story, but as Ryse stands it's hard to recommend at full price.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is a very enjoyable game. It’s a treat to play.
Skylanders Swap Force – like all of the games in this series – can be without a doubt an expensive hobby, but it's a fun one if you're either a kid or like collecting toys or both, and if you don't mind playing through the game with only three characters, it's also a rewarding way to pass the time with just the basic starter set.
Although this review has felt rather negative towards the campaign, there's a lot to like there, too — for the first half at least. And once you're done with that you can always jump into the always brilliant online arena. As far as launch games for new consoles go, Killzone: Shadow Fall isn't bad by any means. Just don't expect anything revolutionary outside of dust particles in shafts of light and you'll be fine.
As an Xbox One launch title, Dead Rising 3 is competent enough but is held back by mediocre boss fights and poor controls and while the sheer number of zombies onscreen at any time can run to an impressive amount – often hundreds – there's little reason to believe that this game couldn't have been released five years ago. If Dead Rising 3 is any indication; early "next-gen" titles have done little to evolve over their predecessors.
It isn't exactly the best thing going on the PS4 thus far (that would be Need for Speed Rivals), but you certainly owe it to yourself to download Resogun and play a round or 12 before bedtime. You'll get lost in it, I promise.
While I'm impressed that Compulsion Games fought to make a game that would appeal to both genders and I appreciate their effort, in the end, I had my issues with Contrast. It's an adequate game but fails to live up to its full potential. I recommend it to those who desire a more story -focused title or those who have a preteen son or daughter to play with, but not for players who want a thought-provoking, puzzle-driven adventure.
Based on user and critic reception so far, I highly doubt that we will see NBA Live return next year unless EA Tiburon is truly committed to merely compete with their rivals at 2K Sports. If they can't, I think it's more profitable for them to revive one of their more critically acclaimed franchises like NBA Street and NBA Ballers.
It's just a bit disappointing that the full package comes together in such an unremarkable way. Knack has its own little thing going here, and it's good enough for what it is, but I doubt there's much about it we'll remember in five years.
What is Rivals? It's the assertion that EA's true flagship for the core in the new generation isn't Battlefield, but Need for Speed. It's thrilling, it's beautiful, it's chaotic, and it's the best thing going on those expensive new black boxes you have. Ghost Games, the spawn of Criterion, really brought it.