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Outside of Shogun 2, Total War: Warhammer is my favorite Total game to date. Developing this project must have been a massive undertaking, because it somehow manages to not sacrifice the core tenets of the series while staying true to the ever-expanding source material of the Warhammer universe. After nearly two decades of historical battles, having the chance to command a magical undead army is a breath of fresh air.
This is the kind of game where the people who are going to play it and love it already know they are going to play it and love it. If you have treasured memories of liberating Venus from the filthy capitalist pig-dogs in 1998, feel free to call me an asshole and just go and enjoy the game. If you missed it back in the day and are toying with giving it a try for the same reasons I did (soviets on the moon with flying tanks), you can probably take a pass and not miss anything.
In the buffet of 3DS RPGs, Langrisser Re:Incarnation Tensei is the day old, slimy tilapia Golden Corral employees forgot to take out. Other than the fact the game didn't crash on me, there isn't an iota of quality to be found. I knew I was going to have a rough go at it when I booted up the game and realized the developer switched the traditional roles of the "A" and "B" buttons for no goddamn reason. But that was only the tip of the poor execution iceberg that is Langrisser Re:Incarnation Tensei; a game I have no qualms calling the worst RPG I've ever played.
Yet with all that baggage, Minority Media has created something unique that's rarely seen in the industry today. Time Machine VR succeeds, without a doubt, in becoming a weaponized therapy session, allowing people to potentially overcome their fears. Whether that's aquaphobia or what have you, the intimate nature of the presentation isn't something I've experienced quite yet in other VR titles. Virtual reality truly is a new way to engage with games, and an experiment that I look forward to seeing bloom in the years to come.
Yet, I can't stress enough how much I loved The Call of Starseed, it hit all the right spots for me. The story feels like the dark adventure films of the '80s and '90s, the voicework is great, and the immersion is unmatched. If you've got an HTC Vive and can spare the $30, do yourself a favor and buy this game, you won't regret it. Those holding out for PS VR and Oculus Touch are in luck as well, as The Gallery is planned to release for those too.
I had no idea it would be this much fun.
The few times the game opens up to let the player make use of their high level of mobility are incredibly memorable, and the world building makes it feel like we’re only scratching the surface of this world. That’s not enough to make me recommend it, of course, but they do make Shadwen’s shortcomings all the more painful.
Of course, that’s something up for debate. Another time, perhaps. As it stands, and as a review of a product, Back in 1995 is a gimmicky curiosity, not unlike its graphical approach; flat and askew, with some semblance of structure if you squint between the lines.
At 10 hours, Hearts of Stone is rather brief given the sprawling scale of Wild Hunt, but with that brevity, it never overstays its welcome. It melds well with the overall themes of the core adventure even if it feels wholly detached from it, but sometimes all you need is more Witcher-based antics.
If you're a fan of games like AudioSurf and own a Vive, you owe it to yourself to pick up Audioshield. It's an incredibly polished VR imagining of the generate-music-into-levels concept, and it was only let down by the physical realities of how gross VR gets after energetic use by multiple, sweaty people.
It would be easy for me not to recommend MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies. The game is smothered by a poor camera, an excess of short load screens, a forgettable campaign, simplistic missions, portions of undubbed dialog and an overall lack of polish. But even with all that, I still managed to have a bit of fun pulverizing the bad guys with a little help from some scantily clad girls online. Is it $40 fun? Hell no, but you should keep it in mind if ever it goes on sale and you've had your run of other, more superior hack-and-slashers.
Valkyria Chronicles Remastered is just as great of a game as it was eight years ago. Having it perform better and run smoother is a gift. A few things hold it back from perfection, but I'd rather have a war game strive for something new and risky like this than go with safe boilerplate action sequences. I'm happy Sega took a chance on this one. And maybe if enough people pick this up, the next game in the series will come this way.
All told, there's a decent game in here somewhere, but it's bogged down by annoying difficulty spikes and movement and aiming controls that never feel quite right. Even without those issues, Rocketbirds 2 does little if anything we haven't seen before. Its premise and world can only take it so far.
This is a game for anyone who has already enjoyed the grand strategy genre or anyone who has always wanted to. There is a strong sense of accomplishment from starting an empire and guiding it along the path you choose, even if it eventually ends in failure. Stellaris is easy to comprehend and exciting to execute, which is a perfect combination for a genre notoriously difficult to break into.
Nearly 14 years after first bursting onto the scene, Melty Blood has aged to the point of near-perfection. While a few aspects of the package leave something to be desired, the fact remains that, at its core, this is a supreme fighter with a diverse roster and deep, compelling mechanics that merit your attention.
No hyperbole, Kathy Rain is yet another milestone in this resurgence of old-school point-and-click adventures. It’s a fantastic thriller, a remarkably deep and adult story about grief, transition, religion, and the personal decisions that make or break us, while being an engrossing adventure game for veterans and newcomers alike.
Stunning art direction; satisfying game feel; a willingness to shake up third-person action conventions, to know when to introduce variety, or let a foot up off the gas; excellent dialogue that reveals a lot without oversharing; and a heck of a conclusion. A thief couldn't ask for a better end.
I'm not sold on Battleborn's commitment to the MOBA genre but there's something fun there underneath all of it. I'll probably hop on occasionally to play Capture throughout its lifetime while the bulk of my efforts are spent on more polished shooters.
I never want to stop playing Pocket Card Jockey. This game hit me the same way Tetris hit millions around the world back in the 80s. In fact, I want this game to be the next Tetris. I want Pocket Card Jockey on every Nintendo system. I want it on the Wii U. I want it on the NX. I want it on the iPhone, Kindle Fire, Apple TV, Windows and TI-89 graphing calculator. I want it everywhere, just hook it to my veins. I'll admit it: I'm addicted to this game, and if you try to make me go to rehab I'll say neigh, neigh, neigh.
Only for the most hardcore VR enthusiast, Bazaar gets the job done if you're looking for cheap thrills for an afternoon. Like most tech demos, it could stand to have most of its facets expanded upon (full-on flight would be cool), as developer Temple Gates Games is definitely onto something.