Vince Ingenito
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Writing For
IGNLatest Reviews
I am certainly not immune to the charms of 80s and 90s game design, but the NES version of Double Dragon wasn’t a great example for Double Dragon 4 to follow. It’s not just that this simplistic beat-em-up formula didn’t age well graphically or mechanically, it’s that it simply isn’t very fun or engaging to play in 2017.
You could likely beat Shantae: Half-Genie Hero in a couple of sittings, but the platforming action is so varied, and the levels so explorable, it’s worth playing well beyond that. While it's neither innovative nor high-concept, its hand-drawn look and toe-tapping music successfully channel a joy and enthusiasm that has become far too rare in modern video games.
When I’m riding chocobos across the beach at dusk with my three friends and hunting iconic Final Fantasy monsters in a huge, picturesque open world, Final Fantasy XV feels like nearly everything I could want from a modern Final Fantasy. But when it funnels me into linear scenarios and drab, constricted spaces that plunge the simplistic combat into chaos, my blood boils a bit. There is so much good here, so much heart - especially in the relationships between Noctis and his sworn brothers. It just comes with some changes and compromises that were, at times, difficult for this long-time Final Fantasy fan to come to grips with.
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2’s ambition is admirable, and though it’s riddled with a lot of silly little inconveniences, it mostly succeeds in giving DBZ fans an authentic-feeling world to dive into for the long haul. Though no individual element of its roleplaying or brawling gameplay is overly complex, taken as a whole there’s a surprising amount to consider while progressing your character, and enough to do to keep it from getting stale to soon.
WWE 2K17 doesn’t make any big, drastic changes, but its smart gameplay tweaks have revitalized match types I’d ignored the past few years. I really miss 2K Showcase, and 2K17 is still weak in areas that I feel should have been shored up by now, but its excellent combat, and generous amounts of customization help it retain its title.
Despite being a 14-year-old game retrofitted to work on the PlayStation VR, Rez Infinite feels like it was meant to be in virtual reality all along. Its pulsing geometric landscapes and buzzing electronic beats already felt as if they were somehow all around me, and now that they literally are, Rez has transformed into the absorptive experience it always aspired to be.
I didn’t expect ReCore to be quite as big as it is, and from the looks of things, it’s possible its developers didn’t either. Its world, while interesting to explore for a good while, is ultimately too big with too little happening in it to be a totally serviceable housing for the strong combat and platforming gameplay within. It feels like a great, arcadey action platformer spread across too big a canvas, and it asks you to draw back over the same lines a few too many times
Aside from the smaller-feeling plot, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided improves upon its excellent predecessor in every other way. Its impeccably designed environments are flush with possibility, remaining completely coherent while supporting a wide variety of routes and character builds, and Jensen’s prodigious new feats of techno-wizardry add new dimension to both combat and exploration. Mankind Divided never stopped challenging me or rewarding my curiosity, which pushed me to thoroughly explore its beautiful, ruined world while carefully weighing my decisions along the way.
A lack of balance robs the combat of much of its fun and renders many of the more interesting gameplay systems moot, but it didn’t dampen the emotional impact of I Am Setsuna’s heartfelt message for me. Few story-driven RPGs are so thematically focused or so gleefully disinterested with being “entertaining” or “fun.” To say it attempts to stand on the backs of giants is disingenuous really. I Am Setsuna isn’t a “Chrono Trigger-like;” it’s just a game that might easily have existed in the same time, if a creator with different storytelling sensibilities had been around. Its strength comes not from the ways in which it emulates the conventions of the classics, but in the ways in which it defies them.
Housemarque’s previous games have always kept me coming back through the strength of their gameplay alone. Alienation adds a straightforward, but enjoyable power chase on top, making its finely tuned arcade action all the more alluring. Its action-RPG elements won’t make it a replacement for something like Diablo 3 or Grim Dawn, but they successfully provide a structure for unending, enjoyable alien slaughter.