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If you couldn’t tell, Brut@l is a game that warrants exploring. The dynamically generated world and character leveling systems help to emphasize its infinite replayability. After a few plunges into this violent abyss the repetitive grind will set in a bit, but the solid combat helps to take the sting out of infrequent bouts of déjà vu. Plus, the inclusion of couch coop and a fully featured level designer only further cements its value. Have no fear, adventurer. This is a quest that is well worth embarking upon.
It’s not that I think Headlander is a bad game — quite the opposite. It’s just that I want Headlander to realize its potential — to be so much more than what it is.
Unfortunately, it’s way too light on narrative to leave much of an impact; for a game about a tournament, it lacks the sort of excitement and tension you’d expect, and even the dating sim elements pay off in thin dividends. Still, there’s enough here for a bit of breezy entertainment, and sometimes that’s all you’re looking for.
Been yearning for something a little more challenging and unforgiving than usual? Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate might just satisfy your craving. Polishing up the Mystery Dungeon formula, Spike Chunsoft’s latest entry in the roguelike series has all the procedurally-generated dungeons, randomly-dropped loot and tough monsters you could ask for. You might not want to play it for long sessions, but that makes its place on Sony’s portable all the more appropriate, and the appealing simplicity of its game design makes it perfect to pop out whenever you’ve got some free time.
Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force honestly has a lot going for it, but failed to seal the deal in the end. No matter the ending, I felt more frustrated than anything with all the monotony thrust upon me. Perhaps if the stories weren’t so predictable, or perhaps if the grind wasn’t so prevalent I would have been able to overlook one or the other. Instead, I wrapped up my adventures with Fang with wistful dissatisfaction.
With No Man's Sky looming on the horizon, all other sci-fi games are about to lose a lot of relevancy. Lifeless Planet released at a time when the game has the biggest chance to make a name for itself. It's just a shame the end result feels more like a prototype than a fully fleshed-out game. There is fun to be had, however, and if you'd like to support an indie developer and are in the mood for a short sci-fi story you can finish in a sitting or two, then give Lifeless Planet a try.
Moon Hunters is worth playing, just not on PlayStation 4. The lack of online play is a devastating blow to the overall package. Throw in the constant technical issues, and you have a bad port of what is a really interesting game. Check this out on PC if you can, as it’s more fully featured and runs better.
Gal*Gun: Double Peace has a surprising amount of heart for a game that has its head lodged firmly in a gutter full of panties. The characters are likable, the plot is goofy in its seriousness, and the premise is so over the top that I couldn’t help but laugh. Sadly, the gameplay simply doesn’t hold up its end of the bargain. This on-rails shooter is too simplistic and doesn’t do a good job of keeping the gameplay feeling fresh.
ADR1FT may have atmosphere, but it doesn't have much else. I wanted to like Three One Zero's lonely and despairing adventure into a destroyed space station, but it seemed to resist being enjoyable at every turn. What really confuses me is that so many of its problems seem to stem from the conception level, including a bizarrely wrongheaded narrative, terrible controls and a mystifying lack of freedom thanks to the oxygen meter. In fact, I'm not sure it was such a good idea in the first place, which is why it makes me cringe to think of the time and energy its developers put into realizing it. I would never presume to know their experience and call it a waste, but the wait certainly won't have been worth it for most of its players.
It would be hard to say that Kill Strain isn’t at least ambitious. The game was a studio’s first outing in a relatively immature genre, which attempted to take a dramatically different approach to many of core mechanics that define MOBAs. Though carefully calculated, these risks fall flat in execution, resulting in a confusing and joyless experience. Too bad that infected class couldn’t contaminate the other factions with a little fun. Now that would be a character class worth paying for…
So, ultimately, Neverwinter is strongly recommended for RPG fans, and even more so for MMORPG fans. There are a couple of hiccups from a technical standpoint, and the controls aren't perfect. Graphically, we've all seen better, as well. But there is a whole world of Dungeons & Dragons-inspired adventuring to be had in Neverwinter, and you can see as much or as little of it with friends as you so desire. You're not pushed into spending money on digital goods too much, though the limited stock inventory size does leave much to be desired. Provided the (currently very active) PS4 community holds up over time, Neverwinter will be the MMORPG gamers turn to time and time again.
I Am Setsuna is bold in the way it explores its themes, and it immediately moved me with its soft art style and beautiful piano score. I also really enjoyed the battle system’s Momentum, Flux and Singularity elements, which added some much-needed variety to the otherwise standard turn-based combat. Unfortunately, a few major problems kept the game from remaining entirely enjoyable as the experience went on. Cheap deaths at the hands of superpowered enemies sent me back to a save point, losing me valuable time, on more than one occasion — an infuriating and needless flaw, given that other retro-fueled titles like Bravely Default include optional autosave. As I was getting to the end, I also started to feel like everything was blurring together, between the reused assets and the predictable structure. Overall, the cumulative effect of the game’s themes is still a very powerful one, and I enjoyed most of my time with it, but I can’t help but feel a little let down by the flaws that kept it from reaching its full potential.
Descent’s maps seem like Treyarch is tapering off.
10 Second Ninja X is one of gaming’s simple joys for those who relish repeated challenges in order to shave fractions of a second off of leaderboard high scores. The downside is that it fails to cater to the players who don’t immediately appreciate that level of challenge, shutting the door to them pretty quickly. Break past that barrier though? While it may not seem possible to do a run half a second faster for a three star score, persistence pays off as the slightest of shortcuts comes to heel, turning feelings of rage at the surmounting impossibility into a celebration that calls for a six pack and a cigar, before moving on to the next impassible trial.
Even as someone who doesn’t have a deep affinity for Ghostbusters, I can’t help but feel that the license deserves a better game than this. It captures none of the camaraderie or the imagination that’s seen in the films. There’s no personality here, and gamers are left with a $50 twin stick shooter that doesn’t have a single interesting idea in it. Play Furi, Nuclear Throne, or Enter the Gungeon instead. There’s absolutely nothing here worth your time, especially if you “ain’t afraid of no ghosts.”
If you are looking for the next groundbreaking first-person shooter on PlayStation 4, Hawken is probably not going to live up to your expectations. The game does deliver an initial burst of exhilaration, but this is unfortunately unsustainable beyond a few outings. When the dust settles, what remains is a run-of-the-mill class based shooter, set in a series of drab environments. This is a genuine case of getting what you pay for.
On the surface, everything about Merryn’s adventure is absolutely charming. The deeper you and Merryn go, the game loses its luster, but it’s still worth undertaking the journey if this style of adventure game sings to you. Just be aware it may not be a complete pleasure cruise.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII undoubtedly has a cult, niche following, as games don’t usually receive that many sequels without such a following. However, this is one niche that is as obscure for newcomers as it is deep, and it’s certainly an instance where real-time strategy simply does not fit on the console with a controller. If you’re a fan of this series, save yourself from grief and pick it up on PC.
Lost Sea harbors (see what I did there?) a good idea and bright visuals with flawed execution. Although roguelikes are inherently designed to be somewhat repetitive, each one often has a hook that helps it to be more than just its basic design. Lost Sea never expands on its primary structure to give players much incentive to return and try to make it further. Add in having to manage the life of the crew — which could have been a good hook, given better risk/reward and AI — and Lost Sea seems more chore than challenge; a tightly locked coffer filled with possibilities. But what good is a treasure chest if the seal remains shut, even if it does look really good?
Furi is an action packed, violent game that does a great job of marrying two genres together. The core gameplay is so good and satisfying, which is why it’s a real bummer that a lot of what surrounds that is lacking. Still, despite its flaws, it offers up an enjoyable challenge that is worth playing.