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Playing with a friend, either locally or online has been my highlight with Pure Pool. Being able to adjust the angles and power of your shots feels smooth without the restraint of on-screen meters. The way the balls react to the other balls on the table, reflect the lighting of the bar, as well as tuck neatly into pockets and softly touch the edges of the table is satisfying. At any point in a game, you are able to instantly update the color and decals of the table, as well as your pool cue (once unlocked). Pure Pool is a great addition to the Pure series, and the most realistic pool game to date.
Costume Quest 2 makes key changes to the way battles unfold, removing the unique play style of each costume. The streamlined mechanics work to the game's advantage, especially when you are trying to focus on bonus attacks, as well as blocking and countering. The dialogue is well-written, but the last hour or so of the game falls short of expectations. Parts of the narrative aren't explained as well as they should be, and the last battle in the game occurs rather abruptly.
With a minimalistic approach to the visuals, Race the Sun is quite pleasant to look at, even if the amount of colors are kept to a bare minimum. As you progress, the obstacles in the landscape become increasing more complex with a plethora of moving parts. Shapes will get increasingly taller, producing greater areas of shadows. For only $10, the endless replayability of Race the Sun is well worth the price. Excuse me; Race the Sun is calling my name.
Skylanders has always focused on collecting various figures and even more apparent in Trap Team. You'll still come across in-game videos that show off new special moves and Skylanders you haven't encountered. As the villains are the best part of the game, you'll want to purchase traps for each element type. Each trap can only hold one villain at a time, so you'll have to switch them out between levels.
Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments is an enjoyable collection of different cases putting you once again in the shoes of the one man that can solve them all. The synapse style deduction board is a giant leap forward for the series, allowing you to finish cases with inaccurate information. I did end up sentencing an innocent man to death, but the game does allow you to go back and adjust your conclusions before proceeding to the next case.
If you are looking for a new multiplayer game to play on your PlayStation 4, Anomaly 2 may not fit the bill, unless the population increases. The narrative missions provide a challenging experience, even for veterans of the traditional tower defense genre and Anomaly series.
Bungie and Activision has opted to partner with Sony to release exclusive in-game content that you'll only find in the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 versions of the game. An additional 3-person Strike mission that takes place on Mars is missing in the Xbox versions of the game, as well as an additional competitive Crucible map taking place on the Moon. Along with the maps, two exotic weapons and a unique armor set for each class round out the exclusive content. There are also three unique ships, but those are cosmetic only and don't have any bearing on the game
First Light gives people new to Infamous an affordable way to see what the game is about as well as expanding the story and characters for veterans of the franchise. While limited to just neon powers, I enjoyed the backstory of Fetch and revisiting the beautiful rendering of Seattle.
Road Not Taken is a game that you should not take lightly. It is a challenging puzzle game with big cuddly scary teddy bears, little white rabbits and scary Witches. It is hours of fun and frustration. Thanks to the shrines, you are able to stop at any point and come back later to pick up where you left off.
Worms Battlegrounds brings the chaotic Worms multiplayer experience to the new consoles for the first time in a solid package. I still think Team17 needs to add everything missing from the classic 2D games, but shows promise with the integration of the online clans.
If you don't like being told, "You are dead", over and over again, this game is not for you. It's reasonable to veto out of a situation that brings you to a point where you want to break your controller in half. But if you are up to the task, 1001 Spikes will reward you with a sense of accomplishment only retro platformers can supply.
Watch Dogs is a solid game, but I feel it falls short of the mark Ubisoft set for it. The single-player experience is a decent length and there's plenty to do around town, it's just too bad I never know what the game wants me to focus on. Aside from that, the game's world is rich in fascinating points of interest for you to explore. Throw in some decent multiplayer that works somewhat seamlessly with the single-player and it's an overall solid game. Too bad Aiden is just such a cardboard prop.
I found Daylight a better survival horror experience than any of the other titles that fall into the same subcategory. The game may only last a couple of hours, but the randomness of each playthrough and modest price point make Daylight an enjoyable and tense experience.
Tiny Brains succeeds in providing a resurrecting to the on-the-couch party genre, which I haven't enjoyed since the original Mario Party. Although the game is functional with less than four players or when playing online, the experience is completely different. I'm a huge supporter of online multiplayer, but Tiny Brains is the perfect game to spend a weekend playing with friends and family squeezed together in the same room.
Killzone: Shadow Fall will be best known for the visual showcase on day one of the PS4's launch, but looking past the graphics, the game boosts a very solid multiplayer experience and lengthy campaign. The campaign can be frustrating at times and the pacing is inconsistent, especially late in the game where it feels like you are defending a room against waves of incoming Helghast soldiers every 20 minutes.
As with many of the next-generation launch titles that released on last-generation platforms simultaneously, the content in the game remains virtually untouched. The most notable difference is the sharper looking visuals, running at a smooth 60fps at 1080p, compared to the PS3 version of game that was limited to 720p.
The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of Assassin's Creed IV may not feature additional content not found on other platforms, but the visual improvement alone makes the game a must-have. Both Sony platforms (PS3 & PS4) feature the only platform exclusive content, involving the heroine of the Vita game; Aveline. Although Black Flag is a beautiful game with an incredible wave and weather system, the PS4 version in particular is awe inspiring. Shortly after the game released on the PlayStation 4, Ubisoft was true to their word, updating the game to include native support for 1080p. The visuals are simply matched with clouds of smoke impairing your vision during heated ship battles as cannons fire, shallow waters are crystal clear and thunderstorms at sea are amazingly treacherous.
Elegy for a Dead World will not be for everyone, and that is understandable. Coming from my English-centric background, I found it fascinating and reminiscent of some of the workshops and classes I've taken over my education. Being able to take a prompt and run with it as I saw fit is an excellent mental challenge and I can easily see this game being useful in classroom situations. While it may not find a place in the big leagues, Elegy fits within a niche group that will certainly be diehard fans.
Randal's Monday is a great gem of a game. While the puzzles can be extremely challenging and misleading (who thought drinking rat poison was a good idea?), they're fun to try and mess around with. Thankfully Randal will point out directly how dumb some requests are, keeping you from feeling too confident in yourself about your puzzle solving skills. Combining that with the pop culture and humor and it's a great adventure game.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a fantastic game. My only true complaints are the short length and lack of replayability, but I can easily stomach that after enjoying it so much. I'd love to see more games in this vein from The Astronauts since the story really grabs the players and pushes them to continue. It is definitely worth playing for those that enjoy a bit of suspense in the middle of supernatural mystery.