The Games Machine

Commandos 2 / Praetorians HD Remaster Double Pack contains two excellent videogame productions with a glorious past, but the treatment reserved for at least one half of the package (Commandos 2) leaves something to be desired.

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On paper the idea of turning this edition of PES into a mere update is a good idea. Football blew up, the two seasons almost piled up and the pandemic stopped development for too many months. It is better to focus on the next edition, provided that at least the minimum trade union commitment is devoted to this package, which has not happened. The absence of a partial update of roses and teams at the time of launch is unacceptable, as is the ugliness of the inter and Milan uniforms, although what PES 21 proposes always remains the best kick on the square (IMHO, eh, I do not want to be beaten by FIFA supporters).

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Aegis Rim is another small, but at the same time impressive masterpiece from Vanillaware that delivers an engaging story through an incredible visual style and an enjoyable narrative-strategic hybrid. This will be remembered as one of 2020's best PlayStation 4 exclusives.

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Super Mario 3D All-Stars is a good collection, but more because of the games it contains than because of Nintendo's effort in making it. The absence of extras and of Super Mario Galaxy 2 are an unpleasant disappointment.

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Gameplay wise, NBA 2K21 is once again an excellent product, and the best basket videogame on the market (also due to lack of competition). While very similar to its predecessor, it is also evolved and revised. However, being a 2K title, microtransactions are inescapable.

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WRC 9 is a mature, democratic and very fun rally game. A driving model suitable for everyone, with cars that finally bite the dirt and a very solid technical realization, ensure that the Kylotonn title is easy to recommend to those looking for a complete rally experience without too many of the burdens of a true simulation.

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Peril on Gorgon further expands the background of The Outer Worlds and the colony of Alcyon, but focuses too much on the action parts of the game rather than on its narrative and role-playing sides.

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Necromunda: Underhive Wars is a disappointment on all fronts, a disaster on both the technical and the gameplay side.

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OkunoKA Madness is an eye-catching, compelling and graphically pleasing platformer, a bigger and more ruthless version of the original game for Nintendo Switch. It is incredibly well suited for the PC as well, as long you're playing on a joypad.

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The Sims 4 Star Wars: A Trip to Batuu proves to be a great Game Pack for The Sims 4, a fun themed holiday that offers fans of the franchise a pleasant break in the company of Jedi, Sith and first-rate smugglers. Do or do not. There is no try!

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Marvel's Avengers is a strange and somehow unexpected hybrid. Considered on its own, the campaign is an excellent action adventure, able to capture the spirit of Marvel characters both in battle and in everyday demeanor with an enthusiastic cinematic approach. The forced mashup with a Destiny-like multiplayer, however, does not benefit the game as a whole: online features are just weak, to the point they partially water down the singleplayer campaign.

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If even the original game wasn't able to take that extra step and stand out among its competition, you shouldn't expect that its remastered version will be able to accomplish this task. Nevertheless, Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning remains enjoyable despite its age. It is a "vintage" game, capable of entertaining for hours (and hours and hours and hours) with its classic fantasy story full of fantastic creatures, epic legends and fairy lands.

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Pathfinder Kingmaker is an incredible game full of content, capable of entertaining for a countless number of hours, especially considering the Definitive Edition includes all expansions. The porting, unfortunately, suffers from very poor optimization, and managing combat on a pad might prove a bit of a hurdle.

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Street Power Football is an underwhelming champagne football. Unpolished gameplay and the very high entry price make the game unaccessible, and the lack of a sense of progression, of a well-structured campaign mode and of online matchmaking ensures that there's little fun to be had.

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Windbound has several interesting ideas and is very nice to look at and listen to, but unfortunately the experience suffers from some flaws – for example, the procedural generation doesn't make for particularly interesting level design. But above everything else, it lacks rhythm.

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On the golf course, PGA Tour 2K21 is a fairly fun game. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the game modes. The career is way too simple, and even the online does not offer anything exciting. Graphics and sounds are decent, but could be vastly improved.

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Unfortunately, Bossa Studios lost sight of what made the first Surgeon Simulator brilliant, transforming this direct sequel into a puzzle game ill-suited not only to the deliberately inaccurate control system, but also to the overall tone of the experience.

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For a first foray into the RTS genre, Iron Harvest 1920+ is a very good proof of competence. It's not perfect; while it's rich in singleplayer content, six maps is too little of a pool for multiplayer, and the gameplay could use some refinement. But it's a solid start, and the potential for greater things is definitely there.

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Crusader Kings III is one of the best Paradox Develpment Studio's games to date. Deep and compelling, this grand strategy can entertain you for dozens, if not hundreds of hours between its intrigues, holy wars, and dynasties in the making.

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If you're waiting for Alan Wake to take a stroll in the corridors of the Oldest House, you might be disappointed by AWE. But if on the other hand what you're looking for is to shed a light on Alan's misadventures, face familiar foes and play an instrumental role in the writer's path to freedom, and also have an excuse to dive back into Control with new tools to play with, AWE is the right DLC for you.

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