Lion7

A shame to the series and an insult to the memory of all of us who were excited to see a game we thought long gone recreated for a modern console. Background: I was raised in the 90s. I lived in SoCal, had a skateboard, wore Vans, and idolized Tony Hawk and the games that I played on my ye olden Play Stations. Hearing that they were trying to release an updated version of the game got me excited, but I am always skeptical these days. I rented the game, and I even wanted the few bucks I wasted on the day's rental back. There is little redeeming factor to this game. Basic gameplay bugs will have you falling through ramps on your way back down, and any attempt to play online--the most appealing feature for fans of older games--will be met with crashes and disconnects. Not even the delay of an 8GB day one patch can salvage together the brokenness of this game. This is a cash grab on nostalgia, and literally fourth from the bottom on Metacritic's critic score for a reason, if the 28 negative and 4 mixed reviews weren't a clue. Pass this one up, and preserve your memory of the fun you had in the past.

This is what I want from free indie games on PS Plus. I actually don't want them, but this was good enough to not only get me to download it, but play it for a few hours and not feel that I've wasted time and HDD space. It's a game with a unique premise, good artwork, and a nice story foundation. With all that... it's still only as good as a "free" indie game can be. Which isn't all that special on a PS4. GAMEPLAY: I find most indie games boring as they rehash the 2D Sidescrolling Puzzle-Platformer tropes. Sadly, Never Alone's gameplay falls into that hole. Working together and using both the girl and the fox is a neat design choice, but the AI is downright awful at times. If you can get a second player, do that, and the game suddenly becomes a cute and charming little puzzle-platformer. Never Alone is an indie game that avoids committing indie game sins. No "pixel art/retro style" as an excuse for bad graphics. No "minimalist design" as an excuse for a lack of story. It's good as a free game, but don't pay out the $15 unless you wish to support the developers. It's not $15 worth of good gameplay.

It wasn't even okay for being a "free" "indie" game. It commits many of the indie game sins and because of that, it's a forgettable and boring game. This is something I would expect from a Java browser game labeled as a timewaster, not a critically acclaimed game for a current generation console, and costing money at that. CONTROLS: They're very basic to begin with, but the trick controls are real finnicky on timing (I have to push a button to "Land"? Okay...) to where it seems more luck-based than actually skillful timing of the trick. Which tends to lead me towards button mashing than actually playing the game. I passed the controller off to two friends who were critiquing my gameplay, and found them falling into the same pitfalls. OVERALL? 2D Sidescrolling, Pixel Art, Minimalist Design, and Simple Gameplay. These are signs of an "Indie" game, and in order to overcome shortfalls in graphics, depth and visual experience, the gameplay has to be top-notch. Which Olli Olli 2 isn't. Better suited to wasting time at work in a browser game if you can't use your phone. Because I would rather play "smartphone" games like old Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest games, XCOM, Shadowrun, or Baldur's Gate. Leave the "nostalgia" feel for the actually nostalgic video games.

It's definitely an MMO, and with the reboot feels familiar to some of the other big three-letter games. With the Final Fantasy brand, graphics, and music, this feels like a very polished game, if somewhat generic at times. That said, it pulled me away from WoW after its recent downward spiral. It took me a few days, but after playing with the PSN 14-day Free Trial I found myself buying a copy of the game for both the PC and PS4. This is not a game you just pick up and evaluate within the first hour. REBOOT: Make no mistake, the original Final Fantasy XIV was an awful game. The developers recognized the mistake and literally killed it. A Realm Reborn isn't just a flashy subtitle. CONTROLS: Done surprisingly well for a console MMO. They do take some time getting used to, and developing the muscle memory for your L2/R2+Button combinations. Even using Remote Play and being extremely lazy (playing from my bed) felt alright enough to play. I'm told there are people who do end-game instances on the console, but I would definitely recommend using a keyboard and mouse for that. The controller controls work just fine. GAMEPLAY: Standard MMO gameplay. There are a few different ways to level classes, depending on how much grinding you want to do. The best feature is that you can switch classes as easily as switching weapons. One character can level any class or job, defeating the need for alts unless you want to raid multiple times a week. LIFE: The game is doing well, several servers are locked almost 23 hours a day because of the number of people playing, and there is the first expansion pack coming this summer. There are some cash shop options, but the game relies on subscription costs. Thankfully, the game is not overly plagued by a microtransaction store or F2P-esque elements.

The game is hard, and the challenge is brutal. Coming from Dark Souls and Dark Souls 2, the lack of block is definitely something to get used to. However, with the core gameplay differences, this is a fresh title with as much angry fun as you'd expect from this company. It's a must-have exclusive, but try it before you buy it. You'll love it or hate it. GAMEPLAY: It's brutal. There's no good way to describe it if you're new to the series, because there are very few games like this in today's market. Fights even with basic enemies are unforgiving and you WILL die in this game. Lots of times. This is not a blind hack-and-slash; it relies a lot on gauging enemies and adapting your tactics. Coming from Dark Souls and being a fan of blocking, the fact that you have to dodge everything and be much more conservative with your attacks led to many of my early deaths. Forget what you knew in Dark Souls, and approach this with a somewhat fresh mind. STORY: Again, what story? From's games are notorious for being vague, and telling glimpses of the story through item descriptions and tidbits of game lore you receive. People (mis)label this as an RPG; this is NOT Final Fantasy, or Dragon Age, or anything close to what I'd consider an RPG. This is pure action. ONLINE: The online experience is not as ingrained as it is with Dark Souls, though there are still plenty of bloodstains to laugh at. I recommend playing with the online features.

Amazing game. One of my absolute favorites. A game that doesn't hold your hand, doesn't baby you throughout the experience, and expects you to die, while taunting you with the deaths of thousands around you. It's a game you'll either love or hate, but worth a try. Rent or borrow before you commit. UPGRADE? I did. The graphics are a great improvement, the fact you can summon more phantoms than before is awesome, and finally, the developers have changed a lot of the enemy placement so that the game feels a lot fresher. I've definitely died a few times in places where I was thinking "it's safe here, there aren't any enemies". GAMEPLAY: It's brutal. There's no good way to describe it if you're new to the series, because there are very few games like this in today's market. Fights even with basic enemies are unforgiving and you WILL die in this game. Lots of times. This is not a blind hack-and-slash; it relies a lot on gauging enemies and adapting your tactics. It feels a bit less chunky than the original, and it's a lot calmer and safer than Bloodborne. The only problem is that it suffers the weapon durability issue that the PC version did; weapon durability is tied into framerate, and since this new version now runs at 60fps compared to the old console's 30fps, your weapons break twice as fast. Still hasn't been fixed. STORY: What story? In all seriousness, the story is rather vague, its connection to its predecessor is vague, and the circumstances of your being here is vague. Just like the vagueness of the previous game. ONLINE: Unlike the previous game, you are not safe while Hollow. You can be invaded by other players at any time, especially in a few specific areas where you'll be tempted to unplug for a few minutes. Beyond that, I honestly recommend staying online at all times, and feel free to call in friendly phantoms to help you out when you see them. Playing alone is boring.

I've been playing Dynasty Warriors since the beginning. It's the same formula; if you didn't like the game in past iterations, you won't now. However, if you liked the Musou genre and enjoy ancient Chinese history, this is one of the best games of the series and my favorite installment to date. STORY: Gone are the days were you could play as characters for decades after their death. Stories follow the empire you're playing as, and give you a selection of a few characters for each map. Cutscenes continue to improve (You won't "Feel the power of my magic!" anymore) but can be a bit cheesy. The best inclusion, I have to say, is Alternate History/Hypothetical Routes. Throughout the game, you can change history by saving certain generals and preventing devastating events, to unlock a "Best Case Scenario" for your empire. Wei decimating Shu/Wu at the Battle of Chi Bi? Guan Yu winning and surviving the Battle of Fan Castle? It's there, and leads to a relatively plausible and happy ending for your favorite empire. You get your typical Shu, Wu, and Wei stories, in addition to the more recent (and historically accurate) Jin story. New to this edition of the game is the ability to play as Lu Bu's empire. While his story ends as sad and pathetic as it did historically, the new addition of Hypothetical Routes allows you to correct his bull-headedness, and let's just say the Hypothetical ending was very satisfying for being complete fiction. VOICES: I have to point this out, because it was a peeve of mine in past games. Koei finally has their English VAs pronouncing things more correctly than ever before. "Tsao Tsao" instead of "Cow Cow" (Cao Cao), "Liew" instead of "Lou" (Liu), "Soon" instead of "Sun" (Sun) GAMEPLAY: It's Musou. There is this mechanic of Rock-Paper-Scissors with elements on weapons when facing officers, as well as allowing characters to use any weapon they acquire with varying proficiencies. It helps to break up the monotony of murdering mindless masses. As far as the weapons go, the "loot" system is alright, occasionally awarding you with a unique version of a basic weapon, but once you unlock your Ultimate Weapon (and with XLCE, your Ultimate Ultimate Weapon) you'll never go back to them again. Finally, there are a few weapons with completely broken movesets; I found myself able to breeze through tough difficulties by making use of them. Don't do that if you want the game to have some challenge.

The first time I played this was for the PS4, and I would say it's just barely worth the $59.99 pricetag. It's not a 10/10. Grab it, or hold out for a sale if you've never played it. Not worth the upgrade if you're coming from PS3/360. STORY: Not as good or engaging as the GTA 3 series or GTA 4. The fact you can rotate between three characters is really neat, but depersonalizes the experience and I don't feel as invested in three characters as I felt invested in Tommy, CJ, or Niko. Aside from that, it's what you've come to expect from a GTA game. Drugs, sex, money, violence. GAMEPLAY: Nothing different here; the same ol' GTA formula, with a plethora of somewhat entertaining minigames. Things are upgraded, a version of the skill system is back in, but not as nitpicky and precise as getting fat with CJ in San Andreas. There's a nice attention to detail with how the world works, and does have a few improvements to the sometimes Stupid AI. The First-Person Mode is a gimmick feature. This isn't a FPS, and it doesn't handle like one. GRAPHICS: A step up from the last generation, and almost on par with the PC version. The game looks really nice, but there is a noticeable drop in framerates on the console. Why they couldn't make it a 60fps release like many other re-released games (Dark Souls II) is beyond me. ONLINE: Hit or miss. It was a fun gimmick to try out, but hearing a 13 year old cuss you out after he's mowed you over with his chrome-plated trumpet-blaring bulletproof Urban Assault Vehicle while you're trying to figure out how the hell to get money with a generic 9mm pistol isn't the best experience. Leveling is a grind of fetch quests based on some of the single-player missions and get boring after a while. I would only recommend Heists (the complicated, difficult missions online) with a crew you know; otherwise, you'll be frustrated when some punk screws it up and fails the mission. The load times are awful, and the connection issues are noticeable when you have to wait another minute to get out of your empty Lobby.

This game lacks depth or engagement. Even the earlier Final Fantasy games--where you are generic heroes gathering crystals--have more to them than this week long movie. You don't even get the pleasure of hearing Nobuo Uematsu's work. I played this game as a part of the Playstation Now service, and I still feel like I was ripped off for playing a "free" game. I would not pay for this game. STORY: That's all there is, and it's not even very good at that. Hours of watching the characters interact through various rendered cutscenes and FMVs. They don't even do a good job with that. Out of your six main characters, only one really has an interesting personal story. The rest waver between deciding if they want to fight back against their overlords, or buckling from the pressure of being mankind's hated enemy by doing it. Their personalities are about as generic as their names (Snow, Hope, Lightning...) and the buildup to fighting one of the major antagonists... I honestly forgot who he was and why we were fighting him at that point. GAMEPLAY: What little there is, is rather boring. The formula for the first half of the game boils down to this: Cutscene, maneuver down a small hallway-like map, reach a save point, enter a "boss battle". To switch it up, your party is broken down into 2-3 sub-parties who repeat the formula. 10 hours into the game (I still hadn't unlocked the ability to make your own party yet) I was actively trying to avoid fights, because they weren't entertaining at all. There was a joke that this game should be called Final Hallway 13. I definitely agree. 20 hours into the game I gave up. I couldn't remember any of the areas I had been through, and they're one-path treks through a generic forest, junkyard, or ice land. Even the cities set you down one track and your characters can't interact with them at all. BATTLE: The battle system is a neat interpretation of the ATB System, but the problem is, aside from a handful of tough battle here and there requiring a MED character, you can get through the game with little trouble using just COM/RAV/RAV and a small stack of Potions. Because of the role-shifting nature of the class, the lack of control over your party members, and that everyone can do just about anything, the genericness of the characters is further compounded. Everyone can be a warrior, a black mage, and a subset of a white mage. MUSIC: One of the few Final Fantasy games not composed by Nobou Uematsu. The battle theme is catchy, and variations of the main theme are done nice. There are some annoying pieces throughout the game, but overall... it's alright. Blinded by Light (Lightning's theme, main battle theme) is the earworm of the game, and after hours of hearing it, I still like it.