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Disgaea 4: A Promise Revisited is easily one of the best buys you can make as an RPG fan on the Vita. It's a well-designed, deep and fun game that is brimming with content. The new content is an improvement over the original PS3 version. The storyline is a tad silly and simplistic, but it doesn't get in the way of the boatloads of gameplay. Die-hards may spend hundreds of hours perfecting their characters, but even casual players who just want to experience the story will get their money's worth from Disgaea 4.
Gods Will Be Watching is a divisive game. The bleak story and equally dark scenarios are interesting, even if they seem to go one for far too long. The sense of adventure is overwhelmed by the blatantly apparent resource mechanics and lack of character development for everyone, except for Jack and Burden. The random nature of the game mixed in with the lack of checkpoints and high probability of failure due to forces outside of your control would be more frustrating if it weren't for the game's (newly added) multiple difficulty levels. The lack of control over events can lead many to give up on the title far too quickly. The premise is solid, but the game relies too much on chance and trial and error, so it's hard to recommend this title to anyone but masochists and those who are hell-bent on experiencing the story — no matter what.
As a whole, Munin is fun. The gimmick of world manipulation is done well, and each level uses the mechanic to its full potential with some clever puzzles. The game length is nice, since it gives players plenty of levels to solve, and the different themes ensure that it's never long before a new mechanic is introduced to test the players. The presentation could be a little better, especially since it squanders the interesting setup it has, and like most games of this ilk, some of the puzzles can be maddeningly difficult, potentially scaring away casual puzzle fans. If you don't mind a high level of challenge, Munin is an enjoyable game.
To put it succinctly, Shovel Knight is great. It pulls off the trick of looking and sounding like a classic game (with a few embellishments here and there) and playing like a mash-up of the best game mechanics of the time. It embraces the old-school mentality wholeheartedly but leaves some room to pick up some modern trappings for wider accessibility. Even though it sports the perfect length for a title in this genre, the large number of extras makes it a title with more than enough staying power for all gamers. Unless you absolutely must have your games made of polygons or completely hate the indie movement, you need to have Shovel Knight in your video game library.
The Super Ultra Dead Rising 3 Arcade Remix Hyper Edition EX Plus Alpha DLC is a nice addition to a very solid core game. The arcade style gameplay is loads of fun, especially with friends, and the levels lend themselves well to replayability, even if you're just grinding for costume requirements. Nostalgic gamers will enjoy the references to Capcom's history, especially since it ranges from obvious to obscure, and the new presentation makes everything feel fresh. It isn't enough to make you forget about the four disappointing DLC packs that were previously released, but it's enough to get you excited about the series again.
I really enjoyed my time with Tropico 5. As a total package, it's a great starting point for new players. Gameplay mechanics like diplomacy have been simplified, so it's pretty easy to understand for newcomers. It'll help to have some working knowledge of similar sim titles, but even without that background, the campaign does a great job of easing you into the basic functions of city-building. The simplification isn't always in the best interest of the game, as I found when attempting to stave off exports of much-needed resources. While trade routes are a great addition, not being able to have direct control over which goods I export and import was often problematic. Issues like this are few and far between with Tropico 5, making it an overall positive and very fun experience.
From top to bottom, Daylight falls short of being a good horror game. The gameplay is bare bones, and the attempts at scaring you fall into so many clichés that they're boring. It also becomes downright laughable once you discover how you can safely avoid combat with the main villain in a ridiculous manner. The story makes no sense, and it doesn't get any better after multiple playthroughs. Only the presentation can be called decent, and even that is questionable at times. Even if one were to consider this just for the sake of bechmarking their system against Unreal Engine 4, this is a very difficult title to recommend to anyone, horror fan or otherwise.
The Intercept DLC pack may feel like something that should have launched with the base game, but it's a welcome addition. The forces are tough, and you can get all four classes to fairly equal ground. The only precautionary action one may need to take is to ensure that their friends also have this DLC, since the community is waning, but as long as you can get a crew of four together, you'll have fun with the Intercept DLC pack.
Scram Kitty and His Buddy on Rails is one of the more difficult games on the Wii U system so far. The level designs are devious, and the many restrictions on your spacecraft only increase the challenge. The difficulty curve is rather steep early on, especially given some of the requirements for rescuing cats and the high barriers of entry for each level. Despite this, the basic mechanics are quirky enough to get your attention, and the simplicity is enough to pull you in and tempt you with one more go. Those who frustrate easily should avoid this title unless they really want to risk damaging their GamePads, but for those who love a good challenge, this title is worth checking out.
Monochroma has the heart of a good dramatic game, but it has neither the soul nor mechanics of one. The presentation and premise are very good, but the lack of payoff hurts. The gameplay seems solid, but there are enough flaws to make it feel like it was put together without much care. The good news is that the developer has been trying to patch the game often, so there is hope that it can ultimately be good, but for now, you have to put up with a lot to enjoy it.
The Last Tinker: City of Colors is a solid 3D platformer. If you can forgive the somewhat weightless feel of Koru, the platforming is exciting to watch, and the combat is smooth enough for what they're trying to accomplish. The balance between fighting, platforming, and puzzles is just right, and the progression toward new powers and abilities is paced well during the eight-hour adventure. The adventure looks and sounds beautiful, and it's just long enough to not overstay its welcome. For younger platforming fans, this is a very solid title on a platform that doesn't have too many 3-D platformers nowadays. The Last Tinker is definitely worth checking out.
All in all, I find myself very happy with what Trials Fusion has to offer, and I think this is a fantastic first entry for the new generation of console hardware. It's a great-looking game with active background and foreground elements, fantastic track designs, an interesting future aesthetic, and some strangely appealing narrative pieces provided by the quirky AI announcer. While the general Trials mechanics are largely unchanged, outside of the misstep represented by the tricks system, I've never seen much need for improvement in the series' basic controls and physics. RedLynx certainly hasn't lost any of the ideas that make the Trials series so much fun to play and has escalated the track design in a way that makes this game feel fresh and new, despite being the 13th entry in a decade-old series.
Transistor is an early contender for one of the most engaging games of the year. It isn't Bastion 2, since it's more of a straight RPG than an action game, and the tone, characters and setting are quite different. It manages to craft an engaging and exciting RPG experience mixed with a simple but curiously enticing story, and its biggest sin is being over too soon. It won't necessarily appeal to all of Bastion's fans, but Transistor shows that Supergiant Games isn't just a one-hit wonder and is capable of crafting an entirely different kind of game experience that is still exciting and delightful.
Super Time Force is a good shooter with some depth. The time manipulation gimmick works great for those who want to use brute force as well as those who want some strategy, though the latter won't be rewarded until the very end. It makes the well-worn genre feel fresh again, and even though the initial game can be short, the amount of secrets and the presence of further difficulty levels give the game some legs. The writing and humor may not be the title's strong suits, but with everything else running smoothly enough, it can easily be overlooked. For fans of the genre, Super Time Force is worth checking out.
Ultimately, Watch Dogs feels a lot like what you'd get if you asked the Assassin's Creed team to make a game in a similar vein as Deus Ex: Human Revolution. While it doesn't quite hit the high points that Deus Ex does, Watch Dogs smartly combines elements of the two franchises into something that's certainly worth playing.
Perhaps the biggest problem with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is that it doesn't stray much from the previous game's formula, and when it does, it actively detracts from the game. The boring Peter Parker segments and dealing with tedious street crimes seem like another step toward trying to make the game feel like Spider-Man without considering whether it would be any fun. The core gameplay hasn't changed much from the previous game, but every change feels like a step back — except perhaps the improved web-swinging. Add a nonsensical plot and lackluster graphics, and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ends up feeling anything but amazing. It's a game for die-hard Spidey fans only.
Wolfenstein: The New Order is an excellent entry in the series. The gameplay is varied, with a combination of decent stealth and very solid gunplay. The levels may sport drab colors, but the variety in location and inclusion of secrets in the level design make up for that. The story works well in a series that's not really known for telling a good narrative, and the dual pathways mean that an already long campaign is made longer for almost all the right reasons. If you gravitate toward a strong single-player experience in your shooters, The New Order should be high on your list of games to play.
Stick It to the Man is a charming and delightful little adventure game. It doesn't have the most content, but it's a fun experience. You'll probably finish the entire game in an evening, but it's an evening well spent. At the time of this writing, Stick it to the Man is available free to PlayStation Plus subscribers and is easily one of the highlights of the service to date. The short length may make the $9.99 price a bit harder to swallow, but if you're a PS4 owner looking for a fun adventure game, Stick it to the Man is a must-buy and worth every penny.
Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure is more than a love letter to the series' die-hard supporters. It's a solid adventure title that's loaded with brain teasers, personable characters, and a great musical score. The alternate endings add to its re-playability, and it's a time capsule of the '90s interactive movie rush, giving it a bit of retro appeal. Though it's not perfectly polished, it's a good business card for the hard-boiled gumshoe to leave for armchair detectives. Tex is back and is ready for his next case ... whatever that might be.
If you have even a small interest in role-playing games, Child of Light comes highly recommended.