Keri Honea's Reviews
Each path takes about 30-45 minutes to complete (depending upon how powerful Reynardo has become), which makes it all too easy to fall into the trap of trying one more path before closing up the game for the night. Even if you do play the game extremely efficiently to get to the end, you'll still absolutely get your $15 worth of the game.
Grab your sword, prepare to enjoy that character creation menu, and get ready to spend as much time in the hospital as in a 3D dungeon labyrinth. It’s time to be a Stranger.
Remedy has, without a doubt, crafted a very creative title with Quantum Break. It's not going to be the killer exclusive game that so many were looking for with the Xbox One, but it's definitely been worth the wait. Story gamers will especially delight in replaying the game multiple times to see the various episodes and experience the different paths the game itself can take. For anyone with an Xbox One, Quantum Break is a must-own.
The Guest does drive that mansion-horror vibe quite well, but by the end, you can’t help but feel like you missed something crucial, like Leonov’s past perhaps. I’m really looking for any reason why he’d suddenly seem totes okay with being kidnapped, when the rest of the game makes it seem like he’d definitely not.
With all of the content packed in at launch, the solid gameplay mechanics, tactical co-op experience, and gorgeous open world, it was more than a great idea for Ubisoft to delay Tom Clancy's Division as long as they did. Everything about this game was far more than I could have expected, and it's definitely worth the wait. And this is only the beginning, as we still have a year of post-launch content, both free and paid, to keep players diving back in for that looter-shooter glory.
While there have certainly been quite a number of point-and-click adventures proliferating the Steam Store, Heaven's Hope is one that should remain on the radar for all adventure fans. The humor, charming visuals, brain teasing puzzles, and deep spin on religion and zealots are simply fantastic and not to be missed. As you can tell, I personally cannot recommend it enough.
Fugitive Games has created a unique twist for typical space strategy games, and what they have will appeal to many looking for something that isn’t Elite Dangerous or a typical real-time strategy game set in space. While it could use a bit of polish, Into the Stars could be the next massively popular title where your ineptitude can kill off your family. Or in this particular case, the remnants of the human race. No pressure at all; just be thankful you won’t die of dysentery.
Whale Rock Games has put together quite a doozy for hardcore RTS fans. It's definitely not fitting for a casual strategy gamer like me, or those who prefer fewer moving parts in their RTSes. But even with the ragequit difficulty, it's hard to deny that the game mechanics themselves are as solid and fair as the environments are gorgeous.
This version is really perfect for tournaments, that is for sure. If that was their goal, mission accomplished (I think it was their goal. – Ed. Vader).
With so many massive role-playing games or padded action games, it's refreshing to play an old-school point-and-click adventure without the old-school frustration and without the padded content for length. It's short, sweet, to the point, and it helps that it's as fun as it is funny. I'm more than happy to take a break from the AAA scene with a game like this at any time.
With both the beauty of Firewatch and its varied tones and exploration, this is one game that will resonate with players just as variously. As such, I wonder if, like Life is Strange or Beyond: Two Souls, there is a "set path" that the developers plotted out where everything lines up perfectly if these "set decisions" are made.
Sadly, Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia fell below the bar that ACC: China set. The game definitely had some great potential, especially with the new gadgets, sniping, and bringing in a second character, but the execution ultimately collapsed in the end, unless you're willing to master each and every skill. The push for perfection is perhaps a speedrunner's dream, but it's not something that will sit well with most players.
Megadimension Neptunia VII is a mixed bag, with great combat elements and parody sadly shuffled together with overly padded plot, repetitive boss fights, and boring story presentation. All of the bad could be overlooked with how well it analyzes and tears down the low points of gaming culture, but then it sinks itself just as low with copious and pointless bewbage.
I'm not going to lie; it's incredibly overwhelming for a LEGO game to have this much to explore. LEGO Marvel's Avengers has its weird moments, but you can't deny there is plenty to do or that the gameplay is rather well polished. It doesn't even have those lovely glitches LEGO games infamously contain, and they have finally cleaned up the flying mechanics. Fans of the LEGO games and Marvel movies will enjoy it regardless of the minor issues.
Fans of cult sci-fi films and/or Mystery Science Theater 3000 will get quite the kick out of The Deadly Tower of Monsters. You can't help but smile as you melee and shoot your way to the top of the emperor's tower, experience the ridiculous cut scenes, and literally fast forward and rewind the game as you would a VHS tape. Just like the movies it tries to emulate, the game is so bad with its special effects, dialogue, and set-pieces that's it's rather good.
The absolute beauty of the painting-like art style also helped. There's one thing that India has that was just as amazing as it was in China.
And in case you were curious, Graham does indeed solve the mystery of the missing mattresses. He didn't even need the help of meddling kids.
Just Cause 3 is hardly game of the year material, and it knows it. The game constantly makes fun of itself, Rico has plenty of cheesy yet hilarious one-liners he likes to throw out while watching his exploding handiwork, and the NPCs constantly ask him how he does what he does. The game isn't meant to be deep or perplexing; it's meant to be fun and tap into that inner madman who just wants to make things go boom, and Just Cause 3 succeeds in doing just that.
The nit-picking aside, Rise of the Tomb Raider is a front runner for action game of the year, if not Game of the Year for 2015. The traversing in a platform adventure is the most fluid and seamless I've ever experienced, and the story gave me chills the more I unraveled, especially with the collectibles I found. It's a downright shame that Rise of the Tomb Raider releases the same day as Fallout 4, as this gem will unfortunately get mostly lost in the shuffle.
Everything looks and plays spectacularly in Halo 5: Guardians, and it was so close to having the complete package for a first-person shooter. Unfortunately, the hype oversold and underdelivered when it came to story, and the non-shooting missions should have been scrapped until the team figured out a more creative way to entice player exploration in the middle of a shooter. All that said though, Halo 5: Guardians is an absolute blast to play, which, when all is said and done, is the most important facet of any video game.