Gaming Instincts
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Dragon Quest: Heroes is a fantastic spin-off with a lovable cast of characters, hilarious monsters, beautiful cartoon visuals, and addicting gameplay. However, the game does have some minor technical flaws, such as FPS issues, despite it being consistent 90% of the time. The mission objectives can get a bit tiresome by the time one finishes the game, but solid, basic gameplay is fun enough to finish the title and even continue post-game to collect everything 100%.
Overall, Halo 5: Guardians is a good addition to the franchise and has the best gameplay in the series, and that is a bold thing to say for a franchise that’s been running for 14 straight years. However, the technical sacrifices and image quality losses are a little too much this time around. Halo 5: Guardians is not game of the year material. However, it’s a great game on its own. The multiplayer is addicting, and the future story can go many interesting directions that will make the fate of Halo exciting.
Forza Horizon 4 is truly an amazing game with a ton of replayability and content to explore, whether it’s single-player or multiplayer. Players have a ton of events to complete, boards to crash through for game completion and influences, save up credits to buy the most expensive cars and all the real estate, and collect all the cosmetics.
Tropico 6 was a highly anticipated game and probably the best game in the series, as the whole world feels much more alive than in previous entries. The game’s pricing is fair, at only $50, and for how many hours of enjoyment it’s going to provide, it’s definitely worth a purchase. Like any other game, of course, Tropico 6 could use some improvement, especially in how much political choices and tasks actually matter and even more so in its military and combat aspects.
At the end of the day, World War Z is trying to bring back the DNA and formula of the beloved Left 4 Dead franchise. While it does feel familiar and tries to be original, it fails due to how buggy the game is, inconsistency with its net code, and weird design choices of not being able to play a private game with a friend or two. The tacked-on, unpolished, lackluster multiplayer doesn’t help the game’s case either.
For fans of the series, Mortal Kombat 11 is probably the best they’re going to get for a while, as it certainly ends the current storyline NetherRealm started in MK 9. Save from many missing characters, fans will be pleased to see how much time and care NetherRealm Studios put into the game and will have some great time with it. It’s unfortunate some of the modes require way too much skill to beat.
Warhammer: Chaosbane has excellent combat, looks and sounds great, but feels a little unpolished. It’s the biggest letdown is the lack of diversity in both weaponry and maps. For its asking price of $50, it’s only worth it to Warhammer Fantasy fans, or someone looking for a fresh but familiar action RPG to play when they’re burned out on the latest Diablo 3 season.
Overall, Journey to the Savage Planet is a breath of fresh air for a market that’s saturated with battle royale games, FPS, third-person action, and many others. It’s an indie title that’s also priced at $29.99 and is not asking for the full price of $59.99. For the amount of money this game costs and for what it’s trying to achieve, it’s decent.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the series’ return to fine form after five years of absence. The depth this game offers, on top of its pristine layer of polish, will keep players glued to their seats. This is the start of a vacation that will not be ending any time soon.
Final Fantasy VII Remake is a prime example of a remake done right. It is able to capture the original’s magic while being an accessible and fun title for new and old players to sink their teeth into. Like the Buster Sword, which has inherited the hopes of those who fight, Final Fantasy VII Remake has inherited the hopes of all who await its sequel. It can’t come soon enough.
As a spinoff, XCOM: Chimera Squad ventured into uncharted waters for the series. Some of what it does works and some of it doesn’t. Its revamped combat was a fresh twist on the formula fans were used to but its style of storytelling and presentation leave a lot to be desired. The game’s cast of agents were interesting, but the game holds back on giving them the spotlight outside of combat.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning is a nice comeback for RPG fans. It’s a game that not many people got to experience and is considered to be a hidden gem when it was released in 2012. Now, everyone will finally be able to get their hands on it and see why the game was fun and exciting in the past. However, there are times when the game may or may not feel outdated depending on players’ preferences.
Overall, Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time is not only a fantastic nostalgia trip for a modern age and old-school hardcore fans, it’s also a great game on its own merit and proves that modern day platformers can easily co-exist in a market that’s saturated with shooters, battle royales, competitive online games, and RPGs, if done right.
Overall, Far Cry 6 tries to take some of its previous ideas, make them a bit different and then introduce some new ones from other games and see what may or may not stick. I am not really sure if a gear system is necessary for a game franchise like Far Cry. If I wanted to play an FPS RPG I’ll go play Fallout, Elder Scrolls, Final Fantasy games, or something of that sort. I am not understanding why Ubisoft is having this weird obsession with turning their franchise into games with heavy RPG elements.
If one has been craving a true single-player RPG with a good leveling system, fantastic voice acting, good storytelling, and excellent pacing, then The Outer Worlds is a game that gamers must play. The game lasts around 30 hours, and that’s including completing both the main storyline and majority of side quests. Thankfully, with how many choices players have in this game, the replay value is high. It’s always fun to see the other outcomes in one’s next playthrough—or tenth.
Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville is a solid sequel. It has everything one would expect a sequel to have, such as better visuals, engine upgrades, additional characters to play, new areas to explore, and an evolution to the campaign gameplay. Honestly, it was surprising how much this game packed in when it comes to brand new content, especially for a generous $40 price point, as opposed to most other titles with a cost of $60.
Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla is a fantastic send-off as the last game in the series for this generation of consoles. It combines the best elements of Origins and Odyssey and makes it even better; it has great storytelling, a lovely cast of characters, a beautiful world, and plenty of areas to explore, and it is a lot of fun and feels great.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War delivers on many fronts, but most importantly it is a lot of fun. It is a fantastic game to pick up for a brand new PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X. The game has something for everyone and it does not matter what the players might prefer. Whether they just like the single-player campaign, multiplayer, or Zombies – Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War has them covered. Every game mode had a lot of love put into it, particularly the stellar campaign and the refreshed take on Zombies.
Demon’s Souls is now officially the new standard when it comes to game remakes. If any developer or publisher is interested in recreating a magical experience on a new generation of hardware, whether it be on PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X, then they need to look no further than Demon’s Souls.
Destruction AllStars is in an odd position where the platform affects the quality. As a PlayStation Plus game, the car combat is satisfying and it offers a fun evolution for demolition derbies. The game takes full advantage of the PS5 with 4k resolution, 60 FPS, and immersive adaptive triggers. Simply put, it is a blast to play. It is just too bad that Destruction AllStars is not a title deserving of its original $70 price point. Alas, all those small quality of life issues add up, and the entire game is covered by a microtransactions storm cloud. These problems aren’t unexpected for multiplayer games, but Destruction AllStars’ overall approach has a sinister undertone.