ZTGD

LA Cops is a neat diversion with some fantastic style. I had a blast in the short time I played it, but feel like it grows stale far too fast. This is the perfect game to snag during a sale, it is fun for the time it lasts, I just wish there was more to come back to once the raiding was over.

I’ve talked before about how more isn’t always better, and that sometimes less is more. However, in the case of “The Awakened Fate Ultimatum”, it feels as though much of what made the original compelling and unique has been ripped out, leaving a hollow shell behind.

Shiftlings is a decent puzzler that relies too heavily on having a second player, and not getting tired of the simple mechanic. If the price was a bit lower it would be easier to recommend, but at $14.99 it doesn’t really strike me as a must have with all the great content already overflowing these services. Those looking for a solid co-op puzzle game might check it out if they already siphoned everything out of Chariot, but solo players need not even apply.

Dynasty Warriors 8 Empires feels about as much of an afterthought as you can get. Nothing about this game feels evolutionary. I have recently become more invested in the Musou-style games, but Empires feels like a lot of half-baked ideas that don’t form a cohesive experience. I would really like to see Omega Force take the time to really expand on the foundation of this series and make it as exciting a release as their regular entries in the franchise.

Zombie Army Trilogy is a simple game that is a blast to play, at least online with friends. Outside of Evolve, this is the only other game I can think of that makes you play as a team to help complete sections of the game. And blowing a zombies head off from a long distance is just satisfying. The one thing I didn’t really care for was the way this game was set up.

While not inherently bad, Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters doesn’t really stand out from the pack. It has very shallow visual novel aspects and an arbitrary response system that makes almost no sense. The combat is where most of the play time will be spent, and while simple in look and feel, it can get very complicated when it comes to planning and managing your party members.

Ori and the Blind Forest is a beautiful, punishing game that harkens back to the classic side-scrolling titles of the SNES. It will beat you down and test every ounce of patience, but not without reward. This is one of those games people will be talking about down the road, not unlike Shadow Complex or Geometry Wars.

Otherwise White Night was a totally creepy, scary, unexpected treat that I was enthralled with for the entire duration of its gameplay. Fans of older style adventure/point and click games cneed to check this out immediately. Once I started I couldn’t stop playing. It had me by the throat with its mystery, its atmosphere and finally the ending. This is an instant classic in my eyes.

I had very high hopes for Xenoverse with all the risks they were taking with the tried and undeniable, tired formula. Even though their gamble with the online connectivity and a few fundamental mechanics fell flat on its face, as a long time fan to the series, I found the experience pretty enjoyable all the same.

UNIEL lays down the foundation for many sequels to come with its great roster of characters and a soundtrack that’s so good that it has found its way to my permanent music collection. While it’s a bit disappointing to find that there are some key modes that are missing from the package, I hope that in the next iteration they’ll put out the complete package with everything that we expect from fighters released in the modern age.