Digital Chumps
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NBA Live 19 does a lot of innovating for it's career mode, “The One”, yet drops the ball when it comes to it's other modes. The inclusion of the WNBA is amazing, and really earns the applause it deserves. If there was at least one other new, deep and fun game mode, NBA Live 19 would be right up there with it's competitors. Instead, this year is yet another small step towards something great.
ZeniMax has outdone themselves once again with Blackwood. Ever since I started reviewing additions to The Elder Scrolls Online (which was back when Murkmire came out), I've been impressed time and again. While I was not as impressed with the majority of this chapter, I was pleasantly surprised in the end. Blackwood is a great introduction to this year's Gates of Oblivion event. I can't wait to see what the rest of the year holds.
Overall, the gameplay of Lost Sphear is solid in execution, sans the difficulty that comes with it. The gameplay will require strategy out of you, and maybe you're better than me in the department, but for the most part it is a good game. The manual positioning alone separates this RPG from more traditional of its type, such as a Romancing SaGa 2, but the difficulty does keep you grounded when it comes to being consistently entertained.
Unsteady motion requires forgiveness. Exacting movement demands precision. Giga Wrecker Alt's puzzle-platforming wants to have it both ways and gets trapped between frustration and satisfaction. For all of its inventive mechanics and generous agency, Giga Wrecker Alt could have benefited from more clarity and cohesion.
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions is a game for fans of the 2003 title. The upgrade in controls, visuals and the addition of Bowser's Minions will certainly make this a worthy purchase. For newbies of the title, the controls are probably going to get in the way of entertainment, which is not what you want when you're trying to sell it to new/young gamers.
There were a lot of strong points in this game, and they outweigh the bad. Mantine surfing, the Ultra Recon Squad, heck, even the new/updated trials! The game took Sun and Moon, which may be story-heavy, but empty in its postgame, and made it into something that can really be called "Ultra". It's certainly several steps up from Sun and Moon.
Rustler is a game that does a little of both but doesn’t commit to either idea enough to make an interesting experience. This indecision to commit hampers the game’s enjoyability and leaves players with a confused understanding of what the game wants to be. This compounded by a lack of black representation while directly referencing black culture everywhere, makes this game difficult to recommend.
Iron Man and Tony Stark are conduits of chaos. Virtual reality is a medium that demands comfort and sophistication. Iron Man VR attempts control of both worlds, combining Iron Man's breakneck speed and giddying repulsors with the crafted elegance of a maturing medium. The product is a confident and convincing presentation of Iron Man, albeit one that feels limited by its budget and hardware.
While it holds up some similarities to NHL 20, there is enough to go into the rink, lace up your skates, and hit the ice.
Sure, we'd love to have been treated to a deeper or lengthier adventure in Mega Man 11—not to mention a more memorable soundtrack—but its successes are proof that modernized applications of the classic blueprint can still yield irresistible results.
War Theatre for the Nintendo Switch is a tough hoss of a turn-based game, which harkens back to the day of Dragon Force and Advance Wars, though not quite as perfect as those games. It ups the ante of difficulty, while requiring you to think before you move, or else you're in for a long day. It's a challenge, but a welcomed one.
Pokken Tournament DX is a wonderful game and maintains that goodness with the Nintendo Switch upgrade. It adds some more to the package, with characters and modes, but essentially delivers the same experience that you would find on the Wii U. New players will like it, but there may not be enough new content to warrant a Switch version in the household for some Wii U owners.
Battlezone: Combat Commander is a Wing Commander-like experience in a tank. It features a neat story, updated graphics, and some gameplay that might not quite achieve the longevity of entertainment that it desires. It does contain some interesting features to try and keep the gamer engaged, but depending on expectations of the gamer will equal out to whether that engagement holds up.
Prey: Mooncrash melds Arkane's excellent immersive sim playground with the challenge of a roguelike that gives players a good excuse to dive back into what made Prey so fun.
Controls aside, NBA Live 18 is better than expected and shouldn't be overlooked.
Project Cars 2 final offers a real alternative to console racing fans and brings to the table a fantastic roster of cars and tracks. Combined with an excellent simulation of track and weather conditions Project Cars 2 is pretty much the pinnacle of racing on console.
I have enjoyed the X Games pass for Steep. I think it has far more positives than negatives. The inclusion of actual events means that you have something to play for, and the design of said events is more impressive than not. It's a solid expansion to an ever-growing game.
Rust Console Edition is, simply, a console port of an 8-year-old PC survival game that has managed to stand the test of time. It may not perform as smoothly on console yet but the desperate fights for survival against hostile forces still remains.
If you enjoyed the original game, then you’re going to like what DotEmu delivers in the Windjammers 2. While I’m not a fan of taming the power-ups, I am a fan of competitive disc games that remind me how cool TRON was back in the 80s. Windjammers 2 is an easy-to-pick-up arcade experience that has far more positives than negatives.
Assassin's Creed Origins sets a new bar for the series. It brings a taste of tomb raider mixed in with the girth of a Horizon Zero Dawn and wrapped in a traditional Assassin's Creed structure. It will exceed gamer expectations and set a new standard for a series that needed life breathed into it.