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Forgotten.
Despite how much Ezio Auditore da Firenze is showing his age, you can’t help but enjoy yourself as you stab your way through countless Templars. That said, it’s only fun if you already played and enjoyed the games the first time. I can’t imagine taking such a large backwards step in gameplay evolution for those who have only played Black Flag or Syndicate. The Ezio Collection is obviously for die-hard Assassin’s Creed fans who loved the original games. As such, it’s not recommended for newcomers to the franchise or those who have only played recent installments. Even then it’s hard to recommend this for die-hard fans, because the games look so rough compared to current titles. At least it has a frame rate improvement and two films, one animated and one live-action, that serve as bookends to Ezio’s overall story, giving hardcore fans a few more reasons to pick it up. To truly get newcomers and even veteran fans excited about Ezio, perhaps a remastered version is in order.
Killing Floor 2 just doesn’t have the variety needed to keep the attention of players. No matter what map is being played, things start to feel eerily similar after the first few hours. It desperately needs a cherry on top of the solid gunplay, and it just isn’t here. Pick it up if you’re desperate for cooperative offerings, but try to play it in short bursts as the monotony sets in rather quickly.
There are so many things to like about Ittle Dew 2. Everything from the quippy, hilarious banter to the unique yet traditional presentation, helps drive home the developer’s respect for the titles that inspired it, while also showing the desire to take a slightly different path than its predecessors. It is impossible to not fall victim to Ittle’s charms throughout the course of the slightly abbreviated campaign. This is an adventure that is absolutely worthy of your time. All it will take is a single dungeon before it has wormed its way into your heart.
Dishonored 2 is going to keep stealth game fans busy for quite a while this holiday season. Every level is meticulously crafted, with more emphasis on verticality to enhance some of the new powers introduced. Additional hidden level goals are discovered organically, and while enemies can be hilariously clumsy, they are also adept pathfinders. With a nuanced story, two protagonists to play as, and multiple endings, Dishonored 2 begs, or rather, deserves to be played again and again.
While I still think that the best from Watch Dogs is still to come, Watch Dogs 2 is a solid step up from its predecessor. Getting to be a hacker is phenomenal fun, but the game tends to stumble when it becomes a sub-par third-person shooter. If you’re willing to put up with a story that doesn’t always jive with the light-hearted feel of its characters, then you’ll experience one of the most interesting open-world games in years.
By all accounts, Cartoon Network: Battle Crashers should be the hilarious mash-up that oozes fan service and charm from its every orifice. Unfortunately, this couldn’t be further from the product that was actually delivered.
√Root Letter has many interesting ideas, but they never fully gel together at the end. I had high hopes after the first couple of hours of gameplay, but it was hard to continue after determining I did not like Max at all. It was even harder to like it after learning who Aya was. Perhaps the multiple endings do make it all easier to swallow and there is something mind-blowing within, but I doubt many will feel enticed to replay to find out.
While its final moments aren’t nearly as strong as it begins, Eagle Flight is still one of PlayStation VR’s best titles. Flying around a stylized Paris is breathtaking throughout, and the sense of speed is always thrilling. Be it in either single-player or multiplayer, this is one VR game worth experiencing.
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.