Dealspwn's Reviews
The live action cutscenes make Need for Speed painful to witness and the bland events and dull tracks mean you'll soon tire of hanging out in Ventura Bay. It's a shame, as the graphics are fantastic and the customisation options are top quality. If EA continue with the Need for Speed brand, they need to focus more on what's under the hood.
Surviving in a real post-apocalyptic wasteland would be a miserable existence. Mad Max nails that feeling of just wanting to crawl under a rock wait for the end. It's a miserably dull grind, occasionally made bearable by the vehicular carnage once you've suffered through the first half.
The production values are cracking, with outstanding voice work and some great dialogue, not to mention an ending that flips the script nicely and sets up an intriguing sequel. But sadly the first part of Burial at Sea flounders in its attempts at nostalgia, mashing different parts of the Bioshock legacy together in an easy hybrid that lacks the atmosphere of the original game and completely fails to capitalise upon the expansive vision of Infinite. Half-hearted fan-service at best.
Half gleefully entertaining rail shooter and half primitive QTE-fest, Rambo: The Video Game ends up average. It's a shame that the OTT action is so often eclipsed by shonky production values and tragic instant-fail sections, but if you manage to find a competitive deal for the PC version, you'll find yourself having much more fun than you bargained for.
Munin may be savagely difficult, but punishment gluttons will be raven about this carefully-constructed puzzle platformer for some time. Sadly, it's also savagely difficult to recommend spending £6.99 on a game that will cost less than £2 on mobile devices very soon.
Another fortnight, another deeply average Dead Rising 3 DLC pack. Though more interesting and worthwhile than the pathetic Operation Broken Eagle, Fallen Angel is still not worth your money unless you really, really need to zap zombies with an awesome electric blaster cannon.
In an attempt to prove the viability of the GamePad touchscreen as a primary input device, Nintendo accidentally created an inferior sequel to a decade-old DS puzzler. Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush squanders much of its potential and achingly beautiful visuals, functional but lacking in lasting fun.
There is only so far you can take a game titled Godzilla. After the fun of smashing up buildings and flinging helicopters soon wears off, you begin to find yourself with a mediocre title that becomes repetitive at best. That said, for gamers with those requirements and a love for Godzilla, you should definitely try out this year's entry. Just not yet.
Though it presents a strikingly unique aesthetic and a daringly open invitation to the player to piece together a mysterious narrative for themselves, Betrayer is ultimately a bit of a disappointment thanks to uneven pacing, inconsistent mechanics, and a world and story that just aren't particularly interesting. In the end, Betrayer assumes a little too much and works too little for the player's interest, which is a shame because it ultimately makes a rather striking game all too easy to walk away from early on.
Gods Will Be Watching is an interesting experiment -- a game that puts a fresh new spin on PnC conventions and delivers are pretty unique experience. But its lack of narrative impact, its ultimately empty moral decisions, dependence on trial and error, and tendencies towards deliberate frustration rather than challenging fun make it something of a flawed curiosity piece rather than anything else.
Shelter 2 has its moments. Playing as a lynx is disarmingly authentic, the art design is visually arresting and there's no denying that you'l feel... something... once your first litter of cubs survives to grow to adulthood thanks to your tender loving care. But the lack of threat and its big yet pointless open world robs the game of challenge, likely leaving you broadly unsatisfied after just a handful of hours.
ScreamRide's three modes and robust design suite are briefly entertaining, but the fun doesn't last. Lacking soul and connective tissue, this minigame collection never quite gels or comes together into anything particularly memorable.
Far from pointing the way forwards for the series, Assassin's Creed: Unity is a model of creative indecision and corporate policy -- a corpulent, broken mess that plays neither to its own strengths nor to its fanbase. There are flashes of promise here, moments when everything comes together, and the game's content package is hefty, but ultimately Unity proves to be a mercifully forgettable disappointment.
Gat Out Of Hell is a £15, bite-sized Saints Row-lite experience. Go into it with those expectations and you'll probably be fine. But if you don't care about playing last-gen material on new-gen platforms, give this a miss, do yourself a favour and pickup a copy of the original Saints Row IV for under a tenner.
House Of Wolves revitalises the Destiny experience. Prison Of Elders proves to be more than a match for a raid, while the new Crucible maps are a blast. The latest title update also brings several much-needed improvements to the way loot is handled.
Ultimate NES Remix brings brilliant pick-up-and-play action to the 3DS, blending heady NEStalgia with addictive remixed challenges. Sadly the ludicrously inflated price point, omitted content and lack of new features turns what should be an essential purchase into 'wait for a deal' wishlist filler.
The repetitive missions grate all too soon and the bloated levelling makes little difference. The random chunks of story lack consistency and will only be understood by hardcore fans of the show, who deserve a better narrative than this. But when played in short bursts or with people online, there's an easy-going yet empowering flow to the action that makes it hard to put down.
This alternate timeline in the Sword Art Online universe is reserved for only the most hardcore of fans. Poor frame rates in the social hub, curious customised character restrictions, and a lack of true narrative focus will get to players over time thanks to repetitive content. A true lack of visual improvements makes the Vita-to-PS4 transition ultimately appear underwhelming, but those desperate for more adventures with Kirito no doubt enjoy running around the colourful world of Aincrad – so long as they employ patience while getting to grips with the combat system.
Tales of Zestiria is passable in most departments, but it makes no real effort to excel at anything. The combat and visuals aren't aging well and the story and characters are clichéd, even for a JRPG. There's some fun to be found fusing equipment, but overall the series needs to up its game.
The controls and the way they unpredictably unleash the wrong moves at the worst possible time really disrupt Tembo's platforming gameplay. Pair this with a no-mercy difficulty and you have a frustrating mess that could have been so much more.