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Quar’s a game that could very easily live outside of VR, and this is a game that can easily be played sat down, but it’s also a good example of how VR can give you a fresh perspective on a genre.
Translating the physical contact between putter and golf ball to the player needs a little work and, as with SelfieTennis, the physics can sometimes feel a bit simplistic at times.
The actual puzzles are very well thought out, but the graphics are simplistic and, to be honest, the reason why there’s lasers being bounced around doesn’t make much sense.
Given how much I was hyped for the game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan is a bitter disappointment, meeting only some of the expectations I had and feeling like it was heavily rushed through development to meet a deadline. It’s not Platinum’s worst by any means, as it certainly looks and sounds the part, but the combat and level structure leave a lot to be desired. This is a classic case of a game that is more of a cowa-bummer.
The world tends towards the dull and brown, shrouded in fog to help keep the frame rate high, and the floating barges don’t result in the kinds of running battles that you might expect, but rather see people crash into each other and then take pot shots. It’s an interesting attempt, but not the multiplayer shooter I was hoping for.
In retrospect, adapting Flight Control to VR is a no brainer, but Phaser Lock Interactive have endeavoured to build on that games core idea, and pretty much pulled it off.
Falls into the same traps of “simulator” games on any platform, with not quite enough variety and substance to get by.
It’s fantastically silly, but as with many of these “simulator” games, it’s a concept that can wear thin after a while. It’s a well rounded game that’s definitely worth playing, and perfect for showing VR to people, but that’ll be the main reason why you load it up after having played it for an hour or two.
Valve have absolutely perfected a number of the necessary ideas for room scale VR, it’s just a shame that they’re not tackling a more fully fledged experience.
I find that simple back and forth oddly compelling in its own right.
As with many early VR games, it’s bright and colourful, with simplistic graphics, but that does nothing to explain the green cat with building items sticking out of its back or the magical hat that you pop onto your head to reach the game’s menus. Those just help to add a touch of whimsical charm to a very well done puzzle game.
For multiplayer aficionados, Overwatch is essential. It's the kind of game worth sacrificing entire evenings to play and the kind of game you won't be able to stop thinking about, even when you're away. Although the lack of a singleplayer component will deter some, there's more than enough mileage to be had from twelve maps and 21 heroes available.
Kirby: Planet Robobot is a great addition to the franchise, adding a mechanic that doesn’t feel forced and is overall not a terribly shallow package. But looking under the hood the game uses a lot of the same tricks that Kirby Triple Deluxe did and will probably captivate your time about as well. It’s certainly one that younger audiences will get a kick out of, but it’s no Kirby’s Fun Pak.
Lumo is full of well thought out puzzles, but it lacks certain gameplay touches that could have pushed it into being a great game. My main gripe is that the jumping feels awkward and, coupled with perspective issues, means you can fail a simple puzzle dozens of times. The game does have a certain charm to it, and I would recommend it as a nostalgia trip for players that grew up with similar games, but this will not be for those who aren’t fans of classic titles or puzzles.
Far Harbor was definitely going to be the best out of the three, but it certainly exceeded my expectations for this first tranche of DLC.
Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest is as lethal as it is lovingly crafted, with challenging tactical gameplay that will push series veterans to the edge. It's hugely satisfying when you successfully navigate any of its encounters, and you can't help but be drawn in by the likeable characters and engrossing narrative. I still have to wonder whether three separate releases was truly necessary, but it's hard to argue when the resulting games are all equally phenomenal.
With four strikingly different races, Creative Assembly have done a fantastic job in bringing the Warhammer tabletop game's fantasy setting, variety and tactical trade-offs to life. Those thematic differences have also been infused into the campaign in several ways, but there's perhaps a little too much common ground, and you can see the same fundamental framework beneath the surface. With plenty more races still to explore and stories to tell from this world, Total War: Warhammer does little to disappoint as this fantasy project is made reality.
Expectations may not have been through the roof to begin with, but it's difficult to walk away from Homefront: The Revolution without feeling disappointed. There are some genuinely enjoyable bursts of gameplay to be found, but for each one you'll need to wade through a sludge of repetitive mission designs and annoying bugs.
Honestly, Shadwen feels like it needed more time in development, both to work on its core ideas and bring them to fruition. The bland environments, the lack of an interesting plot, the technical issues, and the various gimmicks makes Shadwen a poor stealth and assassination game. At the very least, it tries to do something a little bit different, but simply doesn’t pull it off.
Doom is a truly spectacular bit of ultraviolence, but it's deceptively smart in how it goes about it. It knows that all you want to do is blow stuff up in increasingly more brutal ways, leading to a single player that is probably the best FPS campaign since Wolfenstein: The New Order. While multiplayer is almost a damp squib, Snapmap allows for those with creative minds to unleash their creativity with an easy-to-learn map editor. To describe Doom in two words: Bloody brilliant!