Digital Chumps
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A strong game in many respects, but also lacking in a few key areas to put it over the top.
Superhot's novel premise is an emphatic transition to its promise; playing Superhot actually feels as awesome and energizing as it looks. Plenty of shooters (and plenty of games) have played with bullet time, stopping time, or some otherworldly manipulation of time, but none have married its passage to movement quite like Superhot. It not only adopts and plays with this idea; it pushes and refines it to its logical extremes by discarding anything that might get in the way.
Street Fighter V is loaded with meaningful changes and improvements to its namesake's divine infrastructure. As a game—a full-priced package sold under the assumption of a finished product—Street Fighter V is destitute and disappointing. Its value and service will expand and evolve over time, though one has to question the wisdom and motive of releasing Street Fighter V in its present condition.
Compared to recent Far Cry games, Primal is neither a relief nor a disappointment. It's really good at being violent open-world base-conquering simulator and it has a smattering of neat toys. Far Cry Primal is another One Of Those with a few wild tangents stretching and searching for new limitations. It's a predictable, albeit competently constructed, status quo machine humming along through another entry.
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 brings a lot of variety and fun to the gaming table. Multiplayer options and single player experiences aren't in short supply with this sequel. It isn't a perfect game, but there is enough stupid fun packed into it to make it worth your time.
Interesting and immersive, Layers of Fear isn't a masterpiece per se, but it's an excellent experience you shouldn't miss if you have any inkling of interest in the exploration and horror genres.
Fire Emblem: Fates offers an unprecedented amount of content without falling victim to the temptation quantity over quality. Each of the three total games here features its own vivid branch of the story, and everything from the gameplay to the presentation shifts with it. This is a massive and highly enjoyable addition to the epic franchise that really does stand as one of the most prolific and memorable amongst its contemporaries.
Fire Emblem: Fates offers an unprecedented amount of content without falling victim to the temptation quantity over quality. Each of the three total games here features its own vivid branch of the story, and everything from the gameplay to the presentation shifts with it. This is a massive and highly enjoyable addition to the epic franchise that really does stand as one of the most prolific and memorable amongst its contemporaries.
NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja 4 sets new standards for the series. It excels in nearly every aspect, while merely stumbling here and there on minor issues.
Unravel is a unique piece of art in a gaming world filled with first-person shooters and epic AAA titles. It's not perfect, but it does a great job challenging one's brain, while delivering some visually stunning scenery to make you forget you're working hard to progress and push through. Certainly a must-have for 2016.
Firewatch distinguishes itself through integrity of its structure and preservation of its characters. Allowing control over Henry and Delilah's perilous connection provides a sense of ownership over the narrative and creates an important bond between action and place. Other story-focused games suffer from a damaging disconnect between agency and intention, almost as if they don't trust the player to act reasonably in accountable situations. Firewatch proves this dynamic not only to be valuable, but necessary to go forward.
Fortified is a cool game that gets a lot more right than it does wrong. I wish it supported local multiplayer in some form as solo play just doesn't pan out, but if you've got some buddies that want to take on a virtual Martian army, this is a great way to do it.
Awakening is worth the price of admission. Treyarch has always done well with creating a solid multiplayer experience through creative MP maps and Awakening just reaffirms that notion.
As a whole, LEGO Marvel's Avengers will entertain the young gamers in the household, while providing short spurts of entertainment to seasoned ones. Avengers may not be the best in the LEGO series, but it does fit firmly within the LEGO gaming family.
Gravity Rush is captivating early on and maintains that level of interest throughout. It's addictive, well-paced, fun as hell, and has a nice steampunk world with a great soundtrack. The remaster is good, although straight-forward, and at $30 it's a purchase well worth considering.
I like what Square Enix has done with Final Fantasy Explorers. It has some real potential to be great, but as it stands, it might fall short slightly with a more seasoned Final Fantasy adventurer.
Oxenfree is here to tell a story, and it doesn't lose sight of what contributes to making that story feel relatable and consequential. Alex and her friends are in a time when every move is called into examination from a jury of ruthless peers. Oxenfree responds not by accepting or escaping from resolution, but accurately relating the tension of a time when every answer is on one side of zero. Whether the context is supernatural or merely personal, Oxenfree makes it feel powerful.
Another fine Capcom Resident Evil series HD Remaster that's worth the time and money to add to your collection.
I'd recommend this game on any platform, but the PC version is overall the best in my experience. Well worth adding to your RPG library.
The Deadly Tower of Monsters is the latest in ACE Team's Ghastly Menagerie of Interactive Curiosities. Inventive ideas with perspective and the concept of ascending a lavishly decorated outdoor tower put some distance between The Deadly Tower of Monsters and genre conventions, but, really, it's not why you're here. You came for an ambitious descent into Chilean pandemonium and this game holistically satisfies that urgency.