Patrick Anderson
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COGConnectedLatest Reviews
As it is, this is a great, relaxing, and yes, very fun game. I love the look and the intuitive design. The addition of expeditions is a great idea that works. It’s an easy game to pick up and just start having fun from the first moment to the 50th hour. It might not be perfect but Two Point Museum is another example of why Two Point Studios is the standard for sim games.
Over the past two weeks, I’ve spent countless hours in Rigbarth, the main town of Rune Factory 5. And I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface. That’s a double-edged sword. On one hand, it’s a compliment to the massive amount of sheer content that this game delivers. Rune Factory 5 has a lot going on. On the other hand, it also points to a general lack of focus that could bring all those disparate things together.
I was fully prepared to not like Persona 5 Strikers, coming later this month from Omega Force and P-Studio. Koei Tecmo’s hack and slash franchise, Dynasty Warriors, was never a favorite of mine and when I heard of its influence on this latest Persona offering, I feared I was about to encounter another mindless Dynasty Warriors clone with a Persona skin. That fear, as I have learned, was completely unfounded. Persona 5 Strikers is a deep, multifaceted game experience that respects its Persona roots. Despite the new hack and slash combat, Persona 5 Strikers could legitimately be called a full standalone Persona title, and if you’re a fan of the Persona franchise you’re in for a treat.
It’s been days since I’ve finished Tell Me Why, from DONTNOD, but I’m still thinking about it. To answer your first question, no it’s not another Life is Strange game. But it could have been. It’s got a lot of the same aspects – a choice-based episodic story, duel protagonists, a small town setting, a search for the truth. But it feels different somehow, more mature. The story of Alyson and Tyler Ronan as they dig up the past to find out where their lives went to hell just grabbed me from the start and didn’t let go. I would give it full marks in every aspect, except for the disappointing way it ends.
As a gamer who has always owned both the Xbox and PlayStation consoles, I have felt bad for Xbox-only players for many years in one big respect: they couldn’t play the amazing Yakuza series of games. But now, it’s the opposite – I envy them. With Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami and now Yakuza Kiwami 2 all releasing on Xbox One just in the last 6 months, they’ve now got the chance to experience this legendary series for the first time, with fresh eyes. And oh, what wonders await them.
Spread over 20 missions, Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown puts you in the cockpit of modern, realistic fighter jets as Trigger, the game’s unseen protagonist. I’ve never played the previous titles in the Ace Combat series (it’s been around for decades) but I was able to quickly pick up the Campaign’s cliched but passable narrative basis – a fictional Earth-like world faces all-out war between the Osean, Usean and Erusian forces, and as an ace pilot, you’re sent on various missions that mostly involve aerial dogfights and taking out land-based targets.
The Yakuza series, popular with fans in its native Japan since its debut title Yakuza was released there in 2005, has remained relatively obscure to players on this side of the Pacific. But that has started to change, largely due to the success of the recent Yakuza 0. Hoping to build on that momentum, SEGA has re-released the original Yakuza as Yakuza Kiwami (“Yakuza Extreme”), and what a treat it is. Much more than a simple “remaster,” Yakuza Kiwami is a complete remake from the ground up, with beautiful new visuals, voice acting, and added features that make this a wonderful new experience for Yakuza series fans.
At one time, Mars held a mystical and mysterious allure for us Earthlings. We saw its red, lined surface from afar, its size so similar to our own planet’s, and imagined that all sorts of crazy-looking and maybe scary aliens lived there, had an advanced civilization and might even threaten us someday with conquest. Welcome to Offworld Trading Company.
The last couple of days have once again shown us just why Bethesda is one of the most respected game developers in the world. They respect their fans and they genuinely love what they do. One example of this is the way they don’t just deliver on expectations, they shatter them. Case in point: at their E3 presentation Sunday night, they didn’t just give us all kinds of new details and information on Fallout 4, they also dropped a whole new iPad game – Fallout Shelter – on us THAT NIGHT. For FREE! This is like Toyota unveiling their next car for next year, and then just giving everyone a free motorcycle to tide them over.