The Games Machine

Iron Marines Invasion is a Real Time Action Strategy that despite offering a casual approach, with very few options compared to most popular RTSs, manages to provide an excellent level of challenge. Colorful and fast-paced, with missions that hardly last more than ten minutes, it entices you to experiment thanks to the ability to change troops on the fly, although after a couple of defeats you will already know which soldiers to start with. A pleasant confirmation that even games initially designed for smartphones can be appealing on PC. Those looking for hardcore strategy, however, will prefer to skip it.

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Sword Art Online: Last Recollection, has a good track record and an interesting, little communicated and evocative context in game design. In the end I ended up with a single player and a multiplayer, with a non-recurring effect in the Alcun mode of living with one another, presenting a mess that is not particularly effective. The bottom line is that it is only possible to distinguish between the two, but it is only subtle.

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A modern sequel to Flashback could have been a title perhaps not as memorable as the original, but certainly a worthy sci-fi experience. Unfortunately, everything seems to have gone wrong as Flashback 2 is a disaster in almost every respect.

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Astral Ascent offers the usual roguelite gameplay where you have to die a ton of times before you have a decent build to progress, with a somewhat nebulous system of spells and power-ups at first. After the first couple of hours without any particular emotions, however, the game explodes showing all its potential, especially once all four heroes are unlocked. At that point it becomes one of the best video games of this genre, despite the fact that not much attention has been given to the platformer component. If you love characters to grow with thousands of combinations, you've come to the right place.

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For The King II perfects the winning formula of the first chapter by adding bonuses/maluses linked to positioning and some other pleasant innovations. The gameplay is improved and makes it a great starting point for those who have never played the IronOak franchise. It is not one of those sequels that shows off lots of new features, brilliant innovations or incredibly original ideas, quite the opposite: it is so anchored to its past that it also drags with it some of the defects of its predecessor.

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Berzerk is a timeless classic whose gameplay has aged very well, in fact it is even more popular now than it was then, thanks to advances in hardware. This Recharged edition brings back the spirit of the original in a modern way, but it doesn't manage to turn it into a more complete game than a simple casual score attack. While the desire to maintain a certain fidelity to the original concept is understandable, there has been a real misstep in the offer of additional content, with only a handful of extra challenges that are not at all challenging. So it risks not even pleasing fans of the original.

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Dark Envoy è un CRPG interessante che possiede alcune feature buone come la personalizzazione, dei difetti non sempre trascurabili come un'IA lacunosa, un combat system che non riesce esprimere il suo potenziale, una storia debole e, forse, anche un'ambizione che sembra frenata dalle ristrettezze imposte dalla sua indole indipendente.

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Wartales is an intelligent and brutal video game, capable of exalting through excellent game design and mind-boggling contexts and secondary missions. It is impossible to read a very graceful and alive story in a modern way, and the work can be seen in the classic role-playing game as well as it can still be seen. It absolutely is there.

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WarioWare: Move It! is a masterpiece of minimalist gameplay where a level is completed in a couple of seconds. Incredibly, all the more than two hundred challenges are very distinct from each other and all of fine quality, without any of them seeming to be added to make up the numbers. The Story Mode is already a lot of fun, but the challenges designed specifically for local multiplayer are small strokes of genius. All with a graphic design that highlights the insaneness of the production. At first, it's not so easy to understand what the various mini-games ask of us, but it's all a matter of practice.

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NARUTO X BORUTO Ultimate Ninja STORM is perhaps one of the most complete titles dedicated to the world of Naruto. The simplifications in combat system may not be appreciated by everyone, but the title remains a must have for all Naruto fans.

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The first Mario's RPG is still one hell of fun. Even after almost 30 years it offers a fun and fresh adventure, with many little surprises. A not particularly high difficulty level allows it to be playable even by an audience not familiar with the genre, but veterans may find it a bit too forgiving.

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By borrowing here and there from the past Sledgehammer has played it too safe, but has forgotten to provide fans with truly new and valid reasons to dig into their wallets again this year. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III seems like a DLC that is saved thanks to more solid gameplay than ever, but much more is needed to enter the hearts of fans.

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Wizard with a Gun is a half-successful hybrid: the survival mechanics don't go well with the roguelite nature of the game.

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An exciting video game that engages and entertains. The Kindeman Remedy is brutal, with a mature and well-written story. Absolutely must have.

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Persona 5 Tactica is a passionate and better work in every light and nuance. Enriched by a detailed game design, defined at its best by many approaches that can be carried out at your preference, its greatest merit is to be linked to the original title and to involve, at the same time, with a strategic vision à la X-Com particularly successful. It's a video game you won't want to miss, full of nuances and things to do, as well as enriched by a moving story.

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Laika: Aged Through Blood is a metroidvania that experiments in interesting way with stunts and slow motion in combat and exploration thanks to the motorbike mechanics. It has a wonderful diegetic soundtrack and a cruel plot well screenplayed with some great ludonarrative moments.

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Risk of Rain 1 was already a very good roguelike, and this is an improved and expanded version of it, so what's not to love? Wish Hopoo added the ability to save during a run, though.

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Mix the madness of a blind date, the unknown of a homecoming and slippers on your mother's teeth, and you get Thirsty Suitors, a video game that overwhelms the rules and follows its own vision, going to define with awareness and maturity an enveloping and enthralling game design. Above all, it is strong in game design that mixes with real-life events and a number of events that follow one another, while outlining an extremely scholastic exploration. Try it if you're in a midlife crisis (now in your thirties), if you have a lot or a lot of exes ready to take revenge and if, in a sense, you've finished Alan Wake 2 or any other work released in the last six months. In that case, you would understand why someone left you.

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Ufo Robot Goldrake The Feast of Wolves is unfortunately a mediocre game, so much so that I would not recommend it even to the most die-hard fans of the iconic robot, except at a discounted price. Like the original material, it is a product aimed at a young audience, ironically at the antipodes of the old-timers who are supposed to represent the hardcore Actarus fans.

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Wandering Sword is a journey into an ancient China to be explored from top to bottom, meeting wonderful characters and engaging in pitched battles in which tactics, party members and character build are crucial. Progression is quite fast-paced and debunks the cliché that would have Eastern games to be based on grinding. The main campaign is fairly linear, but there are enough side quests that provide variety to the adventure, meticulously narrated with plenty of text. The HD-2D graphics are particularly well-chosen in this genre of games and are another selling point.

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