Adam Ducker
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Writing For
Pure Xbox Latest Reviews
Stranger of Sword City is an extremely solid dungeon crawling RPG. Fans of the genre will likely lap this straight up due to a lack of options on Xbox One. However, whether it deserves a place up with the genre leaders such as Etrian Odyssey is open for debate. Newcomers will still find plenty to appeal to them even if at times the game does sometimes come across as a little inaccessible in spite of its attempts to make things easier. You'll need to make a serious time investment if you want to get to grips with all it has to offer.
Dying Light: The Following's nightmare difficulty setting and additional legend level system along with improved visuals and advanced AI make for a new experience for players of the original Dying Light. The Following content itself - whether bought separately or as part of the new Enhanced Edition - offers a very different but yet worthy test, with the open fields and buggy opening up a completely different set of rules to exploit and best the legions of undead.
The lack of actual Heroes content in Gemini: Heroes Reborn can be taken two ways. It's not caught up in the increasingly complicated timelines of the franchise and aside from a few collectibles and a one line mention of a plot point, there isn't enough to keep fans hooked solely on their love for the show. It does manage to pack a lot of surprises into a short game with its interesting mix of powers but excellence is prevented as it gets bogged down in not allowing its own mechanics to properly flourish.
Whilst Blood Bowl 2's strict adherence to the franchise's rules may dissuade some from even trying this out, those that do take the plunge and stick with it will find that despite its faults, it can be a deeply rewarding and enriching experience. The AI isn't really up to snuff though, so expect to ride a long learning curve to be able to become competitive online - if you can find a game.
Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse is very much a title at odds with itself, as it's stuck half way between offering a classic point-and-click adventure and being a more modern experience. As a result, it can be somewhat hard to recommend. On one hand, it's succeeded with a great story, some fantastic individual set pieces, great writing (albeit with some suspect voice acting) and some extremely clever puzzles. Older fans may dislike the way things look but find an overall experience that's more tailored to their likes, whereas newcomers to the genre may love the looks and find themselves lost by the more obtuse puzzles.