Exist Archive: The Other Side of the Sky is a test as much as a game, with some interesting new ideas being applied to a pretty standard JRPG. There are some highs and some lows, but the overall product is lacking in severe ways that are amplified by the generally promising new concepts. However, a strong story and some exploration options make this a game to consider.
Franchise Hockey Manager 3 is a fantastically crafted title well worthy of praise. Unfortunately, with this release being a pretty basic retread, there is a prevailing sense of staleness. The game does have some minor improvements that are mostly visible with the streamlined startup process and visual data provided while in-game. Long time fans of the series may not need to update, but any new player looking to try a sports sim would be hard pressed to find a better place to start.
Motorsport Manager is a very fun and unique racing game that allows you to focus on so much more than steering and acceleration. A much more realistic racing game than one where you just drive, this game gives you the experience to see how good your driving decisions really are, and with great graphics and a easy to learn set of controls, this game is a fun addition to any gaming library.
Football Manager 17 is a titan of a game, representing a depth of knowledge, complexity, customization, and humanity that would be a welcome addition to any game on any subject. If football, or soccer as many a westerner calls it, is not your favorite sport, that may very well be the only reason to not give this game a twirl. While an expert may find some small issue, as a greenhorn I can’t report a single drawback for the game, but I can pretty much find a complement for each and every aspect of this marvelous simulator.
Bethesda Pinball is an impressive collection of pinball experiences based on Bethesda’s A-List hits Skyrim, Fallout, and Doom. Surprisingly complex and dynamic, these tables do a great job of capturing the feel of the game they represent while staying true to the classic pinball dynamic. Visually pleasing, challenging, and highly replayable, these tables are a perfect addition to your Zen Pinball 2 collection.
Draft Day Sports: Pro Basketball 2017 is a generic simulator that is just not quite ready for the big leagues. There are plenty of great features, and a deep collection of players that show the potential expected. A series of fatal flaws and poor design throughout will frustrate you and make you want to send it back down for more development.
Nobunaga’s Ambition: Sphere of Influence – Ascension is a very deep, complex, and well made game with high quality experiences from the lowest to the highest level of rule in Feudal Japan. It is also a tease, showing you all of this quality without taking the time to actually explain itself. Frustrating camera controls and a total lack of guidance leave a bad taste in the mouth when the game so easily could have avoided both and been truly great.
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is a highly familiar, yet fresh take on 2D platforming, and the results are a game I can easily imagine scaled down to 16-bit on a Sega Genesis. A nostalgia hound for the 90s will find a lot to love with this game, from the gameplay down to the look, feel, and story it presents. Far from perfect, but charming beyond its expectations, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is wonderfully fun.
Atelier Shallie Plus: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea is a remake of the PlayStation 3 exclusive, and finds a fantastic landing spot on the PlayStation Vita with all new secrets and content to explore. The game is easy to learn, fun and well paced, and provides a nice mix of JRPG exploration and battles with an item creation system that serves as the series signature. Colorful, well designed, and only slightly stilted, Atelier Shallie Plus is another great title in the Atelier line.
Let it Die is hacky, slashy, and sometimes a little spendy, but with a game like this you can’t turn away. A deliberate and intense action murder simulator rife with humor, morbidity, and tons of style, Let it Die overcomes a few flaws to be a top notch and surprisingly great title. As it is free, there is absolutely no reason not to get it on the action.
Kingdom Hearts 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is a morsel that updates a small bit of the past with a very nice Dream Drop Distance HD Remaster, details a bit of the present with the χ Back Cover cinematic, and shows a smidge of the glorious future with Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage. The gaming content is high quality, but low quantity, leaving you wanting more. Great for junkies needing a Kingdom Hearts bump to get them through the long wait should get this immediately.
Digimon World:Next Order is a bright, slow-paced game that intermixes a open-world RPG with monster raising to great success. Refreshingly simple and fun, the game overcomes some issues with AI to be a surprisingly addictive title. With team based battles focused on strategy and plenty of exploration, Digimon World: Next Order provides solid content worth a look.
Toy Odyssey is marred with some old-school platforming woes that should not be featured in a 2017 release, but this Metroid-style nighttime toy adventure also provides lots of fun and plays fine enough to be worth the frustration. Lots of difficult platforming challenges and fighting await you in this dark and spooky title, if you can get past the random generation issues and unfair pitfalls.
Atelier Firis: Alchemist of the Mysterious Journey is the first open-world Atelier game and it takes the fun battles and item creation modes from the previous titles and makes improvements and additions that make this the most impressive game in the series. Fans of the series will find this a triumph, and even those unacquainted will be impressed with this fun, strategic, and light-hearted adventure.
Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight is a triumphant release, capturing all the nostalgic wonder of 8-bit platforming within a very unique shell. Gloomy, challenging, and only occasionally unfair, Momodora is a fantastic adventure with a fun story and lots of secrets to uncover.
Not unlike the gray pebble on the bed of gaming’s great river, Toukiden 2 does nothing to harm or hinder the flow, but does nothing special to draw anyone in either. Action RPG first and prototype ice skating hack and slash second, Toukiden 2 is as worthy of a look as it is a pass.
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX is a collection that can provide countless hours of RPG action and mixes Square Enix’s brilliant esoteria with Disney’s magical childlike wonder into a story unlike any other. It is also a collection of games that have been around for years, and provides little new content to long time fans. Brilliant is a word to describe the content, albeit familiar, but a little refresher may be just the thing to get you fully amped for the future of the series.
Out of the Park Baseball 18 is just another fantastic entrant into the game's series and is perhaps the best-received new release in years. Clean, sleek, accurate, and easy to learn and navigate, OOTP 18 gives players ultimate control over their team, in any form, year, or league they choose. The inclusion of new leagues, new features, and the all-new Challenge Mode enhances a game I already consider the capstone of the genre. A must-own for any sport simulation fans.
The Disney Afternoon Collection combines several of the great NES games into a single collection, featuring Duck Tales, Chip & Dale, Darkwing Duck, and Tail Spin. All of these games have their own nostalgic charm, and are presented in this collection with style, a hugely functional and awesome rewind button, and enough good extras to make any Disney TV fan go wild.
Drawn to Death is a bloody, messy, childish romp through adolescent notebook art, putting you into the art itself in a series of deathmatches. The art style is endearing and interesting, but it leads to some confusion in the gameplay itself. Fast-paced, unique, and creative, Drawn to Death provides a gnarly experience unlike any other, but suffers from a bit of monotony all too quickly, mimicking high school quite well.