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Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris does little to step beyond using Sword Art Online to sell this experience. It's poorly optimized, looks, at best, okay, tutorials have little forethought, subpar gameplay, and questionable effort was put into this experience. As nice as the Alicization experience is, there is nothing in this game that motivates me to play it over simply watching the anime or reading the source material. It's unfortunate, as these games could really be engaging and have so much more to them than we've seen with this and other releases.
Samurai Shodown is a must-play for any fans of the fighting genre, but do not be surprised if you quickly move on from it.
The hard thing about this expansion is, I liked it but I didn’t love it. There is enough to do to feel like it’s worth the investment but so much of it is forgettable.
Like the other collection, you get 11 pretty good games in Namco Museum Archives Vol 2. Galaga, Gaplus, and Dig Dug 2 add enough value to justify the collection and the modern features make it accessible for everyone. It's a shame this release features a few of the weirder titles but fans of classic games will likely enjoy replaying or experiencing these titles.
It's easy to understand why Mr. Driller DrillLand was so beloved. The mini-games are fun, the core concept is a blast and it works amazingly well as a pickup and play the game. Adding an easier mode, so you don't need to stress as much about difficulty was a welcome addition, plus there is just so much to do. Sure, some of the games are slight tweaks and it takes a lot of practice to be good, at least this is an experience that is worth putting in the time and seeing where that takes you.
For the most part, you're getting 11 games in Namco Museum Archives Vol 1, at least three of which are classics, fewer lesser-known ones, and at least one you've probably never played for one low price. This makes it easy to recommend, as classics like Pac-Man are likely to be a hit regardless. As long as you understand these titles aren't perfect and enjoy classic shooters, arcade-style games, and silly hack and slash titles, you'll probably get your money's worth.
Fans of Darius or bullet hell games will likely appreciate everything Darius Cozmic Collection Arcade has to offer. It's crazy, flashy, and most importantly fun. It's a shame some of the games, like Darius, are not as accessible but the inclusion of Darius Gaiden helps bridge that game. Add in multiple paths, different experiences and it's easy to get a lot of value out of Darius Cozmic Collection Arcade without even bothering with high scores or online rankings.
Darius Cozmic Collection Console offers a very different experience from the arcade version. While it is still good and includes more variety, the smaller scale can make things more difficult. It also doesn't have the same ideas, such as practice mode for every game, but it's still a solid experience. It will push you to achieve a higher level and offers enough adventures to figure it out.
While some people will probably like Disintegration, it honestly doesn't have much going for it. It's a first-person shooter where you feel like that teammate that's there, but not really doing anything and a real-time strategy that is hard to control and doesn't give you very many options. Combine these with a story that relies on a cool premise to get past generic missions and you have an underwhelming experience. Online might be enough to save this long term or anyone looking for unique experience but for most people, you're probably going to just get frustrated.
While Warborn is not technically a bad game, it's fairly unremarkable. The story is bland, combat is more tactics than anything else and there isn't the charm that made similar franchises work. I don't have a Laharl to drive the experience forward or Domon Kasshu to deliver a monologue that results in a powerful blast, it's just a very technical tactical RPG that has solid tactics and little more. For some, that is probably enough but there are better options out there.
While there are things that hold Ys: Memories of Celceta back, the main concepts are good. It won't take long to be interested in where the story is going and combat is a good mixture of mindless fun and tactical planning. It's unfortunate it feels rather floaty and weapons are weightless, along with characters moving at an unnerving speed but if you can overlook these shortcomings and the dated graphics, you'll likely have an action RPG you'll want to explore and complete.
For the most part, that is what Moonlighter: Between Dimensions ultimately feels like. There are new enemies, locations, bosses, and items, yet very little matters. Focusing on specific, relatively common, drops can yield millions in cash and the rest relies on how powerful you want to become. Given I achieved enough power to make most of the challenge non-existent in roughly five hours, it makes this expansion feel rather rough. You really need to decide how powerful you actually want to be, because you do need some of this power to make the expansion fun, there just isn’t much of a need for everything unless you case after it, which might be appealing for some but left a lot to be desired.
In some ways Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath would work better as separate pieces of content that could be bundled but as a rerelease, it is shockingly good. The base game was already strong, so adding more characters is certainly welcome. It's a shame some of them, like RoboCop, won't have universal appeal and the story could be a bit better but in terms of straight gameplay, it is hard to dislike what Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath is trying to do.
Gamers will easily be able to sink hours into Before We Leave, from conquering new islands to finally getting off the planet. It’s just hard to get past, that while launched, the current game state feels more like the end half of a Beta.
As a visual novel, Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen is pretty good. It doesn't hit the heights of a masterpiece like Steins;Gate but it is engaging, interesting, and charming, all of which are more than enough to motivate you to find out what happens next. Dated designs and lackluster combat hold it back, especially if you just what to find out what happens next but are not enough to stop it. As long as you're willing to invest the time and effort to get to know these characters, it will be an experience that pays off in the end.
Often times experiences like Saints Row: The Third Remastered can be hard to gauge. Where the original was undeniably special, at least for some people, in some ways it shows its age.
In my honest opinion, Fury Unleashed is a fun game that stumbles to get the best part of roguelike games right.
I won’t say this is a bad release, had it predated Future Tone it would probably be widely considered great, it just came at the wrong time and has some limitations.
In the end, Arcade Spirits isn't a bad game, it's just a rather quirky and romance filled visual novel. Even though it can't transcend genres in the way Steins;Gate and a few others do, the strong focus on following your heart gives players something to enjoy. Toss in some silly references and genuinely interesting characters and it's honestly interesting if you can put in the time to see more than just the surface.
Not only does Streets of Rage 4 live up to the franchise's legacy, but it also manages to be different enough to stand out in this genre. This is one game where you won't get far simply mashing punch and you need to make bold plays and smart combos if you want to succeed. Thankfully, the reward is high and there is a fair number of ways to try to be the best warrior you can be, even if most of the experience will be score runs. So, if you're looking for a good modern beat 'em up game, there really isn't many things better than Streets of Rage 4.