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Players looking for a co-op experience will find something worth playing with friends casually in Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare, and it offers polished, harmless and simple gameplay that works for all ages but at a stiff price. The game as its currently designed however, seems to lend itself well to the free-to-play model, supported by microtransactions and we wouldn't be surprised to see it go that path in the future. Right now, there's only one barrier to entry and it's the price.
It has its flaws, but they are easy to overlook because the game is just plain, unadulterated fun. In fact, the only thing that would make the game more enjoyable is playing in an actual arcade setting.
Fans of anything Marvel has created in the last 75+ years will come away from LEGO Marvel Super Heroes satisfied, as will those who regularly turn up for and enjoy TT Games' LEGO releases. The game by no means introduces any fundamental changes, but it's charming, well designed, and endless engaging all the same.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze could have been a straight port of the Wii original, but Retro Studios took the winning formula and expertly built upon it. The sheer challenge, puzzle pieces, K-O-N-G letters, and hidden exits all combine to create an addictive and highly replayable side-scroller that is absolutely worth attention. Wii U owners take note, that this isn't a game you'll want to miss.
That being said, there will be die-hard LEGO game fans who enjoy this release, doubly so if they loved the feature film. It's by no means a bad game, it actually runs silky smooth, looks quite nice on next-gen hardware, and the controls are fluid and responsive; it just doesn't evolve the base formula enough to make it stand out. The LEGO Movie Videogame is better than most movie tie-ins, but for a LEGO game it's passable at best.
While many might argue that turn-based combat has become stagnant over the years, 'Bravely Default' intends to breath it new life.
Telltale has kept up its quality of writing, atmosphere and mystery, beginning to tie together story threads while heightening anticipation even further. However, there's no question that the relatively slower, methodical pace of this episode will leave less of an impact on some players. Those who favor a slow burn will still welcome the experience, but if Telltale hadn't made audiences wait four months to play this episode, they would have had a much easier time keeping both groups happy.
Octodad: Dadliest Catch knows exactly what type of experience it wants to deliver and, for the most part, it succeeds in doing so. The mechanics work well and the concept is charming and enjoyable. But a few rough patches will likely keep players from seeing the game as anything more than a pleasant distraction or a fun sandbox to mess around in. Luckily, Octodad is a relatively short experience, and even when it starts to get a little dull or frustrating, there's always something different for Octodad to struggle to do.
There will be some who perceive the game's specific design decisions as flaws, and they aren't necessarily wrong, but they were likely never going to enjoy Broken Age anyways. Broken Age falls into a very specific genre, one that rarely gets much attention anymore, and makes a strong case for why it should.
The Banner Saga will find its fans in gamers who love ploughing through fantasy novels, and in those who just love a good strategy RPG.
Is Media Molecule's Tearaway an art project worthy of the refrigerator door, or is it just one long paper cut after another? Read our review to find out.
In the end, Ubisoft used an established combat and traversal system to tell a story set in an explosive and ugly period in history. And by letting the gameplay do the talking, it largely succeeds.
For those who played and enjoyed season of The Walking Dead, this is assuredly a must-buy. For those who haven't: clear your gaming schedule and get around to it as soon as possible.
It runs with minimal loads, has a wondrously vibrant color palette, and the sound is exceptional on home theater systems. But ultimately, players' need for more Peggle will dictate whether they pick this game up now for $12, or wait for the inevitable, and likely cheaper, mobile release.
Mario Party: Island Tour fails to innovate the franchise and comes across as a major misstep.
At some point EA Sports had to release a basketball game. That is exactly what they did. It's not the best, and it can barely be considered good. In fact, it's not good. NBA Live 14 producer Sean O'Brien posted an apology of sorts only four days after the games release where he promises a lot of changes to this year's game, from animation and graphic upgrades to helping players more easily understand the gameplay controls. In a world where NBA 2K14 exists, this game cannot be recommended until these promises are followed up on.
There may be a good idea buried somewhere within LocoCycle, but what Twisted Pixel delivered disappoints on practically ever level.
The online experiences may be underwhelming or downright frustrating for some, but that's not enough to overshadow the strong precedent Ghost Games has set for the next generation of online racers.
While Ryse may not be the train wreck that some feared, it just doesn't live up to the potential that many others hoped for.
Like we mentioned in our current-gen review, Madden NFL 25 comes across as little more than a stop-gap before the big improvements hit in one or two years time. And the next-gen version is a slightly better playing iteration, with visuals that are more detailed but still flawed. Overall, fans of the series will like how EA Sports has leveraged the power of the next-gen systems, but the casual consumer is better served waiting till the franchise makes more sweeping changes.