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Whether you’ve been a fan of Psycho-Pass for years, or you hadn’t even heard of the series until you saw this review, Mandatory Happiness is well worth checking out. Though you can play it as a newcomer, it’s a far more rewarding experience if you’ve watched the anime.
NBA 2K17 is an excellent basketball game, but I wouldn’t say it’s a major step up over last year’s title. The player duos are a great addition, while there have been improvements to the animations and player contact, but that makes the game a bit slower and more methodical. At the same time MyCareer is a lot more fleshed out which is great, but again, things can feel slow at times and you can feel the grind and the push toward spending real money to get past that. Really NBA 2K17 is on par with 2K16, making improvements in some areas, but with a few drawbacks alonside them.
Rive doesn’t quite reach its full potential, but shoot ’em up fans should give it a go anyway. The frustrating difficulty spikes are hard to ignore, but when it comes together, it’s a fantastic fast-paced corridor shooter which could have been considered one of the best 2D shooters in recent years. Either way, it’s a good send off and farewell for Two Tribes.
Virginia’s tale of intrigue and mystery quickly comes full circle. In that time, it will take you to some pretty surprising, extraordinary places, and easily warrants a second playthrough. The closing moments may not be to everyone’s taste, though the journey to get there is certainly worthwhile.
There is fun and satisfaction to be had in stealthily taking out whole levels without being spotted, but that is perhaps due to the nature of stealth gameplay rather than the strengths of the game itself. If you are looking for something along these lines and don’t mind the issues too much, you may enjoy Filthy Lucre, but there are other games that do the same thing with more success for a similar price, making this particular game difficult to recommend.
Despite my initial impressions, I really enjoyed The Bunker. I’m never going to play it again, but for the couple of hours it lasted it held my attention and expertly racked up the tension. It is certainly not for everyone, but it entertained me for it’s duration and you can’t really ask much more than that. Grab your significant other and some popcorn and The Bunker will make a great evenings viewing.
A strong second episode that rattles along at a fast pace and includes no shortage of surprises and reveals. And now that we know what the Children of Arkham in the title refers to, I’m definitely looking forward to the third.
PES 17 is another example of Konami’s football series regaining some of the charm and style that made the series so great in the past. The game controls well, it looks good and it’s a lot of fun to play. It’s a big step forward on the path to reclaiming its crown, but it isn’t quite FIFA’s empire just yet. With a few improvements to the likes of MyClub and some parts of the game, the series could be there soon.
While I struggle to play One Way Trip, I also feel a muffled yet ever present pangs of fascination. This is a rare specimen – an experimental approach to game design the likes of which we’re never likely to see again, at least not on consoles. Its incredibly niche appeal creates a barrier between Beret and a good 99% of those who own a Vita and PlayStation 4 (if not more). Then again, in some bizarre way, that seems completely intentional.
Mount & Blade: Warband is a tough game, but at the same time you’ll lose hours to it just through trying to rise through the ranks in Calradia. At the beginning so many lords will look down on you that you want to prove them wrong. It is a game where you will face multiple setbacks, but with each a lesson is learnt. The tasks may seem menial at first, but when you get in your first proper big battle with all the chaos of swords clashing, archers firing arrows, and cavalry charging the game just comes together. Mount & Blade: Warband is one of the hardest games I’ve played and that just makes it so very satisfying when you succeed.
There's nothing wrong with taking influences from classic franchises, but the very least one could do is make it transformative enough to warrant its own game. Oceanhorn: Monsters of Uncharted Seas is both mechanically too similar and at the same time somehow inferior to the The Legend of Zelda franchise. It has a lovely score, but there are far more original interpretations of the genre out there.
With the big push that Nintendo has given to Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past, it’s a shame that this is the black sheep of the main series. It’s not that it’s bad, far from it, and ArtePiazza have exceeded the original version in every way. Yet as much as I love the work they’ve done, the plodding nature of the game makes this the longest game in the series, for not necessarily the most compelling of reasons. A lovingly crafted game, and a dramatic improvement on the original, but not the best entry point to the franchise.
The Tomorrow Children is at the beginning of its journey, with Q-Games' next step one of the most important in shaping the game's future. What is present shows promise, but after several days of playing it feels like most of what can be experienced has been. There's already a sense of repetitiveness settling in, and it feels like something is missing, even if I can't quite put my finger on what it is. On the flip side it really is great seeing players work together to help their towns grow, and finding ingenious ways to do so. The canvas is set and there is potential for a masterpiece to appear depending on what comes next.
It’s a real shame that the first Touhou game to officially come out overseas is Touhou Genso Rondo. It really doesn’t capture the appeal or the magic of the mainline Touhou series, and there are plenty of other fan-games in vastly different genres that are at least much more mechanically polished than this one. Touhou Genso Rondo is a mild disappointment for fans of the series, but despite the broad marketing efforts of NIS America, it should simply be absolutely avoided by newcomers.
Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 is simply an incredibly fun and addictive arcade experience that once again reinvents the arcade classic in a compelling way. The visual style feels timeless, looking as great as it did back in 2007. I sincerely hope that Bandai Namco has more tricks up its sleeve with their back catalogue, perhaps even a Dig Dug Championship Edition? I can only dream!
Trails Of Cold Steel II feels less like a sequel, and more like the second half of an incredibly rich JRPG experience. There’s a lot to take in between both these titles, and it can feel like a slog at times, especially with the first game. Cold Steel II does a great job of making that slog worth it, and delivers with an action packed story and a consistently challenging gameplay experience.
In many ways Spirit of Justice can be likened to one of Capcom’s other recent flagships, Monster Hunter: Generations. Both hail from fantastic game series though neither are particularly ground-breaking. Instead, they’ve simply uprooted their tried and tested formulas, plonking them in a slightly different setting with new bells and whistles attached. Where other franchises are demonised for failing to constantly evolve, Ace Attorney is one that benefits from remaining untouched, propped up by lovable characters and some superb writing.
It's somewhat difficult to recommend Mother Russia Bleeds, as the dystopian setting and drug-filled plot are at odds with the conventions of the side-scrolling beat-em-up genre. While the sprite work is overall quite ugly, the level of detail is astounding in depicting this game's disturbing imagery. With limited replay value, couch only coop, and not much diversity among the playable roster, these issues outweigh the promise of Le Cartel Studio's debut game.
Verdun’s goal is an admirable one, to capture the feel of warfare on the Western Front, on occasions it manages to do that and be fun. The rest of the time, it’s an unintuitive slog. It might be a better game on PC, but on PlayStation 4, it’s almost certainly not going to be this year’s most fun or engaging WWI shooter.
A charming puzzle platformer, Hue's colourful aesthetic and thoughtful tone make for an enjoyable, if slight, adventure that will leave an indelible mark on your soul.