Games Xtreme's Reviews
So, SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy is a fighting game. It's also a cheesecake fanservice game, and a casual-friendly fighting game. Premise is thin on the ground in a lot of fighting games, and this is no exception; There was going to be a King of Fighters tournament, then a bunch of the women who were going to be there (plus Terry, who has been turned into a woman) wake up in a freaky mansion instead wearing skimpy outfits. That's the whole premise.
It's got the 40K atmosphere nailed to a T. It's got the sound, the sights, and the feel of 40K perfectly - but it's just let down massively by bugs, long loading times, horrible mission design and a lack-lustre campaign mode that not even the Emperor himself would condone. I feel it's a bit of a waste of old Gav's talents as a writer really and when you're dealing with a Librarian, the constant purge the xenos motivation comes across as a bit thin.
Storywise, you've got your classic beats here. Things went wrong, science went too far, the dead walk and hunger, and so on and so forth. The game's riffing on some very vintage ideas here, and isn't trying to reinvent the wheel. Rather, it's trying to make that wheel look like it belongs in a grindhouse film's crappy VHS bootleg, from the scanlines to the warped color palettes to the copious amounts of gore.
Quality central gameplay unfortunately proves marred by decisions that don't mesh, producing a game that's better enjoyed in brief spurts than something you can actually chew on and master.
A divisive game by its very nature, Utawarerumomo: Mask of Truth nonetheless sits as the capstone to a storied and well-loved story. The only true question is if you feel the visual novel format is for you.
A divisive game due to matters of strict taste, Rock of Ages 2 nonetheless delivers exactly what it promises, and does so without shame or regret.
Built very heavily upon the mechanics of its predecessor, Nidhogg 2 mostly aims to presenting a new flare and new options...but those options make the experience harder to get into, producing a game mostly for people who already played and loved the first entry.
An excellent collection of some classics, but some odd choices and the sheer amount of times the cream of the crop has been collected make it a hard choice.
Some interesting concepts mesh better than expected, but a rough-on-launch port really shows how it doesn't quite mesh to the console experience.
If you are looking for a Mass Effect multi path adventure then look elsewhere but if you are looking for something fun, retro style and above all entertaining then this will be right up your alley. Play with an open mind and your tongue in cheek. Good fun.
Sometimes pulled in two directions by its attempt to balance serious tension with comedy relief, Maize ends up relying heavily on the idea that you'll buy into both sides of the equation. For some, this will be a blessing, but for others it will be a curse that weakens the rest of the package.
So how do you feel about Ghosts & Goblins? It's not a comparison I make lightly. Cast of the Seven Godsends feels like nothing less than a complete and total love-letter to that franchise, borrowing several of its key stylistic elements and core mechanics to form something that is very, very much pulling from the classic arcade franchise...for better and for worse.
It has potential but just does not live up to it. Looks good, and sounds great but oh my, it falls short in too many other departments. This will appeal to those that have a great deal of patience and tolerance, if you don't have those in great abundance stay clear.
Where Cobalt differs from other platform games, is in the multi player aspect. Here we have a horde mode style game, a capture the flag mode, and a death match free for all that reminds me of Playstation's All Star Battle Royale! Fast and fun, that is when the frame rate doesn't suffer due to some lag or if the server doesn't boot you out. This marks what is otherwise a fun online mode, but the single player game makes up for the shortcomings in the multiplayer mode. I disagree with some reviews elsewhere that say it looks as if the multiplayer was bolted on in a kind of what the hell, we may as well do it mood. It's fun and amusing and makes a change from all of the CoD clones out there.
It's cartoony graphics and jaunty soundtrack help sell the tale, and as unlikely as it is, it can draw you in. The developers 10 Tons seem able to come up with whacky ideas and to some extent make them work well indeed. Like King Oddball this started life as a 'finger flicker' game on mobile devices, and as a port to consoles works OK enough. I would guess though that on mobile devices there is a way to adjust not only attack angles but the power put behind each shot. If there is a way to adjust shot power I could not find it.
If you're looking for an idle clicker, a relaxing game, or something just plain cute to look at for a few easy achievements in your library, Plantera 2 is a perfect choice. For what it is, it's a great deal of fun for any age.
I won't spoil the story, but will say it is well written, and even better performed. The sound design and voice acting is top notch in every sense of the word without putting that lightly at all.
An all-around solid package well worth rescuing from the Wii U's obscurity, Pikmin 3 Deluxe's only real problem is that it's a more replay-focused game than it seems on first blush.
Watch_Dogs: Legion is big, it's ambitious, and it pulls off a lot of neat things with the city sandbox. The triumph is the play as anyone system, but also a weakness in that it can create a truly obnoxiously voiced character and personality. It encourages sandbox play and offers a lot to see, and to do. A strong post launch plan could see this really take off.
So where's that leave us? I mean, overall, I had a really good time with Crown Trick! It's a classic style roguelike with some solid modernizations. I love the art style, and while its permanent upgrades are all pretty standard stuff (go in with more healing elixirs! Keep some of your currency across runs!), they do a lot to make the genre feel more... achievable by mere mortal man.