Dave will eagerly steal 10 or 15 minutes from you here and there, and as a palate cleanser between longer games, it excels. But the climb back to the late-game point at which you bought the farm? It's more bummer than woah.

9 Moneys of Shaolin successfully blends my love of old action films and brawlers into one wonderful package, and fans of Shaw Brothers films (and the occasional Wu-Tang album) might be keen to know that this is the best translation of that style in any game I’ve seen. If that sounds appealing, this is a no-brainer.

Dead Island is so close to greatness that it's frustrating. Sure, it's not exactly an original concept and the story is such a pointless, clichéd mess that I forgot to mention it in the review, but the core gameplay is so stunningly well-executed that I'm able to forgive most of its flaws.

The replayable Outposts and Expeditions are a blast (even moreso in co-op) and the mild RPG mechanics of base building is a great start, even if it needs to be expanded upon. However, in a larger sense, the adventure is brought down by a comparatively small size and cookie-cutter bad guys. New Dawn isn’t a terrible experience, but it would have been better served by being delivered as DLC material, not passed off as a full game.

I was ready to love Days Gone, and in some ways, I still do. It didn’t love me back, though. If SIE Bend had cut the length by a third, cleaned up the technical problems and had more variety in level design, it could have been one of my favorite games of all time. It’s tragic in hindsight, because I can feel the love and passion flowing through it. Unfortunately, the shared appreciation of our homeland pales in comparison to the astoundingly long list of problems on display here. It’s heartbreaking, but only homesick Oregonians like myself need apply.

Episode 4 might ultimately be more of the same, but this year’s episodic Hitman is the best the series has ever been, and I’m not complaining. However, with the United States and Japan chapters still to come before this season ends, I do hope IO Interactive has a few more tricks up its sleeve.

Tweet Share Share By Brad Bortone on December 16, 2022 in Reviews Prettier, Smoother, And Frustratingly Familiar HIGH The visuals finally feel worthy of new console horsepower… LOW …until the replays are seen up close. WTF SNES hockey strategy shouldn’t work in 2022. Last year I described NHL 22 as a “mildly underwhelming next-gen experience that still holds promise for the future.” Today, after nearly a month of play, I’m describing NHL 23 as a “visually appealing current-gen experience that needs to start delivering more on its promise.” Visually, it’s clear that EA Sports took past criticism to heart. While previous editions hinted at ramped-up eye candy, NHL 23 seems to make the most of current hardware, from player faces to subtle animations. For example, when taking a faceoff, real-time reflections of the overhead scoreboard are seen on the freshly-polished ice surface. As each period progresses, visible deterioration from skaters dulls the reflection until the next one starts. Details like this don’t affect gameplay, but they do allow for a sense of immersion, even from a distant overhead camera. Likewise, player faces and reactions are far more accurate and situationally appropriate, leaving lifeless expressions on last-gen consoles. The league’s current lighting and concert-like presentations are also well-implemented into each opening segment. It’s clear that EA wants NHL to be a visually arresting series in the next few years, and this year’s edition takes a big step forward by focusing on the nuances that make live hockey such an unforgettable experience. Overall, NHL 23 is a strong visual contender in the sports game arena — at least until replays, when the camera zooms in. Once up close, users will see cracks in the graphical armor, as smooth animations seen from above are revealed to be somewhat janky and stilted. It may not affect gameplay one iota, but it seems odd to see butter-smooth movements from one angle reduced to marionette performances, just from getting a slow-motion view of the action. Thankfully, the controls and gameplay speed are more realistic than ever thanks to improved physics, and an AI that demands more user accountability. Easier difficulties will still see goalies turn to swiss cheese on virtually every breakaway, but moderate-to-hard difficulties are fair, challenging, rewarding, and accurate. Disciplined hockey strategy will always beat button mashing in PvP matchups, which should appease many critics of this series, present company included. At the same time, the often-cumbersome control scheme has been made more accessible to newcomers and old souls alike. Admittedly, I’ve often reverted to the simplified NHL ’94 controls to enjoy the game at my own casual pace. For NHL 23, I never even considered it, as for the first time, using a simplified control made it feel as if I was missing out. The streamlined advanced control scheme still takes some work to master, but once it clicks with users, I don’t foresee many gamers regressing ever again. In terms of modes, NHL 23 delivers the usual deep slate of offerings, from the microtransaction-heavy Ultimate Team to the deeper and more engaging Franchise Mode. None of it is new or revolutionary. but it’s all been fine-tuned to keep the focus on the ice, and not the grind of micromanagement. Unfortunately, there are notable flaws in some of the longstanding modes and features. First, the omnipresent Be a Pro mode continues EA’s downward trend of career mode storytelling. At no point during my avatar’s hockey journey did I ever feel engaged or connected to the narrative, nor the decisions I was making. None of it seemed to matter on the ice, anyway. Maybe a deeper dive would produce a long-term storyline reward, but I felt trapped in a week-to-week deluge of minutiae, rather than feeling the excitement of a pro hockey career. Last year, I enjoyed the online “World of Chel” offerings, praising the matchmaking and overall online gameplay balance. This year, the mode took a serious step backward. While the wide variety of arcade and simulation play options is welcome, I had significant difficulty finding a stable game, and the matchmaking usually placed me with far better players than I could ever hope to beat. Over the course of several weeks, I experienced considerably more imbalance and fickle connections than in the previous edition, and before long I disconnected permanently in favor of the same, reliable offline hockey I know and love. Sadly, I think this is the key problem with the NHL series in its current form — despite all the visual sheen, extensive modes, and unparalleled control depth, this is still, at its core, the same game we’ve been playing for decades. Online and offline, even with the engine rewarding well-executed hockey strategy, most games ultimately devolve into a redundant pattern of “check/breakaway/shoot/repeat.” Even on the most stringent difficulty levels, I rarely saw the game AI slow down and run a cohesive offensive series. Instead, it shot at will, never seeking to set up an open skater. There may only be a few realistic ways to present videogame hockey in a playable form, but once the AI chose to play “run and gun” arcade hockey, I realized I was employing the same tactics I did in my college dorm room, far too many years ago. If this series is going to truly progress and make good on the updated visual presentation, more nuanced gameplay will have to become a reality, not just a promise.

Kona certainly doesn’t rewrite the book on them, but it fills that nosy friend niche nicely. Looking through every cupboard in strangers’ houses scratched a strange itch I didn’t know I had… But wait, does that make me the creepy friend now?

Even if the game can't provide a consistent level of excellence, there are enough great parts to recommend the whole package, as hit-and-miss as it may be.

Earth Atlantis remains a beautiful, enjoyable shoot-’em-up under the sea, and I highly recommend taking the dive.

Like the team’s previous work, Never Alone, Beyond Blue shares informative content via a genuine love for its topic. I can easily imagine pre-teens picking this up and wanting to be marine biologists, in the same way that I wanted to become a skateboarder, or how one might want to be a paleontologist after walking out of Jurassic Park.

Sporting only a few minor upgrades, the Legend of Mana is largely the same game it was over twenty years ago – lots to do, but doesn’t really excel at any one aspect. The story and graphics are still delightful, but gameplay feels unpolished compared to today’s standards. That said, it’s still always great to see older games receive re-releases making them more available to larger audiences.

Sand Land is a magnificent experience. The combat is thrilling, the story is affecting, and the world demands to be explored. More than that, though, it’s incredible how adept it is at everything it tries. Yes, most of the time spent here is third-person vehicle exploration or on-foot brawling, but the developers are never afraid to mix things up, and all of it works just as well as the central mechanics. More than that, though, Sand Land is a deeply sweet game about fighting prejudice and division, and making a more perfect future by working together.

Cozy Grove‘s time-gated content slowed the pace of play too much for me. I love the art style and bringing color back to the island, but when each session’s content ends up being exhausted after 30 minutes or less, it was too easy to forget the whole thing and divert my attention elsewhere. I do look forward to learning more about the spirits, I just wish it wasn’t so slow!

Lake is a comforting game that lives and dies based on how well a player will connect with its very specific setting and vibe. It worked for me, and I hope it works for many others.

It might sound strange to say after outlining my dissatisfaction with it, but Toukiden is still the strongest of the Monster Hunter clones available stateside, and would make a solid entry point for players interested in trying the genre. On the other hand, it's an obvious clone which can't match Capcom's quality.

Overall, Button City‘s slow start and lack of overall variety in the minigames might not be for everybody. Those who have been longing to relive their youthful summer days, however, can do worse than this one. Its charming story, adorable characters and entertaining minigames do a solid job of reminding us all to take a minute and remember the good times.

Despite being a mechanically sound entry in Traveller's Tales' long-running series, it's hard to recommend Marvel's Avengers over Lego Marvel Super Heroes—the latter is still superior in nearly every way.

Under pressure of shapes coming at the block from multiple sides, it's sometimes hard to distinguish between the bluish-green hexagon and the greenish-blue hexagon, and to position them accordingly.

Death End Re;Quest demands more from players than most JRPGs do by requiring players to have both a strong stomach and a willingness to read a novel’s worth of dialogue. If they can take the violence and occasional tedium, however, they’ll be treated to a thrilling journey unraveling a fascinating conspiracy and meet some well-drawn characters along the way.

Prospective ninjas who choose to stick it out will easily spend a dozen hours chipping away at ‘perfect’ runs or indulging completionist tendencies, but for most others, Aragami won’t be seen as more than a reasonably competent also-ran.

All in all, I like GRIP more as a concept than I do in practice. Rough and tumble racing is fine, but the combat is shaky and it’s far too easy to accidentally clip a piece of scenery and get launched into race-losing situations. It’s also downright strange that a game which promotes driving like mad also requires navigating each track like I’m walking on eggshells. GRIP should [be] bursting free of traditional racing constraints, but instead adheres to them more often than the ceilings.

The lack of accessibility options with regard to control and display customization also threatens to make Star Trek: Resurgence less inclusive than its Federation values would suggest. Nevertheless, these quibbles are things that I found relatively easy to overlook, considering how well the game channels qualities of Star Trek long absent from the franchise’s adaptations. I’d choose instead to hope Dramatic Labs addresses some of these concerns through patches and updates. Those like me, who are able to put aside those complaints, will find a thrilling and refreshing dose of Trek fan service, and perhaps the beginning of a special journey, in Star Trek: Resurgence.

Now in its third iteration, State of Decay is demonstrating a steady improvement that would be the envy of most titles. Each new add-on has made the game's world more interesting and added fascinating gameplay developments.

There's nothing truly ground-breaking going on in The Detail (Telltale and BioWare have done better in the "players-choose-their-responses" department), but it does have potential.

The developers clearly understand all of the bonus features and metagame elements that a title like this should have, it's just that Croixeur Sigma is a terminally thin product.

Without a story or even a philosophy to fall back on, Ovivo is forced to stand on its gameplay, its art, and its music. At times, those all sync up and produce a flowing, memorable meditative experience. Mostly, though, the zooming and fiddliness get in the way of the art, or the dull bits of the art get in the way of the experience. For a truly minimalist and meditative experience, ditch the game and just grab the soundtrack.

The new areas are a little more open than one might expect from the claustrophobic RE7, but they’re packed with enemies to blast with Chris’ new semi-auto shotgun, and the faster, more combat-heavy gameplay works just as well in first person as the main game’s slow and tense exploration does. There’s a about an hour of content in Not A Hero, including a boss fight and a truly jarring close-quarters battle that proved traumatic in VR. This is a stellar piece of bonus content, which has only one thing keeping it from being the definitive piece of Resident Evil 7 DLC – it’s not End of Zoe.