At this point, the Magic: the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers franchise has become much like a sports one, annualized and focusing on the latest updates. This isn’t such a bad approach; bringing in the newest core set cards and mechanics is a nice enough way to freshen things up, and as a product designed to appeal to newcomers, it doesn’t have to bring wildly-different things to the table. READ MORE
Oh, Deadpool. Always a character with an inherent identity crisis. Originating as a product of the ’90s and transforming into one of the most prolific joke characters in comics, there are a ton of variables involved with the guy. He is reliant, more so than any other character, on the writer, the sole force responsible for his effectiveness as a character. Sometimes he’s a great vehicle for satire, a destructive force constantly breaking the fourth wall and giving all of geekdom a good chance to have a laugh at its own expense. Other times he’s a pandering money grab, his creative team opting to tell lazy jokes aimed at the lowest common denominator. He’s a chaotic mixed bag of wildly varying quality. How appropriate then, that his new game is kind of a sloppy, albeit entertaining, wreck? READ MORE
Naughty Dog’s track record as of late has been spectacular, delivering three great games in the Uncharted series. While it seemed like making a fourth was the obvious move, the team decided to try something a little different. The Last of Us, a post-apocalyptic action game, is as far from the norm for the studio as you can get. It swaps out Nathan Drake’s breezy adventures with something a little more grounded. Thankfully for us, it proves that Naughty Dog’s talent as a developer is still as strong as ever.
After a flurry of fighting game re-releases, Capcom has pointed Iron Galaxy’s arcade-port expertise to a beat-’em-up. It’s not just any of the company’s myriad brawlers, though. Tower of Doom and Shadow over Mystara have long been missing from home platforms for various reasons, and it’s a shame, because the inventory and decision-making aspects of the game make it quite distinct. READ MORE
Remember Me is a worthy attempt to find its place amongst its peers in an increasingly-crowded genre. Any fan of science fiction with a cyberpunk twist will find the writing to be on par with any number of well-received novels. Unfortunately, a few design decisions mar the overall vision and promise of the world it creates.
