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This game is as much about the man behind the mask and the problems that Bruce Wayne faces, as it is taking on crime bosses, meeting familiar faces in new and interesting ways, and unravelling mysteries. Telltale’s Batman series is off to a great start, giving us a fresh view into the character that goes well beyond beating up criminals in alleyways.
This Is The Police leans on cliched scenarios and characters, but it represents some of the real struggles a police force has to deal with, like budgets being cut and a city with a lot of social problems. While Weappy states that the events of the game aren’t inspired by recent events, some of things that happen are rather poignant when viewed in that light. At the same time, This Is The Police is a tough game to get to grips with and there are certain annoying limitations. like not being able to reroute police to another call feel like annoying limitations rather than part of the challenge. A sandbox mode will help to keep things fresh when it is released, but even now This Is The Police is a decent simulation title.
Brut@l is certainly a punishing experience for those not used to Rogue-like tropes. Yet it’s a visually attractive game that pays tribute to Rogue in its ASCII style that’s genuinely appealing, as well as having a clean interface and enough flair in the combat to not be devalued as a button masher. A few issues rise when it comes to cooperative play, which make this a harder sell, but Brut@l is otherwise a fitting tribute to Rogue and the genre that came from it that dominates the indie scene.
For a certain nostalgic generation of gamer, it’s hard not to fall in love with Headlander’s retro futuristic stylings and the kind of “what if…” set up that wouldn’t feel out of place in a Terry Nation TV show or a film like Logan’s Run. The combat and and boss fights let it down, but this is an eminently enjoyable twist on the Metroidvania genre.
Crafting a game that feels like a true co-operative experience is something studios continue to struggle with even today. For a dev duo like Ghost Town Games to come along and nail it at their first attempt is a remarkable feat to say the least. As a result, Overcooked is easily the best co-op game of 2016 so far and will hopefully set living rooms afire with its accessible, often hilarious culinary hijinks. It’s certainly a game I’ll continue to revisit, roping in anyone willing to sit down and pick up a controller.
Human Fall Flat is a game that’s aware of how unusual it is and builds to its own strengths. Bob’s ungainly controls work particularly well in the invitingly designed worlds that let you play around, cheat and conspire with a co-op buddy.
Riptide GP: Renegade is a decent racer where the vehicles handle really well. The majority of the tracks look good and are fun to race in. However some of the elements put in to make the game harder for players stick out really obviously, like being the sole target of police vehicles. The campaign becomes a grindfest and the online is quiet at launch. There is only one event option which may get stale quickly due to the limited amount of tracks. If you’re looking for an arcade racer then Riptide GP: Renegade is a decent enough choice.
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.