ZTGD

So in essence Blood Money and Absolution is like watching the series find its footing. I feel like both games really paved the way for the extremely successful reboot of the series. Both seem to bring ideas into the newer games. It was neat to revisit these older games, but $60 for both without the option to purchase them separately feels a bit much.

Any fan of 2D action games should pick this game up without question, and don’t worry if you’ve never played this series before, I was able to enjoy it fully with absolutely no knowledge of it. This is one newer game that harkens back to the old days that does it well and will be remembered for a nice long while.

Whether it is fatigue or poor implementation, Just Cause 4 doesn’t feel like a true sequel. The issues I had with the third game have been fixed, but I still fell off this game much faster than I had anticipated. I adored the second game, dealt with the third one, but this fourth entry just lost its appeal far too quickly. It might be time to rethink and restructure the series, or perhaps move on to a new idea.

There are some concepts that I thought were interesting. At one point the race stopped for myself and the other contestants to answer questions using weirdly obtuse answers and those answers would help win fans over. It has a bit of that Mario Party randomness that can be appealing. Nippon Marathon in theory is a good idea, but when it came to actually playing the game I did not enjoy myself and I really wanted to.

Shoot ‘em up fans will find a very nice set of games here. The HD upgrades look great and the music is fantastic. People looking for a trip down memory lane will have a good time as well and players looking to see the old school in action will get to see R-Type in its original glory. This is one mini collection that is done right and still keeps the old school feel while looking fresh.

At the end of the day, Jagged Alliance: Rage! is a decent little game with some annoying bits thrown in. It’s not going to set the world on fire, but it can keep some strategy fans busy for a little while with some fun thrown in for good measure. I’d just wait for a slight price drop before entering this jungle.

I won’t say that GRIS is bad. It is not even remotely bad. What GRIS is is disappointing. It can’t decide whether or not it wants to be a fun platformer or art piece, and the reality is that it could have been both. There’s a lot of hyperbole out there right now about this being a must play and I have a feeling a lot of people that do will be disappointed by this title.

World of Final Fantasy is a nice change of pace for the series’ formula, but it relies too much on simplistic tactics to be a standout. I love the two main characters and the ideas behind the combat, but the dungeons feel padded out and the combat is just not that interesting.

I was impressed with my time with Mutant: Year Zero. It has the feel of a quality strategy game mixed with some good stealth and battle preparation. The characters are fun, and while the story is lacking, it kept me going. Players looking for that XCOM feel with the difficulty to go along with it will have a good time here. Casual fans of the genre need to heed my warning: this game is not going to be easy, but with planning and taking your time, it can be very satisfying.

Hitman 2 is not leaps and bounds better or even different than its predecessor, as it feels less like a sequel and more like the second season. However, it manages to hit the mark where it truly matters with expansive level designs and a wealth of gameplay options that makes playing through the same missions multiple times consistently fun but feel different every time.