Mitch Dyer
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Writing For
IGNLatest Reviews
Star Wars Battlefront captures the essence of Star Wars beautifully, harnessing the most exciting and memorable pieces of the universe for a unique and spectacular combat sandbox. Aside from awkward performances and a poor original score, Battlefront is a master class in aesthetic authenticity. Beyond a few essential modes built for casual competition, however, Battlefront is unfocused, relying on excess game types to compensate for an absent single-player campaign.
This isn’t just a good MOBA for phones tablets, it’s a great MOBA that happens to play well on iOS machines, and suffers from the big communication problem no one’s figured out how to solve yet. Vainglory hits the highest highs of a great MOBA, but only when playing locally with friends against a team that’s doing the same. Queuing into a random game with strangers spotlights massive communication problems that get in the way of Super Evil Megacorp’s smart level and character design. It’s accessible for first-timers looking to get their feet wet, while offering enough depth to satisfy those with hundreds of hours of experience on more complex PC strategy games. Just make sure to bring friends.
I completed my first circumnavigation of the Earth in just over 80 Days' time limit, but only barely. If we hadn’t taken a boat headed for Hawaii, if I didn’t gamble with the ship's engines by pushing them to the brink of explosion, perhaps I could have made it. I eagerly started again immediately, with a whole new set of text-based adventure decisions -- Fogg’s enthusiasm, and 80 Days’ absence of punishment or actual sense of failure, had me excited to do it all over again. I had a spectacular, unforgettable adventure story to show for my three-hour adventure, and couldn’t wait to learn more about the world, its characters, and the human desire to discover.
Diversity is one of Far Cry 4’s strongest assets, and it overwhelms the mostly disappointing story with countless opportunities for free-form adventure and fun. Visual variety, tons of distinct side-quests, and a dense world with plenty of options always gave me something I wanted to do, and its satisfying economy had me obsessing over completing every side-quest. It’s a little safe, overall -- its competitive multiplayer stands out as a gamble that paid off -- in that it has many familiar elements from Far Cry 3 transplanted to an amazing new place, but those elements are incredibly empowering and rewarding.
Spelunky is a game that takes experts 10 minutes to complete, but it will take you hours before you’re remotely ready for that challenge. This is a superb 2D platformer that’s as easy to hate as it is to love, and your patience for punishment will be the determining factor. Players who live to overcome abusive challenges and obsess over discovering new things will hunger for Spelunky's deeply rewarding exploration.
Despite its best efforts, developer Platinum Games sometimes gets in the way of its own pace -- especially for those who aren’t into the franchise. However, Rising’s troubles are rarely enough to derail the incredible momentum of an always-entertaining, action-oriented Metal Gear spinoff. Whether or not you have ever enjoyed Metal Gear, this is a must for anyone who appreciates melee-combat. It’s simple, fast, and clean, with enough supporting content like additional weapons and secrets to encourage a campaign replay – or more, if you find yourself obsessed with the idea of a no-kill run.
Lollipop Chainsaw doesn’t even attempt to differentiate itself from the genre, and most of what it does try new in the realm of its characters and writing ultimately ends up taking away from an incredible-on-paper action game. The music and sidekick are really all you can rely on to stay great from start to finish. The rest of Lollipop Chainsaw is all over the place before it ultimately settles for mediocrity and disappointment.
Summoning a ghostly raging bull to smash the monkey into a turret? Nonsense, but a strong tactic. Blowing yourself up to slow down a group of invading attackers? Same deal. Awesomenauts loves how silly it is, but it takes its strategy seriously. This is a deeply tactical game, but it needs to be played a certain way. Awesomenauts requires patience, both to tolerate and enjoy it, especially if you’re playing against high-ranked players with objectively superior characters. You get what you put into Awesomenauts, so be prepared to commit to it if you throw your chips in.