NZGamer's Reviews
There are some slight issues, for instance the usually slick controls start to falter when R1 is used for climbing, or grappling - but also shooting when holding a weapon. Or perhaps you could question some of the loading times, especially when visiting Zom Zom's store to purchase costumes. But these are minor gripes that don't even come close to ruining one of the best platformers money can buy.
There's no hyperbole when I say that Dragon Age: Inquisition is the best RPG I've played in a long time. Hell, it's the best game of any genre I've played in a long time. It's a shoo-in for Game of the Year in my books, a masterclass in game design that deserves a spot in everyone's game library.
So, Singstar Ultimate Party offers a great karaoke experience with an impressive choice of tracks, whether or not you choose to supplement the 30 on-disc songs with DLC. But you may want to hold on to your old mics, because the Singstar Mic app tries its best to ruin the whole experience. Here's hoping those problems get sorted out.
Despite the "been there done that" feeling you'll get in the first few hours, it almost feels like a new starting point for the series, and I'm ok with that.
Even with these minor gameplay concerns, Halo: The Master Chief Collection offers the best version of each game contained within - and the fact that there are four games here (complete with four games' worth of achievement points) for the price of one makes this a thoroughly worthwhile package. Longtime Halo fans get the opportunity to quickly and easily revisit their favourite levels, or jump into a reinvigorated multiplayer; newcomers to the series get the best, most seamless experience of the Halo series.
I've found Beyond Earth to be the Civ-equivalent of reading a John Grisham novel: you know it's not really the best of its kind, but at the same time it is quite more-ish. It's just as compelling and "one more turn"-ish as the others in the series. For these reasons, and the fact that I had a straight-out great time playing it, Beyond Earth gets the thumbs-up from me.
Although not having online co-op is an issue, and there are a few difficulty spikes that might put off younger gamers (as well as less coordinated older gamers), Chariot is a very smart and good looking puzzler.
If after all of that you're left wanting more, the level editor and community created levels should keep you as frustrated and angry as you want.
The culmination of changes in Advanced Warfare make it the freshest playing entry in the series, and the largest departure from its norm.
With the groundwork for such an interesting world, it's a real shame that so many pieces fell short of expectations.
Overall, fans of the Warriors franchise will know what to expect from Samurai Warriors 4: epic battles, a huge roster, and frantic battles. Although it has dated visuals, it comes through on a gameplay front - for fans at least. The battles feel epic due to the number of drones on the screen. In the end, that's what these titles are all about - epic battles that keep these titles going.
I finally got to live out my dream of being very tall.
Sunset Overdrive is a must for fans of fun, witty 4th-wall breaking, fast-paced, open world, third person, action genres. I couldn't recommend it more.
Yes, Skylanders will make your wallet cry out for mercy, and parents the world over are probably dreading their kids' Christmas Wish Lists this year. But their latest offering, Trap Team, is more than just a money grab. It's one of the most polished, expansive (expensive?) platformers available and is sure to entertain a wide audience, both young and old if you have the cheddar to keep up.
A wise man once mused, "why don't you have a pork bun in your hand?" I could ask the same thing of Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition - it's one of the best games available for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and ought to be in every gamer's collection.
It functions as promised but there's nothing spectacular. It's difficult to say what could be done to make the game better – this genre just doesn't entertain like it used to.
Despite the size, Smash Bros. feels right at home on the 3DS.
In this sense The Evil Within becomes less of a game and more of a haunted house ride, where you just roll with the changes and wait for the scares.
The game is an anachronism, proving that transposing ideas from the past (without thinking critically about how they should be represented in the present) doesn't always work.
I'm not a fan of the lack of a tutorial, and I certainly dislike that there is little-to-no campaign story to speak of, but if you can get over the lack of instructions and make some mistakes while finding your feet, or you're after a challenging RTS with reasonable A.I. and an enjoyable online multiplayer and spectator system, then Planetary Annihilation is a more than worth the fee.