Finding a car in a parking lot has been a subject in a few other forms of media. Take, for example, the classic show Seinfeld, where the group can’t find their car, and a lot of funny things happen during their search. Then in other video games where you park a car and do a side quest, only to forget where you parked the car and run around the blocks looking for it. At least it’s happened to me. It’s not a strange thing to dream about, because there are times when some people can’t find their cars. It has happened to me at a concert, and I couldn’t find my group. But I have learned from these mistakes, and now I either mark it on my phone or I glance around for a landmark I can remember. So it hasn’t happened to me in a very long time. Besides what I liked and didn’t like in this game, there wasn’t much to do, so I didn’t have too much to talk about. The game is incredibly short and doesn’t place your car in a random location. It is always in the same spot, giving no real depth to what was already thin.

On the surface, the game looks nice, and the thought of playing inside someone’s story is quite awesome. But with so many bugs, annoying encounters, and obstruction of sight, there are too many flaws to make this very enjoyable. Also, a lot of what you do in the game is very mundane. Especially at the end, when you have to do chores. Get the plates, put them on the table, get the drinks, get the food, put the food on the table. Clear the table, get the coffee, and take the coffee to the people. That’s a whole lot of stuff to do that isn’t very entertaining. I also don’t understand why a group of people would drink coffee after having dinner and alcohol, at night, before bed. Pretty strange! Of course, there will be some people who enjoy it for what it is, similar to when people say art is subjective. There will be a few who adore it. But everyone else is a different story, one that Sid would not like reading.

There are some redeeming qualities, such as the level design, puzzles, and the ability to replay levels at your leisure. However, the camera and jumping controls really make the game almost uncomfortable to play. The puzzles are fairly easy (minus one extremely difficult mirror one) and can be somewhat enjoyable. Each level serves as its own little world, keeping you from becoming bored. There may be some people who enjoy it, but the vast majority likely won’t have enough patience to complete the story (even thought it’s pretty short).

It really isn’t a bad game, for what it is, it just lasted way too long. A lot of work is sadly overshadowed by the flaws where frustration can ruin the fun.

This is not a good experience with a controller and I’m sure it’s much better with a mouse and keyboard where you have more control over what you’re doing at a faster pace. It’s a shame because it was briefly very fun and addictive. Just it wore out its welcome a bit early. If you’re a fan of strategy games you may be able to ignore the negative stuff, because it’s not a terrible game, just one I couldn’t find enjoyable as I progressed.

One of my favorite genres, Metroidvanias, have a sense of progression. Beating bosses to get special abilities to allow you to traverse into areas you couldn’t get to before. It gives you a curiosity about what lies down that path. In Sheepo, I always knew what these paths would have. Either a feather or a new area to find a boss and get more feathers. It was too much rinse and repeat for me. Not being able to fight anything made for some boring backtracking. The fast travel is awful, making it almost easier to just walk to your desired designation because some of the travel points were in obscure areas. I just couldn’t find any “wow” moments. It’s a pretty bland experience that had some creative platforming puzzles; but with the controls not being too accurate, it felt too much like a chore.

While I really like how it looks, the gameplay was mediocre. No fast travel meant a ton of running with a bad mini-map you can’t zoom into. It certainly has potential but it’s just not there yet.

It was terrible at first but the game got a tiny bit better as I played. However, there is absolutely nothing to do besides the one campaign. It’s extremely limited. There’s so little to do that it’s hard to even talk about it. After gaining a few of the generals, it becomes a mindless dump and fight. You dump all your troops absolutely anywhere, then just start the battle and win. Sure, there are a few good ideas but they were barely scratching the surface. The controls are so difficult to master that even after more than ten hours of playing, I was still struggling at times to figure out how to do specific actions. And there really aren’t many to know. At least the game doesn’t come with a big cost associated with it, so if you’re an achievement hunter it might be worth your completion.

There is a redeeming quality, and that’s the creative world and interesting crime scenes within it. But the clumsy navigation and fairly frequent bugs stop it short of being remotely entertaining. It seems like it is unfinished. There is even an option in the menu (to quit out) which is still not translated into English in the version I played. For the longest time, I didn’t even know what this option was because I didn’t know what it said. It ended up meaning quit, which is exactly what I’ve decided to do.

On the outside looking in, there is a lot to like about a crazy dating simulation. Unfortunately, no matter how hard you try, the game makes it absurdly difficult to win the affection of another. The scenarios faced are not only crazy but on the brink of being too immature. I have laughed at all kinds of nonsense in my life, but this nonsense was not clever. It was shock humor that leaned more towards shock than humor. While I enjoyed the art, it didn’t really match the context of what was being said. Everyone has different tastes in comedy, but I find it hard to pinpoint anyone I personally know who would laugh at anything being said. There were some good things about my experience with Monster Prom XXL, but most of it was a letdown.

Cool on the surface, you’ll likely enjoy what you’re looking at. The style and idea of this evil world with female fighters who are an unlimited supply of clones is just awesome and unique. The major setback is the repetitive gameplay that isn’t varied. It’s like you’re just playing a demo for hours with no feeling of actual progression because of how many times you’ll be restarting. Without a really fleshed out story, you almost don’t have anything to really fight for. Seeing the conclusion of the story isn’t exciting because you expect it to just end without any dramatic elements in place. There just isn’t enough meat in it to satisfy your hunger. It’s a beautiful world, but not one you’re going to stay in for long.

Every level felt the same and even in the bonus stages I always seemed to be running around like a grotesque hamster. The only thing I truly enjoyed was the boss battles. There were a few fun moments while playing, but the riddle of where to go next was beyond frustrating. I never gained any bandanas (gives you perks) because you have to beat levels in under ten minutes, which is a ridiculous target. I don’t know how you could memorize where to go. I’m still confused about how everything works, even after several hours of playing. With a map being no help, and everything just looking bad (on purpose I’m sure), this is the kind of atmospheric experience I can’t recommend.

If you want to play an interactive book then you will probably like this. There just isn’t enough changing dialogue to really keep you engaged with repeat passengers even though a few are designed to have second pickups. You can refuse a passenger if you realize they are the same, but then you just lost gas money and precious time. I will probably play through the other missions just to do them, but I’m not entirely excited to do so.

The biggest issue is that this experience is just way too short, especially for the amount it costs to have it. You can get many of the books at this cost! If you haven’t read any of them, then I would highly advise against buying this game. If you have, then I would just give you a little warning. The gameplay is mediocre and the story is a lesser version of the movies. The only real delight you’ll get from it is the fact that it has characters from the Goosebumps universe. I dream for the day we can see a larger universe to explore with many more references to the books, besides just the handful they keep reusing.

With minor changes to this, there could have been some kind of charm that a lot of people could like. But sadly, none of these design choices were executed and we’re left with an unmemorable game that released a while back on the Apple store and was free, minus in-app purchases. With that in mind, I imagine the price tag is basically unlocking the game without having to actually spend the money to play. At least there’s that.

We’ve established there is some pretty spectacular music but no actual racing in Music Racer. So the developers got the name of the game at least half-right. If it were a better rhythm game than it is, I’d be a bit more willing to recommend it. What we have here is more of an interactive album, which has some gaming components added in to justify calling it a game. This may support the title’s album-like price point, its only other major positive attribute. For gamers looking for good music and 1,000 Gamerscore, download away. For those of us looking for more compelling gaming, Music Racer is more AM radio than high-end stereo.

I thought that, overall, the game was decent. Nothing really awed me and only a few things really annoyed me. However, these annoyances ruined any real interest I had to begin with. I can’t imagine even playing on harder difficulties where you actually lose your gear. I will emphasize the fact that this game could be a lot more fun with multiple people. You can play online cooperative as well as couch co-op. It seems it’s always a lot of effort to add online multiplayer support so, I must say, it is respected that it was included. This may only really appeal to people who want a game they can play together with a friend or family member, or to a die-hard “play every action RPG” gamer. Otherwise, you won’t miss much by not playing it.

One person made this title. I can’t imagine the dedication it takes to complete a project by yourself. The ideas and design feel like they could be escalated with a good budget and a team of people. It’s a mixing pot of potential that seems to fail at almost every corner. Having something mimic a play-to-win structure without the actual option to pay real money is confusing. Not being able to feel comfortable with the movement was the biggest issue. I didn’t hate what I played, but I didn’t really like it either.

What IN-VERT does well is that it provides you with decent entertainment at a great price. Without extra modes nor a very good story, you might give it a few hours and never play it again. The exclusion of level creation seems to really weaken the release on Xbox. This doesn’t mean it’s bad, it’s just missing what sounds like more than half of what the game is meant to be. If you’re hunting for achievements, you’ll be happy to know it’s quite an easy 1,000 Gamerscore you can get without even having to beat half of the stages.

This isn’t the worst physics game by any means, but there isn’t much to it. With nothing fun to unlock and no sense of accomplishment in gaining three stars, you find yourself bored very quickly. Reload times are fast and the instant retry is great for when you want to test out the level first and mess around before you make an actual attempt. This is probably better on a mobile platform where you can use touch controls to determine the force at which the little square guy flies. With an analog stick, it’s like being in a constant sand trap. I can’t say I hated Midnight Deluxe, but I can say I didn’t really like it either.

While A Knight’s Quest can have its moments, the negative outweigh anything positive. The fun is eclipsed by an infuriating nonexistent roadmap of what you’re supposed to do. While I was able to get to the end, for some reason my save file got erased and all of my progress was lost. After that mishap, I had mixed feelings. I love getting achievements and feel I didn’t have long to complete the game which had me upset. However, I realized it was a blessing in disguise and freed me from having to continue getting lost again or wasting hours figuring out where to go next.

I like the ideas, acting, and creativeness found in Headspun. The dark humor is pretty great and I enjoyed being in someone’s head trying to help them regain their memory. While I enjoyed it, I hate to admit that the game is broken, more so than Theo’s mind. It has some of the worst glitches I have experienced in any game.

The subject matter is deep, almost invasive. It might be something that actually helps you consider your own destiny. However, the actual gameplay is bad. There are easy puzzles then there are ones that slow down your progress, making you wonder if it’s worth continuing because the experience hasn’t been that great to begin with. It’s kind of bland and sometimes boring. Some may like the personalized questions that allow them to have a bit of self-discovery but usually games are an escape from reality. Instead, Solo: Islands of the Heart can actually bring back those memories. It really depends on your own life and experiences. If you’re happy and together with someone, the game will feel pretty pointless. If you’ve had your heartbroken or are alone, it may just highlight your failures instead.

It’s just too basic and doesn’t live up to a lot of things being released these days. I understand it’s more of a throwback to the old school arcade shooters, but even they seem to offer more. The story itself is a bit confusing and a bit hard to follow. It’s not a bad game by all means although it’s nothing that should be on your radar.

The presentation was nice, but it had very limited gameplay. Awkward physics worked very well for duels though they were almost depressing during the mini-games. Watching the clock tick as your character makes no progress because you can’t move deters your desire for more. It’s going to have a niche group of gamers that love it but most people can look elsewhere to have a duel.

The character that you play is dull, so if he died no tears were shed. While some games get you hooked with “just completing one more quest” since you have none, there was no desire to continue. I know many people will disagree but I’m just being straightforward. It was hard for me to find anything within Darkwood that I truly admired besides the theme. Just because it’s not for everyone doesn’t mean it’s a bad game. Lots of people will love it. I just think that the majority won’t.

The appearance of DragonFangZ is pretty, but the concept feels like it deserts you from the beginning. You like what you see, thinking you’re going to have a blast in some dungeons. Then you die. No problem, let’s attempt it again. The cycle continues and unless you fall in love with the game, you’re going to despise it. It might not be fair for me to come to such quick judgment, only having played for a couple of hours. However, I do think it’s fair to say that I’ve played enough to know I never want to load it on my Xbox ever again. I guess if you’re playing on a portable console such as the Nintendo Switch you may find a little more value inside. On the Xbox, it just doesn’t deserve the attention.

When this game landed in my inbox, I did have very high hopes that this would be the Burnout of old that helped introduce me to Xbox 360 racing, as one of my first Xbox 360 purchases was Burnout Revenge. Unfortunately, those hopes were dashed by an ostensibly full-featured release that appears to be a beta in disguise. Three Fields is promising free updates that add content and fix issues. Unfortunately, as it stands today, players would be better advised to set their satnav’s destination for another title.