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Agent 47 is a cipher for how you want to play the game; he exists to unlock its secrets while also letting you establish your own style—within the game's parameters—and it's great to see how that evolves in this second episode.
The best part? Trying to explain why this is your new addiction to pass time when you need a break from something bigger like Persona Q or Bravely Second. It’s a time waster, one that you dare not say… NEIGH to. Get it? If I leave on a joke, I get a carrot, so there you go. [*tosses carrot* ~Ed. Nick Tan]
I hesitate to call Neverending Nightmares a "bad game." Despite its flaws, it remains a unique experience and a rare, intimate look into an illness that is often misunderstood by media.
Gearbox Software's experience with Borderlands clearly shows throughout Battleborn, blending a silly episodic story and a cast of charismatic characters with the competitive, on-trend MOBA genre. While its single-player and multiplayer offerings are limited at the moment, they're strong enough on their own to sustain a community, so long as Gearbox continues to update the game frequently. Battleborn could have easily been a soulless copycat of Borderlands or just another MOBA, but this is one fusion game that has its own identity and lays the solid groundwork for much more to come.
Before that though, What We Deserve is a solid finale as a standalone Walking Dead adventure. I loved getting to spend more time with Michonne and the supporting cast left an impression too. The art style and gameplay mechanics fit nicely into the Telltale world. The closing song “To the Bone” is so good I wanted to find out where I could purchase it. Will this experiment mean we get The Glen Chronicles? Or Andrea’s Sights? I’m up for it.
Cyberpong VR is fun, polished, and easy to jump into and play. Most notably, its multiplayer mode showcases remarkable potential for social experiences in virtual reality. Priced at an affordable $14.99, it's one of the HTC Vive’s most recommendable launch window titles.
While Evolution is largely based on the original, can be a bit repetitive with puzzles that aren’t all that compelling, and has run-and-gun gameplay that might be a bit too basic, it is still highly entertaining. I recommend this to gamers who enjoy a tongue-in-cheek, cinematic platformer that oozes bloody cartoon carnage by the bucket load.
At the end of the day, Final Fantasy IX is still a terrific game, and unlike many from its era, its core gameplay and plot have aged admirably. Its identity as a pure, classic Final Fantasy isn’t as shiny as maybe it ought to be thanks to indie development and Bravely Default, but it’s an experience worth having nonetheless. I can very confidently say that it’s the definitive version of the game (not that the mobile port is hard to beat), and with asking price, replayability, and nostalgia all considered, Square Enix’s latest classic remodeling is exceedingly difficult not to recommend.
Overall, Severed does a lot of good with its excellent and challenging combat, intricate dungeon maps full of collectibles, unique and visceral upgrade system, and a fantastic presentation. Its biggest shortcoming is its lack of opportunities to engage with its world and Sasha’s history, but with everything that works so well about the game, I can mostly forgive this slight. My roughly nine-hour experience was a great joy, filled with memorable sights, sounds, and (physical) touches. Maybe, like Okami for Playstation 2, it will be the console’s swan song, but it is hard to discredit a unique experience like this one purely for coming to the party so late.
It’s a nice package, and the 3D is proof that classic titles from what I consider the golden era of gaming can pop fantastically well on the 3DS. Next time, hopefully the selection can vary more broadly, making the package both worthy of a full price tag and hours of investment instead of a burst of nostalgia and the question of why my wallet feels lighter than it should.
I had a good time with Star Fox Zero, but it feels like a game whose design is built on contradictions; the desire to have the new targeting control, but with the classic Arwing gameplay keeps both from being entirely functional. It prizes arcade-style progression, but lacks modern concessions for console titles, like adequate checkpoints or multiple difficulty levels. It's at its best when it diverges from traditional gameplay, but does so only fleetingly, as if its scared to commit to different experiences. This mix of playing it safe, relying too heavily on old-school conventions, while also pushing a control scheme that doesn't quite match, makes the points where it works glorious, but only fleetingly fun.
Despite the feeling of catharsis I achieve when playing Koi, it still lacks many of the fundamentals that make a video game compelling. Add in the fact that the experience only lasts around two hours, and the result is a game that feels incomplete. Perhaps a future installment could add weekly downloads that would help players achieve peace on a daily basis without being repetitive.
Still though, while I can’t find a reason for Siege of Dragonspear not to exist, and while it completely entertained me throughout its unbelievable 30-hour run time, it comes off more as wholly unnecessary.
Only one episode remains. The last few minutes of episode two work terrifically, putting all the pieces in place. Without giving too much away, a showdown is on the horizon. Here’s hoping Michonne’s short time with Sam and her family delivers a memorable finale.
So if you like classic RPGs, there's no reason to avoid any of the Bravely games, and if you're not sure about this one for some reason, download that free demo and get crackin'. It's easy to pick up for a bit (even if just for "Chompcraft" on the loo) and play a few minutes, or play through an afternoon with. Or for nostalgia's sake, you can sit super-close to your old console TV with your nose practically on the screen to relive those JRPG glory days.
Anyone who is a fan of the series and/or is nostalgic for the original will surely love the jump to this PS4 remake. Ratchet & Clank is a great place to introduce newcomers to the dynamic duo.
Playing Dead Star is like eating at a fusion restaurant down the street. You order all the food you like, only to realize the California rolls don’t pair well with the kung pao chicken. On paper, the whole thing sounds delicious, but in the end the effort to combine them gives you a stomachache. It’s not a bad game; it just doesn’t do anything striking with the mechanics it borrows. The character art is wasted by its lack of use, as is the story, which could have benefited from a dedicated single-player campaign. Playstation Plus users may want to give it a shot, but I am sure there is better food on the block.
With three episodes left, Telltale is considering Episode 5 a sort of bridge between the end of the Witherstorm finale and post-season tales. While I’m looking forward to Episode 6 more than I was before, Order Up! greatly benefits from being self-contained. Aiden makes for a solid adversary and The Founder is a terrific character I hope to see more of. There’s not really a lot of new depth to cast regulars like Lukas, Elizabeth, or Axel, but Ivor really comes into his own. His enthusiasm to obtain The Eversource is infectious. (Petra has a nice moment of faux memory, a fun callback to Episode 4.) This is the first Telltale episode in ages that I look forward to replaying.
Through climactic boss fights, bewitchingly forsaken landscapes, and heightened combat, Dark Souls III meets the lofty expectations of the Soulsborne series. Even with minor issues with linearity, framerate, and the originality of level design, Dark Souls III is an outstanding send-off for a seminal trilogy that has influenced and legitimized difficulty in games with unapologetic force. Its undying flames will be felt forevermore.
Despite some quite good late-in-the-story character beats, Quantum Break is still just another cautionary tale about time travel. It seems the one thing that never gets an alternate universe path is the notion that time is something that we should never mess with, which is kind of obvious by now. Perhaps this story could have bucked that trend. What saves Quantum Break, though, is the abundance of content and its integration of time-based abilities in combat. I might not have like the live-action episodes, but someone might especially when compared to narratives in other games. And there are all those narrative collectibles. This a game with something for everyone. None of it is exemplary, but as a weekend rental, it's not a bad way to spend your, well, you know…