IGN

Badland è un capolavoro per occhi, orecchie e polpastrelli, un'opera videoludica artigianale, raffinata, caratterizzata da un gameplay tanto minimalista quanto appassionante, oltre che da uno stile apprezzabile e affascinante, per un mix di cunicoli sempre in penombra e fondali più che colorati, che sembrano veri e propri quadri in movimento. Un autentico portento nel genere degli action adventure a scrolling laterale.

It might seem unfair to directly measure the 3DS version of LEGO City Undercover against its Wii U counterpart. Yet by directly tying stories and gameplay, Traveller’s Tales has invited this comparison. Though not entirely unexpected, the 3DS simply can’t execute the same style of game on a technical level, which results in something that isn’t nearly as compelling or satisfying.

Dillon's Rolling Western: The Last Ranger comes up short as a sequel, as it spends too much time retreading the same territory we saw in the first game and addresses none of its flaws. The fusion of the action and tower defense genres is still sound, but the few new ideas here mostly fall flat due to bad A.I. pathfinding and simplistic minigames. This a franchise that needs a major infusion of fresh creativity, but there's none in sight.

E qualcuno potrebbe non apprezzare la necessità di dover utilizzare un solo personaggio per partita, nel senso che se si arriva al terzo atto con il guerriero e si vuole passare alla maga, occorre rifarsi i livelli già affrontati in precedenza. Il che naturalmente rappresenta una scelta fatta per dare senso alla progressione del personaggio, ma limita la possibilità di variare "in corsa" la propria formula di gioco con un eroe differente. Nulla, però, che penalizzi oltremodo un gioco realizzato con passione e buona volontà.

Nulla di male in teoria, ma ormai non ci si diverte più come un tempo, la longevità è poca cosa per un DLC da 10 euro (dalle due alle tre ore contando anche le molte cut-scene) e il finale, con Washington in versione boss, non ha un gran mordente e offre un livello di sfida decisamente basso. La sufficienza è comunque meritata grazie alle battaglie navali, ad alcune missioni avvincenti e alle dimensioni della mappa, ma non aspettatevi un terzo capitolo col botto finale o una conclusione particolarmente appassionante.

God Mode can only gaze up at true online divinity, but it’s a morsel of cheap mortal pleasure while it lasts.

The Tyranny of King Washington is made to the highest standards, but also overpriced for what it is. Though the new powers refresh and reshape Assassin’s Creed III’s gameplay, most of the locations and missions here are overly reminiscent of what we’ve seen time and time again in the main campaign, and only towards the end does the story really come into its own. It would be a much easier recommendation at half the price.

I seriously love Dead Island Riptide for its satisfying zombie dismemberment and co-op, but technically, it's done nothing to build itself into a great game. Rather than fix the graphics and the performance problems that plagued the original two years ago, Techland slightly modified the setting and delivered a new character and more content. It’s a fun time, but there are no surprises or killer new features to make it an impressive package.

Surgeon Simulator is frustrating if you're aiming for realism, but it's some of the most fun you can have screwing up.

Thomas Was Alone sells itself as “a minimalist game about jumping and friendship” – and unlike most slogans, this one doesn’t overstate itself. I can say with reasonable confidence that it is the most endearingly characterful game about jumping rectangles that you will ever play. The understated aesthetic design and unusual co-op puzzles will absorb you for the game’s duration – the wit and personality of the writing, though, will stay with you for much longer.