PlayStation LifeStyle
HomepagePlayStation LifeStyle's Reviews
More twitch-based platformer than out-and-out puzzler, Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones iterates on the core philosophy of its predecessor with aplomb, delivering a wonderfully addictive experience that will have you cursing at the television and jumping for joy in equal measure. Take heed of those notes on the wall, though, otherwise you'll rack up a death count that eclipses even George R.R. Martin's finest work.
Players who have played Dark Souls II for an extended period, as well as all of the DLC may find that the rearranged enemy and item placement enough to get them fighting for their soul once again, but only if they are die-hard fans. If you haven't played the original or you were stopped a bit short the first time around, Scholar of the First Sin is the perfect excuse to come back and try your hand at the experience again. The new additions and visual upgrades make this the best version to play the game on.
But, other than being annoyingly repetitive, Toukiden: Kiwami is a fun game. Thanks to a large amount of weapons and armor to choose from, and characters that not only exist as chattable civilians but also as bloodthirsty warriors, you can spend a lot of enjoyable hours on Toukiden. If you're a fan of either Monster Hunter of the Dynasty Warrior titles, you might want to give it a try.
Paperbound is a riot, and a ton of fun to play with a group of people. As easy as it is to quickly hop in and set up matches, and the fairly simple control scheme overall, it's a great party game. Sadly, Paperbound may not reach its full potential for you if you don't have three other people to play with locally. That doesn't mean it's a bad game, it just means that it is meant for four local human players by design. If you are looking for an excellent party game and a way to relive that classic, long-lost experience of simple, crazy gaming with other people in the same room, Paperbound is a chaotic festival of unpredictable madness that really deserves a home on your PS4.
Ultimately, Rack N Ruin is a good game that easily could have been great with a few tweaks. Strangely, the game hides a lot of its enjoyment away from the player by not telling the player what to do next. While it can be an extremely frustrating experience at times, there are enough satisfying moments to recommend the game despite these issues. So, if you're willing to dig into it, give Rack N Ruin a spin since there is a good game there, just hidden.
Over the past few years, I've heard my friends complain that games are just too easy compared to what they grew up with. Axiom Verge doesn't fall into that category per se, but it does offer a good challenge for those that seek it. For others, it is a game worth exploring to get back with your gaming roots while experiencing a new take on classic gameplay, even if you hit a proverbial wall along the way. It is rewarding to overcome adversity in the platforming or to watch a boss be reduced to thousands of pixels. Axiom Verge leverages everything you've come to expect from retro gaming and uses it all to create a memorable new platformer that gives even the best classic Metroidvania games a run for their money.
Despite the lack of choices, Game of Thrones: Episode 3 is probably the best episode of the bunch. It gives its main characters more purpose, tightens the overarching plot, and moves at a much faster pace than the last two episodes. Thanks to many truly impassioned moments, Episode 3 will leave you full of anxiety and wanting to jump right into the next episode. If you have enjoyed the first two episodes, you should definitely pick up Game of Thrones: Episode 3 – The Sword in the Darkness.
Just as I felt after playing Life is Strange: Episode 1, I left the second episode wanting to dive right into the next chapter. Despite some completely out of place and unrealistic reactions to things, many of the characters still had that indie movie charm and relatability about them. The core gameplay, filled with tough choices, Max's snarky comments, and artsy music and visuals stays the same, which sits just perfectly with me. While Episode 2 doesn't feature that same magical feeling that the first episode exuded, it's still a must-buy.
The Handsome Collection is an easy recommendation for me to make to most gamers, especially if you haven't had a chance to play through either of the games available on it. Fans who have put in hundreds of hours into each title may find less new content to really keep them busy, but given that everything is in a neat little package, with upgraded visuals and a new four player split screen mode, it still makes this difficult to not recommend to any real fan of the series. While the remastering could have used a bit more work on some minor levels, The Handsome Collection is a fantastic time capsule with enough polish to let players revisit it again and again for years to come without it ever feeling completely dated.
For what it is, Jamestown+ is a fun game worth its asking price on the PlayStation Network. If anything, it's a fun little distraction calling back to the classic games of yesteryear. Fans of bullet hell certainly won't be disappointed.
The PlayStation 4 finally has its exclusive killer RPG. Bloodborne is punishingly hard, but like the Souls series, not unfairly so. If you go into this game accepting of death and the lessons that it imparts on you, then you will have a much better time than if you were to approach the game thinking you were the next Kratos. With a light touch of thankfully, gratefully optional multiplayer options, Bloodborne will be played for years to come. If you see someone with a Platinum trophy for this game, you will know that you are in the presence of a badass gamer. Bloodborne cannot come any more highly recommended for RPG gamers looking for a true challenge.
At this point, if you're not interested in Revelations 2, the finale will do little to change your mind. However, if you have enjoyed Revelations 2 up until now, then pick this up to finish off the story. Considering there are three difficulty levels for each episode alongside Raid mode, there is plenty of incentive to play the game all over again with what you've learned from previous playthroughs. Ultimately, with four episodes combined with two extra episodes, the season pass provides the best value for your money. Get ready to face Alex Wesker for what may or may not be your last time.
If you want to look at Atlas Mugged by itself, it's nothing special by any means. But let's take a look at it for what it is. This is the second episode. It is a follow up to getting to know a bunch of great characters and the crazy situation they have just landed themselves in. Atlas Mugged is about coping with the events that happened in the first episode and setting up the things to come, all with hilariously written dialogue and excellent voice acting to match it. It is an awesome piece to a whole story that is shaping up to be one of, if not the best, Telltale Games series. Let's just hope it's not the end of June before we get to see the next part.
It's hard to recommend Final Fantasy Type-0 HD at full price because it feels like a $60 PS Vita title. The game really shouldn't have released on a home console, as it makes a clunky transition from the PSP to next-gen and lacks the polish you would expect from a console release. That said, this is still a really good Vita game (Haha! BURN!!) that features a well designed and addictive combat system, with a story and characters that will keep you engaged. Seriously, this is one of the better combat systems in a JRPG that I have played. If you can get over the price tag and its obvious console shortcomings, you will find a game that is well worth the experience, XV demo or not.
That is the problem with Bladestorm: Nightmare – it loses its appeal too quickly. Between the monotonous battles, boring story, and ugly visuals, there isn't much there to hold someone's attention. If you want to have some fun with it, rent it for a day or so. After that, Nightmare is pretty much worthless.
Thankfully, while Hardline might be a more different than veterans may have hopped for, it does enough of its own to come off as a solid start to a new type of Battlefield. Although, it does need to be said that with it being such a departure, it's easy to see that it is still trying to figure itself out when put against its more militant and seasoned counterpart. Fans of the series will find many moments that harken back to the heart of franchise if they are willing to try something new and are are able to make a few gameplay adjustments. Anyone trying out a Battlefield title for the first time will find a game that's much more accessible than any of the other ones in the past, but much like the previous ones, if you're getting in the helicopter, please practice in an empty lobby before crash landing with your whole team on board.
Altogether Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is everything the first game was, with improvements that change and evolve the game enough to feel like its own bloodthirsty monster. Playing as a variety of characters keeps your skills sharp and there are a ton of levels to master and enjoy. If extreme violence isn't your cup of tea, then you're probably not even still reading this, but if you enjoy a dark, yet neon story full of crime and murder, along with a rage inducing challenge, then Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is a bloody good time.
If you've already got the season pass, you'll enjoy your run through of Judgement. If you haven't been convinced to play any episodes by this point, then you may want to wait until the retail disc release. At any rate, it appears Capcom knew what they were doing when they went with the more unconventional route of episodic gaming. As it stands now, we can't wait for the final chapter to finish up the story.
Clearly, Capcom and Ninja Theory put their time into creating DmC: Devil May Cry Definitive Edition. Between the upgraded visuals and new features and modes, the Definitive Edition is worth buying for fans of the series or complete newcomers. There is enough new material here to allow players who have already completed the original game to go back and enjoy the Definitive Edition, and, besides the few cutscene errors and the poor writing, it is a must-buy title.
While it doesn't do anything vastly new for the genre and treads the ground of repetition that puzzle games like to, Shiftlings is a solid puzzle based platformer for both solo and co-op players. Combine that with the detailed and colorful visual aesthetic, and the fairly unique main mechanic of swapping gas between the conjoined janitors, and you'll find a game that is interesting to play and fun to look at, at least until you find it getting tedious. Just don't let yourself get too carried away with the contrived plot point to get gas into their suits, or how the physics of an alien fart would actually work.