Ken McKown's Reviews
Deathloop is an interesting game that is worth checking out. Coupled with the fact that the game is now available on Game Pass as well as PlayStation’s equivalent make it a no-brainer to try out. Arkane continues to deliver some truly unique experiences and now the game is finally available for owners of either new console to try. Don’t sleep on this game, even if like me you are not the biggest fan of this genre, Deathloop breaks the mold and is a ton of fun to play.
This episode does a good job of progressing what has already happened, and what is about to occur. I am invested at this point, I have to know how it unfolds, but the wait for the fourth entry is not as painful.
Children of Arkham delivers a great follow-up to the original episode, while also cleaning up the pace and some of the technical issues. I am more invested now than after the first episode, and am excited to see how things develop. Telltale has crafted a unique take on the Dark Knight, with characters taking on new roles, making it interesting for fans of the character. I am extremely excited to see where this story ends up.
The first entry in Bruce Wayne’s tale is not a bad one. I enjoyed the setup, and hope the rest of the series delivers on that payoff. I just wonder how long between episodes I will have to wait to figure out if this Batman story is worth the price of admission.
As a standalone package, Hitman's Intro Pack is more than worth the $15, and it is plenty to inform players if they are going to want more of it. The problem is that, again we are paying for a promise of content, as opposed to the actual content. I am sure IO Interactive will deliver the goods, but it is a weird time we live in.
Transformers: Devastation is a fantastic trip down memory lane for fans of the Generation One cartoon. As a video game, the combat is extremely satisfying, if not a tad repetitious. This game feels incomplete in some areas, like there should simply be more of it. That makes it hard to recommend to anyone not completely gaga over the cartoon. However, for anyone who grew up with Prime and Megatron constantly butting heads, this is a must-have title. I just hope Platinum gets the time to do a proper sequel, and really flesh out the incredible template they have created.
Afro Samurai 2: Revenge of Kuma: Vol. 1 is a bad, bad game. I hope the developers take note and fix these issues before releasing the next two volumes, but it almost feels beyond broken. I wanted to love it, I tried to love it, but at the end of the day it just shattered my dreams of continuing the series. Let's hope the original gets backwards compatibility on Xbox One soon. I am really dying to dive back into this world, just not with this abomination of a game.
I wanted to love the second offering from Ubisoft of a Kinect fighting game, but this simply falls flat on every level. If you own an Xbox One, do not go anywhere near this game.
Sonic Boom is a bad game. There is no other way to say it. I won't get excited for another return of the hedgehog…OK that is probably a lie, but either way, don't buy this game. Pick up the infinitely more enjoyable Lost World, or one of the other fantastic Wii U exclusives this holiday season. Just stay far, far away from this toxic hedgehog.
Quantum Error feels like a game the team had passion about. There are good ideas here wrapped in a package that is executed poorly on all fronts. It doesn’t help that the developers decided to enrage fanboy wars on Twitter leading up to the release of the game. It put it in a spotlight the game wasn’t built to take. The price tag also hurts as this is a full-priced game in a budget game build. I could be a lot more forgiving if the sticker price was around $30, but at $60 I cannot recommend anyone lay down the funds for this one. It is disappointing in almost every aspect.
Postal 4 is a game that should be avoided. I can see now why some console makers did not want this travesty on their machines. This game is not fun or entertaining at all. Some of the voice work is decent and I laughed maybe twice in my entire playthrough, but on the whole it is embarrassing at best and offensive at worst. This is not a game that succeeds in its offensiveness and instead feels worse because when they attempt to be edgy it comes across as desperate.
I really wish there was something redeeming in Battle Crashers outside of the visuals. The game really does look great, and the fan service is certainly there, but the tedium of finishing a level is just deflating. I love the genre, and the license lends itself well to this type of game, but the developers somehow made this devoid of any joy to play.
Monster Jam: Crush It! has little to no redeeming value. It plays poorly, it doesn’t look great, and it is simply not as enjoyable as the name suggests. Decades later I am still waiting on that great monster truck game. Sadly, this is not it.
Overlord: Fellowship of Evil is disappointing in a time when no game can afford to even be mediocre. Fans of the original games may be tempted to give it a chance, but I implore you to avoid this game at all costs. There is nothing redeeming about this title. It is a shadow of its former self, and not even a good rip-off of the genres it is trying to imitate. This is one Overlord whose rule deserves to be revoked.
The return of Bubsy is a travesty.
Given another year or two this might have turned out to be a solid Hitman alternative, but as it stands Alekhine's Gun fails on every level – poor AI, abysmal frame rate, sub-par visuals, and horrendous shooting. There is nothing here to salvage the premium price tag.
NBA Live 14 is a hot mess. There is simply no other way to describe it. I wanted to derive some enjoyment from the game, hell I was a fan of NBA Inside Drive back in the days of the original Xbox, but this is simply broken on so many levels.
I was excited for the return of Gungrave. Especially since PlayStation VR had been so impressive for me recently diving into the technology. Sadly this experience is just not worth dropping the cash for. There are a ton of better VR experiences for Sony’s headset.
Fear Effect Sedna is a bad game. Sadly, I wanted to love it simply because of my misplaced nostalgia for the original two titles.
Double Dragon IV sounds like a surefire winner on paper. Craft a sequel to one of the most beloved arcade games of all-time, keep it retro in spirit, profit. However, seeing as the game was announced and released in just over a month it feels like about that much effort went into crafting this game. Will we ever get a solid follow-up to one of the greatest arcade games of all-time? Things are not looking promising for Billy and Jimmy.