Hatsune Miku is not a bad Hatsune Miku game...but that's the most that can be said about it. It's got new songs, new mechanics, and new ways to dress up your characters, but the gameplay borders on being a confusing mess of colors overlaid by the symbols you actually need to pay attention to. It's a good game for those who are looking for another Miku title to play, but it's unlikely to be much fun for others. Read More.
INSIDE really shows what Playdead is good at doing: building a sense of mystery. Read More.
Odin Sphere Leifthrasir brings back the original, with much-improved combat and RPG mechanics, while also improving upon the frequent slowdown issues that plagued the first game. It's repetitive nature still isn't addressed as well as its other facets, but it still remains an excellent action-RPG. Read More.
Zombies are for anyone who loves guts and glory. Don’t you love guts and glory? And don’t you want to see more guts, have more glory spilling those guts and do it in an updated, lush, tropical setting? Well, half updated at least? Read More.
The Last Door: Season 2 provides a satisfying conclusion to the horror story that began in Season 1, this time as Dr. Wakefield seeking the fate of his patient Jeremiah Devitt. The game is bigger in scope, both helping and hindering it, though both mechanics and graphics remain the same. It provides the same creeping fear that lingers in the writing, graphics, and music, acting as a creepy bow to an overall well-made package that is The Last Door. Read More.
Mortal Kombat X isn’t perfect but very few games truly are. What it is though is a game that does far more right than it does wrong. You’ve got a fun fighting game with an okay story, few fighting games can claim even that. It might be a bit rough around the edges in some parts but it’s a fast paced, aggressive fighting game that’s just pure fun to play. Just avoid the powergamers and trolls online and you’re in for one of the best fighting experiences out there. Read More.
Released for the Playstation 3, Valkryia Chronicles was a bright, but small flame that developed a following for its blend of real-time and turn-based strategy mechanics before being rereleased on the PC in 2014. A game with a lot of personality and strategy, its rerelease on the Playstation 4 brings some updated visuals, all the DLC from the original version, and trophy support as well - retaining all of its original quality in the process. Read More.
Perhaps my biggest complaint with this DLC is that I wish the main game used more elements from it. This has a great look to it that manages to be creepy while still feeling like you’re in Lara Croft’s world. It doesn’t feel like you slipped and fell into another game like it easy could. Instead it blurs the line between between myth and reality to make Lara question the world around her. It’s a great experience that is rather burdened by the fact that it only lasts for a far too short time. Read More.
Quantum Break is one of the major killer apps coming to the Xbox One this year. It’s been so heavily promoted and recieved a lot of attention but it manages to live up to all of it. It works damn hard to tell an engaging story focusing around time travel while simultaneously being both a great game and a fun tv show. Frankly this is one of the best experiences on the market right now so unless you truly loathe science-fiction works you’re doing yourself a disservice to not pick this one up. Read More.
Gears of War: Ultimate Edition felt like a bit of a mixed bag on the Xbox One. It was just too simple to go back and play the previous version of the game which is still damn good today. The lack of real improvements didn’t make this a “must own” and more of a nice addition to the library. But on PC if you’re even remotely interested in the series or just really like the idea of having that keyboard and mouse gameplay element added then this is a damn fine game. Read More.
Spacejacked is a fun little game for those that want to play a different kind of tower-defense game. Teleporting between different rooms to defend them all, frantically using all the materials available to you, and following a light little story is enjoyable, but the formula quickly gets old, with not enough variety in towers or the spaces to put them. The story is short, and the game is alright, but it lacks a sort of quality to keep it above the rest. Read More.
The 'Musou' genre isn't one that's really hurting for games. What it is hurting for is some variation between many of them. Arslan: Warriors of Legend fails to bring this variation, instead feeling more like another Warriors title but with a different template thrown on, and a few concessions to change up some mechanics just a little bit. With a story that fails to really bring across the large-scale plot of the anime it's based on, it just isn't interesting enough to warrant yet another title in which you cut your way through literally thousands of enemies - and that's saying something. Read More.
Cheesy B-movie effects, aliens from space, vixens in fishbowl helmets: The Deadly Tower of Monsters brings back classic B-movie tropes in a way that's unique and good-humoured: by presenting the game as a special-edition DVD with director's commentary on the movie he made decades ago. Despite some bland gameplay elements, it manages to stay interesting throughout, for reason which include cheesy acting, a story that goes off the rails, and the titular tower in which almost the entire game takes place upon. Read More.
Some writing fumbles aside I have a the pleasant time with Syndicate. The Assassin's Creed series has had a bit of a bumpy road lately so it's nice to see the games taking a more solid turn again. Even if it doesn't redefine storytelling or even action-adventure gaming in general it's still a fine addition to any gamer's library. With the talk of Ubisoft taking a break from the yearly releases to drop their next game in 2017 instead, it sounds like more effort will be put into making these top-tier games once again. After Syndicate I have to admit that I'm looking forward to it. Read More.
Yakuza 5 brings back characters from previous games, introduces new ones, and shows that even a game of the old generation can flex its muscles these years. Despite an aging combat system, fighting off numerous opponents at once still feels satisfying, and even if fighting off half the population of Tokyo isn't your thing, the massive amount of minigames and substories will be enouhg to keep your interest for days. Read More.
