PlayStation LifeStyle
HomepagePlayStation LifeStyle's Reviews
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 should feel like a love letter to longtime fans, who will adore the enormous roster of 61 characters and breathtakingly beautiful visuals. On the other hand, the game shouldn't be counted out for newcomers, either; while they might not enjoy the hackneyed shonen story elements or lack of tutorials, they'll almost assuredly get a kick out of the hyperactive and highly variable fighting style. CyberConnect2 President Hiroshi Matsuyama said he wanted the game to be built with a long life in mind, and if you're into this brand of no-holds-barred insanity, that's exactly what you'll get out of it.
Arslan: The Warriors of Legend is an exceptional crossover with the Warriors series, standing just behind last year's Dragon Quest Heroes as the best the franchise has to offer. It wouldn't be surprising if this was the first entry to pull players in with a heavy focus on narrative elements, as its retelling of the 25-episode anime arc is filled with interesting details and lovable characters. It plays well too, brushing off a couple of frustrating technical issues with more of the outrageous hack-and-slash military action players have come to love — including the revival of combat on horseback and a few new elements, such as the over-the-top chain-building Marsdan Rush. Whether you've been a dedicated fan of the anime since the first episode or haven't yet been exposed to the wonders of Arslan, there's a ton to see and enjoy in Koei Tecmo's interpretation of the Crown Prince's kingdom.
If you're still playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 or you're looking for a reason to come back, Awakening may be just what you were waiting for. It's not perfect, but it balances the low points (Rise) with high points (Splash and Gauntlet), and has a damn fine Zombies campaign to boot. Black Ops 3 continues in its quest to bring variety, creativity, and intrigue to its content, and Awakening doesn't fail to impress.
From the moment that little ball of red yarn tumbled down the old woman's steps to the last bit of yarn that I strung from place to place in the old woman's memories, I enjoyed almost every step, swing, and catapult. The emotive little Yarny had me feeling for him as I traversed the dangerous terrain with his ever unraveling figure. Though the gameplay falls victim to ebbs and flows of being too frustrating at times and too easy at others, it was still an overall enjoyable experience. Like the fading memories of the old woman, it may not stick around in your immediate cognizance, but taking this expedition with Yarny over a weekend afternoon will certainly make an imprint on your heart.
Through the combination of a simplistic but phenomenally effective art style and some incredibly fluid dialogue sequences, Firewatch proves itself time and time again as one of the most memorable games we are likely to play in a long while. It's poignant and very special, albeit disappointingly choppy at times. It may feel a touch short, but its story will feel firmly finished upon reflection, remaining naturally entombed in the Wyoming woods. This is a rare game that tackles strong morals and emotions under the guise of a beautiful walk through the wilderness that always manages to keep you on your toes, a walk you'll be hard pressed to ever forget.
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth isn't a perfect video game interpretation of Bandai Namco's long-running franchise, but it's a huge step in the right direction for fans who have been waiting to see the series get on Pokémon's level. The core gameplay is simple but addictive, making this a perfectly accessible jumping-on point for both casual and hardcore fans of RPGs and Digimon. Artist Suzuhito Yasuda and composer Masafumi Takada grant the game a much-needed memorable audio/visual identity, and the bevy of post-game content means there's more than enough to keep completionists busy for hours on end. A few core elements could still use some tightening up — the interface and dungeons, for example, just aren't up to par with comparable modern-day games — but this should give Digimon fans hope that the game series is finally in the right hands.
Amazing Discoveries In Outer Space is a charming game, with a some flaws. What we have here is a deceptively challenging game wrapped in a slightly sarcastic package, with a few rough edges. Gameplay can be slow going at the start, and casual gamers will likely lose interest relatively early on. But then, casual gamers probably have little or no interest in such a quirky game as ADIOS. If you've been pining for a procedurally generated space survival game while you wait for No Man's Sky, then by all means plunk down the cash for ADIOS. At reasonable asking price of just $11.99 ($8.39), your expectations should be met for this indie game. Now, try not to die too many times on your way home, lest you annoy your ship's AI too much.
Not A Hero is a thumping good shooter experience made all the more exiting through an intriguing art style; unrelenting gore and a relatively non-linear composition to pleasantly fleshed out levels. The humor, while likely to grind on you after a while, is rib tickling for most part. Its overall tenure is brief, never staying long enough for you to think too deeply about aiding a burrow-digging politician in murdering party opposers to gain power, and rightly so. While it won't have you mercilessly addicted to knocking out kickflips, it'll likely be one of the best 2 and a quarter shooters you play this year.
Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel is an admirable effort, bringing together characters from a number of visual novels and gaming franchises and pitting them against each other in a solid, energetic brawler. It's a shame that there aren't more interesting modes in which to test your fighting mettle, particularly when the two story modes offered are so dull and impenetrable, but at least there's some good multiplayer fun to be had — just don't get too interested in completely even-handed competition, as I highly suspect there are serious balancing issues at play here. Still, as a lighthearted bit of fun to enjoy with friends online or locally, there's enough colorful, flashy eye candy here to satisfy casual fighter fans.
Megadimension Neptunia VII is a mixed bag, with great combat elements and parody sadly shuffled together with overly padded plot, repetitive boss fights, and boring story presentation. All of the bad could be overlooked with how well it analyzes and tears down the low points of gaming culture, but then it sinks itself just as low with copious and pointless bewbage.
The endurance of This War of Mine: The Little Ones is limited and is certainly not something you'll want to play several times over and that's perfectly fine. It's a hard-hitting and unsettling look at the coldness and cruelty of the human condition and how the removal of social constructs unravels people so quickly that'll haunt you for a long time to come. Its premise is so bold it can often outshine its delivery, the idea it's conveying never feeling fully realized beyond the brief dips in pace. It's the most real feeling simulator of war out there and that in itself makes This War of Mine: The Little Ones quite terrifying and truly memorable.
AIPD is a competent twin-stick shooter that lacks true depth. Local cooperative play is always appreciated, however, and the inclusion of such a rare feature is something that newly-minted developer Blazing Badger absolutely deserves commendation for. But with only one level layout, gameplay can become repetitive fairly quickly. You'll have seen everything the game has to offer in one session, easily. Mixing up guns with ship abilities helps to add some variety, but at the end of the day only twin-stick shooter fanatics will find AIPD truly worth their time and money.
Anyone looking for a good family game to play with their kids should pick up LEGO Marvel's Avengers without delay. It's certainly cheaper than that other LEGO game that came out not too long ago, and with a playtime of 6-10 hours for just the story mode, and perhaps dozens more to obtain 100% completion, it's likely any kids you have will play this for months on end. The story is straight from the movies, and is enjoyable for kids of any age – indeed, fans of the Marvel universe will likely have fun here too. Some technical hiccups and the occasional unclear objective can hamper your progress, but these can all be overcome in a game that exudes a fun-loving attitude throughout.
Gravity Rush Remastered attempts to update the 2012 portable original for a 2016 home console experience, and it's mostly successful in doing so. Though some elements feel like relics of its portable past, like comic-book-style cutscenes and a lack of voice acting, there's no denying it's still a hell of an aesthetic accomplishment. Yoshiaki Yamaguchi's gorgeous art style shines through in both the excellent character portraits and the city's uniquely colorful districts, and Kohei Tanaka's lively soundtrack evokes the same sort of childlike whimsy you might expect to find in a Ghibli film. The gameplay can be a bit disorienting with its whirling camera and shift-happy combat, but there's still nothing quite like the sense of freedom you get from soaring around Hekseville's bizarre monsters and creative locales — and it's a feeling of childlike joy that makes Kat's first adventure worth playing in spite of its flaws.
A handful of matches with Stardust Vanguards is actually heaps of fun and will certainly be shortlisted among the usual titles picked for game nights. The hectic sci-fi vibe is brilliant and the soundtrack is a thumping thing of beauty. Sadly, things can grind to a halt after a few games and the things that got you going several rounds earlier aren't doing anything for you now. It's a specific game for a specific time and place, made even more specific thanks to its purely local set up which acts as both a blessing and a curse, in almost equal measure. It's hard to pinpoint why it suffers with fatigue quite so badly but, irrespective, it's fully worth having in your library, albeit just for that one night in with your friends you'll all remember for a long time to come.
It's a brilliant, beautiful, masterfully crafted work, and the more you discover, the more apparent it is.
Klaus is a subversive, ingenious little puzzle platformer that shouldn't be missed by anyone who claims to be a fan of video games. The nods to common tropes in the medium serve as both a bit of cerebral humor and as the basis for some truly inspired bits of level design, and the presentation blends excellent sprite work with flashy film-inspired animation. Minor annoyances, like the touchpad feeling a bit cumbersome and some irritating audio design, shouldn't keep players away from this masterful little piece of gaming love.
Fans of cult sci-fi films and/or Mystery Science Theater 3000 will get quite the kick out of The Deadly Tower of Monsters. You can't help but smile as you melee and shoot your way to the top of the emperor's tower, experience the ridiculous cut scenes, and literally fast forward and rewind the game as you would a VHS tape. Just like the movies it tries to emulate, the game is so bad with its special effects, dialogue, and set-pieces that's it's rather good.
Capcom's HD reimagining of Resident Evil 0 is a glorious nostalgia trip back to a brand of survival horror that just doesn't come around anymore in this era of gaming. Sure, that means dealing with a couple of annoyances, like the fixed camera angles and stiff combat, but those who can look past these problems will find a treasure trove of old-fashioned adventuring. Exploring the title's creepy, masterfully detailed environments is nothing short of a joy, and sorting out the harrowing tasks of inventory management and limited resources is tense in just the right way. If you're craving some real retro challenges, or just in the mood for some good atmosphere, Resident Evil 0 is well worth the price of admission.
If you're a big fan of Assassin's Creed, or enjoyed ACC: China, then you can pick this up without hesitation. It's more of the same gameplay-wise, but completely different story and setting-wise. Platforming fans may also want to pick this up, because there are not too many new platformers coming out on a regular basis. However, casual fans need not apply, since the game has somewhat clunky controls, hilariously stupid enemy AI that presents little challenge, and those terrible tailing missions that players of regular Assassin's Creed games hate so much.