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Tragedy of Prince Rupert is both a surprising and maddening experience.
NBA Live 18 feels like it can be a competitor to the NBA 2K series. The game still needs some work in the presentation department, and while the streamlined modes may be pleasing for players who can feel overwhelmed with options, the available modes can feel pretty bare-bones. The gameplay is solid most of the time, and The One is a pretty good way to do a story mode, even if it doesn't have the writing depth. NBA Live 18 is now a decent alternative, and as long as EA Sports can keep up this momentum, it has a good chance of putting up a tighter fight next year.
It's still a better-than-average game that features a classic series plot and two of my favorite characters. If you go into it with the understanding that this is a port of a handheld game, you should be more than pleased with it.
My complaints, it should be said, are relatively minor. Battle Chasers: Nightwar is a good, surprisingly polished callback of a game that replicates a lot of the feel of classic JRPGs without bringing along most of their flaws for the ride. I have no idea how appealing it is to anyone who didn't spend 40-hour chunks of his childhood on Final Fantasy III, but for me, it's a pleasant combination of modernity and nostalgia. That's a tricky combination to pull off.
Moero Chronicle has moments of being a decent dungeon crawler for those new to the genre. The basic mechanics are done well, and the idea of collecting monster girls as party members makes gameplay more interesting. However, the act of taming the girls is difficult enough that your interest will fade even if the humor is appealing. Until some of the issues get fixed, it's difficult to recommend this title.
All in all, Lichtspeer is a fun indie title with limited story and gameplay elements that create an overall good but somewhat lacking experience. What's here is incredibly well made, but if you're not a fan of difficult arcade-style, high-score shooters, Lichtspeer might not be right for you.
Your enjoyment of Gran Turismo Sport depends on what you're looking for in a racing game. If you're looking for a beefy single-player experience, you'll have to look elsewhere. Outside of Arcade mode, you can learn how to drive well and get in a good challenge while doing so, but GTS pales in comparison to the campaigns of versions past with respect to long-term, single-player engagement. If your focus is on multiplayer, then GTS is just right for you. You'll have to learn how to drive like a professional and not hit things, but the game provides you with all the necessary tools to achieve that.
All in all, South Park: The Fractured But Whole is a solid follow-up to the original game. It doesn't change too much, but the new combat system is an improvement over the original, and it retains the same sense of irreverent humor and love for the franchise as the first game. TFBW is a solid RPG on its own merits, and fans of South Park will find a ton to love here. The only thing that drags it down is feeling a bit too similar to the first game despite the differences, and some of the humor can fall dangerously flat. It's a fun, solid, and well-made licensed title that captured the good and bad of South Park while managing to craft an enjoyable gaming experience. What more can fans ask for?
Beyond that, however, I see Bleed's appeal, but it's a game that just isn't for me, at least not right now. It's a distinct experience in that it's a modern game dressed in a retro game's skin, with a substantial learning curve built into it before you're even competent. I don't think it's bad at all, but playing it feels like I've found myself in the cockpit of some vehicle that I don't know how to drive, five seconds before a crash. I figure there's a decent audience for this sort of game out there, but I'm not in it.
The Evil Within 2 is a good survival horror game for genre fans to sink their teeth into. The story makes more sense this time around, and the atmosphere delivers the right amount of unease, which is what will keep players plugging away to the end. The gameplay has been tweaked to be easier, but it's not to the point where you can go through without much trouble. Despite the presence of a few technical issues, TEW2 looks and sounds great, and it's certainly worth your time, even in this incredibly packed gaming year.
Sine Mora Ex is a good game, but the new version likely won't satisfy people who are familiar with the original. It still features the challenging and fun gameplay, but it currently doesn't warrant the hefty price tag of $30 for a few minor improvements and content. Chances are that owners of a Nintendo Switch have never had the opportunity to try Sine Mora, so they will experience a highly challenging and entertaining game. People who have played this before should wait for a sale to get the slightly touched-up and expanded version of this truly enjoyable experience.
Even though it isn't as robust as past collections of the series, Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 is still worth getting if you're a Mega Man fan. The eighth game may be a letdown, but it demonstrates some fun moments while the other three titles are solid. It isn't bursting with extras, and the inclusion of side games would've made this perfect, but for some people, it might be enough to be able to play MM9 and MM10 properly with save states.
2Dark has a lot of potential, and the premise is exciting. The developers dared to delve into a dark plot, and that bravery should be applauded. The title doesn't fail in any particular way, but it also doesn't meet its full potential. The gameplay felt overly complicated and could've benefited from a "less is more" approach. Some improvements to the inventory system also could've made gamers feel more in control of the protagonist. It would've been amazing if the game had managed to remain focused on some quick and tense action sequences, rather than spending so much time on tedious tasks, which interrupted the sense of immersion.
SteamWorld Dig 2 is a masterfully created exploration-platformer in a Metroidvania package. If Dig 2 could offer an additional difficulty level, introduce more boss fights, and capitalize on the potential of the world and story, this could've been extraordinary. As it stands, it's an incredible experience and excellent value for fans of the genre or video games in general. One has to bear in mind that we are talking about a $20 indie game made by a small team, so Dig 2 is far from a full-fledged AAA experience. What's astonishing is how the title manages to capture and entertain us during its runtime and beyond.
While it might not display the same creativity of top-of-the-line JRPGs like Final Fantasy or Persona, Shadows of Adam executes its ideas well, and more importantly, is simply fun to play.
If you can live with some bugs, Middle-Earth: Shadow of War is a solid follow-up to Shadow of Mordor. Everything that made the first game such a treat is still fully intact, and the addition of loot makes it even more difficult to decide whether to keep or kill orcs. The new fortress mechanic is very intriguing, especially when multiplayer is thrown into the mix, but it makes concessions so it doesn't heavily punish those who don't always maintain their bases. All of this is thrown together with a wide variety of activities and an overall journey that is rarely boring. Fans of grand adventures absolutely enjoy this title.
The Madden series is iconic in the world of sports gaming. Regardless of your reason for playing, you can't go wrong with Madden NFL 18 because it's the ultimate NFL simulation experience on the market. This year's iteration brings dramatic changes in the form of an interactive movie, but there's something here for everyone, whether the interest is in MyTeam, online play, the MUT system, the competitive scene and community, or the superstar career mode.
Overall, Bannerman feels fresh in the way it looks and plays, and we wouldn't be too far off the mark in describing it as a 2-D Dark Souls. Fans of skill-based combat who are interested in the masterfully created retro visuals will get a short but intense journey through the gritty side of war in medieval times.
Metroid: Samus Returns is a solid remake that doesn't reinvent the wheel or eclipse the high points of the franchise but represents an enjoyable and well-made return to what makes Metroid work. It's low on story and high on exploration, and that's all it needs to be. The frustrating moments are few and far between, and the 3DS iteration eclipses the Game Boy original in pretty much every way. It's a Metroid title that shows why the old 2D classics were popular, and it succeeds wonderfully. With a ton of hints dropped throughout the game about a new Metroid game after Samus Returns, it should be interesting to see what Mercury Steam can do with an original game.
Forza Motorsport 7 on the PC has what it takes to be called one of the best and most welcoming racers of the past few years. Aside from being one of the best-looking games on the platform, it plays like a dream due to a myriad of control options, while the freedom afforded by its gameplay options ensures that people of any racing skill level will be able to jump in and do well. However, its lack of stability puts it behind the console version and can make playing it on the PC frustrating if you aren't prepared to restart the game constantly. Despite the score given, which would be one full point higher if stability were fixed, players really wait for a patch unless they're impatient.