SmashPad's Reviews
Rocket League is one of those rare sports games that serves both the casual and hardcore crowds really well in ways that we see out of games like NFL Blitz, NBA Jam, Tecmo Super Bowl, NHL 94, and others with the surprising thing here being that Rocket League isn’t based on an already established sport.
As the end of this season of The Wolf Among Us nears, this episode is basically an awesome set-up to the finale where the highly-anticipated showdown between the protagonist and mysterious, illusive antagonist takes place.
The bottom line is it’s fun, the fantastic story caps the series off on its highest note, and it’s a technical marvel with a surprisingly enjoyable multiplayer mode. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End is the entire package.
Super Mario Odyssey does things that no other game before or after it could or ever would do, and that’s one of many reasons why it’s a must-have for anybody with a liking for video games.
Make no mistake, while this game is definitely casual-friendly and easy to pick up, it is not pure fluff. There is so much depth here. Many players will spend scores upon scores of hours enjoying island life both playing solo and with others online. There aren’t many other games out there providing this level of return on investment!
Ori and the Will of the Wisps is as fun to play as it is beautiful to look at. I rarely have no critiques of a game, but this one is as good as I could imagine, aside from the aforementioned story beats that could have been a little more affecting. Moon Studios has proven themselves to be a talent worth watching for whatever they may do next.
Rise doesn’t feel like it needs a huge expansion to open it up. One may come in the future to expand the game even further, which would be awesome, but it’s already great as it is.
The sandbox nature of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is what makes it such a great game.
Velocity 2X does a fantastic job of building upon what made the original game so great by introducing a new new style of game and managing to integrate it into the game like it was a natural fit all along.
With the onslaught of dual-stick shooters on the last generation of consoles, it’s surprising that it has taken until now for this generation to get its first great shooter, but Crimsonland can take pride in being the premiere dual-stick shooter on the PS4.
Supergiant Games has done a great job with their follow-up to the acclaimed Bastion by putting out a unique take on the strategy RPG genre that we haven’t seen since Valkyria Chronicles infused third-person shooter controls into the traditional strategy RPG mechanics.
Child of Light does a lot right to make it a great, charming game that comes from parts of the talented team that made Far Cry 3, which is about as far away from that game in every way as it gets.
For $9.99, SteamWorld Dig is well worth the cost of admission for such a fun spin on the genre that controls so well that it made my Top 10 list for 2013.
Awesomenauts Assemble! accomplished what it set out to do, which is to offer the best parts of the MOBA genre without the high bar of entry those games offer.
If you enjoyed The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us is going to be right up your alley as another great series that introduces you to characters you’ll like while forcing you to make decisions regarding their fates that you’ll hate.
If you even have a slight interest in RPG’s, Persona 5 is easily a recommended must-have. At over 100 hours, you’re definitely getting a whole lot of game, but everything from the production value to the battle system and even its painfully relevant story about the devolution of the human race make Persona 5 a staple of this gaming generation and more than justifies the series as the king of JRPG’s.
Eiji Aonuma has finally outdone Shigeru Miyamoto, and if I were Aonuma I’d just retire considering the success Breath of the Wild will undoubtedly have. It isn’t without its blemishes, but simply put, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a masterpiece that can easily be considered the new defining entry in Nintendo’s beloved series.
Overwatch is a tremendous joy to play and it shows that Blizzard just gets it.
There was a point while playing through Horizon: Zero Dawn where I questioned how much longer I needed to be at social events because, you know, time in Aloy’s shoes. Or, rather, I skipped out on events entirely so I can play the game. Other times, it was that “well, I could do just one more quest…” feeling. Early on, that’s how I knew this game was worth it. It sucks you in for all the right reasons but won’t overly dominate your life like some other games can (I didn’t cancel that many plans, thank you).
MLB The Show 17 has some flaws and parts of the game that are less interesting for what I want to do, but there's plenty here that should be able to appeal to most types of baseball fans out there.