USgamer's Reviews
Truthfully, I don't know that anyone was really asking for the untold story of Prompto; but now that we have it, I find that I like him a lot more than I did. And of course, more Aranea is always welcome. If you're not already sick of Final Fantasy XV, it's a very fun two hours
DLC for the best of the best. Most of DLC Pack 1 is wrapped up in Master Mode and the Trial of the Sword. I welcome more options for players of Breath of the Wild, but I'm surprised there's not more here for the casual or mid-level player. If you're not as adept at the game, The Master Trials are probably not for you, leaving you to wait for the story-focused DLC Pack 2.
From what I've played so far though, The Evil Within 2 is everything I wanted from the first game. Every major complaint I had about the first game is at least addressed in some manner, though the tweaks aren't always perfect. It's a unique psychological horror title with Resident Evil 4's action combat.
There's a lot to love about Yakuza 0, but it's going to take me a while to work my way to the story's finale. The endless brawling turns the whole thing into a real chore, I'm afraid. But I will say that as tired as I've already become of the constant beatdowns, the story and general self-confidence of the game makes me want to power through.
Aside from some cheapness with the occasional instant-kill attack, the varied scenarios they present create huge, exhilarating battles for players to contend with.
Adventures of Mana kind of feels like watching a colorized version of It's a Wonderful Life — an entertaining work either way, but not actually improved by its "improvements."
With a game that shrouds so many truths in mystery, it's definitely hard to lose interest in the plot—especially if you've been a fan of the series since 999 and never thought this final installment would even be a possibility.
All of this makes Far Harbor an engaging place to visit; and thus far, I've really enjoyed my return engagement with Fallout 4.
The console version of Koi has potential to be a standout indie hit, but as it is now, it's a very small fish in a very big pond.
While it's certainly nice to see Nintendo continuing to support the 3DS well into its dotage, the system's late-life Zeldas mostly serve to make me pine for whatever Nintendo has coming up next for its handheld hardware line. Hyrule Warriors could probably work quite well on a portable... just not this particular portable.
There are games where 30 hours seem to fly by in an instant, and there are games where I'll be playing for what seems like days upon end, only to find that I've only put in 10 hours. At the risk of sounding more negative than I'd like, The Legends of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel has mostly fallen in the latter category for me.
Hitman GO is a highly original brainteaser that I'd definitely recommend to those who enjoy giving their grey matter a challenging gaming workout.
It's pretty rare to find a retro-style action game that manages to pose a challenge without being unreasonable about it. Ninja Senki pulls it off thanks to sharp level design and incredibly tight controls (water-skipping excepted). Sure, the game lacks the variety and depth of its inspiration, but when you need a break from Mega Man, you could do much worse than this sharp platformer.
I still have a ways to go before I'm ready to weigh in on this RPG, but my impressions so far suggest a game that may not be precisely essential but should nevertheless prove enjoyable enough to most RPG fans to warrant a play... even if you found Gates to Infinity as lacking as I did.
I can't believe how much I'm not enjoying Final Fantasy Explorers.
Ultimately, the large problem with Snowfall is the price. It's not a bad addition to the overall game, it's just a very limited content drop for the asking price. Most of the additions are visual in nature and the snow is limited to a few maps instead of being spread throughout any map via a dynamic weather system.
A less linear adventure, or perhaps the addition of something that could actually harm the player would have elevated Layers of Fear into something amazing. If you want a keen haunted house you can wander through at home, the game is worth picking up. If you're looking for a great horror experience, the scares in Layers of Fear won't hold your interest, even with the game's short running time.
As it is, if you like strategy games but you haven't tried out Total War yet, this seems like a pretty good entry point. And if you're a longtime fan and you're feeling burned out, this refreshing take is probably just what you need.
Hyper Light Drifter is very much worth the time, effort, and aggravation it costs you (and inflicts upon you). Its blistering speed takes some getting used to if your experience with action RPGs leans towards the likes of Zelda and Secret of Mana, but once you warm up to the icy slickness of Hyper Light Drifter, it quickly commits itself to your muscle memory.
As always, multiplayer remains the lifeblood of StarCraft; but with competitive multiplayer having become so insular, it's nice to know that more casual fans have options outside of the campaign. As for the campaign itself, I'm going to have some more thoughts on that next week when I wrap up this review-in-progress and offer some thoughts on StarCraft II as a whole. En Taro Tassadar.