At one point during Far Cry 4, I literally rode an elephant through a crowd of flamethrower-wielding enemies while being chased by tigers. The situation did not end well for me (who’d have thought), but during the loading screen I remember trying to retrace my steps, wondering “how did I get to that point?” At another section in the game I needed to climb a radio tower, and instead of going the long way and fighting all the way up, I flew a tiny one-seater helicopter to the top of the tower and just landed at my destination. I couldn’t believe it worked, and this notion seemed to be a repeated theme during my playtime. READ MORE
Assassin’s Creed: Unity is the closest the series has come yet to making me feel like a true assassin. It provides an incredible open world with missions that can be approached from a variety of different angles, and it rewards creativity while punishing brute force. It falls short of the the best titles in the series, but for a fan that isn’t suffering from yearly franchise fatigue, Arno’s journey in late-eighteenth-century Paris is one that is definitely worth taking. READ MORE
Pier Solar and the Great Architects is a return to the 16-bit glory days of the JRPG genre and was originally released for the Sega Genesis in 2010, over a decade after the last official release for the system. It was conceived as an attempt to emulate the core concepts that made other RPGs of that era so memorable, and it largely succeeds in doing so, both for better and for worse. Pier Solar developer WaterMelon ran a Kickstarter campaign in 2012 to remaster the game in HD for release on modern consoles (along with — of course — the Dreamcast), and it is this “definitive” version of the game that will likely gain exposure to a wider audience as copies of the limited-run Sega Genesis version can be very difficult to find. READ MORE
Fairy Fencer F takes players on an emotional roller coaster, with the frequently fun and exciting sections interspersed all too regularly with incredibly cheap and frustrating moments. It boasts a plot that can at best be described as complete nonsense, while delivering that insane story with a sharp sense of humor and some genuine laugh-out-loud moments. It features a battle system that simultaneously feels deep and oversimplified, tactical and repetitive. Despite its schizophrenic tendencies, Fairy Fencer F is a worthwhile entry in the genre, and will provide more than enough hours of entertainment to justify the investment. READ MORE
Ever since the release of Mario’s Picross on the original Game Boy, Nintendo handheld systems have been fertile ground for quick, level-oriented puzzle games. The original Tappingo, released in the 3DS eShop earlier this year, was a short but fun experience, offering an original take on puzzle design that felt right in line with this legacy. Tappingo 2 follows the original template very closely, with the only new feature being a zoom function for the larger puzzles. I had a good time with the game, but in the end, it leaves that unsatisfying feeling that it just doesn’t do enough to improve on its predecessor.
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