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Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization is anything but hollow. There is an almost unbelievable amount of story content, with side stories piled high on top of that. The storytelling might be a bit too slow for some, but then this is par for the JRPG course. Most cutscenes are woefully static, but they are at least fully voiced. Combat almost feels like an afterthought, with few mechanics even explained well by the tutorials. Still, if you can’t get enough Sword Art Online, Hollow Realization is an easy purchase.
I spent every minute in Small Radios Big Televisions waiting for it to become enjoyable, and then before I knew it the credits had hit. There was no magic moment where everything clicked, nor did the worlds I was viewing ever become something more than just a cool visual. This may be an audiovisual treat, but there's absolutely no substance backing it up.
Super Dungeon Bros. could be a really fun party game with friends, but starting dungeons over each time will still get old just as fast. At least the recent Gauntlet game saves progress so you can jump in any room you haven't cleared at any time. The rock-n-roll bro concept is very amusing, and the variety of weapons available to craft adds plenty of motivation to replay it. However, until the developer adds in the ability to save your dungeon progress, not many will stick around long enough to craft any of them.
Modern Warfare Remastered is a near-perfect remaster. The developer has fiddled with things only when absolutely necessary, and though I do wish some of the multiplayer perks had been tweaked or removed altogether, I can understand why they have been left alone. Just be sure to brace yourself for the rapid time-to-kill, the frustrating deaths at the hands of un-counterable grenades, and the permanently active enemy UAVs. Get past all of that, and you’ll see the Modern Warfare magic that sparked huge changes for first-person shooters and pushed them to the forefront, becoming the industry’s powerhouses.
Robinson provides an incredible adventure that meshes the future with the past and allows players to walk among prehistoric greats in an immersive experience unlike any other on the platform. Sony’s got a real feather in their cap with this PlayStation VR exclusive, just remember to take breaks for the sake of your head and stomach.
Outside of the innovative campaign, Infinite Warfare plays it safe by cloning and tweaking what’s worked in the past with multiplayer and Zombies, which makes neither really seem like products of Infinity Ward. Gameplay imbalance in multiplayer, with arguably more powerful weapon variants available in loot boxes, is a real concern, as is current map design and spawn logic promoting far too many instances of being shot in the back. Depending on where you place your weight, there’s a dichotomy of value from this package. The campaign and Zombies are definitely worth playing, but the multiplayer is as likely to leave people feeling frustrated as it is to see a fair and fun match, especially with so many other shooter options that have upped the ante out there.
With all of the side missions, skills to unlock, items to craft, hilarious side quests such as the milk delivery quests, Parallel Quests with co-op capability, offline and online matches, and not to mention the main missions, there is more than enough for players to sink their teeth into. It will feel padded to some, especially those who played the first game. Dimps undoubtedly forced in the RPG-grinding to lengthen the game and separate it from the Budokai games, which does it make more unique, and at the same time, a bit annoying for a title that is, at its core, a member of the fighting genre. Those who never picked up the first title will easily jump into Xenoverse 2 with amazement and wonder and love every minute of it. Those who already played the first game will appreciate the solid online mechanics, but won’t find much motivation in going through a main storyline that they’ve already done time and time again.
BlazBlue: Central Fiction is a strong note for the series to go out on, if it really does end here. It’s the ultimate package due to the fighting systems being more interesting than ever, and there being over 30 characters to play as. There are a few disappointments such as the lack of English voice acting, but that’s not enough to mar what is otherwise a great game. All fighting game fans should give Arc System Works’ latest a go.
For all that Weeping Doll manages to achieve successfully, such as providing an interesting sandbox for the player to explore, it botches on the execution of so many other key elements. I genuinely believe that the game’s premise could have made for a terrifying experience. However, virtually every aspect of the design feels like something that was torn away from the developers before it was complete. Poltergeists beware! The only terror this will be inducing is from the poor folks that purchased the game before reading this review.
New World Order continues the slow burn of events that Batman: The Telltale Series has presented so far, only ramping up the intensity in the final half of the episode.
While Battlezone is a very simple game conceptually, Rebellion has done a great job of making the most of what’s there. Controlling the tanks in virtual reality is a joy, the free-form mission structure makes it endlessly replayable and it’s home to a fantastic community of helpful and friendly players. Although it may not be the most impressive VR game to make use of the PlayStation VR’s capabilities, it’s certainly one of the most complete, and deserves a shot if you’re in the mood for an old-school multiplayer game with a very modern twist.
Carnival Games VR shouldn’t be counted out because of its simplicity. In fact, it’s that very nature that makes it one of the must have experiences on PlayStation VR. The 12 games each provide distinct experiences that are addicting in their own ways, some more than others. Instant gratification keeps me hitting retry for just one more throw, one more minute, one more ride, and before I know it I’ve lost time to the coalescing of those primal parts of myself and the presence of virtual reality.
The Good Knight is a satisfying conclusion to a story a year and a half in the making. Some of the puzzle mechanics may not be quite as intuitive or engaging as previous episodes, but the finale puts some heavy subjects on the table to analyze, most notably mortality and the culmination of our own life’s work and moments, and what we’ll leave behind at the end. It gives a wistful look back at the adventures and critical junctures that made Graham the man he was over the course of the king’s life — a king’s quest, if you will.
Mark McMorris Infinite Air is not the snowboarding game that fans are looking for and that’s a huge bummer. There’s still hope that titles such as Steep and Snow can fill that void, but I know for sure that Mark McMorris needs to stick to riding down real mountains instead of virtual ones. Avoid this poorly structured game as if it was a tree in your riding line.
When compared to previous installments in the series, Farming Simulator 17 is a drastic improvement. However, there are far too many rough edges to really recommend the game to anyone that isn’t hardcore into the digital farming scene. There were obviously ambitious goals that the developers were striving to achieve in this iteration, most of which they genuinely managed to accomplish. Unfortunately, when you add new features and forget about the fact that a game still needs to be fun, your priorities are ultimately being invested in the wrong place. Unless you are down for hours of aimless fieldwork, it may be best to avoid this rustic chore.
There is plenty to like about the combat in Earth’s Dawn, but the game doesn’t manage to reach its full potential. A boring story gives players very little reason to care about what they are doing or reason to progress, and the game ultimately becomes monotonous due to this. Those who enjoyed Odin Sphere will find an intriguing game here, just one that isn’t nearly as special or polished.
When Square Enix announced World of Final Fantasy at E3 2015, many of us in the audience and watching at home thought this game would be a complete joke. This would be yet another wasted effort when they should have focused on other more anticipated titles. The dialogue may be funny, but the game is far from being a joke. It’s in the running for RPG of the year, if not game of the year and is, by far, the best Final Fantasy title the company has put out in several years.
There’s only so much that the excellent Arkham Asylum and Arkham City can do for this remaster collection, however. It should have been an easy slam dunk: port the game over to the Unreal Engine 4, apply some polish, maybe through in some behind-the-scenes features, and profit! Instead, what we end up with is a poorly-optimized port which sees even the older Arkham Asylum stuttering from the game’s first moments, and some odd lighting that cuts into the otherwise excellent ambiance of both games. Then there’s the glaring omission of Batman: Arkham Origins. It all adds up to feeling like an unfinished product. If you already have both Asylum and City on their original platforms, you can safely skip this re-release.
While I’m not interested in drawing a value assessment of the overall package, rest assured that Super Stardust addicts like myself will not be disappointed with this purchase. Just know that if you weren’t a fan of previous installments, this will not be changing your opinion. Beware: your mileage may vary.
Titanfall 2 is the new king of the FPS hill. Controls are tight, action is fierce, maps are intricately designed, and Titans are badass. The cherry on top is a campaign that is genuinely enjoyable, and one that fans of the first game are likely to be satisfied with, which expands upon the universe of the series. Group all of this together with an ambitious free DLC plan, and the choice of which shooter to buy this holiday season becomes obvious. Titanfall 2 is second to none.