Angelo D'Argenio's Reviews
Overall, FIFA 15 is an ok game. It's an upgrade over FIFA 14. The problem is that's all it feels like…an upgrade. It doesn't feel like you are actually playing a new game in the franchise, rather it feels very much like you are playing an updated and expanded version of last year's game. This is probably enough for some FIFA fans out there. However, for a casual soccer player like me, I was less impressed.
Forza Horizon 2 is just a better game than pretty much every open world driving game before it. I mean it. It may not revolutionize the formula in brand new and interesting ways, but it understands what it's trying to be. It understands what all open world racing games should strive to be. If you are a racing fan, you should definitely try this one out.
I'd hesitate to call Alien: Isolation "good" but it's certainly "better." It feels like there was this great idea for an honestly tarrying Alien game, but halfway through the design team fell back on the same tropes we have seen over and over and over again. If you are a die-hard Aliens fan, this is the best game yet. However, the game certainly outstays its welcome. The game takes about 15 hours to complete, but more than half of that time is spent wandering around and waiting for something to happen. Even so, I suggest at least trying the game out, through rentals or demos. It's a game that deserves to be played if only so we can imagine how the series can get better still.
Overall NBA 2K15 is a fun game. In fact, all of the NBA 2k series manage to be fun games. It's just a question of whether or not you want to purchase this one, if you purchased the last one, and that's hard to say. I enjoyed the revamped MyCareer and MyGM modes, but in the end I really just wanted to spend more time online. The online suite is nice, of course, but the gameplay simply hasn't changed much. Basically NBA 2K15 is an expansion pack for NBA 2K14, and it's a good one! But don't expect to be blown away by something entirely new and different. You are getting the same game again, just with a few extras, and it's up to you whether or not that's worth a full price purchase.
Project Spark is a very good game, certainly worth your time, and since it's free-to-play it's also worth your money. However, it's also a frustrating game, requiring hours of devotion in order to make something worthwhile, and even MORE hours of devotion to grind out the items you need for your Magnum Opus. Still, it's a game everyone should check out. Who knows, maybe you will get bit by the game design bug and become the next Notch… or at the very least Peter Molyneux.
The Evil Within is an odd beast of a game that straddles the line between helpless atmosphere horror and zombie action shooter. It is certainly a huge step above the Michael Bay-esque Resident Evil 6. If not for the unfortunate frustrating points, which really take you out of the bleak atmosphere, I would say this would set the bar for horror excellence. Unfortunately, these small drawbacks will cause you to frequently put the game down, and that simply doesn't mesh with a horror tone. Overall, The Evil Within is a horror game that outdoes other horror offerings by leaps and bounds, but just isn't perfect. If you want a game to scare the crap out of you this Halloween season, then The Evil Within is a safe bet.
So that's my final opinion on Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. The single-player is phenomenal, and the multiplayer is good but limited by its own unlock system. I personally think the story alone is worth a purchase, and I hope that this becomes the mark of Sledgehammer Call of Duty titles in the future. Personally, I have played enough Call of Duty multiplayer already, heck, I have played enough first person shooter multiplayer in general, to know what I am getting in a multiplayer suite like this. Robot suits and double jumps and future weapons are all decently cool additions to the multiplayer formula, but a studio that is willing to criticize the U.S. government, capitalism, and global war culture in its story is a true rarity worthy of praise.
The best way to describe LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham is fun, but frustrating. If you are a PC player, you'll run into a ton of glitches and controller issues and game crashes and just general unpleasant technical fidgeting. Even if you aren't the game's tedious puzzles will make you shake your controller with rage. However, if you manage to get past all that, there is a decent game here, with interesting action sequences, decent tongue-in-cheek humor, and a lot of fan service. I wouldn't call the game a "must have" title, but if you are looking for a new LEGO title you sink your teeth into, you could do a lot worse than this one.
I expected the next-gen version of WWE 2k15 to offer a lot more than the last gen version that came before it. While the differences are noticeable, the extra features aren't exactly mind-blowing. If you have both a next-gen and a last-gen console, you might as well pick up the next-gen version if you plan on picking up WWE 2k15. However, if you already picked up the last-gen version, there's not a whole lot of reason to double up. In the end, I stick to the same opinion I had when I played the last-gen version, which was that the game is competent, but you aren't missing much if you decide to skip over it. Maybe WWE 2k16 will bring make the features we loved from years past.
I will say that Tales from the Borderlands: Episode 1 - Zero Sum didn't immediately grab me as a must see piece of game art like The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us did. However, it did grab me as a well written piece of game comedy, and those might be even rarer than the dramas, horrors, and mysteries we have seen throughout gaming's history. Tales from the Borderlands: Episode 1 - Zero Sum is undeniably fun, and I can't wait to see what further episodes bring. Until them, I AM THE CAPTAIN OF THIS POOP TRAIN! I'M GOING TO FILL YOU UP WITH BEES AND PLAY YOU LIKE A HARMONICA!
Anyway, my final take on the game is that Game of Thrones fans will love it. They will probably like it less if they aren't current, as the game will spoil a whole bunch of stuff for them. People who have only read the series might have some problems telling which character is which, and people who haven't experienced the series at all might get lost in a huge pool of names and events that aren't really explained. Even so, the narrative woven by Game of Thrones is a compelling one, filled with intrigue, conflict, and death… lots and lots of death. I'd highly recommend it to either fans of the books, the HBO series, or Telltale games in general.
For the short time that I have had with The Crew, I have had a lot of ups and downs. I certainly see the promise in this game, but I don't have the patience or the social circle to really take advantage of it. Nonetheless, I just keep playing, interested in seeing what I can unlock next. Personally, I'd recommend The Crew to anyone who has a dedicated circle of friends who would play with them, who all have great internet connections. If you do, this game is pretty awesome, and possibly even a better format than a lot of other driving games out there. If you don't, the game can get frustrating at times. This is a "your mileage may vary" sort of game, good, but really only appealing to a very specific type of gamer. I'll let you know if my opinion changes with more time... and more friends.
Despite its flaws, Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris is still a neat game. It's not mind blowing and it isn't going to be winning any game of the year awards, but it's an inexpensive title that you can have fun with, especially if you have a dedicated group of friends to play it with. I kind of like that Tomb Raider now means different things to different people. It means we can all play the Tomb Raider that we like the most.
If you are willing to put the work into the game, then Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- is awesome, simply awesome. It's a game that you will be playing for years to come, not just a flavor of the week. If you are a more casual gamer, Smash Bros. is still likely more your speed, but for the people who are willing to put the time and effort into learning a new fighting game, it is really hard to do better than Guilty Gear Xrd.
I have to say, I really enjoyed Citizens of Earth. While I wouldn't call it a must own title, I would say it's a game worth playing, if only to see what can be done to revive this old and beloved genre. I'd say it's probably even a bit better on mobile platforms, as it's the type of game where you can have a million quests to do which you slowly wrap up over the course of a bus ride. If you liked old JRPGs and want to see what might be in store for the genre's future, give Citizens of Earth a try.
Life is Strange is an interesting attempt to break into the cinematic genre. It's certainly unique, blending together gameplay elements of Telltale's and Quantic Dreams' productions with more "gamey" elements such as it's time rewinding mechanics. It shows a lot of promise as an episodic game, but there are certain mechanics that leave me feeling a bit skeptical for this franchise's future. I think Episode 1 is worth a play through, but whether or not this becomes a fantastic multi-episode game will depend on the choices the developers make from here on out. Considering the game's subject matter, that seems entirely appropriate.
For now, I care about this story enough to keep playing, and I would recommend Episode Two to anyone who played Episode One. However, this is definitely one of Telltale's weaker episodes overall. Here's hoping that Episode Three will really plunge us deep into each character's story.
Overall, I've had fun with Evolve for the time I've had it so far, and I'll probably have a lot more fun as time goes on, as much or more fun than I had with the Left 4 Dead series. If you are looking for a new shooter that is like nothing else on the market right now, it's definitely worth giving Evolve a shot.
Dead or Alive 5: Last Round is a hard game to review, because honestly it's a good game. However, it's only a good game because of everything that Dead or Alive 5, Dead or Alive 5: Plus, and Dead or Alive 5: Ultimate did. If you want to upgrade to a next-generation version of this fun fighter, go ahead. If you really really want two new characters, go for it. But if you are looking for something truly new and different, you are unfortunately looking in the wrong place. I would like to say that Dead or Alive 5: Last Round is the definitive version of the game, and if it were the last version of the game to come out it would be, but there's nothing to say that Koei Tecmo won't release Dead or Alive 5: Super Mega Ultra Deluxe Edition a year from now, no matter how many times we hear this is the last one.
You'll get about 12-15 good hours out of Dragon Ball XenoVerse's single-player and co-op missions, but you probably won't touch it much after that. But hey, 15 hours is pretty good for a full price game these days. If you are a fan of DBZ, especially if you have ever written a piece of DBZ fanfiction or made a piece of DBZ fanart, you should probably give Dragon Ball XenoVerse a try.