IGN's Reviews
Blood Bowl 2 is a smashy, satisfying, goofy tactical melee that leaves just a bit too much up to the six-sided dice.
Scoring a hit with World of Warships' big floating guns feels great, and teamwork pays off big.
Happy Home Designer gets pretty much everything right when it comes to decorating, encouraging creativity, and exploring different styles. It's sometimes unsatisfying to work without a sense of progression, but taking away progression unlocks means there's no limits on the creativity you can express with Animal Crossing's huge range of options. There's no shortage of actual designing to do, and the series' charm prevents it from becoming just a series of soulless tasks. Plus, you won't have to worry about being in debt with a raccoon this time around.
Atlus doesn’t throw around the prestigious Persona brand lightly, and takes care of its characters in this visual novel/rhythm game mashup. The lengthy story mode fumbles with its first act, but picks up and develops into the kind of great Persona mystery that we’ve come to expect. The story is meaningful, the characters are full of personality, and the music is fantastic. The rhythm portion is a little too kid-gloves with its scoring, to the point where it might even hold you back in learning the rhythms, but the fun patterns and interesting items keep me coming back to my favorite songs.
Lacking fluidity and dynamism, football's reigning king has lost its crown.
SOMA is smart and scary science fiction. Not all of its ideas work, but it's worth playing for the story alone.
Destiny: The Taken King is an awesome upgrade with many quests to keep me busy long after the campaign has ended.
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is a clever and fun 2D space-shooter that can teach us something about cooperation.
NHL 16 brings the series back up to speed with some great modes and features, but you can't count on its online modes.
Rugby League Live 3 is close to being a great game. It’s certainly the best rugby game on new- and last-gen systems, but its steep learning curve, lack of training, AI weirdness, and returning sins from past games hold it back. It’s a shame, because when all the pieces click into place, this can be a compelling experience.
What it lacks in new features it makes up for in improving old ones, such as a better experiences in the Matrix as well as improved interface options.
Instead of enjoying both fighting and dialogue, it became a weird kind of chore to play through battles just to progress the story.
Lost Dimension is greatly held back by its inability to keep up the pressure of the disappointing betrayal system and its poorly written story. Still, this RPG manages to find its footing with its excellent combat system and interesting character abilities. Though the enemy balance frustratingly swayed from time to time, it was genuinely fun to come up strategies to overcome each levels challenges.
Even with a few stories left unresolved and a lack of new loot to drive me to explore its relatively narrow world, it was great saying goodbye to my friends and getting a sneak peek at what might yet be ahead for the denizens of Thedas.
Armello makes a great first impression, but it has a bad habit of making you feel like you're playing alone.
Forza Motorsport 6 boasts some of the finest racing you can find on console. Easily worth the upgrade from Forza 5.
The White March Part I provides some incentive to return to the Dyrwood in the form of a higher level cap, and the delightfully brutal combat, but few of the other new features leave a lasting impression. Despite an avalanche of possibilities provided by the wintry setting and the two ostensibly unique companions, the first half of The White March never feels like more than a side quest that was never implemented. There's still plenty on offer here for players who enjoy Pillars' combat above all else, but it's an expansion best suited to new players rather than veterans.
Sorry, rugby fans, this is a horrible, rushed release punted out the door in time for the World Cup.
The perpetual joke at the end of every 10 Mario Challenge run informing you that the Princess is in yet another castle hints at Super Mario Maker's bigger promise: There will always be more levels to play thanks to the online creation community, and a virtually endless pool of challenges to overcome.
Tearaway Unfolded is fun and fizzes with ideas, even though some of the original's charm has been lost in translation.