Sherlock Holmes, the eccentric detective and one of the most iconic fictional characters, has seen a number of attempts at franchises based on his escapades, but few stand out as worthwhile. Frogwares’ series of titles is the most recent, delivering a more authentic Sherlock Holmes experience. Most of these titles are riddled with problems, and although each game has gotten better than the last, it was typically hard to recommend them. Understand my surprise when the newest game, Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments, exceeds all expectations. READ MORE
The quick-combat local multiplayer game has become something of a genre of its own lately, with titles like TowerFall and Samurai Gunn serving as the tip of a much larger iceberg. The strangely-named Starwhal: Just the Tip brings its own brand of competition through two innovations: a sometimes-inscrutable movement scheme and a focus on jousting mechanics. READ MORE
Another year, another Naruto game. Those who had their hopes pegged on this particular entry being a continuation of the story in Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 will be disappointed that this is an “in-between” game in the vein of Generations, telling side tales rather than advancing major plot points. The idea of a “Ninja World Tournament” sounds pretty cool and serves as a nice way to stuff many characters from throughout the series into one game, but does it make Revolution a good move? READ MORE
It’s almost been two years since Persona 4 Arena, and after the obvious sequel hint in the story, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax burst onto the scene in arcades and has now made it to consoles months later. Arc System Works ultimately proved that it could take a story-heavy RPG and create a fighter out of it successfully. Building upon an already strong foundation, was there really any more it could do to keep the next version fresh?
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The original Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, despite its ridiculous title, was one of the best early offerings on the 3DS. It made several of our year-end top ten lists, was a runner-up to our Best 3DS Game award that year and was a virtual lock to make our 3DS Best to Own Forever list earlier this year. And it would have, were it not for the fact that a sequel, Curtain Call, was about to be released.
Curtain Call takes everything that made Theatrhythm great and adds more of it: more songs, more characters, more titles from which to draw those songs and more of the original’s “Dark Notes,” now turned into the new Quest Medley mode. It even removed some of the minor flaws, like the pointless (if optional) tap-fest Intros and Epilogues and restricting the characters’ skill slots to a specific type. READ MORE
