The Outerhaven Productions
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Batman: The TellTale Series Season 01 is a great view into the world of TellTale's Batman. Complete with beautiful worlds, deep characters, and fun twists that'll have you guess what you did, and didn't do, from start to finish. If you're up for a deep look at the man under the cowl, this is one Batman adventure you'll want to do.
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is a beautifully made, wonderfully crafted, and totally fun adventure. It's got great characters, fun gameplay that'll keep you entertained throughout, epic bosses that'll keep you on your toes, and plenty of collectables that'll have you going back through the levels multiple times.
To be 100% honest with you, if you’ve played Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, then you’re going to be familiar with the PlayStation 4 version. The gameplay hasn’t changed one bit, so you’re going to be right at home here. All your favorite characters, your best combo strings and yes, and even dreaded infinite combos are still intact. That said, if you’re new to the game or even the series, I’d highly recommend you brush up in both the training and arcade modes.
The Last Guardian is not a perfect game. None is. But I can't think of many titles that deliver such powerful experiences utilizing the tools that only gaming can provide. I couldn't in all honesty sit here and nitpick the controls or the occasional graphical hiccup, because I had too much damn fun and made a great friend along the way.
The random nature of so many of Rogue Wizards' elements guarantees experiences that are dynamic, but the repetitive core gameplay and tedium of inventory management can also make them monotonous. The Story mode's narrative doesn't add anything to make the gameplay more compelling, so you may be better off with the Gauntlet mode's endless dungeon. Either way, this game works best in casual play sessions.
Perfection in remastering. Batman: Return to Arkham is something that I was hoping for since they announced Batman: Arkham Knight on the PS4. I wanted to go back to the beginning of the series without having to go back to finding my PS3 and setting it up. It's good to see that instead of going the cheap code upgrade route that a lot of PS3 remasters have gone through (I'm looking at you Resident Evil), Rocksteady decided to take the care to get the game engine upgraded and used to its potential. This is right up there with Bioshock: The Collection in terms of how to do a remastered game for this generation.
In the end, I cannot recommend this game enough. The story is extremely engaging and written intelligently. Much like the previous installment, they handle the notion of time travel and its consequences with great care. Nothing about it seems too far-fetched, either. The series does detract from the humorous tone that it once had, though, but I’m not complaining about it one bit. The darker, serious tone still allows for some light-hearted moments, but when the drama kicks in, it does so in a way that makes you want to pay attention and keep pressing forward.
I've been a fan of Killing Floor 2 for quite some time and played more than a fair share of it via my early access copy on PC. So, I was really excited to get a chance to try out the PlayStation 4 version, to see how it fared to what I played. I'm happy to report that Killing Floor 2 on the PS4 is easily as good as the PC version, both in the gameplay and visuals. Fantastic controls, a decent online multiplayer system and easily of the fastest paced shooters available on any platform. It's no surprise that this title has replaced my old stable of Left 4 Dead 2 and for good reason. On all seriousness, you don't have to take my word for it and I'd rather you didn't. Instead, go play it for yourself, I'll be here when you play a few rounds to tell me what you think about it.
This is like if you took Earth Defense Force, Starship Troopers and Guardian Heroes and tossed them into a blender. A wonderfully action packaged game, tons of fun combat and a vast customization system, Earth's Dawn is well worth the price of admission.
I'm a fairly casual gamer and enjoy first-person experiences that pose a challenge and tell a great story. While most of this is achieved in Dishonoured 2 - I feel the storytelling aspects left me feel a little lacking. There are huge bouts of exposition and lore to read - things that could be 'shown' rather than 'told' are extremely present and get repetitive quick. With the sheer amount of action taking place I never felt I really had time to read passages of books and pages of notes - and since this isn't a game like Elder Scrolls Online which rewards you for reading, it doesn't feel warranted here. Everything else is absolutely on point - from the excellent levels to intelligent enemies, it's a pleasure wielding your abilities to demolish anyone in your path and restore yourself to your rightful throne.
Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander is a fun (and funny) game with great art and novel ideas. For a casual experience, it’s a game that offers a lot of enjoyment, but can get a little stale pretty quickly. It’s a large improvement on everything that’s good about the games I love on iOS, but it doesn’t manage to bridge that gap to a full-fledged PC game completely, leaving you hanging in a few areas wishing for a bit more depth.
I cannot mince words here; Trillion seems like a gigantic waste of time. For a game with such potential, it squanders it so badly, that even I couldn't be bothered with it after playing the game for 8 hours. It is extremely tedious, everything seems pointless, the combat and movement are clunky...it just doesn't feel good at all. You might as well call this game RPG Simulator 2015 since that's exactly what it seems like. Despite the exceptionally engaging storytelling, this game falls completely on its face.
Xanadu Next is a fun romp and a nice eye opener to games that were created years or even decades ago. It shows that they can still stand the test of time and remain enjoyable. I was hard pressed to put down the game until I finished it and while I wished it was a bit easier on the eyes, there's no denying the charm that Xanadu Next generates.
I really have to give credit where credit is due - Owlboy is an amazing title from D-pad Studios. Full of charm and wonder, this is easily one of the best indie developed games I've played this year. I'm a huge fan of 2D platforming / puzzle games and have been since the days of the Super Nintendo. So being able to play a title such as Owlboy was a treat. The only sad thing about this game is when it ends as the game really doesn't have much in the terms of replaying the title. Unless you're a perfectionist and want to go back and find all the secrets and collectibles, there's little to encourage a reply of this gem. Finally, I'm holding out hope that D-pad Studio's has plans to port Owlboy to other platforms, especially the 3DS and PS Vita, as I feel that the title would be right at home on both platforms - but of course bring it to every platform as humanly possible.
World of Final Fantasy is a great game. I love every minute of walking through its dungeons, looking for a chest that I think will hold a cool weapon or rare item but only has a potion. It hearkens back to what myself and many others consider a "Golden Age" in the genre.
While I'm not a fan of the changes towards the timing of layups, NBA 2K17 continues to improve on what many have deemed near-perfection with NBA 2K16. There isn't a single thing not to like about this game, and that's the way NBA 2K likes to do it. K.I.S.S: Keep it Simple, Stupid.
WWE 2K17 tries very hard to innovate itself back into what the game was at the height of the THQ era, but also tries too hard to be a complex simulator. While simulation works for it's other sports titles, 2K didn't need to morph the WWE series into the same thing. 2K continues to try and turn players away with their innovation in everything but DLC practices and graphics. This is what WWE games should have been 3 games ago, now it just feels like stagnation... Like watching WWE RAW.
Whether you're a die-hard Dragon Quest fan, or just a gamer looking to break into a crafting game with a healthy side of quests, Dragon Quest Builders offers and in-depth experience with the charming style of the franchise. While the addiction may wear off slightly after the first couple chapters, it never ceases to be a rewarding game. Humor, style, and creative freedom make this a great title.
To be entirely honest, purely as a Hyperdimension Neptunia fan, I'm a bit conflicted on Superdimension Neptune Vs. Sega Hard Girls. On one hand, the game has a great cast and good interaction, but on the other a lot of it feels like it's cut short to make way for the other eras' stories. Even among the characters themselves, Neptune acts strangely out of character, feeling more like an alternative crowd high school student than the bombastic layabout that fans are used to, and Plutia acts a bit too aware of her alter ego's depravity. Honestly the greatest joy that I got out of this game was the ability to have Plutia and Uzume in a single party, but even then with only a couple of special moves each, something just feels missing.
Flying Wild Hog takes everything that made the original remake of Shadow Warrior so much fun, and amps it up. Combat is fun, there's plenty of action to be found and Wang is a riot. Sure the quests get repetitive, but with so much action going in throughout the stages, it's hard to get mad. If I could change one thing, however, it would be the constant use of Lo Wang's witty one-liners. They're funny, but they repeat so often I found myself getting tired of them.