It's an average effort with an interesting concept for a protagonist and a game that lasts for several days only because it's unnecessarily padded and punitive to a fault. Knack may be built on the blocks of charm and difficulty, but by the fourth level, those blocks topple over into a pile of excess tedium.
That said, Tearaway has every right to be a playful, buoyant romp through a paper candyland, and few titles, if any, have integrated the Vita's features as well as it does. Though Tearaway could have extended its final levels to explore creation and identity, its depth isn't paper-thin, and the originality of its presentation alone is unique enough that Vita owners should consider ripping through the game once... but no more than that, or you might give the game its walking papers.
Though Dead Rising 3 doesn't have the most detailed graphics nor the most groundbreaking gameplay, it's a thoroughly entertaining ride that anchors the Xbox One far from the grave.
While Forza Motorsport 5 is a strong launch-day title for Xbox One, it has more style than substance and serves better as a foundation for future next-gen Forza Motorsport titles than the limited sampler that it really is.
Powerstar Golf doesn't change much to the formula of pleasant casual golf titles. Though it's more difficult than it needs to be, is slightly short on content, and is focused on randomized upgrades, Powerstar Golf fits well within the genre, doesn't cost much at all, and give even the best pros a run for their money.
Though creating a zoo is pleasant and breezy, after building several zoos with all of the animals, you've pretty much experienced the lion's share of what Zoo Tycoon has to offer.
Thief shows one too many unrefined edges, occasionally catching itself unable to resolve the issue combining classic design with modern production. That said, although it won't steal the spotlight, it should do enough to steal your attention.
If it were just five or more hours longer in content, South Park: The Stick of Truth would have struck the perfect balance between writing, gameplay, humor, and length. Not since Earthbound and Super Mario RPG: The Legend of the Seven Stars has there been a turn-based RPG with such a distinct style and with so many memorable moments.
[I]f you can stick through the starting areas to around Level 10, find several friends to group with, and stomach the litany of technical flaws, The Elder Scrolls Online will more than grow on you. Whether it remains that way will be determined when I review the endgame content more thoroughly several weeks from now.
As a full retail release more than five months after the Xbox One's release, Kinect Sports Rivals is a tough pill to swallow.
Mario Golf: World Tour retains the charm and cleanliness that the series and the genre are known for, but places too much emphasis on its online offerings and Mii avatars at the cost of full courses and attention to the central cast of Nintendo characters. Luckily, it's those same online offerings, along with the offline challenges and Sky Island course, that should keep fans of golf titles occupied for several months. So long as Nintendo can build a wide audience and keep its online courses fresh, World Tour should score high enough to move the series toward the next installment.
Taking its name from one of the greatest technological inventions of the 20th century, Transistor is unequivocally one of the greatest games this year.
Watch Dogs converges the best of what Ubisoft has to offer as a game developer and serves as one of the strongest debuts for a new franchise this year.
As Bruce Lee, one of the DLC characters for the game, would say: "Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them." Nothing could be truer for the future of EA Sports UFC.
With a steady stream of content planned, a solid framework for housing, and a commitment to hardcore seriousness and silly humor, WildStar is more than the sum of its parts, and every MMO player should at least give a fair shake.
Wizards of the Coast needs to learn about loss aversion and the concept of not fixing something that ain't broken. The mobile design model nauseatingly and frustratingly deteriorates this installment so corrosively that the next installment of Duels of the Planewalkers will need a formal reboot to win back its core audience
Sure, the soundtrack isn't terribly interesting, the story largely doesn't matter, and the inventory could have a running list of the most recently collected items. But disregarding these very minor gripes, it has all the dangling carrots you want to take a lowly character, beat the game as a Level 59 monk within three days (like I just did), and savor every minute of it.
Professor Layton and Phoenix Wright make for a odd couple who complement each other surprisingly well, with the former bringing additional side puzzles and the latter bringing weight to the story. If that is'nt enough, the silly interactions between the main cast of characters are worth the price of admission. Though the ending wraps the story up a bit too neatly and the lasting value sharply drops off once you complete the game, Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright points its fingers with the best of them.
The Sims 4 could easily have been a nominee for one of our editor's choice awards, but it's woefully incomplete, despite being unexpectedly solid and entertaining in its current state.
Forza Horizon 2 may be vanilla when compared to other open-world racers, but if so, it's one of the most well-produced vanillas ever made. While it could be bolstered by having more skill-based challenges and any kind of avatar customization, it impresses with technical brilliance, robust online integration, and graphical splendor.