TheSixthAxis
HomepageTheSixthAxis's Reviews
I am Setsuna is a love letter to JRPGs of the past, and while it offers a style of play oft forgotten by the modern age, it is an exceedingly well crafted and thoughtful journey that should make you wonder whether the genre’s progress is necessarily all it’s cracked up to be.
Of course, for some, Obliteracers just won't click. While fun, the singleplayer campaign doesn't have much of a lifespan – a problem for those who don't have the means to play online or locally with a group of friends. Then there are the raw mechanics, tuned to give Obliteracers a frantic, sometimes nonsensical feel. Needless to say, if you're looking for something similar to Mario Kart, you're in the wrong place.
Quadrilateral Cowboy’s a game that gets hacking right – if you permit me calling it that – with the command line interface brilliantly letting you manipulate the world and use the other tools of the cyberpunk heisting trade. It’s effortlessly cool, from a slightly nerdy retro perspective, but hidden beneath that, there’s a simple and very ordinary feeling tale of a trio of kickass women living outside the law and pulling off ever more outlandish heists.
While it’s far removed from Call of Duty of old, it can still be fun. I enjoyed good fortune in my first match back since the last DLC to have a positive K/D ratio, just managed to win an incredibly tight match of Domination on Cryogen, out-scored a ludicrously dominant team in the second half of another Domination match a map later, and so on.
Plotting the downfall of the human race is a rare treat in videogames, and there’s a lot of fun to be had in bringing this to pass in Zombie Night Terror. The zombie apocalypse by way of Lemmings, NoClip have done a great job of mixing their inspirations into something new and imaginative.
Chime Sharp is a good, fun puzzle game that builds upon the ideas of its predecessors in all the right ways. It’s gorgeous to look at, each level flows with the consistency and rhythm that you’d hope for, and the soundtrack is one of the best in video games. It does get a tad tedious, and there are a few things they certainly could’ve done a better job explaining, but it’s well worth the ride if you like your puzzle games to be fast and challenging.
Kerbal Space Program is one of the most educational games I have played in years. While I'm nowhere equipped to apply for the ESA or NASA Kerbal Space Program does make understanding the science of space travel easier to digest. It is a complicated game but offers a real sense of achievement when you get something right. There are a couple of issues when it comes to the actual user experience, like the movement of non fixed cameras and text sizes, but even if you have just a small interest in Space travel then this is recommended.
If the issues don’t phase you and you are at peace with large sections of dialogue, you will find an interesting, dismal world filled with shadowy characters and intrigue. Everyone is a bit off in Dex, whether they’re shady themselves or they’re in the midst of their own tragedy that is no doubt brought on by people you have already met. Uncovering the threads that connect the residents of Harbor Prime is a fascinating look into a flawed future, if you are willing to hack for it.
I’m certainly eager to see where nDreams take us to next, as they hone their craft in developing for virtual reality, but The Assembly is sadly just a first step on that journey. It does some interesting things, with a nicely constructed story split between two characters and contrasting styles of gameplay, and it gets the controls right for first person exploration in VR, but without that, it would struggle to stand out from the crowd.
I’m certainly eager to see where nDreams take us to next, as they hone their craft in developing for virtual reality, but The Assembly is sadly just a first step on that journey. It does some interesting things, with a nicely constructed story split between two characters and contrasting styles of gameplay, and it gets the controls right for first person exploration in VR, but without that, it would struggle to stand out from the crowd.
The one saving grace is that Ghostbusters is dull rather than boring. Played in short bursts, a level or two at a time, it’s still rather fun, even more so when you have some friends in tow. Parents with young children who fancy a break from endless LEGO titles may also consider a look at Ghostsbusters, but for everyone else, I recommended you hunt down the far superior Ghostbusters: The Video Game from 2009.
The puzzle-like missions of Crush Your Enemies are a lot of fun, as you race against the clock in a frantic rush to defeat the enemies, or simply grind with sheer weight of numbers. Ignoring the crass sense of humour and forgetable story, Crush Your Enemies does an admirable job of distilling the strategy genre down into a bitesized form.
Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness carries a weight of expectation that it is incapable of satisfying. A legacy JRPG franchise, published by Square Enix, should have some meaning, but here it translates to pure mediocrity. Series fans may find some brighter elements to latch onto, but for JRPG stalwarts there are far better examples of the genre.
While it’s not as essential as Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate was, those wanting to keep in the loop should seriously consider picking up a copy. While some of the bonus features do little to spice up the core game, there’s an embarrassment of riches to be found in the sheer volume of content on offer.
Despite its fantastic combat mechanics and interesting premise for the story though, I feel that JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven is a bit of a hard sell. The main issue is that the game is somewhat hamstrung by the IP being used. This isn’t to say that JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is bad, more that the tie-in nature of the game has limited appeal. If you like the manga or anime though, this is a fun time.
Carmageddon’s revival gets off to a sloppy start, though it gradually gets better with perseverance. Drawbacks such as the fickle handling and the so-so presentation become easier to overlook, but those first few hours can be a major slog. Swapping out AI racers for real life opponents will no doubt help to alleviate some of its issues, but even then, Max Damage doesn’t manage to propel this much-loved franchise back past the growing pool of troubled combat racers.
Full Mojo Rampage is simply an average game that could have been a lot better. There are a few good ideas here, but they aren't fully realised, leading to a game that becomes tedious after a few runs of its quests. The grinding to level up is a bit too far on the long side too, tipping the balance from enjoyable to boredom as well. The game is available for a bargain price though, so if you fancy something a bit different then Full Mojo Rampage may be for you.
Duelyst had me hooked, as I put hours and hours into it almost every day. If I had written my review for it at that point, it would have done incredibly well in my books, with it's fascinating tactical RPG twist on the familiar card game play. But after playing with friends, I struggle to go back to playing against anonymous opponents in ranked play, and I just don't know how much more time I see myself putting into this game.
Strategy aficionados will look on approvingly as fans of the series rejoice. It’s certainly not a game for everyone, yet those who find themselves hooked by Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII will struggle to break free of its hold. The fact that it plays so well on console as well as on PC shows that Koei is capable of more than mindless button bashers.
Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens is amongst the best games from either franchise. While the story of a single film has been noticeably stretched out, there's still plenty of content here for fans to enjoy, and the new additions to the Lego formula help to keep things fresh despite so much familiarity.