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Overall, the progression is solid, but there are a few moments where I felt it was sort of unfair (i.e having to backtrack with no health in sight) due to the procedural generation. You'll want to pick this game up, because while it does have its flaws, there's something incredibly satisfying about sneaking up behind enemies and zapping the stem cells out of their skulls. It's a feeling I encourage all of you to seek out.
The X Collection disappoints on that front, but it's still Mega Man X at heart. It's undeniably entertaining to explore every level, backtrack for new upgrades, and go toe-to-toe with themed bosses. I miss the save functionality and don't see the point of having two separate games, but the Mega Man X Legacy Collections are fully worth a play.
The X Collection disappoints on that front, but it's still Mega Man X at heart. It's undeniably entertaining to explore every level, backtrack for new upgrades, and go toe-to-toe with themed bosses. I miss the save functionality and don't see the point of having two separate games, but the Mega Man X Legacy Collections are fully worth a play.
When played in small bursts, Mothergunship has the potential to be an extremely amusing experience. The bite-sized nature of the mission structure and fast-paced action make it ideal for burning small bursts of time. Even better, the constant progression makes every session, regardless of length, feel like it's consistently contributing towards turning the player into a certifiable badass. As long a bit of repetition isn't a turnoff, there are countless hours of destruction that await.
It was tragic to see something as great as Tempest fall into obscurity, only to have the spiritual successor taken away before it could really make its mark. As weird and whiplash-y as it is, it's just as great to see the same developer get to make a comeback and do an officially branded sequel. It feels like a dream come true, and I can't imagine how exciting this is for the folks at Llamasoft. Sure, it could have benefited from some more bells and whistles, but Tempest 4000 is the real deal, a new version of a remarkable arcade classic that isn't spoken of nearly as much as it deserves today. It doesn't feel cheap or old; it's pure game design boosted by badass music and a distinct visual style that settles comfortably into high definition. If we continue to get stuff like this from the new Atari, then sign me up.
Earthfall somewhat succeeds at it's core mission, if it's mission is to try to kickstart the multiplayer subgenre that Turtle Rock started a decade ago. It's biggest failure is convincing people that it is a better alternative to Left 4 Dead 2, which is still very available on limited platforms. There's also Call of Duty's Zombies/Invasion side modes, which are ubiquitous. Not to mention Vermintide, which is a fresh look at the genre. You will absolutely have fun liberating Earth from aliens with a group of your friends – friends make even the most rote experience interesting. But outside of a few sessions with the group, you'll all find something better to do.
Although my journey with The Path of Motus was short, when I put down my controller and went to bed for the evening I was still thinking about the message within. It reminded me of a lot of events in my life that I'd rather forget. Any game, no matter the size and scope, that can drag those dredged up feeling from the hole I buried them in is both a blessing and a curse. Now excuse me while I shovel them back down and drown them with ice cream. (Thank the gods this game came out during National Ice Cream Month.)
Animal Force has a cool idea, as it introduces gamers to tower defense in 360 degrees. But its execution feels more like a tech demo than a fully fleshed-out game. A massive difficulty spike in the second world will leave many players desperate for any sense of progress, and leveling up units takes a long time when one is stuck on a particular level. A trio of local multiplayer games gives players something else to do when they're tired of the inevitable grind, at least. A bit more time spent balancing such a new form of tower defense could have gone a long way towards making Animal Force more enjoyable. At $15.99 ($12.79 for PS Plus) USD, it's not a terrible buy, but it could have been a hit with just a few more tweaks.
All in all, Insane Robots' character and map designs are cute, and the grid overworld meta keeps the downtime interesting. The wide smattering of augments are a neat way to differentiate each fight. It's hard to ignore that the experience is marred by a trove of RNG dependencies. It feels a little too random at times, bordering less on “cool card game” and more on “Pengu1n of D00M.” But when everything falls into place, it's a fun, tactical experience that rewards smart, risky maneuvers. If you love card battlers and you've got time and patience to spare, Insane Robots deserves some attention.
Beyond the addictive, puzzle-like challenge of hitting those high scores, there's a fantastic sense of speed here. When you're belting around in the F1 car, just scraping past trucks and getting through minuscule gaps in the traffic, things feel suitably rewarding. It's just such a kick in the airbags that for every time that feeling reveals itself, there are two more times when you'll be frustrated by one of Danger Zone 2's bugs or general inconsistencies.
Overall, I would have to say not really. The puzzles themselves are this game's saving grace. I didn't have a bad time playing it, but I can't recommend it in good faith. If you're a huge puzzle fan, like me, there's something here for you. But in all honesty, there are plenty of puzzle games out there that wouldn't come with this big of an asterisk. Go play those. All of that said, a player's reaction to the narrative and hub world is going to be the big deciding factor for whether or not you think this game is good. The narrative and gameplay combined together detract from the experience of one another, resulting in something decent at best and eye-roll inducing at worst. The Spectrum Retreat really went for it, but a swing and a miss is still a miss.
At is cheap price point, with lenient difficulty, solid teaching tools, and accessible mechanics, I think Koihime Enbu RyoRaiRai could be a great way for people who slip into the anime fan/fighting game novice venn diagram to get their feet wet in the genre without having to dive in too deep. As most of the game is about landing single, solid hits (although there are some linkable moves), players can focus on learning the basics, then on learning the very user-friendly Hougeki system to get a feel for things like juggling and wall-bouncing. From there, they can graduate to things like more complicated super motions, cancelling, and all the extra fun stuff that seasoned fighters get into, and Koihime Enbu RyoRaiRai also supports to a degree. Koihime Enbu RyoRaiRai is not a game that will be challenging Dragon Ball FighterZ or Street Fighter V for top spots at EVO any time soon, but it is a smaller, simpler, and cheaper title that fighting game upstarts and fans can use to effectively spread the good word of the quarter-circle.
Salary Man Escape is an interesting idea for a puzzle game, but its execution ends up being more along the lines of the very drudgery that it tries to parody, rather than the escape that video games promise. It relies a little bit too heavily in its physics, which creates object collision issues in the more complex later levels. Fortunately, the driving '80s Japanese pop soundtrack helped to drive away the feelings of frustration and boredom that threatened to overwhelm the Salary Man. When object collision isn't getting in the way, Salary Man Escape is an interesting VR puzzler, but like finding moments of respite in the nine to five, those moments are all too rare.
Defiance 2050 is a game I can get lost in and enjoy several hours in at a time, but it's mindless shooting and grinding that is the least difficult kind of gaming experience to locate in 2018. Sure, this game is free, but I can find a copy of The Division for not much more than free and get a similar, much more substantial experience.
Somehow, Christian Whitehead and team have made the definitive version of Sonic even more definitive. The genuinely challenging stages are chock-full of secrets, and will require multiple playthroughs to find everything they have to offer. The lengthy campaign may not have as stellar pacing as Sonic the Hedgehog 2, but it provides both nostalgia and fresh experiences. The limited lives make each death significant, though the bonus stages can easily be exploited to gain enough continues to render the threat of a true game over moot. These are small issues, to be sure – Sonic Mania Plus is the best Sonic game you can buy today.
But that feeling only lasts until you're accelerating out of the final corner like you've done sixty times without issue in this event and your bike decides for no reason at all to rear up like freakin' Seabiscuit, throwing you to the ground an inch from the finishing line. At that point, the promising feeling drips away, and you start to think that given this is the 15th racing game Milestone has released on PS4 in four years, we could be in for a real treat when they slow down and actually finish one.
Unfortunately, it seems to be spread a little thin and it makes a huge sacrifice to the narrative that its cute enemies can't quite make up for. It's still a good roguelike by any measure of the imagination, and the developers clearly know what they're doing. However, the good stuff is a little too easily obscured by the frustration that can pile on after you've been whacking away for hours. If you have the patience and a relationship with Touhou Project, then this is undoubtedly a good buy. If this will be your first introduction to either roguelikes or the Touhou girls, you may want to start with smaller prey.
Shining Resonance Refrain feels very much like a budget RPG. While it does some things really well such as well-written characters with excellent voice acting and awesome music, there are plenty of things that just don't really work. Combat is clunky and dull, the sidequests are mostly repetitive, and the game world feels surprisingly small. Unfortunately, this is a game that's unlikely to stick around in anyone's memory for very long.
The LEGO games have always been known for their little quirks, but when it comes to pushing a game out with a theater release, they're fairly sloppy. LEGO The Incredibles has all of the symptoms of a rushed game, but at least it doesn't have any game-breaking glitches. It's not a bad LEGO game, but it's nothing to write home about either. It's just incredibly okay, when it should just be incredible.
After a while Runbow definitely becomes more of the same, but, to its credit, what it offers is inherently fun. The constantly changing colors are intimidating at first but I was shocked at how quickly it became intuitive. There are a lot of good platformers out there, but what makes this unique is the fact that levels aren't difficult in their design, specifically. Instead, the challenge comes from your own ability to quickly think about the shifting environment and plan your next move. Runbow is about negotiating when to take your time and when to race into a rhythm. Sometimes it's about being careful, but more often than not, Runbow is the platforming equivalent of double dutch—it takes skill but once you get in a groove you can pull off some spectacular things. And, much like double dutch, it's a bit more fun when more people jump in. Whether you're a casual gamer or a platforming veteran, you'll find Runbow easy to pick up but hard to put down.