Latest Reviews
Lords of the Fallen delivers entertaining hack-and-slash combat centered on combos and spells, but its risk-based reward system seems slightly out of place in a world where its hero so easily achieves great power and defense and makes risk obsolete. It achieves its goal of creating a more accessible Dark...
WWE 2K15
WWE 2K15 is like seeing Brock Lesnar going from breaking the Undertaker's streak to losing to Hornswoggle during the pre-show in back-to-back WrestleManias. Not only is it surprising, it's also pretty sad. I would frequently grab my copy of last year's grappler with the intent to quickly check some changes,...
Sunset Overdrive is big, gorgeous, and a hell of a lot of fun. Never has getting from point A to point B in an open-world game provided so much enjoyment. It provides some of the most fun, frantic, and fantastic gaming I've had on the Xbox One. Now if you'll...
Relatively simplistic compared to the N64-era shooters that inspired it, Screencheat nevertheless distinguishes itself with goofy charm, fast pacing, and a clever gameplay hook based on invisibility. Its sterile online matches tend to wear out their welcome quickly, but if you can get two to four players together in a...
Fantasia: Music Evolved provides a surprising amount of control and personalization options over each song, which is paired with fun gameplay to bring a fresh new style to the music game genre. Though the navigation motion controls could be improved, Kinect functions well for the moment-to-moment creative play, and Fantasia’s...
The Legend of Grimrock 2 marks a significant improvement over its predecessor, which was already a formidable RPG in its own right. Its stylings and conventions might spring from a simpler time, but its presentation and the panache with which Almost Human delivers it as allows it to stand toe-to-toe...
The Evil Within is a brutal, challenging, and remarkably fun game. Its eerie world and imaginative enemies are genuinely frightening, and the scares are heightened significantly by the scarcity of resources at your disposal. It keeps the odds stacked against you to the point that they often feel insurmountable, yet...
Natural Doctrine tries to be an unforgiving and brutal tactical RPG that punishes you for the tiniest mistake, and it most certainly does that. But it also punishes you for things outside your control, leading to frustrating, messy battles. Success comes down to luck rather than decisive strategy, robbing me...
Defense Grid 2’s new variations on the original’s excellent tower defense gameplay pulled me right back into the compulsively addictive quest to destroy all aliens with a minimum of expenditure. I don’t recommend the multiplayer and the story doesn’t even compare to the standard set by the original, but its...
Styx may stumble in its quicktime combat and its spotty edge detection, but it makes up for most of its flaws with challenging stealth action across massives levels. It's not a pretty game by the standards of the current generation, but its presentation thrives on the snark and sailor-speak of...
Despite its tendency to make you jump through hoops before getting to the good stuff, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel delivers where I expect it to as a Borderlands fan. The new gear and low-gravity mechanics mixed with the zany skill trees makes for a fresh experience, and with Jack at the...
Bayonetta 2
Every aspect of Bayonetta 2 feels polished and focused. At times, the writing feels ridiculous, but I still love how it plays. The superb pacing and combat are just that good. By the end I was convinced: This sequel builds on everything that made the original great, and delivers one...
