Greg Giddens
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Push SquareLatest Reviews
WayForward has been toying with the Adventure Time property in games for a while now, and hasn’t quite managed to merge the show’s wacky personality with a compatible interactive experience up to this point. Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom finally gets the pairing right, and while it’s not without its flaws, it’s a lot better than most other TV to video game adaptations.
Sleeping Dogs Definitive Edition is a smart, accessible, and enjoyable open-world adventure with plenty to do. The terrific melee combat system and intriguing story are more than enough to warrant a recommendation to anyone yet to play it, but if you’ve experienced the streets of Hong Kong before then the slightly sharper visuals and included DLC are a tougher sell.
Final Fantasy XIII: Lightning Returns doesn’t make it easy to enjoy. The narrative ventures towards the incomprehensible at times, side missions have been turned into a dull grind, and the changes to the traditional RPG formula don’t really work — that is except for the new battle system, which is fun, challenging and refreshing. Die hard fans of the XIII saga will no doubt enjoy the definitive conclusion on offer here, but if the previous two entries failed to impress you then Lightning Returns certainly won’t.
There’s an excellent undercurrent to Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2. The combat, ability unlocking memory sequences, Dracula’s magnificent castle, 360 degree camera control, and the creative bosses. But a story that’s slow to get going and struggles to hold your attention, a generic modern city, out of place stealth, and a collection of minor frustrations all hurt the overall package. However, playing as Dracula is fun, and there are moments when that enjoyment shines through brilliantly, and fortunately this happens often enough to keep your blood pumping.
Need for Speed: Rivals is a terrific entry in the series, taking the strongest elements of its predecessors to build something familiar but with its sights clearly on the future with regards to online integration. The lighting and weather effects look fantastic thanks to the next generation hardware and the sense of speed is as exhilarating as ever. The six player restriction is a tad disappointing, and minor issues such as the uninspired narrative and the frequent disorientation after resetting from a crash eat away at the experience slightly, but otherwise Rivals is a top notch racer you really shouldn’t let pass you by.
Standing in a mankini, wearing a Blanka mask and wielding a phallic-shaped flamethrower with the propane tanks attached like testicles, Dead Rising 3 well and truly brings the ridiculous whilst delivering a semi-serious narrative to the zombie slaughtering. It's utterly crazy and equally fun and with its improved visuals, increased size of the open-world playground, density of items and zombies and tweaks to the established formula, it delivers a great action game. There's nowhere near enough changes to bring in new players, but series fans are well catered for here. Despite the uninspired side missions, Dead Rising 3 is a highly accessible and enjoyable zombie maiming thrill ride.
Ryse: Son of Rome feels a lot like a Call of Duty title in Roman clothing. It's bloodthirsty combat and fast pace gets the adrenaline pumping and the set pieces are bombastic and spectacular. Storming the British coast feels and looks like the D-Day landing but in ancient times, and achieving this level of intensity and maintaining it is an impressive feat. The narrative is well put together and expertly delivered and although it's repetitive the brevity of the experience helps to prevent it feeling like a slog. Rome wasn't built in a day but you'll easily complete Ryse inside of one - but you'll also enjoy the adventure whilst it lasts.
Adventure Time is ridiculously exuberant. Its characters are eccentric and weird, its storylines are convoluted and odd, and its humour is a mix of silly, low brow, and exceptionally well timed. It's a show of complexity and deep lore based on the insane. Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON'T KNOW! – as it's stylised for the only time in this review – is none of these things. It's instead a highly repetitive and shallow grind skinned in Adventure Time wears. And it's so very disappointing.
We've spent the past few days hacking and slashing through hordes of monstrosities, hoovering up loot, dazzling fellow adventurers with grandiose spells, instilling fear into the hearts of our enemies, and preventing Hell from consuming the world. Not literally, of course – we are referring to Blizzard Entertainment's latest RPG and its first in-house console production since The Lost Vikings II on the SNES: Diablo III for the PlayStation 3.
The amalgamation of Platinum Games action and Hideo Kojima absurdity is realised with Metal Gear Rising: Revengence. The title's high octane, adrenaline-fuelled combat is complemented by a melodramatic narrative involving a band of unique and powerful warriors, fighting for ideals, honour, and the love of war. However, this is not the flawless journey that many were dreaming of, with a handful of caveats detracting from its appeal.