Levi van Tine's Reviews
I don't know if Telltale has lost their magic or if their adherence to this formula has just worn thin on me, but it's becoming increasingly difficult for me to get excited at the prospect of playing another episode. The halcyon days of season one are long gone.
I don't know if Telltale has lost their magic or if their adherence to this formula has just worn thin on me, but it's becoming increasingly difficult for me to get excited at the prospect of playing another episode. The halcyon days of season one are long gone.
'Beholder' is a somber, harsh experience in terms of both its theme and its gameplay. The naggy and sometimes baffling routines of the residents can get in the way of a good story at times, and it's too short overall. Still, it's an interesting addition to the growing "authoritarian state" genre, and well worth its small asking price.
I can't quite go so far as to say 'City of Light' is good enough on its own to make the entire series worth playing. For a devoted Batman or Telltale fan, you're probably way ahead of me. For others, there is a redemptive quality to this finale, enough to make me glad I played all the way through to the end.
'Stardew Valley' takes its inspirations and runs away with them into not just an amazing game, but undoubtedly one of the best of the year. There is no shortage of engrossing gameplay, and it has an adorable personality. The Xbox One version has been ported over with very few issues and I see myself emerging only grudgingly from my farm work over the holiday season.
In this violent, bloody holiday release schedule it is nice to have games like 'ABZÛ'. It is an artistic, aesthetic game, suited for watching and observing, not playing in a strict sense of the word. Its undersea beauty is unmatched, but leaves me wanting more.
'Dead Rising 4' has deviated too much from its own traditions for me to give it a wholehearted recommendation. It now resembles a typical modern day third-person sandbox game, for what that's worth. To be fair, I have a lot of fun with games like that, and I've been having a lot of fun with this game. But 'Dead Rising' has come and gone, and has been replaced with something a little tamer and more accessible.
'Dungeon Souls' isn't boring, but it's tough to justify spending time with it over many of the recent dungeon crawler greats. It is a typical roguelike - fun to play for a while, and easily forgotten afterwards.
'Survival' is the sort of DLC that is increasingly rare in the big budget section of gaming. It is more of a total overhaul mod than downloadable content, fundamentally changing how the game is played from the ground up. If you happen to be a fan of both the survival genre and 'Tom Clancy's The Division', you're probably going to enjoy it. If you only like one or the other, it won't get you as far.
The writing team is doing a decent job with the direction and script of 'Batman: The Telltale Series', but the severely strained engine rears its ugly head at every opportunity. Telltale's formula and tech both are very familiar by now and have their flaws, which we've been able to overlook for the sake of an otherwise enjoyable story. The lag has nearly reached a critical mass, however.
In some ways it is very dramatic how far the roller coaster tycoon genre has come, and yet the core rulebook has changed little. Frontier has made an abundant and pretty simulation bound to captivate tycoon fans, although in essence it is much like 'RollerCoaster Tycoon 3'. I admit I would have liked just a little bit more hand-holding at the beginning of the game, but that didn't stop me from having a lot of fun with 'Planet Coaster'.
Ubisoft has refined 'Watch Dogs 2' into not only a more polished continuation of the first game, but an admirable sandbox in its own right. I was pleasantly surprised by its conversion to a campier experience and dedication to solid gameplay mechanics, and will have no problem tracking down every little selfie and side mission in the Bay Area for many hours to come.
Like before, 'Dishonored 2' isn't just a great story. It's actually the same story, but hasn't lost any luster in the retelling. It has some of the best stealth we've seen this generation, buffeted by empowering, extraordinary powers, peerless level design, and intriguing characters. Arkane did the same thing this time around, only better.
I found some problems with 'Civilization VI' but not enough to keep me from enjoying it for quite a few hours. Firaxis has improved some systems and stumbled on others, including things that should be in good shape by now, like diplomacy. I have a feeling that a year from now it will be a much better, bigger game, (not to mention cheaper) as is tradition with this series. I just wish that the inevitable DLC felt more like expansions and less like content filling in the gaps from the day one release.
I'll admit I was looking forward to 'Super Dungeon Bros' before playing. I love the genre, and a caricatured metal mash-up could have been interesting, but the game disappoints on all fronts. I like how much emphasis React put on co-op but it needed more under the hood - more choices for character building, more control, more abilities, just more.
'Clustertruck' does for jumping what 'SUPERHOT' does for shooting. It boils down the genre into a distilled form, with very few bells and whistles. It doesn't really need the bells and whistles, and manages to more or less avoid the tedium for a long time solely by virtue of its immaculate platforming.
This final episode of 'Hitman' brings together all of the lessons IO has learned over the course of the season into a fun, elegant swan song. I will admit that I was skeptical of the episodic format before the intro was released, but they managed to come through and bring 47 into what is hopefully just the beginning of a glorious new career.
'Titanfall 2' has made good on its promise of a worthy single-player campaign. It is rather short, however, and this combined with the relative lack of variety and modular Titans in the multiplayer modes equals a low replay value. I'm glad to have experienced it, but I'm not sure how much further I'll be enjoying it in the months and years to come.
At such a low price and with such a capacity for emergent gameplay it is hard to not recommend 'Hide and Shriek'. The fun is situational, though, and is best played with a friend, with comms, and with only a few matches at a time so as to not dilute its magic. Under these circumstances it's a riot.
'New Order' doesn't completely torpedo 'Batman' but it's by far the weakest we've seen yet. Sometimes I feel like I'm less Bruce Wayne and more of a boring CEO with a soap opera love life. There are still two episodes remaining and I hope the best is yet to come.