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For 782 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 62% higher than the average critic
  • 3% same as the average critic
  • 35% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 5 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Game review score: 80
Highest review score: 100 Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Lowest review score: 13 Defenders of Ardania
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 588 out of 782
  2. Mixed: 171 out of 782
  3. Negative: 23 out of 782
807 game reviews
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    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life
    I think any gamers who want a farming sim with less grind and hustle will enjoy Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life. It trims a lot of the fat that has become common in the genre. You’re not a warrior or a spelunker or a craftsman. You’re simply a farmer trying to live a quiet life and make your way with the resources you have. If you played the original and loved it, you’ll definitely enjoy the remake because it’s almost the same game but prettier. However, if you’re more used to modern farming sims and want one that will give you more to do on a daily basis, AWL might be too simplistic for you. There’s just not a lot happening in Forgotten Valley. Regardless of your preference, the in-game marriage being pushed within the very first chapter felt way too rushed and forced. If you were hoping to have fun, interesting characters to spend your in-game life with, you’ll again likely be disappointed.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Dead Island 2
    I wish I could say that Dead Island 2 came out a big winner after such a long development cycle. But it’s not Game of the Year material. It’s not even what I would call a great zombie game — there are many that do story or even gameplay better. But Dead Island 2 is solid. It is competent, and it is fun. If you want some uncomplicated zombie-slaying antics in a beautiful setting, Dead Island 2 will scratch that itch. But I don’t expect anyone to still be talking about it this time next year.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Last of Us Part I
    Nothing’s wrong with paying a high price to gild the lily — but nothing’s wrong with not wanting to do so, either. I think The Last of Us Part 1 will make a great addition to the casual TLOU fan’s library when it inevitably goes on sale and maybe the PC players when it launches on that platform as well.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Soul Hackers 2
    I have enjoyed my time with Soul Hackers 2. I’m a fan of the SMT series dating back to when they first came to America. This game has, as we’ve discussed, all of the features of any SMT game. The overall problem isn’t that it’s a bad game — it just doesn’t do much to stand out. Is that bad? Not necessarily. The story is interesting, the characters are likeable, and the voice acting is good. If you enjoy the core game loop for the SMT games, you are getting exactly that. Just don’t expect a huge new experience with a lot of new gameplay concepts.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    As Dusk Falls
    As Dusk Falls is a valiant attempt to tell a good crime drama where actions have consequences. The story went on a lot longer than I expected, as the tense moments at the motel spawned a lot of different threads — both flash forwards and flashbacks — that I didn’t expect. But ultimately the tale failed to move me in the way that I had hoped for. The characters were caught in circumstances where they had nothing but bad choices, and it just made me think that the dumbest thing they did was to allow themselves to be caught in those circumstances. In that way, I don’t think the storytellers succeeded in created the empathy for characters on both sides of the events that they wanted. I would like to see more from this talented studio. But so far the story feels more like a TV show than a stellar movie, and more like a soap opera than a memorable drama.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Chinatown Detective Agency
    Chinatown Detective Agency is made in the image of classic adventure games and never aspires beyond that. Meeting it on its own terms, it’s an adequate cybernoir mystery with a compelling lead and colorful scenery. If you’re not into that already, this game probably won’t tickle your fancy very much. But if you are, you’ll find this to be a decently written and designed adventure. It’ll take a bit of research on your part, but I have the feeling that a lot of gamers out there will find that as fun as I do. Just know that, even weeks after its release, the game still has some sound problems that might make diminish your enjoyment.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Tiny Tina's Wonderlands
    It’s a game that’s enjoyable in small chunks but not really for a great length of time. And after a while, I felt that I had seen as much of Wonderlands as I needed to. I think at some point even the most die-hard Borderlands fans will simply lift their hands from their keyboard/controller and say, “You know what? That’s enough Tina for the foreseeable future.”
    • 75 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    GhostWire: Tokyo
    Ghostwire: Tokyo is not a bad game. I was interested enough to stick with it and engage with as much of it as possible. If you have more patience for open-world exploration and tedious collectable-finding than I do, then you might get more out of it. I didn’t go into detail about this, but the story is decent and well-told, and that counts for something. This game is also bursting with visual flavor and interest, the kind of which you won’t find elsewhere. But the majority of the game is spent in that open-world formula. Clear fog, gather items and souls, turn in for XP and money, do sidequests and tasks for that area. It’s all in the service of filling a percentage bar, and it just gets boring after a while. No matter how pretty or interesting the surroundings were, once I got well and truly stuck in the rut, I honestly stopped noticing.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One
    Sherlock Holmes Chapter One is a decent adventure game that lets you play as the great detective. The trouble is, it wants to be more than that. It wants to be an action-adventure game with an open world. It wants Sherlock to be a fun and interesting player character, but the game makes him drag around a buddy who’s even less helpful than Watson. That said, I am curious to see where Frogwares goes from here. Mysteries, not action, make for a good Sherlock Holmes game (as should be obvious), and I want to see if Frogwares sheds the latter or chooses to double-down instead.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Mario Golf: Super Rush
    Ideally, the game would have some sort of asynchronous multiplayer system that I could compete in so I could compare my performance to my friends whenever they get around to playing. The 3DS game had tournaments that worked that way, but this does not. I want to call that omission baffling, but it’s not. Nintendo did not make this game for me. And that is leaving me wondering if I’m ever going to pick it up again. I suspect that I will not even though I still liked it while I was playing it. Or, at least, I won’t pick it up again until my young kids are old enough to care about a golf video game so I have someone to play with.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance
    Dark Alliance feels like many D&D adventures: Sometimes, you gotta slog through some combat in order to learn more about the world and enjoy a good story.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Returnal
    This lack of variety in the style of play makes every run feel samey, and they begin to blur together. That leads to a roteness that made me want to put down the game when I was struggling with the difficulty. I like challenging games, but roguelites need to walk a fine line between familiarity and routine. Familiarity is the warm embrace of something that feels like home. Routine is boredom, and it is poison for a game like this.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood
    When I think of games from Spiders, Cyanide, Piranha Bytes, or Reality Pump, I appreciate how often ambition overcomes limited resources. Their games (such as Gothic, Two Worlds, Greedfall, Of Orcs & Men) may have glitches and fall short of triple-A standards, but they tend to be fun, have good stories, and mechanics and systems that I enjoy interacting with. Werewolf: The Apocalypse has most of these. I enjoyed taking on an evil corporation, learning more about how the Garou fit into The World of Darkness, and tearing my foes about. I won’t hide from that. But just don’t ask me to hide from Endron’s guards again.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Twin Mirror
    Not everything about the game is great. There are boring parts, where you’ll wonder why you’re searching for that final clue. While the West Virginia setting is beautiful, the human animations aren’t perfect, and the action is pretty slow. Critics of “walking simulator” games should stay away, especially if all you want from a game is action. If you’re a fan of Dontnod games, however, this one is worth picking up.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Cyberpunk 2077
    I think that Cyberpunk 2077 delivers the big-budget gaming thrills that many people are looking for. But it falls short in a few key areas for me, and a lot of that comes as a byproduct of its ambition.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Bugsnax
    As cute and clever as its creatures are, the puzzles just aren't deep or interesting enough. Still, I don't dislike Bugsnax.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Ring Fit Adventure
    The core mission of Ring Fit Adventure is to make you forget that you’re exercising, and I think it’s only partially successful at that.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order
    It succeeds most as a tribute to Marvel. Its giant roster offers a great variety of heroes. And while the gameplay is simple, it can still be satisfying with some cool cinematic moments and boss fights that I won’t spoil for you here. I think most people know what they’re going to get with this one: a simple Marvel-themed beat-’em-up game. Just don’t expect anything more than that.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Yoshi's Crafted World
    This is yet another Yoshi game that doesn't come close to reaching Yoshi's Island greatness.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Devil May Cry 5
    As much as I can gripe about its flaws, it’s hard not to grin when you’re shoving a running motorcycle wheel into a demon’s face. But this won’t become another action game classic.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2
    This collection isn't for everyone. But if you're a big fan of the Blue Bomber, this is still a great package that helps you complete your digital Mega Man collection.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Kirby Star Allies
    Its levels are predictable, the puzzles are obvious, and the four-player co-op adds little besides the literal ability to have four people playing at the same time.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV
    I could see someone maybe enjoying the fishing aspect of it, but in this case, still waters don’t run deep. To catch fish, you simply use your sonar to highlight their hiding spots in the water and cast your line. The whole endeavor lacks complexity, and if you’re there to see the characters, then there’s not much of that either.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Batman: The Enemy Within - Episode 3: The Fractured Mask
    We’ve learned what the rogues are after, but at the halfway point in the series, we still don’t know why. With only two episodes left, Telltale needs to raise the stakes and ramp up the urgency of Batman’s mission.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Batman: The Enemy Within - Episode 1: The Enigma
    The Enemy Within has some great action sequences, but it leans too much on the wider Batman universe as a crutch. It doesn’t put in the effort to make you care about the characters or the situations, and because of that, none of the choices feel meaningful.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Shrouded Isle
    It’s a stylish game centered around an interesting moral dilemma. However, there just isn’t enough world-building to hammer the point home.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy - Episode 1: Tangled Up in Blue
    This first chapter casts a dull light that’s lost in the eclipse of its big-screen brother.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Mass Effect: Andromeda
    Games have to fit into our lives, and that's not always fair. Mass Effect: Andromeda might've worked a decade ago on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, but it doesn't work in a world that is delivering games like Horizon: Zero Dawn, Nier: Automata, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. In this reality, BioWare's latest role-playing game is old, broken, and often boring. Worst of all, it's going to disappoint fans of the Mass Effect series.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 54 Critic Score
    Dawn of Titans
    Dawn of Titans has some strong and fun moments, and people that are willing to dump money into it may have different experiences, but it’s a busy time of year — especially for gaming — and there’s plenty of other games out there that better respect a player’s time.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Super Mario Run
    Yes, I wish it had more levels and less town-building, but Super Mario Run manages to feel like real Mario game even with only one button. It’s great to see that Nintendo is able to do so much with such a simple idea that most iOS users can easily pick up and enjoy...I just wish there was more of it.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Dead Rising 4
    Dead Rising 4 is like a digital stress ball. It can be cathartic to let loose and kill thousands of zombies whenever you want, but it doesn’t have much else going for it, even with the charming Christmas setting and a compelling multiplayer mode. If you’re a diehard Dead Rising fan, you might get more out of the story than I did. Like the characters mentioned earlier, the narrative is not very interesting and mostly served as a way to push me to different parts of the map.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Tumble VR
    Every level offers a new challenge from the last, and for that, Tumble VR never gets boring.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    ReCore
    ReCore is fun game betrayed by technical woes. I love the combination of shooting and platforming, but it just doesn’t have enough polish to back up its solid mechanics. It could have used some extra time in development to smooth the experience out.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Destiny: Rise of Iron
    If you love Destiny, Rise of Iron gives you enough new content to keep you invested and interested Bungie’s online shooter. But for more casual players like me, you won’t find anything here to really excite you. It’s just more. It’s all at the quality you’d expect, but little of it breaks through as exciting, creative, or daring.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 73 Critic Score
    ABZU
    It has plenty to satisfy the explorer in you, but not the gamer.
    • 52 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Mighty No. 9
    Mighty No. 9 can have its moments when its platforming and shooting tickles that same nostalgic bone that makes us love Mega Man, but its poor design makes it more frustrating than novel.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Dangerous Golf
    The studio needs to keep banging away at Dangerous Golf until it can make the camera more dynamic in all situations, until it can tune the difficulty, and until it can include some more attention to detail.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Battleborn
    Despite my issues with it, I’m having way more fun with Battleborn than I thought I would. It took a while, but I’ve managed to find a couple of characters whose playstyle I really like, and that’s enough to keep me going for a while longer. And I’ve had enough exciting matches that I see its potential. But it assumes its fundamental conceit is good enough that you’ll spend dozens of hours unlocking its full potential.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Star Fox Guard
    It’s like a free game, and not an awful one. But when you judge on its own, it’s novelty quickly becomes tedious.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 73 Critic Score
    Far Cry Primal
    Far Cry Primal shows us that gaming still has plenty of interesting worlds to take us to. Its Stone Age setting really is its best quality. Sadly, the series’ formula is beginning to feel familiar and, frankly, a little dull. The first-person combat is tedious, and I think I’ve cleared out enough enemy camps for one lifetime.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Final Fantasy Explorers
    Some life-long players of the franchise may not feel like Explorers has enough Final Fantasy for them. It has a lot — and lets you customize much of it along the way — but it just doesn’t have that “magic feeling” I get when playing a Final Fantasy and knowing that game’s world is at stake.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Witness
    Games don’t have to be fun. They can have more value than that. And I’m not saying The Witness can’t be fun, but it’s just as often frustrating.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 74 Critic Score
    Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
    Somewhere in Paper Jam are trappings of a great game.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 63 Critic Score
    The Deadly Tower of Monsters
    I commend ACE Team for trying to come up with something that’s authentic and clever. But the developer only got The Deadly Tower of Monsters halfway right. The excellent premise and likeable characters outshine the streamlined gameplay.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 74 Critic Score
    Amplitude
    It’s content to give you a solid, lasting sense of satisfaction from pushing buttons in the right order and hearing some good music.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    GUNS UP!
    Guns Up! will look familiar to a lot of players through its similarities to Clash of Clans. But, it has enough going for it to be unique and enjoyable. It is vastly more interactive than a lot of asynchronous multiplayer offerings that have proliferated on mobile, and it successfully brings some of the accessibility and simplicity of mobile games to the PS4 console.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 57 Critic Score
    The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC
    Though it’s technically a 9-year-old game, it feels far older, stuck in many of the conventions other RPGs from around the world have already moved past. If you have to see how the story ends, it’s worth seeing through, but everyone else should look for something else to spend this much time with.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 64 Critic Score
    Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash
    Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash is fun. I enjoyed my time with it — much more so than I did with Mario Tennis Open. It’s a step up over the last iteration in some areas, yet still it manages to be a lackluster entry in a series that seems to be sadly suffering from continual decline.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 56 Critic Score
    Guitar Hero Live
    If you have no other recourse, then getting the iOS version of Guitar Hero Live might be for you. But even then you may want to reconsider.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 67 Critic Score
    Rodea the Sky Soldier
    The Wii U version of Rodea is simultaneously a game with a lot of charm and one that’s difficult to love as much as you want to. When Rodea works and all of its gears are cranking along smoothly, it’s an exhilarating joy to play. But everything can come crashing down at any time: an enemy encounter reliant on overly finicky aiming or a misplaced attack that sends you careening into the abyss can sour the sense of wonder in a flash...Rodea’s high points are lofty indeed, but the experience as a whole has too many pitfalls to be wondrous.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Knights of Pen & Paper 2
    I wish I liked Knights of Pen and Paper 2 a lot more than I did. It has a lot of charm and heart — I can see it in the gorgeous pixel art and in all the neat jokes and references built into Paperos. But it just isn’t very fun to play.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Yo-kai Watch
    It certainly isn’t up to Pokémon’s level: while exploring is fun, combat is a passive, frustrating slog that keeps it from being as enjoyable as it should be. Perhaps younger players will find more appeal in the fighting, but in terms of being strong enough to carry a global brand, the core game of Yo-Kai Watch still needs improvement.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 68 Critic Score
    Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide
    Vermintide gets so many things right, and its designers have made enough smart decisions about how to deviate from the Left 4 Dead, that it makes the difficulty knee-capping and technical mishaps all the more disappointing.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Need for Speed
    The Need for Speed reboot improves upon several of the more recent installments in the game, which were plagued with problems more serious than these. But I was disappointed when my pure joy in the look and driving feel of NFS drained away over time, sucked out by boring treks across the city and one too many encounters with unfair A.I.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 72 Critic Score
    Yomi
    Like any fighting game, Yomi will give you a rush when you manage to skim a win off someone by playing perfectly at the right time — just be ready for the rough learning process.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    The Legend of Legacy
    The Legend of Legacy is tantalizingly close to being a good game, but its anachronistic design is too much of an underdeveloped double-edged sword.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 67 Critic Score
    Kingdom (2015)
    Kingdom has solid ideas that get lost in its own simplicity. It’s a little too conceptual, and I found that it had a hard time holding my attention after a few in-game days. It has a whole kingdom out there to explore, but it just isn’t varied or interesting enough to warrant the type of commitment it ask of the player.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 73 Critic Score
    Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash
    Chibi-Robo: Zip Lash is a solid little platformer that entertains despite faltering at times. It’s cute, it’s charming, and it offers some nice little twists on the 2D action/grappling formula that make it stand out.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 72 Critic Score
    Rock Band 4
    Rock Band 4 feels like both a necessity and an afterthought.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 68 Critic Score
    RymdResa
    RymdResa is a gorgeous roguelike that has a significant amount of untapped potential that could lead to a much better game to play. For now, you’ll have to make do with passively exploring space and not much else.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Angry Birds 2
    I found the in-app purchases intrusive and destructive of the gameplay flow. If you don’t mind that sort of thing, add 10 points to this review score. If you’re highly irritated by freemium features you can’t avoid, then my only advice is to avoid Angry Birds 2 and opt for one of the earlier games in the series.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    SpellUp
    For the two or three things that SpellUp does right, it has too much frustration and confusion to deserve a permanent spot on your iPhone or iPad.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Magicka 2
    The lack of real instruction and clunky controls further wear down the initial charm of this spell-clinging comic adventure.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Life is Strange: Episode 3 - Chaos Theory
    Chaos Theory can’t escape the shadow of its superior predecessor, but that’s not to say it’s a bad experience. Once you power through the dull fetch quests and irritating Chloe Time, it manages to provide some powerful moments and the best ending of any episode so far.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Mortal Kombat X
    In other ways, I really can’t find an enjoyable groove in the fighting system itself, which is the most important part of the experience. I’ll admit that it’s partially my fault. I like my mind games to have certain things going on, which maybe isn’t compatible with Mortal Kombat X. But part of the blame is definitely on NetherRealm Studios, with strange system decisions and move animations that are implemented poorly.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Smove
    Smove has a solid foundation, but whether or not you stick with it depends on how much you care about beating high scores. If you don’t, you’ll have little to complain about here, but even less to keep you playing.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    MLB 15: The Show
    It’s weird when you feel so unenthusiastic about a game that you know is “good.” This used to be a series that I would never miss. These days, I’d probably take a long break from The Show if I could.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Final Fantasy Record Keeper
    Record Keeper isn’t offensive. It can sometimes be a little fun. But it’s not incredibly engaging.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Tales From The Borderlands: Episode 2 - Atlas Mugged
    The trademark Borderlands humor and Telltale story prowess are missing from Atlas Mugged, which forces players to spend the whole game preparing to do something instead of just doing it.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Mario Party 10
    Nintendo has forced itself to find ways to change this series over its many sequels, but it’s actually at a worst place than it started off. The Bowser Party mode at least does some interesting things with the Wii U GamePad, but it still isn’t as fun as a regular 20-turn game on the original Mario Party.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Order: 1886
    The Order is thrilling and frustrating. I should make it very clear that I did enjoy my time with it. I didn’t want to put the controller down because Ready at Dawn did such an exquisite job of doling out the action. And that, combined with its decent concept, story, and gameplay, would’ve been enough a long time ago. But in 2015 it left me feeling discontent. Is this what I bought a PlayStation 4 to play? Is this what Sony is passing off as a bold new experience? A different shade of Resident Evil 4?
    • 61 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Redux: Dark Matters
    Redux: Dark Matters is not an exemplary shoot-em-up, but it is a rather a safe and well-executed one where fans of the genre can get an immediate sense of its influences.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 72 Critic Score
    Evolve
    It doesn’t offer enough yet, and what content options it does have is cloaked behind a clunky menu that doesn’t permit players to hop into its varying modes. Evolve had a beautiful start, but now it’s time to add to it. We need a queue for players that want to play one round of the nest, rescue or defend modes. We need more character choices, maps and play modes.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 68 Critic Score
    Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate
    Monster Hunter 4 has a great game full of options, activities, and a vast world to explore and immerse yourself in living somewhere deep inside of it. And it will even show you these things. But its questionable design and control decisions suck all the fun out of it and make you feel every second of your time in the untamed wild.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Grow Home
    Grow Home is a better experiment than a game.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 72 Critic Score
    Life is Strange: Episode 1 - Chrysalis
    Chapter 1 of this five-part series is off to a promising, if timid, start. It presents a lot of ideas and mechanics just to show you what you’ll be doing later, but it’s pretty clear that the really interesting bits are yet to come.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Citizens of Earth
    The glaucoma-inducing choice of interface and the stretching of space and gameplay time beyond the point of breaking make this a hard game to broadly recommend. This would have been one hell of a 6-hour jaunt, but at upward of 20 hours for a basic playthrough, the amount of fluff is suffocating.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    The Crew
    It wasn’t terrible. Maybe I will play it again. And maybe I will wake up in a cold sweat after dreams of masochistic racing missions.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 73 Critic Score
    Sneaky Sneaky
    Other than some really frustrating quirks, Sneaky Sneaky is a cute and challenging game that gives you plenty of options in how to survive its obstacles. Just stop walking in front of those damned guards, Sneaky.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Halo: The Master Chief Collection
    Know that the single-player components of Halo: The Master Chief Collection are excellent and well worth the purchase; however, if you intend to spend months tearing through multiplayer, reliving glory days or forging new conquests in sci-fi shooter perfection, you’re going to be sorely disappointed right now.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Rollers of the Realm
    It’s most compelling as a one-and-done. If you have a difficult time grasping the concept of abstract narrative in pinball, it will be a fantastic eye-opener. Taken any further than that, expecting the replay of almost every other pinball option out there, and it disappoints.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Never Alone
    Questionable game design choices and some irritating bugs just overpowered the storytelling for me.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Assassin's Creed Rogue
    If you’re an experienced AC player, here’s my advice: Rogue feels like a good expansion, and it’s worth seeing Shay’s role in the ongoing drama. But because it’s so similar to Black Flag, I think you’re better off waiting for a price drop.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 73 Critic Score
    Destiny
    Right now, it’s a rock-solid shooter with no underlying purpose … or soul. Destiny is a ship floating in space without a place to go.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    CounterSpy
    Counterspy successfully gives you the feeling of being a powerful and deadly third wheel in a Spy vs. Spy game of one-upmanship. Moving to and removing your target of choice amounts to the most gratifying stealth since 2012’s Mark of the Ninja. But the problems start flying as soon as the bullets do.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Sacred 3
    Sacred 3 is a fair hack-‘n’-slasher. It runs well, and if you’re into such games, I bet you’ll have some fun. But it doesn’t carry on its heritage as one of the most unsung action-RPGs franchises, and if you come into it with those expectations, you will only find disappointment.
    • GamesBeat
      • Posted Aug 6, 2014
    • 79 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Modern Combat 5: Blackout
    Modern Combat 5: Blackout is at its best when it’s not trying to replicate the FPS experience from consoles and PC. The touch screen doesn’t give you the type of responsiveness you need for a game like this. The only reason it works for the linear campaign and quick-fire Spec Ops challenges is because of player-friendly options that make up for all the sluggishness.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    EA Sports UFC
    The career mode and realistic gameplay will gain the love of diehard UFC fans and hardcore sports gamers...However, the complicated controls and unpredictable striking mechanics will frustrate and confuse everyone else. There are also a number of bugs that need to be fixed.
    • 48 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Daylight
    Daylight is a victim of its most-touted feature. When the random generated items and enemies work, every step carries a palpable sense of dread and unease. But the immersion’s lost when the player gets caught in an enemy spawning loop with too few flares is hard to get back. The story’s climax works better on paper, and bland visuals just make maze navigation aggravating.
    • 54 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Moebius: Empire Rising
    While you certainly won’t hate your experience, Moebius offers nothing remarkable. You can have better adventures elsewhere.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Deception IV: Blood Ties
    Besides adding a wealth of content, Tecmo Koei hasn’t done much to bring this series into a new generation, and its difficulty and tedium might alienate anyone but the most hardcore fans. This is one classic that should have stayed where it belongs — in the past.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
    Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes is a demo being sold as a bargain-priced game. While the Metal Gear franchise is renowned for having exceptional game teasers, the idea of selling one of them at this price is absurd. The unsatisfying, unlockable content is painfully obvious filler. Not enough moments of gameplay or narrative consequence happen in the main mission to justify a price above $10, let alone the $20-$30 range.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Yoshi's New Island
    It’s not as good as the original game. It’s merely solid, and it is also evidence that Nintendo should probably stop trying to recapture the 19-year-old magic.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare
    The patient build-up of plant defenses is almost entirely absent, and the zombies act just like competent human soldiers. Although Garden Warfare has some charm, most of it is borrowed from the original games.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Thief
    Despite my disappointment with Thief’s setting and story, I did enjoy my time with it. Sneaking about, pickpocketing guards, picking locks, and finding new ways to infiltrate a building are as satisfying as ever, and the game looks and sounds great (despite some janky audio mixing).
    • 42 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    One Piece: Romance Dawn
    One Piece: Romance Dawn is easy to summarize: It just isn’t any fun.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Strider
    The new game didn’t bring anything new, instead opting to jam Hiryu into a formulaic experience that looks good on a whiteboard...This is a competent platformer. But when it comes to Strider, I’m not looking for competent. I’m looking for crazy.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
    Tropical Freeze does little to justify the Wii U’s existence, but it’s still mostly a fun, challenging platformer. Fans of the series will certainly enjoy this difficult, beautiful romp through Donkey Kong’s islands, but the game will frustrate less-enthusiastic players.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 65 Critic Score
    Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
    This is the most satisfying battle system the series has had since Final Fantasy X, and it stands strong enough on its own to merit a recommendation for most players.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 67 Critic Score
    Strike Vector
    I had a lot of fun playing Strike Vector. It’s a good game held back by frustrating glitches and a lack of polish.
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