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It's obvious now that Game of Thrones simply won't be as successful as Telltale's other series. It's been a worthy experiment, and there have been some enjoyable scenes in there, but it just misses the mark, featuring too many characters and not enough real substance. However, Sons of Winter is certainly a more enjoyable episode than the previous two, with some decent character development. It often gets to the point much quicker with a lot less filler in between, while also taking characters to new places and surprising you along the way as we head towards the series' conclusion.
Needless to say, those with a short attention span best stay clear, unless they have another monitor or tablet handy. That said, there is likely to be a pocket of (perhaps younger) gamers who will extract genuine pleasure from the game's dreary pacing and lack of pizazz.
In almost all respects, Splatoon is a satisfying game. It's an online game which is incredibly fun to play, and one which runs really smoothly despite tracking a lot of endlessly changing information. It's backed up by a really enjoyable single player portion, and from here you can see how people can pour countless hours into this game. It's all about covering the environment in coloured ink, and yet it's also so much more than that. It shows, if anything, that even a departure from their main cast can't stop the streak Nintendo are on right now when it comes to high-quality games.
Spy Chameleon is a fun and engaging puzzler, with a likeable aesthetic that will keep you amused throughout its seventy-five increasingly challenging levels. It's a relatively short experience, but the extra challenges and online leaderboards add length to an enjoyable indie package.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is easily one of the most engrossing games I've had the chance to play. The story and characters are well worth the experience alone, and the world expertly draws on the desire to explore with its massive scale. You never know what will greet you or beat you just a few seconds down the path, and that's what is exciting about this game. There are some issues that will need to be improved. The combat is better than the Witcher 2 but isn't quite there either, but The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the first game in a while that has held my attention for so long that I don't notice the time pass. CD Projekt Red haven't just created a great game but a modern gaming masterpiece.
Omega Quintet is a competent role-playing game that builds on Compile Heart's previous successes. The combat system works well and there's an absolute glut of content for those willing to stray from the beaten path. That said, it's not a particularly stunning game to watch, looking more like a remaster than a title genuinely meant exclusively for PlayStation 4. Then there's the inevitable culture clash that comes from Omega Quintet's story and setting, as well as its emphasis on popstars as opposed to armoured knights and space travellers that just won't have the same appeal outside its original market.
Ultimately Color Guardians is a bright, cutesy, challenging runner with some good ideas that falls through when it comes to keeping it interesting. Restarting from checkpoints over and over only getting a little bit closer to the end each time quickly grows repetitive, draining any drive there might have been to continue playing.
In the shadow of the incredibly powerful second episode, the midpoint in the series is a solid episode that felt for large parts like it was waiting for the next big thing to happen. Thankfully, Dontnod did just that with an almighty twist in its final few scenes that has you on tenterhooks with the seemingly infinite possibilities the story now holds.
Schrödinger's Cat and the Raiders of the Lost Quark is an amusing game that has just the right amount of challenge to keep it from being frustrating. I found the puzzles quite easy to work out which helped keep things moving forward, with the game itself taking around seven hours to complete. The minor bugs and a couple of questionable design decisions keep Schrödinger's Cat and the Raiders of the Lost Quark from being a great game, but it is a good game nonetheless.
Not A Hero is another great title from Roll7, and another must play title for fans of games that make you pull out your hair with their difficulty, but give you the best feeling imaginable when you clear a level. The writing certainly gets a little too flavourful for its own good, but it still does a great job of connecting the experience and making you want to play the next level right away. It's a short experience, but a memorable one, although if you go for all of the bonus challenges, it'll be anything but a short experience.
There's nothing majorly wrong with Toren. Although barren, its gameplay systems operate well enough, going hand-in-hand with developer Swordtales' minimalist approach. That said, mechanically, it fails to do anything that truly immerses players any more than the game's pretty visuals.
Ultratron is a simple game in which you move around a single screen and shoot bad guys. That said, it does that single screen shooting very well. I would have liked some variation in the level design, and the graphics can get rather muddled at some points, but overall it's a polished little package. The local co-op is great for when you want a quick game to play with friends – younger players will love it – and the Vita version will be excellent for killing ten minutes on a bus journey.
I found my time with Lost Orbit to be enjoyable, and I wish there was more to it outside of the three hour campaign and time trial mode. The fact that I want more speaks highly of Lost Orbit and how it managed to hold my attention all the way through. The levels are well crafted, the voice acting well done, and the environmental art looks fantastic. There's also an enticing level of challenge, especially if you go for the platinum medals or look to climb the world leaderboards. If you like dodge 'em ups then this is one of the best available, and if you're new to the genre it's a great starting point.
Project CARS is an ambitious take on the racing simulator that brings a lot of fresh ideas and improvements to the genre. A number of patchable flaws hold it back, but with an innovative career structure and the challenging but rewarding car handling and racing, this is almost essential for racing fans.
Project Root is a frustrating game because there is a genuinely good shooter hidden under a number of poor design choices. It is rather like a Michael Bay movie in that when it works, it works really well, with explosions going off left, right and centre, hundreds of bullets and a genuine sense of excitement. However, it also shares the same problems and the levels are far too sprawling, the plot is terrible and sometimes you have no idea what is going on. I really hope there will be a sequel and the team do some serious play-testing and refine the game.
Kirby and the Rainbow Curse doesn't feel quite as refined as Nintendo's other output in terms of gameplay, but that graphical style is what we'll keep coming back to. It's simply a beautiful looking game, which offers several hours in the main mode and even more in the challenge mode. As a budget release, there's enough content here to justify it, though perhaps not quite enough difficulty for platforming aficionados.
Despite having a perfect soundtrack and wonderfully creepy voice-over, Brawl's single-player misses the mark thanks to its insane difficulty. Over-powered characters also make the local versus multiplayer hit and miss, and add in the steep price point and Brawl fails to light the fuse. It's particularly disappointing as Brawl is almost a second attempt of Basement Crawl, but Bloober Team simply haven't learnt from their past mistakes.
Considering Guns, Gore & Cannoli costs £6.99, it packs quite a punch for the price. There's a lot of fun to be had in the time the game lasts, and it looks great to boot. The exaggerated voice acting fits perfectly with the tone of the title and the story is surprisingly entertaining too. There's never a dull moment in Guns, Gore & Cannoli, and it ends just at the right time too. Vinnie may not be the most likeable protagonist in a game but he knows how to get the job done.
The game's Japanese release carries the subtitle Lincoln Vs Aliens, and in many ways the game benefits from the schlocky extra tag. The historical and literary figures, married with the silver-age comic book visuals make for an engaging world which begs for you to be a part of it. The downside is that the tactical gameplay simply isn't in the same league as the developer's other work, rewarding drawn-out, cautious play above any more meaningful tactics. Though there is fun to be had here, Codename S.T.E.A.M. disappointingly lacks the purity that made Intelligent Systems' earlier work so essential.
Ultimately, this second act makes Broken Age whole, and it's more than worth your time to play and enjoy Tim Schafer's return to the genre in full. Yet, after such a long wait, it's a shame to see that Broken Age's second act, while continually beautiful and charming and with much more challenging puzzles, doesn't quite manage to live up to the promise from the end of the first.