Between MyLeague, MyGM, MyCareer and multiplayer modes like MyPark and the more tradition types — all of which have functioned admirably online, I should note, though MyPark has been less busy than I would prefer, in my experience — NBA 2K15 is as fleshed out as a sports game gets these days.
That's the irony of The Vanishing of Ethan Carter in a nutshell. When you first start up the game, it declares that it "is a narrative experience that does not hold your hand," but that's true only of its mechanics. Narratively it holds your hand so tightly that once it was over I had to wait a few minutes for feeling to return.
However, those other elements do keep Alien: Isolation from ascending to heaven to stand at the right hand of God. It is merely the regular type of excellent.
But when it's working correctly, Wasteland 2 is stellar. The tactical combat is pretty standard, but challenging and only occasionally overwhelming (those are essential moments, to me). Learning to deal with everything that goes wrong as you wander the wastes is a thrill that makes it all the more satisfying when a plan actually does come together. Wasteland 2 is a Real Game, bro.
Gauntlet is good and fun, but I don't think about it much between sessions. And that's about it. I feel like I've said more than is necessary at this point, really. It's competently made and enjoyable and you might forget you have it if you don't play it for a week.
But, like, it's fun and the view from the social hub is pretty.
I love it. Unrest is another indie that exposes the lie of AAA that says games need some physical skill element to be worthwhile. It gives us many layers to ponder with its narrative, wrapped in a package that feels culturally relevant even as it's firmly rooted in a past and culture that is not my own. That, my friends, is something worth experiencing.
Risen 3 is a large role-playing game you can pay money for, and it is functional and will occupy your time.
Born from a Ludum Dare scenario (an updated version of which has been included in the middle of the game) and spread into a full-length game, Gods Will Be Watching is far and away the most interesting game from 2014 thus far, and it wouldn't really be a stretch to call its design "pioneering." But the true joy, above its other admirable traits, comes from the emotional trauma and frustration it inflicts on the player. Accept no substitutes.
And so it's a good try, Ubisoft Montpellier, but ultimately in your failure to commit to your high concept, Valiant Hearts is ultimately the same as every other pretty good game: flashes of brilliance countered by nonsense tropes that are inserted just because these are the things you do in video games.
So while I do appreciate Daylight as an effective scare generator, its shelf life feels much shorter than Zombie Studios intended it to be.
Age of Wonders III is a game that excels at almost everything it set out to do. It has well executed turn-based strategy, beautiful freedom of choice and some really interesting, but definitely tried and familiar, tactical combat. It's major flaw is the clumsiness in easing you into the experience. The game almost seems set on alienating the player from the start, but if you if you stick with it, you might find a quite rewarding gem beyond.
Despite all I've said sound pretty down on the game, I do have a strange compulsion to continue rolling with it a while longer because I do enjoy exploring it. My impressions from the first week may not be so hot on it, but I don't hate it. Yet. I'll let you know if that changes.
The gist of Reaper of Souls is a good experience. It's more of stuff that keeps people coming back, but you'll have to trudge through dungeons for a few hours because there's another threat to all existence Tyrael says needs your attention before you can bathe in the cleansing waters of the main attraction, which is Adventure Mode. You do what you gotta do, I guess.
With a clean, gorgeous new look, the Final Fantasy X games are good enough to hold up despite a number of surface elements not really aging well.
If Lords of Shadow 2 were a film, I'd say it's well constructed in every way aside from editing. Unfortunately, editing is as crucial to a movie being watchable as its visibility. So for this game, it's all well and good that it's pieces are of quality, but they are arranged so carelessly and without regard to flow that struggle is more about staying awake than merely making progress. This subfranchise's muted tone — another non-flaw out of context — doesn't help that cause.
I hated Lightning Returns, but I also love it. Its greatness nearly ruined by bad packaging.
[T]he core experience, the flying around and shooting things, feels just about airtight. It's intuitive and uncomplicated, and WoWP accommodates all the input devices, from mouse and keyboard to stick to gamepad, with all appearing to my hands to be equally viable depending on each player's personal proclivities.
It isn't exactly the best thing going on the PS4 thus far (that would be Need for Speed Rivals), but you certainly owe it to yourself to download Resogun and play a round or 12 before bedtime. You'll get lost in it, I promise.
It's just a bit disappointing that the full package comes together in such an unremarkable way. Knack has its own little thing going here, and it's good enough for what it is, but I doubt there's much about it we'll remember in five years.