Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions is a fast paced twin-stick shooter from developer, Lucid Games. The sixth (Yes sixth) installment in the Geometry Wars series, sees players blast their way through waves of countless enemies while maneuvering on 2D and now also 3 dimensional grids. Did Lucid deliver a title worthy of your attention? Is the sun hot?
It doesn’t come as a surprise to me when I say Little Big Planet is back and better than ever. I mean, with 3 new characters, completely new story, new customization, and the ability to play all of the player created maps from the original? Yeah, Little Big Planet is back and it’s better than ever. If you have loved the previous installments, as I have, then there really isn’t a reason for you to not buy Little Big Planet 3. The game offers new characters, new styles of play, and new ways to enjoy your time. Little Big Planet 3 is the best game in the installment for many reasons, but it’s also the biggest one as well.
Just Dance 2015 is the sixth iteration of the best selling dancing franchise from Ubisoft. The first title came out in 2009 and every year since they have been adding iterations of their games with new songs in each one as well as new features making it one of the best dance games on the market. Ubisoft is best known for some of their franchises that have just gotten bigger with time such as: Assassins Creed, Far Cry, Splinter Cell, Rayman, Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon, Prince of Persia, and of course Just Dance.
The Legend of Korra is a beat em title from PlatinumGames. Based on the popular and critically acclaimed Nickelodeon television series of the same name, the newest game takes place during Seasons 2 and 3. Was the developer able do the series and character justice, or does The Legend of Korra fall to the same trappings as many other license titles before it? Sadly its the latter.
The Evil Within is a third person survival horror game from Tango Gameworks and Bethesda Softworks. Set in a twisted world filled with horrible creatures, ever present mortal threats and mind bending hallucinations, this story follows detective Sebastian Castellanos and his fight to stay alive. After responding to the scene of a mass murder he is separated from his partners and knocked unconscious. Horror ensues.
If you would have told me that a New IP was going to define next-generation, I would have agreed with you. But perhaps unexpectedly, Watch Dogs has managed to live up to the hype from both Sony and Ubisoft who have laid stake that very claim.
The Witch and the Hundred Knight is an action RPG title published and released exclusively on the PS3Â by NIS America in North America on March 25th of this year. It is a stage based hack and slash game with a top down isometric view similar to games like Diablo.
Yaiba: Ninaj Gaiden Z is a third-person action game set in the Ninja Gaiden universe. It is actually a spin-off, done in great looking cel-shade comic book style, starring the titular protagonist; a rogue ninja who goes on a rampage, slaughtering his fellow clan members before coming face to face with Ninja Gaiden series mainstay, Ryu Hayabusa. Despite his skill and prowess Yaiba Kamikaze was no match for the wielder of the dragon sword and fell in combat.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen a South Park licensed video game, and it’s said that the reason is the creators of the hit television comedy series wanted to get a video game developed that really represented and matched the experience of watching the show. I would say that such a decision has led up to a long wait on the gamer’s part and the result is even more pressure to succeed. South Park: The Stick Of Truth seemed to approach us with a gentle stream of marketing, and when the Gameplay was shown players were already believers.
Magus (pronounced May-jus) is a third-person action/adventure title from Black Tower and Aksys Games. It stars the titular protagonist; a young man imprisoned since infancy and tortured for reasons unknown. One day mysterious woman named Kinna, reveals his true birthright, to be that of a God and assists in his escape. Now with this assassin by his side, Magus sets out to gets his revenge of the King who had him locked away. It is an interesting plot, that never really delivers. It isn’t bad but there is nothing about this narrative that left an impression. It does feature some interesting and funny dialogue, mostly the protagonist’s. For some reason Magus speaks as though as he lives in modern time, even though this game takes place in a fantasy world set in the past. Sentences such as “Damn, son how many unicorns did you have to eat to get that big?”, while funny, is out of place.
Earth Defense Force 2025 is a third-person shooter from developer Sandlot. A sequel to EDF 2017, it sees the planet Earth once again threatened by giant bugs and an alien threat known as the Ravagers. That is all you really need to know about this game’s story. It’s a throwaway tale, filled with B movie dialogue and equally cheesy voice acting. The main focus of this game is to kill everything in sight and have fun. EDF generally delivers, though it is not without its annoyances.
Zen Pinball 2 takes a different approach to the video game interpretation of Pinball. Instead of using already established tables from the retro era, Zen Pinball 2 has completely digitally inspired Pinball tables that function as fantasy boards – my favorites of which are the Darth Vader table and the Plants VS. Zombies table. If you already own a lot of tables from the PlayStation 3 version of the game, you can import your ownership of those tables into the PS4 version – which is nice for people who are already invested in this Pinball experience. As new tables are released for the game, you can indulge yourself in a demo play-through before deciding if you want to skip or purchase them.
Metal Gear Rising Revengeance first appeared on consoles in February of 2013, but has finally arrived for PC. It now plays in 60 FPS and 1080P, that is if your rig can handle that. Although, I do highly recommended playing this game with a controller instead of a keyboard and mouse – because the way the control mechanics work, it is difficult to play with keys. This is definitely a great game, but it does still have some of the flaws that the console versions have. With that said, it is still an amazing game to freshen things up for the PC gaming community.
Stick It To The Man! is an interesting platformer / puzzle game in which players take on a main character Ray, who after a mysterious head injury can now read minds. Everything opens up with a subliminal dream sequence – which may be taken as a metaphor preluding to later events – as players get the character to awaken himself from the dream and discover a parasite of some sort within the brain.
Knytt Underground is a platformer where the player explores wide varieties of environments. It is a title for PS3, Vita, Steam and Wii U. For the Wii U version, the Gamepad and Wii U Pro Controller are supported with off-screen play as an option as well via Gamepad Support and cross-save cloud support with the dual ownership cross-buy deal for PS3 / Vita owners.
Visually Mutant Mudds takes a unique interpretation to the 2D retro art direction style by allowing players to hop back and forth between foreground and background layers throughout various points in the title. This plays into the gameplay too which is packed with action and takes pieces of the greatest platformers while pitting the player against an invading enemy via a true sidescroller action combat system. The presentation of this game is so polished players will feel a great value in their purchase immediately. Story-wise the game even satisfies deeper questions as to what the action is all about as an invading race starts off when a meteor shower hits the planet threatening to end the human way of life.
Mutant Mudds focuses almost completely on fun factor while managing to deliver a high quality sound system full of nostalgic nods and enough fresh ideas to feel like nothing you’ve played before. A new brand has been formed with this IP which we hope to see explored again at a further date, though the creativity displayed by the developer Renegade Kid also plagues our minds with questions of what will they come up with next? A sequel is indeed in the works though, and we look forward to this being announced later this year.
The Deluxe version of this game features optional checkpoints (which can be turned off for those more hardcore players). Each level will challenge the player significantly both by design that is suggestive yet deceptive as well as the time limit that each course holds. Players select which level they’d like to approach from a set of doors and can also take alternate routes to the end of the level resulting in an even more retro-throwback challenge but also demanding the player to return for the correct exit badge to that particular stage.
Once stages are passed in the traditional sense though, that doesn’t mean they are done yet. Walk through a mirror in the center of the stage selection screen to discover mirror matches of the level once seen in the “real” world. In this alternate dimension of sorts, players must use a different weapon otherwise their ammunition simply cannot effect the ghostly representations of the mutant enemies which come back to life after being killed. This weapon also comes with limited ammo, even further increasing the difficulty of the game. After all of these remix stages are also passed players get access to even more content. Doors to more stages are seen in the foreground and later unlocked.
Thankfully Mutant Mudds never quite feels like a puzzle game, though it will take some trial and error before players master everything. MM is a straight up action platformer with plenty of shooting, hopping, a bit of hovering thrown in here and there, and good old fashioned collecting “coin”-like pickups called golden diamonds which are used to buy upgrade items fro Grannie’s Attic. The music heard is top notch quality and really pays homage to some of the classics while also feeling brand new.
Engine Performance:Â No glitches were encountered during our play-through of this game.
Replay Value:Â Between the many levels, their alternate versions, and the hidden / optional content players will have plenty of fun to have before even tapping into the set of 10 trophies and playing on a second screen for Vita owners adds a bonus experience to the mix as well.
Mutant Mudds Deluxe is a game that brings the Platformer genre into a beautiful intimate relationship to the Side-Scroller Action / 2D Shooter genres while also adding new gameplay mechanics and graphical elements to the mix. With completely intuitive gameplay design as well as retro-inspired music, sound effects, and graphics MM does what most games could only wish to do and that is provide the ultimate complete package that every type of gamer is sure to fall in love with.
Played On: Sony PlayStation 3
Review Copy Info: A digital copy of this game was provided to RealGamerNewz by the publisher for the purpose of this Review
A-Men 2 is a very interesting mixture of puzzle and action platformer gaming in which players see themselves through a number of stages that are meant to challenge the mind as well as skill of the player. Not only must the puzzle-like layout of each stage be solved but along the way the traditional gameplay mechanics of the platforming and side-scroller genres must also be mastered. For example falling from great heights will get the player killed and there are enemies actively patrolling who must be dealt with, sometimes fatally. The stages will even get so tricky that they allow saving mid-way at select points with kiosks made for such a task, you’ll be rewarded with extra experience points for not using these though.
Now in the final act of The Raven after the awesome experience in the first episode, and the good but slightly less awesome experience in episode two, we are met with the conclusion to something great that started in episode one. But now we find our self in a odd place.
Doki Doki Universe starts off by introducing the main character, a robot who has been abandoned by his family for being outdated. The overall task which players will spend the rest of the game working towards is then presented, this robot must get Humanity training and pass Alien Jeff’s reports or be sentenced to de-construction (along with all other robots that share the same model number as it). “Humanity is about understanding others” is the advice players are greeted with.
Tiny Brains on PlayStation 4 is about the experimental procedures of a scientist who has constructed some miniature and intelligent beings. This means players take the role of four test subjects each with their own powers. Every character is needed in their own way for solving the puzzles that this strange science experiment presents them with and they are color coded. When a session has less than four people playing players can swap between different characters at will. Each is color coded to help the player remember their power and in addition to voice chat players can communicate with each other by using the DualShock 4′s touch pad to point out areas they are trying to explain. The color coding also lights up differently on each controller based on which character the player currently has selected.
Proteus is an indie developed game by a team of two individuals by the names of Ed Key and David Kanaga. To call it a game is unfair, as it is more of an experience. It was released in January of this year for Steam and October for Vita and PS3. This review is based on the Steam version. It plays smoothly on low-end PCs.
Super Motherload is an indie game being offered on the PlayStation Network for Sony’s next-generation PS4. The game shows heavy inspiration from the classic retro title Dig Dug and adds layers of objectives to the digging experience. Things aren’t as hum drum as they seem. Beneath the surface of Mars are endless amounts of valuable and useful materials that must be collected for the betterment of mankind as well as the fattening of your pockets. But there’s also sinister experiments going on down there. What’s going on may shock you and will certainly be unexpected in what otherwise appears to be a simple retro reboot of the Dig Dug gameplay style.
Dynasty Warriors 8 (known in Japan as Shin Sangokumusou 7) is the eighth main installment in the long running hack and slash series from developers Omega Force. For the uninitiated, Dynasty Warriors tells the historical tale of “The Three Kingdoms”; a tripartite between the Wei, Shu and Wu states that followed the fall of the Han Dynasty during the imperial age of China. The story mode features four playable campaigns chronicling the many battles between the three aforementioned factions who fought for control, and the rise of Jin.
Air Conflicts: Vietnam is an arcade style flight game from developers Games Farm and the latest in the Air Conflicts series. While previous Conflicts games took place during World Wars I&II, this time players are thrust into battle during one of the most explosive and violent wars of all time: The Vietnam War.
Story:Â The basic plot of Final Exam begins without much complications. A crew of four are headed to a party when something goes drastically wrong. Things take a turn for the worst with our party of four ending up on the receiving end of an all-out assault by various types of monstrosities each specialized with different ways to kill you. Turns out, a mad scientist with an ironic and familiar name has unleashed some sort of virus causing normal people to be turned into unspeakably grotesque killing machines once submerged in a pitch black fog.