TheSixthAxis
HomepageTheSixthAxis's Reviews
It isn't a bad game and there is entertainment to be had, but the lack of variety in this world and some drawn out moments keep it from greatness.
Carving your way through a level in Broforce is chock full of muscle flexing carnage, and it's brilliant for it as explosions rock the screen and you tear through the scenery. Though inventive, some of the boss fights halt that fun, and the way co-op deals with lives is too unforgiving, but it's always throwing out something new, whether it's a different looking environment to blow up, a new type of enemy to blow up or another new bro to add to the team and blow things up with.
There are moments in Gauntlet: Slayer Edition that shine. Whether it's successfully taking out a room full of enemies with your three co-op partners or, even better, single-handedly, because your friends already died and now they owe you a debt. These are the moments that people will play for despite its repetitive nature, but that repetition is ultimately the deal-breaker and the other issues only serve to reinforce that there are other games in the genre that do it better.
At its heart, Runbow is a game to break out during a big gathering, rather than play on your own. Nothing is more fun than hooking up controllers and playing with a whole bunch of your friends for a night, and Runbow offers that in spades, provided you have all the Wii Remotes and attachments at your disposal. It's the perfect fit for the design philosophy of Nintendo's consoles lately and a great debut from 13AM Games.
The Phantom Pain makes a major departure from the gameplay of the earlier home console games, but it’s brilliant for it. The story loses its momentum half-way through and the boss fights can fall flat, but those are minor points compared to the outstanding open world that has been created for you to play in and the freedom to do so.
Forza Motorsport 6 is beautiful, meticulous, dramatic and generous. It is arguably a faultless piece of driving software, and on top of that, Turn 10 have definitively proven that the Xbox One is an exceptionally capable machine when in the right hands. Serious racing fans owe it to themselves to experience Forza 6, while franchise stalwarts may find that this is the next generation Forza they were waiting for.
The only major things that hold Armello back are things that either can be fixed or are purely subjective. Personally I feel the random element is a little too on the nose, but like all good board games, there are going to be those who really dig that particular feature. Armello's a fantastic example of a gateway board game and also a great way to spend an hour or two with friends who may not be able to get around a table.
Zombie Vikings is a fun beat 'em up that has some excellent moments of humour, with distinct feeling playable characters and a moderate level of difficulty. While the single-player alone is good, the multiplayer is where Zombie Vikings truly stands out. Zoink Games have shown once again why it is a studio worth keeping an eye on.
The Taken King and the patch that it brought with it have been a grand revisionist move by Bungie. Very few parts of how the game works haven't been touched, tweaked and altered in some way to improve upon the flawed aspects of the game's original release. With a fun new story, plenty of content that runs alongside it and an outstanding new raid, it's a good time to be playing Destiny.
Danganronpa’s break from the visual novel genre doesn’t produce the best results. It was definitely an experiment worth trying yet the action gameplay does little to hold up its side of the bargain. Once again, it’s the story and character development that really drive the experience, serving up plenty of fan service. For that reason, I’d easily recommend Another Episode to those who adored the first two games – newcomers, on the other hand, may struggle to see the appeal, especially when wading through shooting segments just to watch the plot unfold.
Over the years, Koei has clearly continued to refine it's original strategy template, layering an interlocking mesh of game systems and mechanics. When the cogs start turning, Nobunaga's Ambition becomes this intriguing spectacle as clans employ a variety of strategies in order to adapt, survive, and expand. Although far from perfect, this is likely the best grand strategy title you'll find on a home console.
As such, Mega Man Legacy Collection feels incomplete. It doesn't feature any of the games that launched after the heyday of the NES era and even then brings them to modern systems with performance warts and all. Yet somehow with the six games it does bring to the table, it provides enough for fans to indulge in with challenges and archive artwork, while also bringing in new players with conveniences such as the save system.
Dishonored: Definitive Edition is a game that will be great for those yet to experience the game, since it brings one of last generation's best to PS4 and Xbox One. If you've played Dishonored before then it might be worth picking up closer to the release of Dishonored 2, whenever that may be, as a refresher course, but there is nothing that really shouts "must have" for people who have already skulked in Dunwall's sewers, drank in the Hound Pits pub and blinked across the city's rooftops.
Super Mario Maker is a true celebration of gaming's most popular icon. It's Nintendo's love letter to the fans, not just giving them the tools to create and share Mario courses, but wrapping it up in a wonderfully presented package and teaching them everything they could possibly want to know. The beauty is that some fans will inevitably be able to go beyond that and pull off some tricks that Nintendo haven't even thought of yet.
Tearaway was a game deserving of a much greater audience than the one that it got on the PS Vita, but Unfolded goes a long way beyond simply trying to port that game across to the PS4. It reimagines many of the ways you interact with the game's papercraft world and it expands and builds upon some of the ideas in the handheld version, yet never strays too far from what was already a wonderful experience.
Madden 16 builds on last year's fantastic entry in the franchise, and while there's more refinement here than revolution the improvements are meaningful, with the addition of Draft Champions a huge success.
Despite this being my first Pirate Warrios game, my years of experience with Warriors titles goes back to its reincarnation as a 3D action brawler. After all these years, there's something refreshing about Pirate Warriors 3. Although familiar, the combat takes on a new feeling thanks to the change in setting. That said, I'm sure those who have played previous One Piece adaptations won't get that same sensation.
A good platformer puts together well constructed levels and a decent challenge, while a great platformer has levels that encourage you to take risks and move through as fast as possible while offering fun challenges to tackle. Sadly Red Goddess doesn't offer any of these. Instead it feels like you are fighting the game every step of the way, and this is frustrating because of how much promise there is underneath all the problems. Given more time I'm sure Yanim Studio could have nailed this on the first attempt, but instead Red Goddess: Inner World's bugs dominate against the gameplay.
Although presented in a nice package, Onechanbara Z2 feels outdated compared to most modern day action games. Tamsoft may have upped the ante on a number of fronts, yet it's the core gameplay where this sequel suffers most. It's all well and good creating an offbeat world in which to put players, but Onechanbara is missing the depth to keep them there.
Games like this live or die by their multiplayer community and while it's sad to see no such community thrive for a competitive platforming racing game, maybe this isn't the best game to mourn for. Its dated looks, slippery controls, and occasional bugs don't exactly help, but the lack of originality compared to both Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams and Speedrunners just highlight the problems with this copy and paste effort. Go play Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams instead of this.