Archeage Unchained is Gamigo's try at creating a level playing field for everyone by removing the pay to win mechanics of the legacy version of the game. Unfortunately, exploiters and bad design of the ArchePass have already created an imbalance. While the game lacks any innovation (the original released in 2014), it does provide a full sandbox experience with elements that will appeal to both PVP and PVE players.
Stock cars are not nearly as sexy as other high-performance racing machines, but that doesn't mean they aren't fun to drive. While nothing has been done to improve on last year's graphics, a full dirt track series and fleshed out career mode are welcome editions in NASCAR Heat 3. There is plenty of bumping and grinding, but gamers of all skill levels will find a difficulty setting to suit their abilities, so strap in and put the pedal to the metal!
Just like a visit to the carnival, even though it wasn’t the greatest experience ever, I haven’t ended a day playing Elyon feeling like I had a bad time. The bigger question for me is how long this carnival can last? We’re only a month past launch, and if you aren’t online for the daily reset, finding a group to run dungeons with can be difficult. The same can be said about finding a match for the various types of PvP. The fewer players there are, the harder it will be to turn a profit, so it won’t be long before the financials start to dictate what items go into the cash shop. And when that happens, the player base will shrink even further. So I guess I’ll keep on riding this roller coaster until it breaks down. Aaaaand, it’s gone!
Tower of time is one of those games that does a lot of things well, doesn't do anything poorly, but unfortunately has a few things that are just average or don't fit the style of the game.
Defiance 2050, the relaunch of Trion's 2013 MMO sci-fi shooter, attempts to breathe new life into the 5-year-old title. The introduction of classes, along with the reworking of the skill and weapon systems makes the game accessible to players of other modern shooters, but the lack of new content and the decision to not port over existing characters gives veterans little incentive to leave their old world behind.
STATIONflow provides the management sim enthusiast with a new environment to test their building mettle. The ever-evolving needs of new passengers and the accompanying facilities that need to be built come at a steady pace to provide increasing complexity to the station without overloading the player with too much at one time. Unfortunately, some glaring quality of life omissions paired with a lack of detailed data keeps STATIONflow from being a top tier game in the genre.
Ultimate Racing 2D comes very close to being a good racing simulator but is hindered by elements usually reserved for arcade racers. Blending the two styles together ultimately leads to an identity crisis for the game, and the resulting gameplay ends up being bland.
Sands of Salzaar, for all intents and purposes, feels more like a work in progress as opposed to a final release. If this were an early access preview, I would say that each of the core components has potential and just needs to be fleshed out. As a final product review, I must say that even though Sands of Salzaar promises an intriguing blend of RPG and strategy elements, it fails to provide the depth and complexity needed for long-term replayability.
Now the only question left is whether Platinum Games and Square Enix have the fortitude to recover? I hope they do, but once players label a game as average (or worse), it can be an insurmountable task to change their minds.
Run The Fan updates the old marble in a maze Labyrinth game with a fresh concept and great visuals but it isn't able to escape the repetitive gameplay due to a lack of difficult levels.
In the end, the inclusion of a wide variety of environments and styles of fishing doesn't offset the simplistic and redundant mechanics of catching and reeling in fish, resulting in a long and boring grind to reach the big catches the ocean fishing has to offer.
Starship Corporation is a mixed bag. The learning curve on shipbuilding is steep but well worth the time to master. The mission simulator is fun at first but becomes repetitious and predictable after a short while. The galaxy map and turn-based empire builder portion of the game lowers the overall quality and experience of the game, and dropping it completely would have garnered a higher review score. It is obvious Starship Corporation is a labor of love. There are some definite flaws in the game, but while many games feel like a cash grab, you could tell the developer was doing the best they could. It would be great to see a bigger developer jump on board and give this game the resources and polish it deserves in a version 2.0.
The whole time I was playing I felt the PC was the wrong platform for the game. While I don't see myself coming back over and over to play the game at home, it would be a fun game to have on a mobile device. My PC gaming time is spent on more substantial games, but the short levels of Juicy Realm could be played while out and about.
Everything about my experience points to GATO Studio either running out of time or money (or both) before they could complete The Waylanders. A story that starts off in a fresh setting and filled with interesting characters, nice visuals and outstanding voice acting is quickly derailed by technical flaws and an ever-growing list of bugs. I rarely complain about too many side missions or additional features like romantic endeavors being added to a game, but this is a perfect example where cutting out unnecessary features would have allowed GATO Studios to focus on the things that really mattered. Sometimes, less can be more, and that appears to be the case here.
There have been a lot of improvements to the game's stability and functionality since its first run back in November, but currently there still isn't enough to keep the game afloat for an extended run.