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Garrett is a wonderful character, and the city and plot of Thief hold all kinds of potential, the game looks gorgeous on the PlayStation 4 and is mechanically very tight, but all of that potential is dampened by the developer's somewhat overzealous desire to dictate just how the game should be played.
I was absolutely wowed by this game the first time I played it through because I was paying so much attention to the cut scenes and redesigned Lara Croft was a joy to behold. The Definitive Edition adds a few neat little features like alternative costumes and a comic book describing the events before the game, and I can't remember that being in the original game release. But having had a year to sit and consider the game's broader meaning, the second time around the game's flaws are all the more apparent.
If you are a fan of platforming games, Rayman Legends should be a pretty easy acquisition to justify. Even if dozens of levels of running and jumping usually are not your thing, there is enough quality content here to make Rayman Legends worth your while. No matter which camp you fall into, Rayman Legends on the current generation of consoles is the best platforming experience of this early 2014 year.
All and all, Gigantic Army is a great new entry for Astro Port's line of shooters. If there was one complaint to be had, the game does stand on the short side of the spectrum although there is a refreshing lack of filler. Gigantic Army comes highly recommended to any fan of the run and gun genre - it's clear that Astro Port put a lot of effort in the game and it comes out in all facets.
Having played this version of the game a few other times now, I came away feeling as though the DX version for Nintendo 3DS was the best of all. If you are well-versed in the original game, there may not be enough reason to come back to it yet again unless you really cannot get enough of the adventures of Player and want to experience them one more time. For newcomers to the series, there is no reason to try any of the other versions if you have a 3DS, because this is the definitive release.
There's a lot of content in Blackguards, but memorable moments are few and far between. This is a game that feels like it has a lot of ambition, but it's held back sharply but budgetary constraints and, perhaps, an engine so unfamiliar to the development team that they couldn't compensate for its inherent flaws.
There's online play, which is a nice bonus for serious fans of the puzzle game, and these work well enough, but at no stage was I able to shake the feeling that Dr. Luigi is nothing more than filler material. This isn't an especially memorable game, doesn't utilise the capabilities of the Wii U to any meaningful degree, and is nothing more than a brief diversion on the way to something more.
Games like Might & Magic X, where you can take a couple of minutes to work out a clever strategy to deal with an enemy, are few and far between. I'm glad this game does it, though, because it means that the enemies can have more complex strengths and weaknesses, because players can take more time to figure out how to beat them.
Unepic is a solid game that holds up very well throughout. It offers up a stiff challenge, while maintaining a sound sense of humour, and will go down especially well with those of us that remember (or still play) all-night Dungeons & Dragons sessions.
If you read my preview of the game late last year, there were a few things that didn't click with me about The Banner Saga. Yet playing through the full game, I wasn't noticing those issues as much. They're still there, but I was able to look past them. You can see the BioWare design influences heavily, and it's nice to see the focus shift to the overall story of the world and grand conflict, rather than individual personal stories. It creates a vast story that will change every time you play it, and your choices are surely going to play a part in the next two installments. But, yes, if the story and art style doesn't interest you, then the combat will absolutely draw you in.
Max: The Curse of Brotherhood has a handful of funny moments, plenty of fairly easy but entertaining puzzles and platforming/chase scenes all wrapped up in lovely visuals. The adventure doesn't have great replay value, but the first time through it's long enough, and the price of admission is absolutely worth it.
If I haven't made this clear enough - this is a bad game. And yet, I couldn't stop playing it. Perhaps because it's so simple, it's easy to tune out to while I'm playing it. Like a bit of pulp fiction (or, indeed, the typical manga), Romance Dawn is a "page turner" without being remotely memorable.