IGN's Reviews
There’s definitely fun to be had in Furi’s fast and frenzied battles against a colorful cast of quirky boss characters. While it finds its strongest moments in its rewardingly rhythmic, precision-based one-on-one duels, an unwelcome level of tedium and occasionally cheap sequences — made even more frustrating by janky mechanics — keep the action from being as consistently strong as it is visually stylish.
Carmageddon: Max Damage feels like it was designed in and for the year 1999, which on paper is a noble goal when trying to revive a franchise. Unfortunately, in practice it just doesn’t work, instead reminding us that time moves on. Max Damage is a collection of ideas that looked good on paper and sounded good in its Kickstarter pitch, but in practice it would only have been an acceptable sequel if it’d come out in 1999.
Monster Hunter Generations hits the core tenets of what makes this series great. Great gear drives the lust for the hunt even on the small scale, but the big, spectacular fights ultimately matter the most. Generations’ tweaked combat adds just the right tools to make slaying epic boss monsters a fun activity that’s just as fun online or off. Playable companions help shake up the gathering game without taking away resources, and its fun to play as a wackier character. Generations only falters during slower moments spent on fetch quests and in wrangling through menus before the hunt.
Song of the Deep makes a fantastic first impression. Its gorgeous world, charming characters, and melancholy tone make for a unique and effective aesthetic. But once you get into the core of the mechanics, combat and puzzles become a slog thanks to its cumbersome controls and wonky physics. Still, I found myself willing to put up with all of these frustrations in order to delve deeper and deeper into this beautiful world.
Underground delivers a streamlined Division experience, but nothing new enough to warrant the grind that comes with it.
Like its flat, plain protagonist Qbby, BoxBoxBoy! is deceptively capable. With one simple yet flexible mechanic, it uses crafty level design to constantly push the boundaries of what seems possible with just one tool. There are a few times when this puzzle-platformer leans too heavily into classic run-and-jump territory it’s not suited for, but when it stays the course, BoxBoxBoy! is a great example of how to do a lot with only a little.
The story mission of Shen’s Last Gift is briefly interesting for its new location and escape mechanic, but the real reason to get this DLC is the sixth soldier class that expands your squad composition options with super-durable mech troops.
In a lot of ways, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE is a lot like the industry it’s poking fun at: it’s colorful, loud, shallow, and entertaining. Even when it threatened to bore or frustrate me into quitting with pointless loading screens and weak puzzle solving, it always drew me back in with its dazzling combat and catchy music. The story and characters may not have a lot of depth or sophistication, but it has style and charm, and I’m a big fan of that.
My time with Zero Time Dilemma was one of great pleasure and anguish, mainly because I knew I was saying goodbye to one of my favorite series. This final chapter brings the beloved Zero Escape trilogy to a gratifying end, featuring beautiful character moments, elaborate puzzles, and a mind-bending plot. Not many games will keep me glued to the screen like Zero Time Dilemma did, and despite its minor graphical flaws, it will remain a gem in the 3DS and Vita libraries.
LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the most gaming fun I've had with either series in years. The story is great, the levels are dense with fun puzzles, and unlocking all of the secrets is a blast. Whether I was going through it solo or playing alongside a buddy, LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens proved to be an adaption worthy of its incredible source material.
All the little reasons The Technomancer is worth experiencing, all the little moments where the vision of a better game shines through, aren’t quite enough to justify choking down its shortcomings.
Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness is an RPG that merely fulfills its obligations. It's not awful thanks to a cast of likeable characters and an interesting premise, but an abundance of clichés, uneven polish, and messy combat and AI make it less than memorable. And as its main story only provides around 20 hours of playtime instead of the 60 or more the series usually delivers, some of those obligations aren’t met in full. As for me, I can't say I regret my time with Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness, but 20 hours was enough.
Umbrella Corps is a bad competitive shooter that doesn’t even know how to take advantage of its few strengths. Its mechanics frequently contradict each other, balance is absurd, controls are clumsy, and it fails to pull anything meaningful from the Resident Evil universe other than some recognizable settings. With no great story hooks for horror fans and mechanics that can’t compare to most modern shooters, Umbrella Corps feels like a game made for no one.
Contraptions Workshop seems tailor-made for YouTube or Twitch, a delightfully conceived tool for showing off the creative genius of dedicated and inventive craftspeople to online audiences. It certainly succeeds in that ambition. Building any effective automation requires experimentation and rewards practice, creating a real sense of progression that's surprising for a game with no new mission or story content.
Despite its pedigree, Mighty No. 9 doesn't seem to have a good sense of what was fun about Mega Man, or 2D action-platformers in general. There are brief moments where its pieces come together, but even then it's hamstrung by its visually joyless art and animation. The soul of the Blue Bomber just isn't here, and worse yet there's no endearing personality of its own, and as a result, Mighty No. 9 feels much more like a second-rate imposter than a spiritual successor.
Much like you'd see in a seedy 1980s movie, Trials of the Blood Dragon is like a pretty good first hit of a drug. The buzz is short and mostly enjoyable, but it's so different that you might get hooked on the series. It's got a great gateway due to the story's ties to Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, the flashy neon art, the constant pop-culture references, and fantastic techno score. Just realize that the shooting is bad and that you may come down from this high way earlier than you'd expect. But if this is your first Trial, know that there's lots more to consume.
Edge of Nowhere stands out in the current library of VR games only because it’s one of the longer and more polished games out there, but compared to the conventional third-person action-stealth games it closely emulates it’s competent but unremarkable. If you’ve played a game in this genre before, Victor’s platforming and sneaking will do very little to surprise you, other than the way the sense of isolation you get from putting on the Oculus Rift enhances the setting.
The staples of Mirror's Edge remain refreshing and unique in the first-person genre in 2016, but Catalyst's attempts to keep up with the open-world Joneses don't always jive with its design strengths of movement and momentum. On top of that, muddy-looking console versions and a lame story filled with unlikable characters doom Mirror's Edge's return to fall short. I was so happy this game was being made, but in the end I'm just as disappointed in how it turned out.
Hearts of Iron 4 wields complexity like a swift armor division during the blitzkrieg, allowing it to serve the idea of layered, cerebral, strategic warfare instead of letting it needlessly bog down the experience.
Dangerous Golf dazzles with its impressive environmental destructibility and the general absurdity of its scenarios entertains for much of its 100 courses. However, blocked perspectives and fudged physics too often swap the fun for frustration, and ultimately you can only destroy the same expensive-looking props so many times before your appetite for destruction is well and truly sated.