Entertainium's Reviews
Despite these shortcomings of the original game, Kingpin Reloaded could have been a useful historical exercise. It could still get closer to that goal, as Slipgate Ironworks continue to work on the remaster. The studio’s attention is divided, however, as they are surely overburdened with seven other in-development projects. As things stand, this version is very difficult to recommend and will do 3D Realms’ reputation no favours.
With a more focused narrative and an emphasis on meeting interesting characters, The Teal Mask does have some high points. It’s just a shame that it gets bogged down in a painfully short narrative and a lack of new or interesting pokemon inhabiting its sparse new region.
A Highland Song is frequently beautiful, elegiac and magical, but one’s tolerance for its somewhat uneven gameplay will impact how much you will get back out of it. It should also be mentioned that on PC there is no mouse support, and while it plays fine with a keyboard, a controller is certainly the preferred method. Nevertheless, I did enjoy my jaunt across the Highlands, whenever I wasn’t falling off them or getting lost in the rain.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is the sort of tie-in game that does its source material justice while providing an enjoyable gameplay loop that will keep you entertained for quite a while. No doubt, it feels derivative in the way its structure is without a doubt built like a modern day Ubisoft product, with bases to take over, upgrade paths to take and increasingly busier maps with elements to check off a list.
9 Years of Shadows obviously leans on the genre’s trademark mechanics, but it brings enough of its own to make it stand out from the rest. Its world alone is reason enough to give it a spin, but add in its creative balancing of combat and magic/health regen along with how the game deals with color and you’ve got something special that shouldn’t be missed even by the most veterans of players.
Ashbourne Games’ Last Train Home is one of the most unique and captivating RTS and management experiences you are bound to have.
We take a look at Zen Studios’ Pinball M, a separate, mature-rated pinball platform and its launch run of tables based on popular properties such as The Thing and Child’s Play.
SteamWorld Build is still a lovely merger of streamlined city-builder and dungeon delver.
Jagged Alliance 3 still feels like a PC game on console, but works admirably under its strict control limitations.
Worldless captures the thrill of a good close fight.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III arguably sees the series in something of a holding pattern. It neither completely finishes the solo narrative, nor revolutionises the online experience. Indeed, this release may well be quite unlike what Sledgehammer Games were originally meant to deliver. Established series veterans will grumble about the relative lack of completely new material, but this is another polished continuation for a series which likely has another decade left in it.
The new biome fits in well with the rest of the world of Dredge, and if you have yet to get started in the game, it’s a location that you’ll naturally explore over the course of your adventure. For people like me who are coming back to it for this DLC, it might prove to be a tad too easy, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less of a pleasure given that it’s more Dredge to be had, and that alone is reason enough for me, really.
While not as known and loved as the competition in the arcade space, there’s much to be said about the quality and fun factor of Visco’s releases during the latter half of the arcade golden days. The handful of inclusions in this collection highlight the company’s efforts in trying to bring their own spin to established genres, and even though they pale somewhat in comparison in terms of personality, they are very well put together and are definitely worth having in your retro collection.
Don’t let its title fool you: quirky Powerwash Simulator took the gaming world by storm last year for a good reason.
Don’t let its looks fool you, Astlibra Revision is a great action RPG with hooks that will keep you coming back for more.
While the hard sci-fi story is consistently interesting, the slow pace of The Invincible may be frustrating for some.
Sadly, Irem Collection Vol. 1 is decidedly no frills about how it delivers its games, a lot like, say, the Turrican compilations from last year, also handled by Ini Games. Surely, they all deliver something on the game front, but some extra love would’ve come a long way in making it a definite purchase.
As long as you don’t come into it looking for an emotional rollercoaster or a whole lot of gameplay variety, but instead are willing to look past its faults – which there’s no denying there are plenty of – you might just like the way of living us virtual Alaskan drivers have for our day-to-day.
Having access to three different characters and how each of them come into play remains a highlight. Outside of Lost Vikings back in the 16-bit days, there’s nothing quite like Trine in gaming. Let’s just hope for a chance that things might get shaken up a bit by the time Trine 6 rolls around…
Air Twister is the sort of game that works well on the Switch due to its simplicity and ease of playing in short bursts. Along with the host of arcade titles that I’ve taken a look at over the course of the system’s lifespan, it’s yet another respectable addition to its catalog. Just don’t expect it to blow you away or anything – what it does might not be much, but it is as well developed as it can be for what it is.