RIVE is a fantastic shoot 'em up game that will push the limits of patience and fortitude. Roughshot, the main character who traverses the stages in a spider tank, dies a lot. Because of this, certain battles may take up to or over thirty minutes of constant dying and trying again before the moment of victory comes. It is extremely satisfying when these moments occur, but it can be hard to be persistent when the game can feel like it is unfair at times.
Marvel's Women of Power pack sees Zen Studios dip into the well of licensed properties, and bringing to life some of the lesser-known female super heroes in the Marvel comics franchises. The audio serves a great purpose in giving these characters some personality that would be enjoyed by newcomers to this Marvel property. The A-Force table is the easier of the two due to its openness; however, both tables are ultimately great additions to the ever growing Zen Pinball family. The comic art style used further embellishes a pack that Zen Studios has put as much tender loving care into as any of their previous packs.
Mordheim: City of the Damned is a tough game to get into at first. It is a daunting experience from the moment the game is turned on and the tutorials are attempted, but the mechanics are better off learned during the heat of battle. Trial and error will eventually get the ball rolling in terms of finally being able to win missions, but it does take a lot of losing early on to finally get into the swing of things. With not much of a story to keep newcomers interested, and its poorly laid out user interface, it is the rinse and repeat process of building a team of fighters and levelling them up across campaigns that is the real selling point. This is not a pick-up-and-play title, and it requires many hours of dedication before it starts to become a fun experience. Again, though, persistence is the key to cracking this beast of a game, and though it does deliver on its sense of accomplishment, it takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get there.
Manual Samuel sounded great on paper, with the weird and wacky control scheme promising a tonne of potential for some fun gameplay elements. Unfortunately, the misses really drag down the overall tone. From the unresponsiveness of some button presses, to the cumbersome deaths caused by forgetting to breathe out while trying to control a manual car, to the humour-filled moments that seem to forget the humour - it just seems like a frustrating experience from beginning to end. The story is also weird, with each character playing a caricature of a usual stereotype found in other stories, but they do not seem to come together well at all. The only thing that does flow from scene to scene is the aggravating control scheme, coupled with the equally as annoying characters, and, as such, Manual Samuel is a tough game to sell.
Aragami is a fantastic display of being a ninja, with throwbacks to the gameplay mechanics of the Tenchu series. Incorporating the Shadow abilities that enable Aragami to teleport to a shadow, while also having the power to create his own shadows, makes this a fresh experience in the arts of stealth-combat. With thirteen open-world stages to traverse, this game is a time-sink in terms of longevity, with hidden scrolls that open up new pathways to advanced abilities. With an interesting art style that contrasts the ninja with everyone else, this is a story of two opposing sides of “Dark vs Light,” with the dark taking centre stage in terms of gameplay. Though it is light in the combat side of things, those looking for a pure stealth-based ninja game will find plenty here to enjoy and salivate over.
With lots of references to pop-culture, this parody of an alien invasion contains all the jokes and humour that one would expect from a Mars Attacks! clone, and Destroy All Humans! does not disappoint. However, the humour cannot atone for the poor gameplay mechanics on foot that feel clunky and outdated, though the saucer sequences do save it somewhat. There's a real lack of variety with the missions, with most repeating themselves constantly with different enemies. The few stealth missions are really fun, but they aren't used to their fullest potential, while the HoloBob can be cumbersome at times due to how easy it is to have Crypto's cover blown by the always watching Majestic. For fans wanting to relive the classic, Destroy All Humans! is worth a purchase. However, for newcomers wanting an alien invasion title, this may not be enough to satisfy those otherworldly desires.
10 Second Ninja X is a short platformer that is fast paced from the moment it begins, and it never really stops. With the interesting game mechanic of clearing a stage in ten seconds, the difficulty is increased by achieving the required stars to open up more stages. While it is a clean platformer in terms of fine-tuning the mechanics, it is a frustrating one that seeks to appeal to the platforming purists hungry for a hardcore time sink. The hours will fly by as the ninja dashes across countless stages; however, because of the difficulty, it's a tough sell for casual gamers or those not well versed with chaotic platformers.
The main attraction to Carmageddon: Max Damage is the variety in running over pedestrians while also ramming into opponents' cars. While there are five more game modes that are just different variations of the formula, the graphical limitations hold the game back from what it could've been. Carmageddon: Max Damage is a perfect throwback to fans of the series wishing to take another nostalgic hit, but there is nothing here to draw newcomers into the franchise. It feels more like a glorified side story of a larger Grand Theft Auto title, which makes it difficult to justify a purchase, coupled with the roughness of the gameplay and the animations.
This latest trilogy pack from Zen Studios is a blast to play, and is a worthy addition for pinball enthusiasts.
Darksiders: Warmastered Edition sees a refresher on the famed franchise, which upscales the visuals to look right at home on the PlayStation 4. While the gameplay elements that hindered the previous iteration of the game still haven't been fixed, this is still a great game to own. While fans of the series won't find anything new except a chance to port over their old library to the current generation, newcomers to the series will find this and the Darksiders II remaster a great entry point into the series. This is a brutal hack and slash adventure game, where War finds a range of new ways to rip enemies apart with QTEs, while employing the various abilities learned throughout the game, in his quest to restore order between the balance of Heaven and Hell.
Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 is an addictive throwback to the original classic; however, there is a lot of new game mechanics that work well to modernise the formula, without taking away any of the nostalgia. Those looking for a new Pac-Man game will find plenty to love here, including the pellet eating and the ghost trains, combined with the fruits meter, the bomb jump, the jump pads and the ability to bump into the ghosts. Each stage features a sequence of mazes in Adventure mode, while Score Attack tests even the toughest of Pac-Man players who are looking at posting up some high scores. This is a fun adventure that can be enjoyed by fans of the old, as well as younger fans being introduced to the franchise for the first time.
The Rogue One edition of Zen Pinball 2 may not contain multiple tables, but the one that it does contain is a fun little excursion into an alternate Star Wars table. The open table leaves little room for forced errors, allowing for easy point multipliers and mission completion. Falling on the spectrum of one of the easier tables, this is a great way for newcomers to the pinball series to begin, while fans of Star Wars will find plenty of missions and mini-games here to let them relive the key moments from the Rogue One film. This great addition continues the trend of excellent tables that the developer has been creating.
While the opening sequences plays out quite forced, with Max awkwardly needing a reason to begin exploring, the game gets a lot better once it gets going. With no real gameplay required, this is, at the end of the day, a visual novel that works well at times, though some head scratching moments disrupts the flow of the game.
8DAYS tries to replicate the thrill and aggressive nature of a twin-stick shooter and apply it to a mercenary gunning down enemies, but forgets about the part where an endless supply of ammo would've been useful. Having to rely on using stealth to traverse the chapters out of fear of wasting ammo kind of defeats the purpose of calling it a "shooter." While the cheap enemies and finite supply of health packs mixed with the extremely reflexive gameplay further dampens the product, 8DAYS leaves a lot to be desired, as it is a constant reminder of what could've been a really fun game.
Yesterday Origins is a fantastic point-and-click adventure that features comic-styled panels to showcase the story of John trying to find a cure for his memory loss.
Toy Odyssey: The Lost and Found is a special type of game that has a really wonderful and childlike atmosphere, with an overlying grim darkness that engulfs the house, and poor Felix's nightmares. Brand is a likeable toy who just seeks to rid his owner of his nightmares, and try to banish the darkness from the house. Memoirs and diary entries from the various family members further pry open the dark mysteries of the situation. While counterbalancing the base defence element of the game, it can become annoying due to the high cost of the defences, and considering that many runs don't produce a lot of cogs until later in the game when Brand is highly powered, it can be a frustrating beginning. Once the early stages have been passed, though, and Brand has started levelling up and completing quests, an amazing experience opens up in what is one of the better action-platformers available on the PS4 in recent times.
Warhammer 40,000: Deathwatch is a typical tactical turn-based game seen many times before. While not delivering anything new in terms of gameplay, the squad-based teamwork that is required to power through the 40 stages is nothing short of grinding fun. At the beginning, it feels like a bonding experience for the space marines. However, the game quickly falls down the path of needing to grind in order to venture through the missions, as a tough mission could be waiting, spiking up the difficulty quite unexpectedly and sharply. Combined with the stage designs that really do not complement the turn-based style of the game due to the enclosed tunnels and rarity of large arenas to set up ambushes in, this port of the smartphone game leaves a lot to be desired.
Has-Been Heroes is a funny and charming title that blends the age-old tale of heroes embarking on an adventure with the humour of them escorting the princesses to school.
Mantis Burn Racing is a fun racing game that throws out the simulation of modern driving titles, instead opting for the high speed, sand-kicking arcade racer. With nine cars ranging from light, medium, and heavy cars to choose from, players can compete against the AI or online to prove who is king of the racetrack. With a few different events to select from that vary in difficulty, and a host of tracks to race in, this is definitely one of the more enjoyable racers on PlayStation 4. While riddled with glitches and bugs, none is truly game breaking, and can be tolerated by those who are patient, although it is annoying having to constantly restart the game due to freezes and the like.
Tangled Up in Blue is an excellent pilot that does a superb job in introducing each of the Guardians to new players, while remaining very faithful to their source material.