Tetsuya Takahashi and his team at Monolith Soft put a lot of passion and care into Xenoblade Chronicles and Monster Games has done a phenomenal job porting it to the New Nintendo 3DS platform. The journey that Shulk takes is a very well-told classic tale of a hero's journey and it's filled with a cast of memorable and likeable characters. Xenoblade Chronicles 3D is a complete package from beginning to end, wrapped around a very deep and intricate combat system that has a lot of potential for those who like a bit of thinking in their fights. For such a huge and long game, there is very little fat or filler since the adventure has all kinds of conveniences to never waste time. It is loaded with detail and heart for every character, while introducing some original ideas of its own. Is Xenoblade Chronicles 3D perfect? Almost - it's held back by a few lacking visual flourishes and some examples of goofy animation, and for a port it could have had some other substantial additions, as well as flaccid use of 3D. One of the most engrossing titles of the eighth generation is back and is now the most engrossing game on a portable platform.
Tower of Guns is an experience that wears thin after a while, being best played in short bursts. It is an interesting experiment that should be further explored by Terrible Posture Games. Ideas and potential are not enough, however, to make a game compelling - they need thoughtful execution and variety. Fact of the matter is that randomly generated levels just aren't a graceful solution to make variety and, ultimately, the level design (or lack of) ends up being too similar and boring. To make up for the randomised level designs, the core gameplay would need to be expanded upon and less limits put on player-character actions. Tower of Guns is a title that is best for only the curious and the desperate for something new and different.
Anyone trying this will find that the time spent with High Strangeness is indeed interesting, but not for the price-point and it is lacking considering it took five years to make. Games of this ilk, back in the day, were more commonplace and tended to last around 12-15 hours, maybe more depending on the title at hand, and in the case of High Strangeness, which is a game that is set up to be a long and epic quest of discovery, is resolved suddenly, just when things are getting interesting. It is a massive tease of ideas and possibilities that are sadly wasted, never properly fulfilled, likely leaving gamers feeling very hungry. Steven Jenkins does have some interesting ideas and he really should continue developing more because High Strangeness does show promise. Perhaps with a bit more careful planning and more focused management, he can deliver a game that satisfies all his narrative goals, since this seems surprisingly rushed.
Was it pure luck that Rockstar's The Warriors came out exceptional ,or is the era just cursed due to it also being the decade when the video game crash occurred? Best to just ignore LA Cops and hope that it turns in its badge.
In a game where the action mechanics are roughly 65% of the game's core gameplay, it is important to get these basic parts right and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt tragically fumbles. Good controls are the foundation of a quality game and anyone expecting good action here would be best to just put this white wolf out of his misery and bury him.
Never Alone is close to being an OK game. It has a lot going for it with its gorgeous aesthetics and authentic presentation. It even has a couch co-op mode, and the few times the game does have things to do in it, there is some legitimate involvement. Too bad these moments are too far apart, and the more vulgar qualities of Never Alone are the most apparent, such as the buggy AI, barren level design and lacking gameplay.
Tembo the Badass Elephant's ride may be a very short one, but it is undeniably a high quality romp. The game has very high highs with very few low points and not a single bit of filler or wasted moments. Tembo can almost be too lean by being so utterly focused in upping the challenge, though. The design and aesthetics are 100% on the mark and it is curious that Game Freak doesn't do more original titles like this as often, since it is clearly very good at it. Game Freak is so much more than just Pokémon and Tembo the Badass Elephant proves it.
Toxic Games' influences are clear, and in a way Q.U.B.E. Director's Cut can be seen as a weird expansion to Portal, if eyes are squinting. A little glitchy at times, and not the most fulfilling puzzle adventure, but fairly solid and it does have fleeting moments of originality. One thing missing that was a key component to the success of Portal is charm and wit; this game can be very dull because of how sterile and desolate the setting is and how dry the story can be. There's not much in terms of levity or heart, making it ultimately feel forgettable.
Of all the Deception series, Deception IV: The Nightmare Princess is the complete package that has it all. It's great for neophytes since it has an adequate tutorial and offers an unbelievably wide breadth of what the series is all about, and long-time fans will be satisfied by the new twists on the old formula.
5bp has a very solid and well put together game with Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Overdrive. It is only held back by being repetitive thanks to the lazy game design of the stages and flooding arenas with unmotivated enemies.
Some of the games in here are real solid nines out of tens, and maybe even one of them is a ten out of ten, but they are held back by the otherwise sloppy conversion and that makes Rare Replay somewhat disappointing at times. Performance issues aside, this is probably one of the best game compilations out there and is at an unbeatable price.
The newly-added characters with their unique playstyles make up for the fact that Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition is still carrying the burden of the original rushed development. This is one of the few games where it can be mesmerising to watch a pro play because of how advanced some moves can be, and that are also fun to look at. It can also be a motivator to some who wish to become incredible at the game, and since the skill-ceiling is quite high, it is no surprise that people still post their combos on YouTube. It is impressive to watch and fun to play, with a challenge that will make the devil cry.
The best aspect is that it does not hold the player's hand, and does grant a reasonable amount of agency the way a good adventure game does. Night Light had their heart in the right place, even if their intention exceeded their means.
In spite of the older design choices holding back this game, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition is one of the best remasters around.
Only the diehard survival horror fans who missed this on Wii U would find enjoyment out of Zombi, and most other people will probably be appalled by the lackluster and shoddy conversion that Ubisoft dumped on digital marketplaces.
Submerged turned out pretty horrible, and while its concept sounded okay on paper, sadly, the execution is an unbelievable disaster. Ugly, extremely rough, buggy and boring; Submerged should be cast off and is not worth the asking price at all. Anyone who might be interested in a, atmospheric exploration game should just play the HD collection of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, or get Journey.
Don't Starve: Giant Edition looks great due to its gothic art style, and plays wonderfully, too, thanks to the easy-to-learn mechanics. Even if the interface is not best suited for a console controller, the core game is very solid, and though it can be a long grind, there is a sense of satisfaction to be had when a rhythm is struck.
D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die is such an unsatisfying adventure game due to it ending way before it even truly begins. All of the elements were in the right place for a worthy successor to one of the greatest cult surprises from last gen, thanks to Swery's ambitious creative choices and boldness to have stat management in an otherwise non-skill oriented genre. Sadly, all of these flourishes are painfully undermined because of the story's abrupt cliff-hanger that is not built up to. The way D4 leaves so many plot threads unresolved and with no proper climax is guaranteed to frustrate anybody who plays this. The future of D4 is very unclear if it will ever get resolution, and while there has been an announcement of a second season, there is no indication that it will conclude the story of David Young. This game is very hard to recommend because, while it is interesting and is not like anything else available, it is also a massive tease with no promise of satisfaction.
At the current price, Dishonored: Definitive Edition is a complete rip-off and Bethesda callously thinks they can dupe their customers into buying such a lazy port of a fine game.
The Astronauts made an interesting experiment with The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, and while the team's attempt to tell some kind of tragic and emotional story is kind of effective, the overall gameplay, which serves as the grubby middleman that glues the whole tapestry together, is just not the hours wandering around in the Wisconsin woods. This probably would have made for a great novel instead of a video game.