Doug Mercer
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COGConnectedLatest Reviews
The world of racing games is quite expansive and has two camps firmly situated in it. In the one corner, the more of a video game it is with weapons, mods, and gravity-defying stunts, the better. In the other, the gamers who demand hyperrealism. While I am firmly in the former, it doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the latter, even if the latter is gruesomely punishing. MotoGP 20 is both beautiful to look at and a lot of fun, and it has a ton of ways to enjoy it but boy, is it ever not for the casual player.
If I was to refer to 2017 as the re-age, I think we could all come to a consensus that it’s a fairly accurate statement. Remaster, reimagining, reboot, remake, however, you want to put it, it’s become the new status quo. Case in point, the movie It, a remake of an adaptation, is currently annihilating box office records. Enter Baja: Edge of Control HD, an HD remaster of a game released way back in 2008 that’s made its way back to consoles. I’ll forgive you if you don’t recall it making a splash nearly 10 years ago because I definitely did not. So, you can imagine how pleasantly surprised I was to find a solid, big, and pretty fun game dropped into my lap that looks damn good for a game older than my nephew.
There are two types of people reading this Arslan: The Warriors of Legend review. First, there are the people who saw the title and immediately became interested in the game adaptation of the long running novel/manga/anime series. Then, there’s people like me who saw Omega Force and decided to see what the very prolific studio churned out this time. What has been rolled out is yet another Musou from the masters of Musou, but this one at least has a pretty good story – if you can follow it.
It came after a slightly lengthy delay, a lot of speculation and much anticipation. Now, you can ‘Be the Bat’, as the ad campaign promised, and assume the mantle of The Dark Knight in a last ditch effort to save Gotham. This time, it’s not from the recently deceased Joker, but from Scarecrow and his hired gun the Arkham Knight, a man whose hatred for the Bat runs deep and cold.
I’ve always been a big fan of the strategy genre and have always loved throwing my life away on a good 4X game. But in the past little while, I found it harder to find a truly great one. I could play to my heart’s content on other 4X-ers I’ve reviewed, but I always had to overlook some serious bugs in order to enjoy dominating the universe. So it was with some trepidation that I took on this review, thinking that I didn’t really want to have to tough out another rough around the edges exercise in galactic domination. What I got from Galactic Civilizations III, however, was a well made, well balanced and a hugely fun game where my only thoughts were on domination, not the bugs I had to deal with.
The newest entry of the Total War series plunges you head first into the Fall of Rome. Well, maybe a few years before, but the Fall is definitely in the midst of happening. Aptly titled, the Huns are knocking on Rome’s doorstep and the mighty Attila is looking to subjugate Europe under is superior forces. Whether playing as the Huns or one of the European civilizations trying to cling to your land, Attila, while not exactly reinventing the genre, brings a different approach to the RTS and the Total War series that is quite engaging.
Anomaly 2 is the follow up to the successful 2011 game, Anomaly: Warzone Earth. You play as one of the last remaining convoys on a frozen Earth, looking for supplies to keep going while fighting your way through mechanical alien towers, hell bent on destroying you. Your main goal is to punch through the alien forces to the anomaly and finally defeat the aliens. In what is, in essence, a ramped up, reverse tower defense game, you play as a squad leader who has to lead your convoy of vehicles through the briar patch of alien towers and come out the other side intact. While this sounds simplistic, I can assure you that you will have tons of fun trying to navigate all the tricks and traps they throw at you!
The Last of Us is one of those rare gems in gaming that brings an experience so moving and so intense that it leaves an impression on anyone who plays it. One of 2013’s biggest hits, it is definitely a tough act to follow. Naughty Dog was definitely up to the challenge though and they now give eager fans the much anticipated single player DLC ‘Left Behind’. In true Naughty Dog fashion they didn’t disappoint and for anyone who loved ‘The Last of Us’ this is quite simply a must play.