Destiny is a title that pushes immersion at all costs; the storyline that players are provided with stands as bleak opposition to the pristine future as described by Star Trek. The game is broken off into Titan, Huntr, and Warlock classes, granting players the ability to straddle both shooter and RPG titles. The different races and environments that players will encounter further increases the replay value; there is a sort…
The first few moments of Lifeless Planet are awe-inspiring and more than a little unsettling.
EA Sports UFC is a title that captures the exciting battle of strength and skill that is the UFC. The game contains a number of distinct modes that will keep players on the edges of their seats.
There’s an old adage in sports journalism that goes, “No cheering in the press box.” It means that no matter how much you’re rooting for one team or outcome, you must remain neutral as a member of the press. Reviewing Windforge has been my cheering-in-the-press-box moment because I’ve been eagerly awaiting its release since I first found its Kickstarter page that promised a Contra-meets-Minecraft building-block RPG. It had Steampunk aesthetics…
At times, Powerstar Golf feels a lot like playing its real-world counterpart. Like real golf, Powerstar is filled with frustration, botched shots, curse words muttered under your breath as your shot bounces into the bunker for the hundredth time, and promises that you’ll never play again. But then you hit that one shot, that one perfect shot, and it makes all the frustration worth it. Powerstar Golf is an arcade-style…
NASCAR ’14 is one of the few sporting-based video games on the market that showcases the sheer difficulty of the activity. The tweaks, paint schemes, and the variety of upgrades that are available to players allow the game to have considerable replay value, while the pain-staking amount of detail paid to the recreation of a number of the actual NASCAR tracks will appease die-hard and causal fans of racing alike.…
Comedy is one of the finest lines that a developer can walk while making a game. Do it right and you can produce a classic like Portal or the Monkey Island series that keeps the player laughing and engaged throughout the experience. But if you miss the mark, you risk subjecting the player to hours of eye-rolling and cringe-inducing ‘humor’ that can overshadow every other aspect of the game. Unfortunately,…
Max: The Curse of Brotherhood is a sequel to 2010’s Max & the Magic Marker that released across the Wii, Playstation Network and a variety of touchscreen devices. Developer Press Play has gone exclusively to the Xbox One for their 2013 sequel (with an Xbox 360 version reportedly in the works for 2014), and their outing represents one of the few post-launch downloadable titles available on the Xbox One to…
Explore the Dungeon Because I DON’T KNOW! is one of the few games that adds a decent amount of the lore of the inspiring show while having a graphically distinct art direction. The gameplay style is reminiscent of the Zelda titles for the Super Nintendo, while the choice of characters (Finn, Jake, Cinnamon Bun, and Marceline) really provides a Gauntlet-like sheen to this game. The game…
Ben 10 Omniverse 2 is a title that is able to successfully create the environment of Ben 10 while providing purchasers with further plot for this already-rich show. The graphics are stunning and establish a world that is considerably different from our own. D3Publisher has made a title that allows players to beat each other up, attempt to beat the clock, and experience a wide array of alien forms.…
Wipeout: Create & Crash is a tremendously fun game for all ages,l and the Nintendo Wii version of the game does a great job in capturing the humor and intensity of Wipeout. There are 12 different mini-games that provide players a wide array of activities with which to keep interested. The graphics for Wipeout: Create & Crash push the graphical limits of the Wii while having a bright and vibrant…
Call of Duty Ghosts is one of the most immersive titles that we have reviewed. The graphics present here are stellar. This means that there is a wide array of different environments which players will experience, from cityscapes to free-falling from airplanes, scuba diving all the way to taking up the aspect of a dog. Perhaps the greatest increase to the gameplay has to be the multiplayer modes. The care…
The Skylanders SWAP Force title is an immersive one, blending together elements of the pocket monsters genre with hints of RPGs, party games, and platformers. Taken together, the game is something that players young and old will be able to appreciate. The graphics are cartoony but they are fulfilling – players will feel as if they are in this otherworldly land as they are exploring the world, taking on a…
The opening sequence to Cloudberry Kingdom gave me more anxiety than most full games ever have or will. In it, a computer-controlled character navigates through an endless loop of randomly-generated platforming levels from hell, narrowly dodging spikes and sawblades on his way to safety. These levels looked impossible, with no discernable pattern or pause in the action to speak of. “How the heck am I supposed to do that?” I…
Storm is a physics-based puzzle game that tasks you with navigating a seed from a tree to a patch of dirt of the other side of the map using wind, rain , and lighting. Gameplay is divided into four seasons – spring, summer, autumn, and winter – with each of the 49 levels comprising one day in a season. Each season presents players with new challenges and gameplay mechanics, like…
For those individuals that are looking to increase their ability with Magic: the Gathering, Duels of trhe Planeswalkers is a must-have. The various challenges that await planeswalkers on single-player mode allow for the more nuanced plays to be understood under the comprehensive rules of the game. The high-contrast design of the battlefield and zoomable aspect to the cards provides further information to those players that may not be familiar…
The graphics of NCAA Football 14 for the PS3 are absolutely brilliant, rendering some of college football’s most well-known stadiums and fan bases in a vibrant and realistic style. The game play allows for individuals to immediately pick up the game and pull off a victory against the AI, but the learning curve of the title is so intense that friends will be debating the victor for years to come.…
Neverwinter is a free-to-play MMORPG that represents a well-polished combat and profession system alongside the sheer amount of lore that exists in the Dungeons & Dragons universe. The title has enough different twists and turns to it that players wille asily be able to log hundreds of hours onto the title. Furthermore, Neverwinter caters to both experienced and new players alike. For example, the map system is intuitive on…
Over the last few years, the genre of survival horror has taken a marked turn towards action horror. Later installments of series like Dead Space and Resident Evil play like Michael Bay blockbusters, and it’s rare to have an actual sense of dread for the monsters that you’re mowing down. That’s what makes State of Decay, the ambitious new XBLA offering from Undead Labs and Microsoft Game Studios, so refreshing.…
Fireburst is built on risk and reward – set your car on fire to boost and destroy opponents, but hold that boost for too long and you go up in flames yourself. Water cools your car down, allowing for more sustained boosts, but fire barrels threaten to raise your car’s temperature at every turn. It’s an interesting concept, and reminds me a bit of the Nintendo 64’s Star Wars Episode…
