GameCrate's Reviews
Skully is an attractive 3D platformer, but that's all it is. The gameplay is hit-or-miss and is severely hampered by poor controls. On top of that, the story is cliché and predictable, and none of the characters — not even the ones you're supposed to root for — are very likable. It's disappointing, but even if you're looking for a throwback to old school 3D platformers, Skully is a hard pass.
Perhaps if Whiskey Jack Games can add more quests and clean up the performance issues, Crudelis might be a solid title. As it stands right after launch, however, it's hard to recommend.
Had more emphasis gone into the game's design (and, more importantly, length), Slender: The Arrival could've been one of the better horror experiences on the PS3 and Xbox 360. Instead, it's just a forgettable retread of a better PC game – and one you can easily pass over for a bigger, better game.
Aliens: Dark Descent feels a lot like some of the recent Alien films, where there are plenty of good ideas but the execution is lacking. A real-time strategy game starring helpless, fragile marines sounds fun, but the slow and clunky controls makes it much harder to engage with the systems present in combat. The atmosphere and story are strong enough that if the game was even a bit more fun to play, it would be worth checking out for fans of Aliens, but as it stands Aliens: Dark Descent is a frustrating experience.
Unwording only has an approximate run time of about 2 hours, and while the game does offer both an easy and normal difficulty there’s really very little difference with the exception of the availability of hints. The solutions to the puzzles are often pretty transparent and straightforward. It’s easily a one and done type of experience, unless you unintentionally miss a few of the interactions and want to see them on a subsequent playthrough or are trying to mop up missed achievement.
In a year filled with blockbuster fighting game titles, SNK Heroines just doesn't do enough to appeal to the fighting game market. It's a shallow game filled to the brim with fanservice, but there are deeper games with just as much fanservice out there.
There are few genres as universally appealing as the spy genre, and yet somehow Safe House manages to take that genre and suck virtually all the fun out of it. There are glimmers of a good game that occasionally flash by, but no matter how desperate you are for a new strategy/spy game to play, you should steer clear of Safe House unless the idea of hand cramps induced by endless mouse-clicking somehow sounds appealing to you.
Archangel is an on-rails shooter with a promising concept, but is disappointingly average in almost every way.
Agents of Mayhem has enough gameplay diversity and fun characters to keep you occupied for a few hours, but it won't take long for the repetitive missions, horrendously heavy-handed comedic overtones, and tired gameplay loop to wear on your patience.
Had the team at GameCoder shied away from formula and tried to do something more unique with Attractio, I think we could've ended up with a far better game. As it stands, it feels too "me too"-ish, without any sort of validated story or voice acting, and that makes the $20 purchase one that isn't so, erm, attractive.
It's still playable, and might be fun for devoted fans for the series, but there's no question that a lot more polish could've gone into Tony Hawk's revival.
L.A. Cops isn't a bad idea in itself, as it takes the concept of Hotline Miami and turns it on its head, making you the law instead of the law-breaker. However, its execution is flawed almost every step of the way, between iffy gameplay decisions, a lackluster presentation and having to work to unlock the awesome stuff, instead of just giving it to you right away. If you have to be the ultimate police officer, stick with Hardline instead.
Had the development team at Wales really tried to make Infinity Runner stand out with more diverse level design and better freedom of control, it could've really been something. Instead, it drags its feet just when the game is getting up to speed, and literally trips over itself in the hopes of achieving speedy greatness. Unless you need to see where this bizarre tale truly goes, just skip it.
Despite some strong world design and a compelling soundtrack, Toren just can't keep up with the other great platformers on the market, even from the previous generation. The miserable visuals, combined with technical problems and loose gameplay, leave this journey coming up way short – and making us wish that The Last Guardian would surface sooner rather than later.
Someday You'll Return is an ambitious failure. It tries to cram together too many disparate game systems while failing to handle narrative and character in a way that could've made this game work. I wanted to like it; I went into it with great enthusiasm and quit it with an equally intense frustration.
Extinction is a derivative and uninspired game not worth the $60 price tag.
What started as a fantastic idea ended up as a pile of wasted potential.
While it’s understandable that Square Enix wanted to create a Star Ocean more like the fondly remembered early titles of the series, they seem to have forgotten what made those titles great. Whatever it was, Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness has none of it.
Submerged just ends up being a disappointment. Great ideas in the storytelling and presentation are lost with a poor connection to characters and truly lacking gameplay. All the great intentions in the world don't mean anything if they don't convey into a fun game experience. Go play Journey instead.
Despite all of its flaws, ReCore isn't inherently bad, it's just not gripping or polished. The combat, while dull, is enjoyable in that you can zone out and still succeed. You're not going to get frustrated by not being able to perform, or annoyed if you lack a certain level of skill. Any area you're struggling with will quickly become easy after your Corebot levels up enough to drag you through. Overall, the narrative is predictable while set in an interesting world, and the movement is slick and enjoyable, but the constant back-tracking to collect more keys weighs down the experience. It's unfortunate that the game couldn't be tightened up under Microsoft's tutelage, because ReCore has nuggets of good ideas buried beneath the monotony and tedium of its primary activities.