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I'm still not particularly impressed with Covert Ops' storytelling ability, but Mission Pack 2 contains concise objectives, maintains a strong sense of pacing throughout, and sports an impressive voice cast. At this point I feel like I can recommend the bundle to those of you who powered through StarCraft II's campaign and were left wanting more.
And that's why they call it Death Road to Canada. It can be too harsh for its own good, and folks who are tired of roguelikes will struggle to embrace that part of the design, but it's still one of the better road-trip games I've played thanks to its cheerful personality, amusing writing, and all-around charm.
Perhaps Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII's most lasting achievement will be once again proving that strategy games can work on consoles. And though it doesn't quite make the case for console strategy ever really being as good as PC-based efforts, the game is worth trying for anyone who can let their historical curiosity overcome their need for visual and interface flair.
Grand Kingdom is unlike any other tactical-RPG on the market that I know of. For $40, you're getting an adventure that can last you weeks if not months, though you may tire of it before you see everything it has to offer.
If all these caveats sound fine, I think you'll like Chambara. Like many focused dueling games before it, it does one thing, and it does it pretty well.
For whatever it is worth (and the value of Fallout 4's Season Pass is still very dubious) Vault-Tec Workshop is the best of the Workshop packs.
This is the Police presents situations that aren’t deep enough to invoke social commentary, yet it still takes the opportunity to arbitrarily throw them out in the open. It’s missing key storytelling elements that allow for that kind of messaging, and in the mundane yet slur-sprinkled missions those ideas fall apart. However with its interesting gameplay mechanics, pretty packaging, and plans for a sandbox mode it has a lot of future promise which I hope they deliver on.
If you are at all a fan of puzzle games, play Tumblestone. Its intelligent spin on a simple mechanic forces players to plan ahead and think about the consequences of their actions. There is a veritable ton of single-player content, which unfortunately must be completed in order to unlock the rule-changing modifiers for use in the game's arcade mode. It truly shines when playing with friends in the same room as you all shout expletives while simultaneously thinking that the winner must be a complete genius.
Those two ideas that come with gigantic BUTs attached to them are the kindest things I can muster about Ghostbusters. The rest is a vapid, hackneyed slog that feels incredibly long despite being rather short. Ghostbusters does the bare minimum required, and it's apparent that this is a project that nobody cared about. It's ironic that a game so entrenched in specters and spooks is so completely lacking in spirit.
But I guess that’s the rub of doing a review. If I stopped after my first playthrough, I wouldn’t be recommending it. With two under my belt, I recognize I could have had a great time with Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force had I just done the opposite of what all the characters told me to do. It’s quite the Jekyll and Hyde situation, one I can easily recommend to Compile Heart fans, but only endorse for non-fans on the stipulation they don’t listen to Tiara and Eryn.
There are no other games like Quadrilateral Cowboy, and it will likely stay that way. It’s a unique blend of computer science, puzzles, and beautiful storytelling that could only come from Blendo Games. The engine is a bit worse for wear and I definitely wish there were more to play, but damn if this isn’t one of the coolest games out there. Plus, there’s mod support built in, so who knows what the future has in store for this title. Like Gravity Bone and Thirty Flights of Loving before it, this is a game that cannot be missed by fans of the medium.
Without those lackluster diversions, it would be an amicable trifle. Even at its best, the game feels like an idea gestating in real-time, like a sponge dinosaur filling up with water. So much of Headlander teases you with the idea of what could have been; a shame, because the game we actually got is kind of a bummer.
The base mechanic may conjure up thoughts of Mavis Beacon, but so much has been built onto that foundation, making Epistory - Typing Chronicles so much greater than just a typing game.
Hawken has never been a terrible game, but it has never made a case for itself as anything more either. This console version puts up even less of a fight. If you're broke and bored this summer and looking for something to sink some hours into, Hawken on console could be a reasonable pastime. But there is no getting around the fact that this is the worst way to play an already mediocre game.
I didn't think I would have this much fun with a casual rail shooter that uses touch controls, but Gal*Gun: Double Peace kept me engaged and entertained with its uncompromisingly Japanese high school antics.
Perhaps it took a move to the home consoles and a years-delayed retouch, but God Eater Resurrection shines as a less demanding, flashier alternative to the likes of Monster Hunter. It'll never ask for the same depth of dedication, but it doesn't try to, and in (not) doing so, manages to prove that being the "diet" version of something isn't always a bad thing.
I actually quite like the adherence to nostalgia, as Square is only giving fans with they want after years of complaints that projects like Final Fantasy XIII strayed too far. But by the same token of goodwill, it plays it a little too safe in regards to its at times predictable story, and doesn't really do anything new that moves the genre forward in any way. Still, if old school is what you want, you'll get it.
Jordan: That's spot on with how I feel. As much as I want to like Energy Hook -- the concept itself is sound, and should work -- the whole thing comes across as unfinished and unpolished. Even when the stars align and the game seems to play as intended, the feeling is fleeting. It lacks staying power.
If you've ever wanted to try your hand at Monster Hunter, start with Generations. The tutorial aspect isn't any better than normal, but it's much more likely to appeal to a wider audience with its breadth of customization options and content. If you've been champing at the bit for more great gameplay you already love, with lots of new things to discover, Generations doesn't disappoint there either.
Don't sleep on Videoball. It might not be the future of eSports, but it is the future of several fun, sweary, elbows-in-each-others-ribs nights with your friends.