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Halo 5: Guardians deserves credit for taking chances and trying some new things. It would be safest and easiest to simply modify what has worked in the past and gloss it up and send it out, but modes like Warzone in multiplayer and the shift to a party structure in the campaign are chances that mostly work out well.
The Devil's Third is a hell of a lot of fun because it breaks every rule in the book. I would take that, technical warts an all, over the glistening and safe nonsense that we're exposed to from almost every other shooter out there.
Perhaps the series is better off this way, since the franchise is to history as Indiana Jones is to archeology. It's meant to be entertaining. And it is. But while others hope for graphical and mechanical innovation in future installments, I'll be the awkwardly shirtless gentleman suggesting that Ubisoft continues to improve and expand its narrative.
There's an old saying, you can never have too much of a good thing. This is false. Hearts of Stone doesn't offer that much new to the game, which is what the second expansion is supposedly meant to feature, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. What Hearts of Stone gives players is another reason to dive back into this world, and enjoy the stories that lie within.
The most impressive thing to me about Guitar Hero Live is the way the developers have breathed new life into a series that became notorious for doing the same thing over and over again. Guitar Hero Live manages to recapture that essence of playing a beloved instrument, crafting a familiar experience. However, by taking a handful of chances, the series feels different enough to want to invest in it again.
Sword Coast Legends offers up a solid version of Dungeons & Dragons, with a campaign and setting that were immediately appealing to me and plenty of user content already filling the community. This sort of content will be enormously valuable in giving Sword Coast Legends life beyond its campaign. However, limited tools hold this title back from greatness on the editing front, while its clear Diablo and Dragon Age influences may rub D&D purists the wrong way. It is still a fun experience worth having, but there is certainly room to grow and improve as well.
It's probably not a game that you're going to spend too long playing online, and the AI is generally too soft for its own good, but Grand Ages: Medieval is the kind of game that, every time I sat down to play it, I'd lose time and end up playing for a half dozen hours or longer. There is perhaps nothing more rewarding that watching a tiny village grow into a mighty empire, and that counts double when the expansion happens through non-violent strategic thinking. It's not quite Europa Universalis, or even Nobunaga's Ambition, but it's difficult to think of a more accessible, effective grand strategy game than Grand Ages: Medieval.
[T]he story seems more like a prologue than a first episode. I believe it really could have been combined with whatever comes next into a longer first chapter, although perhaps I've been spoiled by the constant activity in the narrative-heavy choice-based Life Is Strange.
That is probably the biggest rub, however. I really would have enjoyed combat with more depth to it than this. Saint Seiya: Soldiers' Soul is a great way to learn about or remember the anime, and a variety of modes and collectibles add mileage to the game. At the end of the day however, it is also meant to be a fighting game, and the combat is simply too bland to really get the most out of the experience.
When a favourite song comes on, it is impossible not to feel like you are a part of the music, making it happen, and it is a glorious feeling when you nail that song at 100 per cent accuracy.
I'm not saying Armikrog isn't worth a go; it's charming, happy, and reminiscent of the time when stop motion was the most impressive style of animation. The game is delightfully odd and will absolutely make you laugh at least a handful of times. Unfortunately, the overwhelming lack of care put into some stuff that modern developers really shouldn't be getting wrong is noticable.
But it is still fun to try and beat friends and family on the leaderboards. Long live pinball.
The biggest issue with Guild of Dungeoneering is that the gameplay never really evolves. Your deck of cards does grow and you'll get new and better cards, but the overall experience in hour two really is not all that different from hour ten. The offering begins to feel light as nothing new comes to the table, almost giving the impression it should be or would be better served as a mobile game. The throwaway nature of the characters gives you very little to be invested in and by the end of the game I realised that I was more going through the motions than looking forward to what came next. At first Guild of Dungeoneering looked like a treasure chest to be plundered, but as I spent more time with the game, I came to the conclusion it was more akin to a Mimic and perhaps not worth the effort.
Otherwise, Transformers: Devastation is a pure form of fun and entertainment, and there are simply not enough games like this out there. I hope this is the commercial success it deserves to be, and Activision spins its rights to the franchise this way into the future.
Playing and becoming acquainted with Ride, it's easy to figure out what the developers appreciate about riding. They love the freedom. They cherish the focus. But mostly, they honor the craftsmanship of motorcycle conceptualisation, and the unique skill it takes to maneuver a bike under pressure. It's just too bad that the same admiration wasn't applied to characteristics beyond how the motorcycles look and feel.
Of course, these are all complaints that apply to previous Tales games, and with the series 15 titles old now, most of us will know how far (if at all) these issues irk us. While I would prefer to see Bandai Namco at least try and do something to modernise the series, it's difficult to really criticise it for sticking to beloved tradition. And as long as the narratives continue to be as enjoyable as they are, it's really quite easy to forgive each new game its flaws anyway.
Persona 4: Dancing All Night gets almost everything right. There’s a narrative that not only follows on from one of the finest stories ever written (and I'm not just talking in terms of video games) but succeeds in actually enhancing it.
It saddens me to say that even though Afro Samurai 2 had potential, it felt rushed and may be one of the worst games I have played this year. It's poor enough that even die hard Afro Samurai fans should stay away from this mess of a game. My hope (however slim) is that Redacted Games will up its game and make volume two a better experience.
The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 is a fairly standard point and click game, but it is also a wonderfully written and fundamentally enjoyable adventure that will appeal to both genre veterans, and people simply looking to a good, clean, fun little title.
Fans of Descent from way back when should have a pretty good idea of what to expect here, as it is very much a modern take on the genre - to the point where it could be argued as a spiritual successor. It plays well and does its job, but it's also a thin package that doesn't offer a great deal of substance beyond the endless loot grind.