King's Bounty II is composed of many traditional elements fused together in an unconventional way. Rather than melted it would be better to say stuck on top of each other. The amalgam of characteristics and genres is completely disorganized, confused, as if it were the mixture of randomly selected market trends. Taken individually, not all the constituent elements of the game are mediocre, indeed it is quite possible to be captured by the settings or by the combat system. But what is missing is the connection work: the most important operation in a complex product such as a video game. What distinguishes a good video game from a bad one is not the sum of the parts, it is how these parts interact with each other, how they contribute to the realization of a common goal.

Quotation forthcoming.

The more strategic gameplay might please a part of the audience, but the basics remain the same of old, and that doesn't make for an overly interesting mix.

A good action game, with a lot of puzzle solving and exploration.

One of the clearest impressions is that Project Motor Racing is currently a work in progress. It has excellent intentions, a foundation that could grow, and an "old school" philosophy that could appeal to a wide audience. But this requires time, updates, refinements, and a clear creative direction. The game isn't broken, it's not a failed product: it's simply very immature, still far from being a benchmark title, but with enough potential to get there if adequately supported. A release in early access at a budget price would probably have been more consistent with the current offering, because quantitatively speaking, the game offers a lot, but suffers from evident shortcomings in key areas: AI, penalties, driving system, and the overall cohesion of its ecosystem. Some aspects are already very good, and we are confident that in the future the game could become a benchmark for racing game enthusiasts, if only for the uniqueness of its car roster and the good career mode.

Crazy, frenetic, fun: with this action RPG you cannot really go wrong. Fans of the genre will find their teeth, with a bizarre story, a level of challenge that's never banal and excellent possibilities for customization of skills.

It has been a while since we saw such a weak adaptation: if you are passionate about the genre it is better to focus on other products; Fortunately, there has recently been no shortage of much more valid proposals than Cobra Kai.

Ultimately, the revival of Maiden of Black Water on modern hardware is a welcome operation but which is partly a wasted opportunity. The remaster will allow fans of the genre to rediscover an interesting experiment among survival horror, but greater care in realization would have made the last episode of Project Zero usable by a much wider audience. Despite the years that have passed since the first release and the absence of the technical limits imposed by exclusivity on Wii U, no additional effort has been made to improve a title with not properly refined mechanics. If over the years the Project Zero series has struggled to renew itself and has gradually crystallized into an aging playful formula, this new edition does nothing to remove Maiden of Black Water from the ancient spectrum of its roots.

The Power of Magic is a platform game with some interesting ideas, placed in a structure that seems to squeeze more often an eye to younger gamers.

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North is a good game. Unable to achieve excellence because of limits of the gameplay, it is still a title recommended to fans of the genre and of The Lord of the Rings.

There are few aspects of the game that really intrigue the player (the soundtrack, for example), while the embarrassing battle system and a dull story make Sands of Destruction inexorably sink.

More content, especially for a game that is in desperate need of new things to do and places to explore, would've been much more appreciated. On the other hand, what this DLC has to offer is some of the best strikes Destiny has ever seen, and a compelling raid.

Namco Museum: Virtual Arcade will probably find a place in the hearts of old gen players. With 25 classic games and 9 live arcade this game could be a good choice for players that wants to revive the golden age of the videogames: the glorious '80!

Although with obvious limits, due primarily to the modest means of a production that is anything but AAA, Panzer Dragoon: Remake is a re-release that will make fans of an unforgettable SEGA icon happy anyway.

Obscuritas is a mediocre horror adventure. The story is weak, and the impressive amount of backtracking is frustrating. Technically speaking, the game doesn't stand a chance against other eminent competitors (like Outlast and SOMA). The game is not a complete failure, however: it has a good variety of puzzles and a perceptible tension.

In evaluating All-Stars Fruit Racing we have to underline a certain disappointment not so much for what the product is, but for what it could have been.

Perhaps Metal Wolf Chaos would have been more suitable for a documentary on its troubled history than for a remastered HD.

It's the best chapter of a saga that has had quality issues since its very inception. Still, it'll please hardcore fans of the sport, even if it's not really entertaining in most of its aspects.

Split/Second: Velocity is a godd arcade racing game. Inheriting the gameplay mechanics of the chapter directed to the home console, the PSP's version looks good. Certainly it isn't a perfect game: technical glitches make some races more frustrating than it should, but fun is always guaranteed.

Recore is a game constantly looking for a balance between its many souls. Developers had obviously aimed high but were forced to downsize along the way. The result is a title still enjoyable, an obvious homage to an old way of creating action-adventure games, with all the pros and cons of the case. Here and there one can see touches of modernity, but the adventure is a basic old school structure which draws liberally from the tradition, not always with satisfactory results.

There's still fun to be had with the good and ole Lemmings, but the control system could really do with an upgrade.

Turning a blind eye to some uncertainties, the one to discover the past of Nicole and Rachel remains a journey that is still worth taking.

It's perfect for the mobile platforms, as the quick matches can really be a relief while waiting for the next bus.

Space Junkies is a solid and fun arena shooter, with all the essential ingredients in the right place.

Quotation forthcoming.

Chocobo GP takes up the speech abandoned by SquareSoft in the late 90s and brings to light the official kart racer dedicated to the Final Fantasy franchise. It revives the concept of Story Mode, expands its roster of characters and makes some changes to the basic idea - introducing an interesting variation of online multiplayer. This, however, is not enough, because the real limits of Chocobo GP are the scarcity of its offer (which will expand in the future) and the sufficiency with which the available circuits have been created. It's okay to be a title aimed primarily at an extremely young audience, but the few and boring tracks are an obvious obstacle to fun and cripple the personality of a game that, at least on paper, could have had its say.

The humour is still there and works fine, but when it comes to gameplay, the shift in the formula from team based multiplayer to cooperative hack'n'slash doesn't fully work.

Republique's "new course" isn't as original, deep and interesting as we saw in the first "season". It's a true shame, but the old concept was indeed much more interesting.