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Of the three released DLC packs so far, Chaos Rising is the worst of them. The whole campaign and a good chunk of the side missions are composed of fetch quests, and their tedium is highlighted by a mission where you do nothing but wait until a certain amount of time has passed before you can continue with the rest of the game. The boss fights are a nice touch, but with attack patterns reminiscent of some fights in the core game, the novelty quickly wears off. The weapons are nice, and the new vehicle is a blast to ride. As part of the Season Pass, this pack only reinforces one's buyer's remorse. As a stand-alone piece of DLC, Chaos Rising isn't worth the bother.
Despite its brevity, SteamWorld Dig: A Fistful of Dirt is an enjoyable title. The premise may initially seem too simple, but the constant feed of tools and power-ups, coupled with speedy platforming, prevent the player from becoming bored. The mix of exploration and combat is blended well to the point where new additions don't feel out of place, and the only lament is how there's not much else to the game once you've finished it.
Luftrausers is a nice little getaway from the story-focused games that populate the landscape nowadays. It's a great game that is both fun and challenging for those who appreciate simpler experiences. Those not interested in chasing high scores will still get some mileage out of the challenge and unlock system, but the game is really made for those who adore points. The short playtimes for each round ensure that you can sneak in a round or two between other things, but the addictive nature proves alluring enough that hours can fly by before you notice. For anyone who enjoys a fun, solid game, Luftrausers comes highly recommended.
LEGO The Hobbit is yet another LEGO game. It does a great job of presenting the world and characters, but the mechanics and gameplay have seen very little in the way of touching up. If you've played previous LEGO games, you have a good idea of what to expect here, and if you haven't, it is perfectly accessible to newcomers. As usual, the selling point is the setting tied to the game. If you (or your kids) are big fans of "The Hobbit," then they'll enjoy the game. If not, it'd be better to look at one of the many other franchise tie-ins that have received the LEGO treatment.
At its core, Escape Plan is a mostly good puzzle game. There's a good build-up from easy to hard puzzles, and the tougher ones are truly devilish to figure out. The presentation is still great, and the amount of content is pretty sizeable even if the individual puzzles are short. The only things that hurt the original game were the controls, and while some of those issues are fixed on the new hardware, the act of retrofitting Vita-specific mechanics into a standard PS4 controller also introduces other issues, thereby leveling things out. Escape Plan is interesting enough that it's worth picking up for new PS4 owners who are looking for something more cerebral.
The Last Agent is right up there with Fallen Angel as the best of the DLC packs available for Dead Rising 3. Considering the issues that still occur here, such as lots of fetch quests and vehicle missions in such a short time period, that's not saying much. However, the weapons in this pack are very nice, and most of the side-quests aren't annoying. Though the character isn't very interesting, at least his story makes sense in the world of Los Perdidos. It isn't exactly a ringing endorsement for players to pick up the DLC, but if you already have the season pass, it wouldn't hurt to spend some time with this pack.
For fans of the series, there's enough glittery nostalgia and polish in Broken Sword: The Serpent's Curse to gloss over the rough edges. The lighthearted banter, the brightly colored scenes, enticing mystery, and solid puzzles make this something that the original Kickstarter campaign promised: "fan service aimed directly at those aching to experience one more story involving one of adventure gaming's favorite teams."
While Gigantic Army feels like it's intended for those who crave nostalgia, it comes with just enough material to make it stand out. The fights are exciting, and the inclusion of older mechanics strikes the right amount of balance. The technical aspects could've used some work, as the omission of a few things feels lazy when compared to a majority of indie games. However, for the low price tag, this is a fun jaunt that can be played between more substantial games.
Despite doing a number of things right, 1954: Alcatraz doesn't feel special. The characters are intriguing but ultimately one-dimensional, and the story fails to take advantage of the time, location, and the branching paths idea. Though most of the puzzles use common sense instead of asking players to use obscure logic, they feel easy and there's the sense that the title isn't very challenging. Combined with a less-than-stellar visual presentation, 1954: Alcatraz doesn't reach its full potential. Adventure fans may enjoy this, but they'll also feel that this could have been much better.
Strider is a great example of how you can reboot an old arcade game with modern sensibilities and still keep it true to its roots. The fast action is sharp and responsive, and it mixes nicely with the grand setting. The adventure comes in at just the right length, and the various battles, while easy for series veterans, still excite in how they play out — though it would have been nice to have skippable cut scenes. Fans of the series and action-adventure gamers will have a blast with this title.
However, I'm not convinced the purchase price of $59.99 lines up with what Kinect Sports Rivals has to offer. Of the six game modes, only bowling and wake riding stand out, and the other modes suffer from a lack of entertainment. For all the enhanced graphics and technology involved, the game isn't that much more impressive than Wii Sports was at release, and it doesn't feel worthy of a full-price sticker. It's fun to pick up and tool around with some of the modes, and between the gameplay and the avatar scanning, it showcases the Kinect's capabilities. It's just disappointing that the game doesn't have that much depth, and with few exceptions, its only successes are things that have already been done before with different technology.
flOw is still a good game, but its presence means different things, depending on the platform you're playing it on. On the Vita, it represents the better port of the PS3 game when compared to the older PSP release due to the better graphics and the presence of motion controls. On the PS4, it only benefits those who have just joined the PlayStation family, as the experience is largely unchanged from the PS3. The cross-buy option means PS3 owners will have this version either way, but unless you need a trophy boost or are a big enough fan of thatgamecompany that you need to play every available version, PS3 vets who have moved to the new console can know they aren't missing any improvements.
All in all, The Elder Scrolls Online is a pretty good game. It's not outstanding, and it's not terrible. Once it's less new and the developer has had time to polish and clean it up a bit, it may be a good game, but I think there was so much effort put into making it feel like an Elder Scrolls title and so much effort was placed in checking off every bullet point on the MMO checklist that they forgot to make the game stand out from the crowd. And when you've paid $60 plus a monthly subscription fee for a game, it should.
If you have even a small interest in role-playing games, Child of Light comes highly recommended.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.