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If I haven't made this clear enough - this is a bad game. And yet, I couldn't stop playing it. Perhaps because it's so simple, it's easy to tune out to while I'm playing it. Like a bit of pulp fiction (or, indeed, the typical manga), Romance Dawn is a "page turner" without being remotely memorable.
Max: The Curse of Brotherhood has a handful of funny moments, plenty of fairly easy but entertaining puzzles and platforming/chase scenes all wrapped up in lovely visuals. The adventure doesn't have great replay value, but the first time through it's long enough, and the price of admission is absolutely worth it.
If you read my preview of the game late last year, there were a few things that didn't click with me about The Banner Saga. Yet playing through the full game, I wasn't noticing those issues as much. They're still there, but I was able to look past them. You can see the BioWare design influences heavily, and it's nice to see the focus shift to the overall story of the world and grand conflict, rather than individual personal stories. It creates a vast story that will change every time you play it, and your choices are surely going to play a part in the next two installments. But, yes, if the story and art style doesn't interest you, then the combat will absolutely draw you in.
Unepic is a solid game that holds up very well throughout. It offers up a stiff challenge, while maintaining a sound sense of humour, and will go down especially well with those of us that remember (or still play) all-night Dungeons & Dragons sessions.
Games like Might & Magic X, where you can take a couple of minutes to work out a clever strategy to deal with an enemy, are few and far between. I'm glad this game does it, though, because it means that the enemies can have more complex strengths and weaknesses, because players can take more time to figure out how to beat them.
There's online play, which is a nice bonus for serious fans of the puzzle game, and these work well enough, but at no stage was I able to shake the feeling that Dr. Luigi is nothing more than filler material. This isn't an especially memorable game, doesn't utilise the capabilities of the Wii U to any meaningful degree, and is nothing more than a brief diversion on the way to something more.
There's a lot of content in Blackguards, but memorable moments are few and far between. This is a game that feels like it has a lot of ambition, but it's held back sharply but budgetary constraints and, perhaps, an engine so unfamiliar to the development team that they couldn't compensate for its inherent flaws.
Having played this version of the game a few other times now, I came away feeling as though the DX version for Nintendo 3DS was the best of all. If you are well-versed in the original game, there may not be enough reason to come back to it yet again unless you really cannot get enough of the adventures of Player and want to experience them one more time. For newcomers to the series, there is no reason to try any of the other versions if you have a 3DS, because this is the definitive release.
All and all, Gigantic Army is a great new entry for Astro Port's line of shooters. If there was one complaint to be had, the game does stand on the short side of the spectrum although there is a refreshing lack of filler. Gigantic Army comes highly recommended to any fan of the run and gun genre - it's clear that Astro Port put a lot of effort in the game and it comes out in all facets.
If you are a fan of platforming games, Rayman Legends should be a pretty easy acquisition to justify. Even if dozens of levels of running and jumping usually are not your thing, there is enough quality content here to make Rayman Legends worth your while. No matter which camp you fall into, Rayman Legends on the current generation of consoles is the best platforming experience of this early 2014 year.
I was absolutely wowed by this game the first time I played it through because I was paying so much attention to the cut scenes and redesigned Lara Croft was a joy to behold. The Definitive Edition adds a few neat little features like alternative costumes and a comic book describing the events before the game, and I can't remember that being in the original game release. But having had a year to sit and consider the game's broader meaning, the second time around the game's flaws are all the more apparent.
Garrett is a wonderful character, and the city and plot of Thief hold all kinds of potential, the game looks gorgeous on the PlayStation 4 and is mechanically very tight, but all of that potential is dampened by the developer's somewhat overzealous desire to dictate just how the game should be played.
I'm happy to forgive the game for being safe, because it is safely fun.
Line of Defense Tactics is a short and fun game that I felt was paced well and can be picked up even when you only have a few minutes to spare before heading out to do something else. This in turn is a good thing because the difficulty spikes in the game In some ways this was a great idea because sometimes having to spend 30-50 minutes on a level to only fail in the last few minutes and then need to restart the level would not be fun.
So I simply don't see where this game's appeal lies. Even once the technical flaws are repaired, and even after I have a better understanding on how to play following the implementation of a tutorial, I still can't see myself having more fun with this game than I would playing a good Bomberman game, or a decent horror title.
Putty Squad is not a bad game, and with the relative lack of titles currently released on the PlayStation 4 it does fill something of a void. Still, platforming enthusiasts with PlayStation 4s do have access to Rayman Legends, rendering it rather pointless to grab Putty Squad unless you're an absolute genre purist.
If you enjoy some online competitive play, this is a great way to get your fix. If you were already a fan of the Awesomenauts, then it is hard to recommend against this updated version. The visuals are excellent, the sound design is fun and borderline perky combine with an expanded roster of characters and various smaller improvements to create the best Awesomnauts experience to date.
Dead Nation is a title that's actually deserving of your money, even if it's still carrying the same baggage from its first outing.
Yoshi’s New Island has been accused of being a shameless nostalgia cash-in, but Arzest did well enough for Yoshi’s appeal to shine through. It just tries so painstakingly hard to replicate the original and then does an inferior job at it, which undermines the moments that are legitimately thrilling and fresh. Those who love cutesy platformers and are willing to cast cynicism aside will be well served, but just like the green dino himself, may find themselves with an insatiable appetite for something more sustaining by the game's end.
Constant C is filled with creativity, laughter, deceiving level design and ruthless platforming segments; it's charming aesthetics only mask the brutality of the gameplay that's hidden beneath the surface. Those whom prefer the moderate challenge of today's mainstream games will likely give up pretty quickly, but for those old-school souls like myself who prefer a stiff challenge, Constant C delivers a fresh gameplay concept that beats you down and puts you back together over and again to the end.