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For the price, it's an excellent value, giving puzzle fans over 70 levels at various stages of difficulty. While there isn't much control other than with the stylus -- you can actually zoom using the GamePad's trigger buttons, but not really anything else -- you honestly don't need it, as rotating the levels and placing the signs is all handled beautifully with the touch screen. Still, you'll spend all your gameplay hunched over your GamePad trying to place things. At least other people in the room can see what you're doing on the TV, but it's not much of a spectator sport. At least, not until you click the bottom to have the cubes start to rush home.
Let me make this clear -- if you find yourself playing any of these games yearly, whether it's for nostalgia or because you think they're genuinely good games, you will love NES Remix. It lacks a lot of bells and whistles that newcomers may find inexcusable, but I had a smile on my face almost the entire time, and experienced the same controller throwing moments (although a GamePad against a wall would be more disastrous) that made me persevere until I got it right.
Adding to the old school woes is a small collect-a-thon element that could have been handled much more elegantly. Hidden throughout the tower are 36 capsules, each containing one of the aforementioned still images explaining Teslagrad's back story. Often, they are presented clearly in a room as a reward for completing an optional, more difficult puzzle than the standard one in that location. In that form, the optional capsules are great. Elsewhere they are hidden from plain sight and only attainable through tedious exploration of every room. Compounding on that is the largely unhelpful map screen, which gives no indication of even general areas in which any missed capsules reside. Toward the end, there are hints that something special happens if a player were to collect all 36 capsules, but only the most meticulous searchers would be able to find them all without outside help.Taking all of that together, it is not obvious for whom Teslagrad was created. It requires a very particular set of interests and skills to fully enjoy. The incredible artwork and wordless storytelling style invite those who want to experience a unique narrative, but the difficult action gameplay and tedious exploration for capsules actively work to keep players from that experience. For those who are interested in the history to be discovered and who are able to persevere through the products of old design philosophy, Teslagrad is highly rewarding and an ultimately fantastic game. However, I would not be surprised to hear of others unable or unwilling to see it through to the end.
Overall the challenge level is geared towards younger gamers; if you rush through the game you can complete Gomo in maybe just over an hour. The story is simple and the characters you meet have a simple charm to them and the pace of the game means you'll be able to whiz through it to see the next kooky scene. Some might find the asking price a bit much for a short adventure but Gomo delivers a simple but fun point-'n'-click experience.
If you wanted more Assassin's Creed IV, Freedom Cry will do just nicely. Although it doesn't offer as compelling a narrative or even close to as open of a world, it manages to capture the spirit of Black Flag in most of the right places. This is a much better effort than AC III's pointlessly episodic Tyranny of King George DLC, and a great model for Assassin's Creed add-ons going forward.
The Walking Dead: All That Remains surprised me, although when I saw the initial reveal of Clementine's return I had little doubt that Telltale would deliver in some form. They still even know how to sell a "next episode" preview, as a casual "I thought you were dead!" line is delivered by Clementine upon a mysterious off-screen figure. Yep, I can't wait for the next episode.
X Rebirth might be worth grabbing in a Steam sale in a couple of years, after 100 patches and with a dozens of mods that create an entirely different game. That game could be fun if you are into modding. As it is right now at launch, X Rebirth is simply a broken, flawed, and almost unplayable mess. It's a shell that has potential, but it's not a working game on its own. Stay far away from it for now, and maybe in a few years it could be worth the time of dedicated fans.
Samurai Gunn will no doubt have a more limited audience due to a lack of modes, but for those of you who appreciate a deep fighting game, you'll get hours of competitive entertainment out of it. Every time I play it I feel like I've mastered a new piece of the physics engine, or a new nuance to wall-jumping. It's one of those games that keeps on giving years later due to a solid foundation, so long as you have the company to enjoy it with.
There's also a peculiar "store" button on the main menu that is currently closed at the time of this writing, which implies some form of DLC is in the works. While we don't really know what that could entail, there's the distinct possibility of new characters and levels on the horizon, which could be a good way to extend Peggle 2 in the same way Peggle Nights did -- I just hope microtransactions don't creep their way in eventually.Peggle 2 is ultimately the same basic concept as the original set of games, but it's still most definitely worth playing if you're a series fan. PopCap could have done so much more than they did, especially when you consider the generational leap, but the good news is Peggle fans will eat this up and fall in love all over again.
Doki-Doki Universe is a very odd, very cute, and very simple game. There isn't a whole lot to it, so don't go in expecting a deep and rewarding adventure title. So long as you don't mind spending an afternoon helping a tiny snowman bond with his father, Doki-Doki will be more than adequate.
Although its core campaign is far too short, the game is a blast with other players, and the wide variety of challenges should keep you playing for hours. Despite the fact that my time with these tiny adora-creepy critters was rather brief, I'd love to see them again in a sequel someday.
The only true merit of Mario Party: Island Tour is the ability to play Mario Party with your local friends on the 3DS. As long as they have a 3DS and are close-by, playing via Download Play is fairly quick and painless. However, the lack of online play and the overall single-player experience is a pretty big bummer. Unless you’re desperate and need a quick Mario Party fix on the go, stick with a console version if you can.
Fighter Within is a lazy tech demo with a poor story, unimpressive fighting engine, and a forgettable cast. Maybe one day we'll have a cool Kinect fighting game, where everyone at EVO is flailing around with some semblance of strategic value. But this is not that day.
Killer Instinct may not be the new king of fighting games, and it feels a bit rushed in terms of content, but it is very solid and far exceeds my expectations for it. With a pricing scheme that doesn't feel exploitative and a balanced character roster, the well developed mechanics will keep you busy until the new content drops next year. It'll be interesting to see what the community at large thinks of it over time, but in my living room, it's a welcome addition to my fighting game roster.
Zoo Tycoon has a distinct lack of depth, but if you're capable of sitting down with this simplistic simulator, you'll smile more times than you can count. The simulator fan in me was a bit disappointed by the ease of it all, but the child in me couldn't help but enjoy myself.
The lack of depth hurts Foul Play the most, and it's really a shame considering how brilliant the aesthetic is. I wanted to run around the stage, but playing the game made me exit stage left.
And what a fantastic experience it is, despite its flaws. Super Motherload is simple enough so that anyone can pick it up and play, but complex enough for mining veterans to keep coming back to fully upgrade characters or even risk playing in hardcore mode. The sci-fi '80s vibe is delightful and the perfect setting for this ridiculously addicting game. I find myself coming back to it at the end of every day, ready for a new adventure underground.
In fact, the promising arena mode is the only saving grace of Ryse. The campaign may as well not even be there, and having to fight the same handful of enemies over and over on top of a trite, stereotypical narrative is not an example of a good time. Ryse looks great and has a lot of great ideas, but it falls flat in nearly every respect in regards to its core story. If you're a hardcore action fan you may get some satisfaction on the highest difficulty setting, but even then I'd wait for an equally hardcore price drop.
Everything just works so well in unison. The soundtrack is delightful and odd, at times reminiscent of Paprika’s parade fanfare with its lively horns. The world, put together in paper scraps, is unbelievable in its artistry and function. Tearaway’s paper water and ripples as you walk through it are more impressive than any realistic water graphics I’ve ever seen. The level of unique detail in the world is staggering. Every moment spent immersed in it is heartwarming. Fittingly, it feels positively handcrafted.
Meanwhile Wii Fit U's mini-games are fun, but still suffer from being single-player/non-simultaneous multiplayer and there just isn't that much new stuff. If you're looking for something that will keep you motivated and get you moving, it could definitely work and the Fit Meter is an extra level of motivation, but if Wii Fit didn't do it before then I'm not sure it will work for you now. The good part is that the game is free until the end of the month so you can find out for yourself.