I played
Overwatch for 2 days and found it to be good but nothing special. I then couldn´t connect to the PS4 servers for over a week -Server Error (LC-202)- and sold it for a profit on Ebay. Ask me again when the destined / more complete re-release comes out but this looks to be the least interesting Blizzard series so far, outside of Hearthstone. Zenyatta (the robo-monk) seemed to be the most fun to me.
Bravely Second: End Layer commits the rare sin of being a better game that the prequel, yet still coming of as slightly inferior. The battle system and RPG-mechanics both got an upgrade. The 3rd act again relies on a time travel twist, yet it is now (mostly) filled with original content, instead of being an aggravating loop. The problem though are the blander presentation, the barely there narrative and the 2 engaging new leads. The world navigation is also less memorable, despite being more streamlined and the game lastly features less connections to the FF mythos. I can obviously recommend the game but you need to be a fan of the original to finish the journey. B
Dark Souls III I knew From Software before it was cool but admittedly never liked their low-budget games until Demon´s Souls turned them around. This 5th entry in the larger series feels like the advertised conclusion, and more variations will (and should) come but this is a good place to end the DS narrative. The story is easier to figure out that in DS II and most of it is a semi-sequel to the 1st entry. Reference to my beloved Berserk manga (one of the inspirations for the franchise) are also at an all-time high and the overall experience is best described as a “greatest hits” of what came before. The upgraded presentation comes from Bloodborne, the world is best compared the DS 1 and the combat is a refined version of DS II. The infamous difficulty is hard to judge, as I became too accustomed by now, but it should fit in the middle, with Demon´s Souls as the hardest and Bloodborne as the easiest entry. The always fun multiplayer works as it should and the ability to summon up to 3 helpers (1 additional enemy will then also get a chance to invade) will ease the sometimes merciless bosses. Half of these were the only “real” challenge to me and I settled on the Havel armor and the Fume Ultra Greatsword. Tank for life! I further recommend to show the highly atmospheric game to someone else, as my mother uncharacteristically watched the 2nd half of my run with great fun Newcomer should lastly start with DS1 or the faster Bloodborne and graduate to DS3. This “final” dish needs to be savored after all and I could use a polished Armored Core reboot. A-
Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth should be the 1st entry in the game series that offer above average quality but putting out an early PS2 era RPG isn´t something to write home about on the PS4. The game certainly feels over a decade old, due to the barley there permutation and lack of basic comfort features. True fans of the IP will have fun, I guess, and it won´t look as dated on the Vita (for better or worse) but I moved on to the similar and modern Tokyo Mirage Sessions after a few hours. Still a batter product than the new “film” series. Skip.
Dreamfall Chapters: The Longest Journey can´t live up the 1st masterpiece and even the flawed sequel, due to bloat, so fans only should apply. The game is still worth it, even if the story took too long to warm up, and then last episode was frankly a bit weird. It´s still nice to see the near 2 decade long story reach a (mostly) satisfactory conclusion , even if none will remember the gameplay of this and the 2nd game. B-
Doom I like modern FPS trappings but still enjoy old school revivals as Shadow Warrior and obviously the new Wolfenstein. The New Order still remains the sub-genre standard due to the unexpected quality of the narrative / presentation but Doom isn´t far behind. The minimalist presentation is appropriately metal, the jet fast gameplay is a breath of fresh air (almost too fast for my DualShock4, so get the PC version) and the amount of secrets encourages exploration and replay. Most weapons, especial the Super Shotgun and Chainsaw, nearly manage to set new genre standards, which highlights weak links as the Assault Rifle even more. The glory kills system needs to be copied by other games, as it always forces you to keep killing, and killing and... The old school multiplayer is a decent addition but i will wait for Unreal to return. I look forward to the hinted at add-on and a tweaked sequel could re-influence a whole genre (again), even if i prefer the survival horror inspired Doom 3. B+
Fire Emblem Fates I finished both retail games, will skip Revelations + the DLCs and find this 3 part release a sham. The Japanese Front Mission 3 had 2 completely diverging campaigns on the PSX and so do nearly all western strategy games. Stop this now Intelligent Systems. Conquest is indeed a proper challenge, as reported, and thus the better of the 2. This makes Birthright the choice for genre newcomers but they should play the more rounded Awakening instead and only hardcore fans should get both games. The presentation is a bit better that last time and the translation is top notch but the story is still predictable animu nonsense, as always. The children mechanic also came back as a rather weird afterthought, so the series should just go back the generations approach of the Snes days, or drop it altogether. I further welcome the removed erotic content, as that crap would have derailed the historic franchise in the future. The shipping lastly needs to be reigned back too and will remember this release for the deep customization and streaming, despite some worrying feature creep. B
Inside Remember this team´s Limbo, the memorable horror puzzle jump and run? This “game” isn´t that but more comparable the parody of Russian cartoons the Simpsons once made fun of. Hell if I know what this piece of “art” is supposed to mean but I will forget all within a week. Don´t let the 10/10 reviewer hive mind fool you, which is ironic if I consider the game´s psychotic twist ending. OR The predictable 2nd ending. Inside is a vapid, yet pretty, art-house wankfest that ends after 3 repetitive hours and nothing else. Skip.
Pokkén Tournament gets to join the club of nearly there, just as Snap and Colosseum did before, so the first good console Pokemon is still in front of us. The problem are again the lack of meaningful content and the mid budget presentation, yet the lack of a deep fighting mechanic hurts the game the most. The game is further incomparable to Tekken, so get Tag Tournament 2 instead. I am thus uninterested in a sequel that will undoubtedly expand the lacking roster. Who picked Chandelure and Pikachu Libre? Skip
Uncharted 4 Uncharted 3 was an undeniable success but some found it to be overrated due to the emotional manipulation, the over reliance on set-pieces and the badly integrated supernatural elements. The new development team appears to agree with me as the final Drake adventure is again driven by characterization and not pure adrenalin, while fixing all my previous complains. The new gameplay elements are slightly overused but are well integrated and ultimately feel as they were always there. So does the “new” long lost brother, which is the true sign of great writing. The whole package feels like a proper the first step in a new console generation but one part feels felt behind. The actual shooting! The bullet-sponge enemies who barely react and the bog standard guns feel like a relic in comparison to everything else. Especially in the multiplayer that has butter smooth movement and little else. The premier first party game of the year should try harder to get the main gameplay right, as anything else just works. Especially the highly memorable finale, that rounds off the varied 15 hour journey, and makes another by the numbers sequel impossible. Well done Naughty Dog and how about that teased Crash resurrection? A-
Zero Time Dilemma It´s half a miracle that the game even saw the light of day, so I will overlook the straight-out awfully technical side and the Japanese VAs all did a good job to make the scenario “come alive”. The gameplay itself also borders on being an afterthought in parts, but I can forgive that due to the insane amount of plot-lines the game has to juggle. I will admit that the 1st half was a bit too slow, that the completely new team Q plot could have used better writing but the 2nd half undeniably delivered. Be warned that only the 2 sets of protagonist from 999 and VLR get to continue their narrative but anything else would have been a herculean effort. The lack of payoff to the secret ending to VLR is my only true gripe and i don´t mind the slightly controversial conclusion, as the whole game´s narrative supports the decision to keep the ending somewhat “open”. The overall dark and frankly daring direction and the exceptional foreshadowing of the antagonist´s true nature will certainly stick with me, even if the villain could have used a better explained backstory. ZTD may be the least "rounded" of the games (999 should still feature inferior writing) but it ultimately concluded the trilogy rather well and newcomers need to start @ the start. Or wait for the upcoming re-masters. Even ZTD could use one… The same goes for Remember 11, the writers other good game, that still lacks a conclusion. B
Last edited by residentgrigo at 5:59 am, Jul 15 2016________________
I also read EU/US comics and am a librarian.
Manga-Masters,
My ANN-Lists + Imdb
