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We're simply not used to having real emotional reactions to video games. Sure, some titles are getting better at it, but for the most part that's something truly lacking in the medium.
While there's an intriguing setup here, 'All That Remains' starts the new season off slowly and fails to deliver a sensible and concrete outlook at the future. There are notably fewer meaningful choices to be found and the action scenes are without much suspense as Clementine is far too susceptible to be grabbed by a walker.
There's a lot to love about Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag Freedom Cry. Its darker theme and moments of genuine sadness make for a captivating adventure, while the "new" lead character and his evil-thwarting machete serve the most satisfying form of justice.
Max: The Curse of Brotherhood doesn't break any new ground, and should have had the option of using the Kinect for the drawing mechanic, but still delivers. It has rough edges, but overcomes most of them because the platforming is done well.
I adore Stick It to The Man, and if you enjoy the anarchic humor in Paper Mario and Psychonauts, I have a feeling you will too. It's a unique, funny, occasionally brilliant experience full of colorful characters and creative puzzles. If you like your entertainment quirky and featuring love-lorn balding yetis, pick this up. I can guarantee it'll stick with you.
CastleStorm comes with an easy and complete recommendation, and it is one of the special games that can be enjoyed by just about anyone. It's Angry Birds meets tower defense meets beat 'em up meets crack cocaine levels of addictiveness in a hodgepodge amalgamation of stuff that absolutely should not work as well as it does.
Adventure games thrive on compelling stories and a solid sense of logic, and Violett has neither. More criminally, the logic underlying the game's systems seems to be broken, making it nearly unplayable.
Whether you'll like this title or not is entirely dependent on your willingness to accept games that attempt to "say" something. Even agreeing or disagreeing that the point was sufficiently met isn't as important as the mindset one comes in with.
The PC port of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance has its share of issues, but it still gets the nod over its console counterparts. While there are only six different resolutions, it does support native 1080p along with various graphical options that should have fans joyful just how sharp Raiden can look.
If you're getting tired of swords and sorcery, or just looking for meaty tactical battles, few RPGs will satisfy you better.
Don't Starve is a fantastic, huge, deadly ball of entertainingly gothic survival. It requires a self-motivated player to get the most from it, but once you start to learn its systems, each game lasts a bit longer than the previous one, and the ability to experience more of the world reveals more secrets and avenues of exploration.
Nidhogg is a polarizing game. Experiencing it the way it's meant to be played (via local multiplayer) is a fantastically fun event.
Joking aside, there's a valuable comparison to be made between Broken Age and Broken Sword: The Serpent's Curse. Both are throwbacks to the golden age of point and click adventures made by creators who helped define that era.
Tomb Raider remains one of the better action games to have been released in the last twelve months, and it gives the next generation consoles some life in a rather dry time. This is without doubt the definitive console edition of Tomb Raider, but the completeness and subtle visual enhancements are not enough to warrant another playthrough.
It’s a shame that the terms “masterpiece” and “genre-benchmark” are thrown around so haphazardly, because when a title that truly personifies those words like Bravely Default comes along, they seem cliche and hyperbolic to use.
The Castle Doctrine has innovation oozing out of every pore. By combining well-developed puzzle design with massively multiplayer strategy, the game is simply unlike anything else on the market right now.
Though I feel incapable of giving Blackguards the fair shake it would get with fresh eyes, that's ultimately nobody's fault but the developer's. Early access works for emergent play – games like Rust and Starbound where no play session is the same and every update changes the dynamics – but it's ill-suited to more linear, directed experiences.
It didn't take me long to realize that Loadout wasn't an ordinary shooter. It's an amalgamation of sorts, melding comedy, cartoon violence and competitive multiplayer seamlessly.
Consortium aims high, probably beyond the scope of what is reasonable for a game of this scale, but the experience is very enjoyable, if a bit short lived. Mechanically, there isn't much that's all that impressive, but from a storytelling standpoint, Consortium is a notable achievement.
Smoke and Mirrors is a solid continuation for The Wolf Among Us. A lot of seeds were planted in Faith, and while a few have borne fruit, most of this episode's running time is spent tending to them.