This level of depth is truly stunning and is only seconded by the games visuals. The world, character models and facial expressions are very well executed without looking too gritty or overly animated. The zombie models hold a special note in this department due to the faithful likenesses of the undead from the television show. Fans of the televised series will immediately be able to recognize the art direction style and find some sense of familiarity even amongst the constant terror as it unfolds. Voice acting compliments these models greatly as not a single character sounds out of place or lacking in performance. The combination of all these elements is what allows Walking Dead to break the lines between simply gaming and an actual experience along side these characters. Oftentimes, players can free roam the environment to scan for items, potential weapons or start up conversations to expand or further the story in it’s multiple directions.

Due to the extreme nature of storyline and plot turns, the only sure fire mentionable that can be added to this review without the risk of spoilers is the meeting with Clementine, a small young survivor who quickly attaches herself to you. Much like the other characters in the game, Clementine will become very inquisitive of Lee and early conversations with her will quickly set the pace on how stable your relationship with her is. In game cues are shown after important dialogue has been exchanged to show exactly what a person finds questionable or trustworthy of what you’ve said to them. Oftentimes players will be tempted to lie to protect their own identity just to save face amongst what is virtually a group of strangers so no one will jump to harsh conclusions to who exactly you are. It’s best to remember anytime you choose to lie, no matter how small, as other players can pick up on subtle shifts and changes in your stories and behavior.

As dialogue heavy as this title is, the action takes but a close back seat intensity. The drama and action are extremely intimate and engaging each time as the random fights for survival rely on quick and precise responses that can directly impact the player or the characters. Zombies, as they should, do not go down so easily and any tools made available are stressed to be used quickly, silently and lethal as possible for quick kills that won’t attract the surrounding hordes. Depending one the severity of the attacks, 3-5 second widows are given respond to the situation at hand, keeping a fresh edge of the seat feel no matter if it’s an isolated incident against one zombie or a parking lot full of them.

The Walking Dead is a true gaming experience that is unique like no other episodic series. This ‘pilot’ episode sets a great and ominous tone of what is to come in future episodes and the characters introduced. Up to the final moments, players are treated to an end credit sequence similar to the television series which features shorts on the next upcoming episode of Walking Dead. These scenes of the next episode also feature previous decisions you’ve made unfold even further while bringing all new shocks, twists and terror that await in the not too distant future.

The Walking Dead is available for purchase via:

Playstation Network- $4.99 per episode/ $24.99 Season Pass (5 Episodes)

Xbox Live Arcade- 400 MS points per episode/ No season pass

PC/MAX (STEAM)-  $24.99 Season Pass

Rating: 8.5

For those unfamiliar with the series, gameplay is reminiscent of Kengo for the PS2. For those unfamiliar with Kengo, the gameplay is quite original. There is a high, mid, low, dodge and projectile button.  Battles can end in seconds or go for minutes, depending on how tactical those playing are. Overall however you can die quite quickly, damage is based on the timing and hit location of blows. Attacks are broken down into slashing, crushing and piercing, each with different properties. Piercing can go through armor, crushing can’t cause dismemberment but is extremely powerful and slashing is weak against armor but can cause dismemberment. Each warrior has a special move that can be delayed to throw off their opponents timing.  Fights can literally end in seconds with whole health bars draining from one well timed attack. Body parts can be wounded or hacked off entirely. Each warrior has numerous weapon options, each with strengths and weaknesses and the entire cast is extremely diverse in abilities and strengths.

Loss of an arm can mean loss of ability to use a weapon or shield severely crippling a combatant: Example being the mighty centurion is nearly impenetrable with his shield, but you knock it away and he loses much advantage. This encourages smart play strategy and an additional layer of depth. The Apache, though lightning quick with his twin tomahawks, has very little in the way of armor and can be felled swiftly, while the Knight is a tank and slow as one. Each combatant has a ranged weapon capable of poisoning, wounding or fatally injuring the other warrior. An arrow or spear to the head can kill instantly, however a blow-dart will slowly poison the character hit by it. At first glance, characters might seem a bit unbalanced however as you learn your chosen warrior, you come to see they all stand a chance against each other, leaving player skill as the deciding factor. My first two playthroughs were as Spartan and Apache. As a Spartan, my strategy was to wait for the opponent to make a mistake and counter with my shield knocking them off balance. When I played as the Apache, I found that my superior speed allowed me to rush in to do massive damage and then swiftly dodge out of the way of retaliation.

The AI is a formidable opponent offering up a nice challenge for those who prefer to play alone. Numerous times it expertly took me apart utilizing each characters strengths, though this was on a higher difficulty. Arcade mode is traditional 8 match play through for each character, unlocking equipment along the way by completing challenges such as hacking at pig meat hanging or a sudden death match in the fight lab. Tons of facts at loading screens, lots of unlockable armor, weapons and characters await those who complete Arcade mode. There are over 150 weapons spread across both games, each with different stats and abilities.

 An example of one of the many unlockables

Sound effects are accurate and fitting, especially in a 5.1 environment I found myself glancing around my room unsure if I was hearing sounds out my window or from the game. Landed blows are bassy and sound full while hits that land on armor sound appropriate as well. The graphics are serviceable, though nothing special. Legends looks a bit better then the first game in the series. Some textures look a little on the low resolution side, overall you won’t be confusing this with the likes of Uncharted 3. Considering the engine is several years old this can be expected from what was once a PSN game. The animations are surprisingly fluid and each warrior feels completely unique. The violence is bloody and graphic, each warrior possessing his or her own fatality animation and many fatal blows dismember opponents brutally. Some characters, such as the pirate have a humorous side to them though much of the game takes itself seriously.

Overall, the game succeeds at not feeling like a cash in on the shows success, though if you are a fan you will be quite pleased. For the price of $30 you are getting one hell of a deal if you are a history/weapons/fighting game buff. The combat feels authentic and solid and all the unlockables are guaranteed to give the title a nice bit of replayability, even more so if you play with friends. The 6 episodes included on this hybrid bluray disc are just the icing on the cake and provide hours of additional content. Most importantly, the game is just fun and the combat is so fast and easy to learn, it’s great for when you have a few friends over.

It appeared that there was no players online at this time so I am unable to offer opinion on how well it plays. However owners of the original games can crossplay with owners of Deadliest Warrior: Ancient Combat.  This review was conducted on a retail version sent to us by 345 games.

OVERVIEW 

modes: arcade, practice, challenge, battle

multiplayer: local skirmish, local battle, online battle

leaderboard: yes

characters: 11 initial. 22 total

Rating: 7.5

Enter Ninja Gaiden 3, a game so caught up in it’s style, it often forgets to bring its gameplay.

From the intimate stabbing going down in the opening moments, Team Ninja wants you to know this is a story about Ryu Hayabusa. Even though his typically bombastic, blood soaked ballets of death are the antithesis of what a ninja should be, he at least retained the traditional qualites in being silent, deadly, and effective. While this reduced him to a mere shell as far as character development is concerned, it was worlds better than what director Yuusuke Hayashi and original NES series writer Masato Kato have cooked up for Ryu in this sequel. The new Ryu is sympathetic, verbose, and no longer reticent. He shoulders responsibility for events out of his control, takes barking orders from higher ups and chuckles at the thought of being a father. The vast mythology of the demon realms and Archfiends from previous titles has been swapped for a more interpersonal tale dealing with the moral ambiguities of being an agent of death, amidst a sinister plot that sees Ryu scarred with a curse called the Grip of Murder and a plot involving the resurrection of a destructive diety within seven days.

“So..How does it feel to suffer as do all your victims?”

While this may work for any number of antiheroes whose personalities have already been established, in terms of Ninja Gaiden, it comes off as forced. It’s always been my opinion that the original Ninja Gaiden started the way it did very intentionally, with Ryu in his classic garb being cut down and being reborn as Itagaki’s over the top spirit of revenge. The awkward attempt to humanize him here feels like a step backward, his newfound curse coming from his Dragon Sword and the thousands of souls he’s cut down on his numerous paths to revenge. I say awkward because, aside from a visually unpleasant legion gradually consuming his arm and grinding several action scenes to a halt whenever it flares up (among many reasons I eventually stopped taking it seriously and started calling it ‘Ninjerpes’), it’s relevance to the story, or even Ryu’s morals, is ultimately shallow. You’re told his curse is the result of years of merciless slaughter, but the game never presents an opportunity for the contrary.

This is made apparent in a sequence minutes into the first stage, as Ryu approaches a soldier begging and pleading for his life, his unintentionally humorous cockney accent begging you not to kill him; After all, he’s only trying to murder you in order to feed his kids. Sure, you as a player have the option to not kill him, but Ryu doesn’t: The game won’t advance if you refuse to press the X button, and it flashes incessantly, almost mocking your lack of choice in the matter. Dozens of henchmen crawl and stumble in battle when heavily damaged, begging for their life, and your only option is to press X or Y for an execution. It goes on like this for the entire game. Every enemy, every ambiguous encounter has only one solution, and that is to cut everything to pieces. The brutal, merciless Ryu note you’re forced to play is at odds with the warm, misunderstood ninja from the cutscenes, and by the time the game reaches it’s undeserved Dark Knight-esque ending, a quick check of the stats informed me that I had annihalated 3,702 beings in my quest for redemption. If TN is trying to convince us that Ryu isn’t a murderer, they may not have wanted to stuff me into a design that uses it as it’s only lynchpin.

Story has never been the series strong suit however, the events surrounding Ryu little more than a cheesy, yet entertaining excuse to toss him into increasingly more extreme combat situations than the one before it, but the ball was dropped even within that safe haven. Combat has seen a complete overhaul, in a radical simplification that drops the items, ninpo management, and essence in the form of the game’s currency. Without essence, there’s no need for Muramasa’s upgrade shop, and Ryu is limited to an ambiguous variety of swords that are all identical to his original one. Ryu’s dodge has changed to a slide with the potential to trip up enemies, and his bow no longer replaces his shuriken, each projectile having its own designated shoulder button for quick use. The movelist has been greatly expanded as well, with offensive options attached to any movement, whether he’s running, standing, sliding, or even landing from a whiffed move. Seeing so many of his moves meld together with the click of a few buttons makes combinations and executions feel even more like an explosive ballet of death than before, the slower paced fights of yesteryear replaced with a visual spectacle that’s more Ninja Assassin than 13 Assassins.

But while this almost sounds good on paper, it’s the actual dynamics of the combat that make it a hindrance. Because of all these new attack options, combat now has a chaotic, loose feel that more often than not misinterprets your intent, leading to Ryu stylishly flying off in the wrong direction stabbing air more often than you’d like, and the increased number of enemies robs them of the ability to attack tactically, circling and peppering Ryu with projectiles while one or two aggressive ones exploit the chaos with unblockable grabs and life-draining suicide moves.

This isn’t what Ninja Gaiden was originally about. By dialing up the number of enemies, much of the tension found in previous games per encounter is lost, and this newfound focus on mayhem isn’t made any better by the game’s camera, which, in addition to having learned nothing from the previous games, also happens to be struck with a case of ADD. Constant zoom cuts highlight nearly every blood gushing evisceration as they happen with the manic hyperactivity of a Michael Bay action cam, and the game’s new “Steel on Bone” mechanic is little more than a randomly activated QTE, forcing zoomed in, gruesome highlights and jarring button prompts at every turn. Even the Flying Swallow move now initiates a backbreaker cutscene every time it successfully connects. If these scenes were used sparingly in a less hectic game, they would have a lot more impact, as each one is presented with an intimacy that makes the kills actually appear more violent than any other game in the series. As a gameplay mechanic to be exploited? It wears out its welcome in short time and intrudes on the gameplay to the point that attempting to perform coherent combos begins to feel like a disjointed chore.

Since you’re never really certain when the game is going to throw one of those QTEs, or an Obliteration Technique (inexplicable since enemies no longer lose limbs) in your face and ruin your rhythm, it’s actually easier to pay no mind to the finesse and just hammer away at the buttons as the death orchestrates itself automatically. There are a few bosses that provide a more stable challenge, but their excitement gets dialed down as some are recycled and exhibit the same patterns in each encounter, removing most of the joy from conquering them. Turning the game to harder difficulties teases at the methodical encounters from yesteryear, but the lack of control over your character development is even more sorely felt as the margin for error in the chaos decreases, and the desire to have more control over your weapon/character abilities becomes noticeable even to a fault.

It weighs heavier as the game progesses and nothing changes. One of the more enjoyable aspects of the Ninja Gaiden series since it’s 2004 reboot in my opinion, was the fact that in direct contrast to its competition, the highly stylized combat wasn’t pre-baked, but instead was largely dependent on player skill. The more adept you were, the better Ryu looked while fighting, and the stylized violence on display was more of a display of prowess than any deliberate action on Team Ninja’s part.

Here, their hands are all over Ryu, instead choosing to pull puppet strings in a way that makes the game feel as hands off as it does hands on. The minimized focus on skill is made obvious in the omissions. Measurements of skill like the combo/karma counter are nowhere to be found, and with it much of the satisfaction of playing well. Gone are the strategies in utilizing different ninpo properly, the old system replaced with a gradually filling bar that turns Ryu into a dragon for a screen clearing summon that restores your health. Gone is the risk/reward in hoarding essence for upgrades and items, or using it for Ultimate Techniques, the Ninjerpes signaling when you’re allowed to charge for a 3-5 man instakill technique. The focus is clearly centered on making Ryu look as badass as possible with minimal investment in the mechanics, and its a constant assault of action that wears it’s welcome out quickly from the first stage.

It’s a design so dumbed down it’s almost condescending, and completely betrays a game that used to poke fun at the player for choosing an easier difficulty. ‘Wave of enemies-navigational gimmick-wave of enemies-occasional boss fight’ seems to be the pattern Team Ninja’s content to execute here, taking cues from every other action game on the market instead of their own, and robbing the game of it’s unique identity. Instead of a mixture of exploration, fearsome enemies, and light platforming, the entire game feels like it’s on rails and driven by minigames, with constant tutorials telling you when you can and cannot wall run, when to jump, and when to climb. Flashy bombastic moments activated by button presses usually reveal new areas, and new actions like the Kunai Climb are needlessly complex, requiring you to alternate triggers while moving with the analog stick and tossing the odd shuriken. I would say that these constant moments of one button flash and pizzazz intrude on the design, but the fact is, they are the design. Of the games 8 or so stages, I was constantly told I traveled around the world, but the environments themselves lack character or distinction, feeling compartmentalized and more like bridges between enemy encounters at best.

Perhaps (and it distresses to think so), it was meant to be this way all along. Oddly, while the Story leaves much to be desired as a core experience, the game surprisingly finds it’s legs tucked away in the game’s “Shadows of the World” online mode. Even though the thought of a Ninja Gaiden online mode seems utterly ridiculous, there are a number of well executed mechanics here that would’ve made the story a much better experience, and makes the constant handholding of the story seem like a tutorial for what to expect here. This mode is split into two categories, Ninja Trials and Clan Battles.

In the former, you can take on a number of missions as a faceless ninja (or with a faceless ninja friend), except this time around, they’re all set up as survival challenges with contracts that appear alongside the action, ranging from finishing an enemy off with shurikens, to performing a certain number of steel on bone attacks before the trial ends. Finishing these secondary objectives along with the mission gains you experience, which awards you with new customizable items, techniques, ninpo, and combos for your weapon. With smaller, controlled encounters and a tangible sense of progression that starts you off with the most basic three hit combo and expands from there, there’s a sense of growth and character building that the story mode lacks. The karma scores, and combo counter make a welcome return here too, encouraging replayability and a stress towards technical skill over flash due to the limited tools and seemingly more relentless enemies.

Somehow, it manages to feel more Ninja Gaiden than the main game, and with the inclusion of familiar areas from NG 1 and 2, it’s a challenging, if bite-sized return to form. Online, the 8 player hack and slashing is about as comprehensible as the concept of having 8 Ryus locked in a box, but there’s fun to be had in stealth killing opponents and using techniques like the Izuna Drop on opponents you know are people instead of AI. As a mode that doesn’t need to exist, I’m surprised to say it really isn’t that bad, and with the attention paid here, it makes the lack of depth in the single player feel even more like an afterthought.

It isn’t difficult to pinpoint where things went wrong with Ninja Gaiden 3, because amidst some solid mechanics pleading otherwise, the evidence is scattered throughout. The single player game isn’t what fans of the series have come to expect, the perpetual moments of flash and button mashing pizzazz so far off concept it makes the game feel outsourced, and the story attempts to add depth to Ryu’s character are lost in the cliché moments and undercooked plot elements. While I’m sure the instant gratification crowd from the God of War school of action won’t notice the difference and in fact be elated that they can now conquer a Ninja Gaiden game sans effort, longtime fans expecting a challenge will feel burned by the changes, especially when they realize that most of the experience they’re looking for is wasted in a mode that isn’t the main focus. It isn’t a bad game by any means, just a disappointing one, and for a game starring anyone other than Hayabusa, straying so far from concept would have been more tolerable.

But, the fact remains, the point was to be a Ninja Gaiden game, and in this misguided attempt to redefine the series, much of what made it special in the first place is now lost. Hopefully, they learn from this experiment, and take care not to impose this philosophy on the already flashy looking Dead or Alive 5, otherwise, I fear anyone wondering about the future of Team Ninja sans their former leader may have just gotten a very disturbing answer.

Rating: 5.0

Yes, that is an arm attached to his head, and yes, that is his headless torso. Also going on: Demons are being shot.

In this third-person action shooter, players are in control of Bryce Boltzmann, a demon hunter who has been alive for over 500 years. This isn’t due to some kind of inheritance, or choice, but his immortality is actually the result of a curse brought upon him by a demon lord named Astaroth. See, he has a penchant for invading worlds (as all demon lords seem to) and the organization Bryce belongs to specializes in sending them back where they belong. After a failed contract that ended with the death of his wife, he’s become a bitter, disheveled man in the passing centuries, but still holds the same demon hunting job, now using his curse as a tactical advantage. When Astaroth surfaces again and nearly destroys a city, Bryce is contracted once again by his agency to take him down. There are some ties in the story with Astaroth murdering Bryce’s wife and how it led to him becoming this sort of anti-hero, but the bare-bones plot and bad dialogue full of cheesy one-liners by Bryce made it hard to care about. Even after the conclusion, it never feels more than a bare bones revenge plot with supernatural elements thrown in, and not a very well put together plot at that.

Immortality is an ability that may make for a lack of tension in a game like this, making it either a lukewarm experience, or one absent of any real challenge. In a wise move, the developers saw to it that his partner Arcadia is there to accompany you for the duration of your missions. This not only provides you with a partner for the game, but also turns her into a VIP because should she die, it’s game over. Though, don’t let that fool you into thinking the game is one large escort mission, because outside of providing the stereotypical blonde chick with a gun role in an action game, she can actually hold her own quite well during the games many action sequences, so worrying about her death never becomes a chore, and you can focus on yourself during conflicts. This leaves you to abuse the power to detach and re-attach your limbs at will, taking enemies out left and right in a variety of ways. Being undead, Bryce is pretty tough on his own, so even when you sustain heavy injuries, your body parts just fall around the area and can picked back up by simply rolling over them. While this may make the game seem overly easy, it’s important to remember that Bryce is only immortal so long as his head is still intact, and some enemies are designed to suck up Bryce’s head for an instant kill, making it less of a crutch than you’d think. When this situation happens, a QTE is initiated to save yourself from these critters. Guess what happens when you fail?

The odd damage and companionship woes are small complaints on their own, but what really makes the game a chore to play through is Rebellion’s insistence on tedious repetition at every turn. Each of the game’s action scenes (and there are many) boil down to walking into an area, watching as the exits get barred, and fighting through waves of enemies until the barriers lift. Occasionally, they try to mix things up with the odd puzzle, some requiring the use of a body part (one of the game’s more creative ideas I wish they would’ve used more), but it’s basically the same “Clear the demons until the exits open, rinse, repeat until boss” formula for large portion of the game. This degree of tedium is exacerbated later on in the game when previously defeated bosses later show up as regular enemies. I couldn’t tell if the developers were trying to be cool by doing this, but it just came off as lazy.

Is this screenshot boring? Blame the game.

This feeling of laziness translates to the games visuals as well. Environments are bland, empty and rarely branch out from the traditional “Lonely Alleyway”, “Subway”, and “Abandoned Factory” archtypes for most of the game. Cutscenes are all done in game and do look well enough to appease the eye as Bryce and company are decently animated, but it’s during the action sequences where the game hiccups. The camera is an unfortunate pain as well, getting stuck on objects or simply not giving a wide enough view of the action. These small annoyances pile on over time and are a pain in a game so reliant on fast paced action, especially when environments are littered with things that can explode with a simple touch. This means, as a player, expect to be sent flying constantly and unfairly, which leads into losing limbs often, leading to more slowdown.

It’s then you realize that it’s unfortunate that the game is so centralized on his dismemberment, because when this happens, the limb loss animation is pretty stale and generic, and more painful to watch repeatedly than what I’m sure being dismembered feels like.

I thought that with all the other types of fail on display, the weapons would have some redeemable quality, but they are just as bland from start to finish. I did enjoy the fact that you can wield a sword and slicing through enemies does have a fun and addictive feel, but even that leaves a sour taste after a while. The gunplay consists of the standard handgun, assault rifle, sub-machine gun, shotgun and grenade launcher fare most shooters are known for. There are hidden versions of these particular guns as well as secret swords that can provide more damage to the enemies, but they come across as very weak amongst the many enemy types regardless of how powerful they appear to be. Once you find the main Grenade Launcher though, there is little reason to go and utilize any other weapon since it does the most damage and hits a bigger radius in its explosion.

Surprisingly, there is multiplayer to be found here, but unsurprisingly, even it falls short of applause, being lazily picked from other, better games. You have Onslaught which is essentially this game’s Horde mode, Fragile Alliance which is a checkpoint based race through enemies, Search And Rescue (glorified escort mission), and finally an Egg Hunt mode which has you looking for civilians to save or treasures respectively. All are made virtually unplayable due to lack of a mini-map, the environments being maze-like and it being all too easy to get lost while playing. Fun!

I really wanted to like this game, and judging by the trailers, I thought it had the potential to give me another unique experience similar to Shadows of the Damned. It’s a shame too, as its off kilter premise and bland, yet endearing characters could have provided an otherwise enjoyable experience. Unfortunately, even the main selling point of the game becomes an overused mini-game by the end, and by then you’ve likelly already realized the game has a throw away story, bland visuals and repetitive gameplay. It’s workable as a rental game, but save your cash for something better.

Rating: 4.0

This review will do what it can to set apart from other BD write ups by omitting any Terminator and iRobot jokes which will most likely be running rampant by like minded folk. However, it’s crucial to understand that a majority of enjoyment to be had from this game is due to the fact that, unlike most shooters, the enemy will does not consist of cannon fodder militia or aliens looks to take over the planet/galaxy. Instead you are placed in a not too distant futuristic imagining of the world, post 21st century, in 2080 where the planet has suffered from devastating geographical disaster such as massive flooding of oceans and seas resulting in major shifts and losses of land across the globe. In efforts to reconstruction civilization and land, labor robots were manufactured to assist in the worldwide revival of what is left of mankind. This all sounds great until the line between humans and robots are thinned when the shocking discovery of dangerous cybernetic beings walking among us in the guise of being human comes to light which happens to be a major violation of government law Clause 21.

The fun begins when you take control of Dan Marshall along side a team of top mercenaries from allied nations in a mission against lead robotics manufacturer Amada Corp in efforts to bring back the CEO who is believed to be behind the creation of the dangerous cyborgs. The story takes an entire chapter to actually kick off to this point but even the tutorial filler is fun as you get to explore and toy around with the interactive feature of the game which actually work surprisingly well, managing the avoid the tact’d on, gimmick feel. Exploring the controls will be nothing really new for familiars of Gears of War, the layout is identical and the feel/movement is akin to Mass Effect 2. This is good due to the fact that these similarities are just about as far as Binary Domain goes in terms of “borrowing”. The next immediate and cool feature you will explore is the chat function.

Players are able to use their headsets to communicate with A.I. teammates in the game and it’s actually very accurate. Should there be any problems due to background noise or the mic simply not picking you up clearly, there are calibration options to optimize this feature. The list of recognized phrases covers just about anything one would say when out in the battlefield such as commands, cries for help, questions and even curse words. The things you say effect your relationship and trust level of the active members of your party, including your actions such as shooting them in friendly fire which will happen from time to time.The voice command system allows you to apologize for blunders like these, saying something offensive and being completely useless to your team during a heated firefight. Should your trust level drop low enough, teammates will refuse to carry out orders and become less helpful in battle but you would really have to go out of your way for things like this to take effect, having no real deep impact on the relationship system.

Each of the characters are pretty entertaining, delivering what you’d expect from such a random assortment of expert mercenaries who have grown indifferent towards the threat of death. At the start of each mission, players are given a new chance to change up the members of their party, similar to an RPG fashion, and interact with all characters throughout the game in different scenes. Dialogue exchanges are always fun enough to want to take part in and each character plays their role without being underwhealming, boring or annoying which happens fairly often in the genre. The way they talk and interact with the player is a great distraction to the fact that sometimes you are simply going from one area to the next, shooting up baddies.

Once the action picks up, it’s enjoyable from start to finish. There is a fresh and fun feel to each firefight, breaking away the armor and limbs of your enemies never wears thin as they will even crawl on the ground towards you until you completely destroy them. The only break away from the move up and shoot formula are action segments where you are firing turrets in high speed chases, driving motorboats or escaping for giant mechs. These segments are fun but some control a bit stiff, breaking off from the fluid game play you would by now be accustomed to which may be a little frustrating but is in no way unplayable.

There is a small portion of customization to enjoy which enables you to either level up a characters main weapon stats or add  to their personal status such as health increases, evasive ability, overall accuracy and much more. Credits earned from kill bonus’ can be spent at random vending stores located around each stage. The options are limited since the slot box for personal customization only allows for about 2-3 additions and cannot be expanded, leaving much to be desired in this field and almost feeling pointless.

Binary Domain is a well executed experience during the flooding of shooters of today. Only suffering from lack of expansion or detailed depth in scattered areas of gameplay, it still manages to keep it’s head above water gracefully with fun action and entertaining characters to assist the player along for the ride. The campaign runs around 9 hours and the multiplayer consist of traditional versus style and horde mode game play which has become the norm for any game with a gun.

Visuals (8) Futuristic 2080 along with Neo Tokyo looks pretty impressive and convincing.  Everything on screen from small to large scale seem to share the same amount of attention to detail which makes the action and story consistently enjoyable. Character models look lively and fully animated during game play and cinematics alike.

Sound (7.5) The sounds of scrap metal, clinking robots and explosions tend to drift into autopilot in your ears after a while but the rel fun comes from the dialogue and interaction with your squadmates.

Controls (8) Following the template of Gears of War, there is nothing here to be found broken or non responsive. Action scenes to tend to stray away from that feel with some clunky controls at times but these moments are so short lived, players won’t have a change to  complain about it before it all over anyway,

Gameplay(8) Fresh elements to the action is what keeps this game afloat from start to finish. Small breaks away from firefights where players can talk with towns people offers a great balance to counter act any feeling of this being another mindless shooter. Strategic elements such as dismembering enemies in various ways allows players to mix up each encounter to avoid any repetitive feelings in each battle. Voice commanding is very accurate and responsive, something that could be an easily welcomed addition to shooters of the future.

Replay (7.5) Once done with the campaign, there is little to no reason to revisit other clean cleaning up some achievements or trophies. Enjoyment of the multiplayer will only peak for those who haven’t really experienced a shooter up until now since this title brings nothing new or holds any lasting appeal.

Overall (8)

So it stands to reason that a game arriving comfortably in Sonic’s 20th Anniversary would strip everything down to the bare essentials, honoring the blue blur’s glory days by showcasing levels from each game in the series, making them work between two distinct generations of Sonic gameplay. As it turned out, the original release of Sonic Generations was met with mostly positive acclaim, and satisfied with it’s clever mix of remastered levels blending the old and new with (mostly) positive results. But where the two versions differ is that while the console version saw fit to place his 2D legacy against his High-Definition one, the 3DS version has its own to focus on, highlighting the changes made to his portable gameplay over the years.

Sonic Generations
For: Nintendo 3DS
Publisher: Sega
Price: $39.99
Release: 11/22/2011 (North America)

—————————————–The 3D Effect —————————————
For a console that has is main gimmick front and center, there are an unusual amount of opportunities to simply turn it off, at no consequence to the gameplay. But, like Super Mario 3D Land before it, this game can add itself to the ranks of titles that actually look strange and awkward with the effect turned off, as the attention paid to the game’s depth tricks gets lost in a sea of nigh inseparable color, the special stages especially suffering without the advantage of depth. With the effect on, the game’s more exciting moments literally pop out of the screen, along with some very impressive background elements. When Sonic Rush hit the DS in 2005, it played off of the dual screens of the original DS by making levels tailored towards shooting him from the top to the bottom screen at certain points in the stages. It’s easy to see that Dimps was set on flexing the same kind of creativity here, using the 3DS hardware to showcase a set of levels that you don’t just run through, but into and out of at will, traveling from the foreground, to the background, and even adopting a 3/4 perspective behind Sonic himself as the effect of running into the screen dazzles all the while.

The music is also noteworthy, as it’s also a celebration of the series. Arranged music from previous games plays in the menus, and during levels, the attention to the music is even more evident: Classic Sonic’s stages sound like they were composed on a high powered Genesis, while Modern Sonic gets all the bells, whistles and instruments you would expect from his Adventure days, the Mushroom Hill theme in particular rocking out in a way it’s subdued, tranquil counterpart never could. Sound effects are about par for the course, though there are a few that impress, like the music becoming muffled underwater or being drowned out by the high pitched whistling sound boosting creates.

Rating:9.0

The absolute worst aspect of playing the Mass Effect 3 demo is knowing that at some point it’s going to end. This fact becomes a looming burden over the shoulder, only recognizable by those who are by some chance capable of pulling yourself out of the quickly engaging story and action as the Reapers make devastating first contact. Don’t worry, this review contains no spoilers but upon playing the demo for yourself, you will understand how hard that is.

Although a demo, faithful Mass Effect series fans won’t be alienated from their decisions made from the previous games. At the start of the demo, players are asked a series of questions based on focal points through the series and will reflect on player interaction during cinematics. (It is for this reason that the experience reflected in the review may vary from yours depending on the extent of effect these decisions have on what events occur during gameplay) Another interesting addition is the option to select exactly how the game can be played between 3 different options that while change the game to focus heavily on action, traditional RPG or solely story. What follows next is what feels to be an instant immersion into the Mass Effect universe that we’ve all come to know and love along with an astounding graphical overhaul, complimented by a tense action atmosphere on a scale never before seen. Apocalyptic disaster fills the landscapes and backdrops on a new scale, displaying the biggest amount  of overall action as humanity’s imminent battle for survival against the Reapers begins to unfold.

Players must battle alongside Councilor Anderson against a small horde of fleeing Husks and combative Reaper infantry. At one point the demo has the player perform a new heavy biotic punch, executed by holding down the melee button, in order to break through battle damaged terrain for escape. A number of other additions are exhibited during this escape including the ability to perform leaps over large gaps by pressing and holding the sprint button and climbing ladders. These small but welcomed additions allow players further interaction with the world outside of simply picking up highlighted items, activating panels and opening doors. Shepards movement feels to be a lot more fluid and the transition of the camera during turns, both walking and sprinting, comes off as a lot less stiffer than before. Performing rolls and taking cover has never felt more natural, there is even a new ability to lunge over or around small objects while sprinting to evade danger or simply cover distance faster without interruption.

The single player campaign is broken into two segments, the second following a mission in which Shepard must assist Wrex in retrieving a captured female Krogan, alongside Dr.Mortin. This area is more combat driven and players must eliminate all opposing forces in the facility before she is released.  Here players can become more familiar with the improvements made on controls, experience the intellect of the A.I. and be challenged by a large Synthetic known as Atlas. Combat is as fun as always, maybe even more so due to the attention to lively detail supplied in every backdrop of roam-able areas.

Multiplayer

I was terrified when the announcement was first made that there would be a multiplayer component to Mass Effect 3. So many things could go wrong in terms of the development team splitting their focus from what is to be their most epic release yet. If this demo has done nothing else, it surely has put my heart at ease. The demo allows player to create and customize their own characters from a limited number of available species, classes and sexes broken down into 3 males and 3 females (more are can be unlocked via play through). Colors, weapons, powers and equipment all are customizable and some areas can be leveled up or improved with enhancements. Unlockable items are available through any 3 of the packs via an in game store which allows you to purchase bundled items that are randomized and contents vary depending on which pack you buy. These packs allow you to unlock items, weapons, attachments and even characters with either a chance or promise at an “uncommon” or rare unlock.

You can create or join lobbies that consist of 4 players in a co-operative stand off against various Cerberus militia than span up to 10 waves, each more challenging than the next. Objective based waves occur during intervals in which players must complete various time sensitive missions including assassin hunts, terminal hacks and intel gathering. Failure to complete these objectives will terminate the entire mission and will result in game over.

• Adept (Human Male)
•  Soldier (Human Male)
•  Engineer (Human Male)
•  Sentinel (Human Female)
•  Infiltrator (Human Female)
•  Vanguard (Human Female)

Two maps are playable, Firebase Ghost and Firebase White, which are medium sized maps with ground cover based vantage points and scattered munitions. Both take minimal time getting used to but all difficulties are very trying until you level up significantly. It is recommended that novice players start off from the Bronze difficulty and work their way up. With a good team and set strategy the multiplayer becomes extremely fun and rewards handsomely for successful missions and doing so in a speedy time frame. Completion of wave 10 requires players to hold at at an extraction point until pick up arrives during a final rush from Cerberus.

The A.I. does not slouch and neither should your teamwork if you want to succeed. Players can revive downed teammates before they bleed out or are executed by the enemy, similar to Gears Of War. All the elements of strategy, fun and challenge are all present, making this multiplayer component an overall success for Mass Effect fans new or original.

The Tekken series in particular seemed to have dodged this curse with no such lapse in quality, and has actually enjoyed it’s brief stint in portable form, having waited until the Sony’s PSP to really put forth a version that could stand tall with it’s arcade counterpart. With the release of Tekken 3D: Prime Edition for the Nintendo 3DS, memories of Nintendo’s last brush with portable Tekken are already starting to creep back up:

But thankfully, this is not Tekken Advance. It’s in fact much better, with the most recent version of Tekken 6 making up the main game in the true third dimension, and a bonus 3D movie included on the cart to boot. While it seems to be lacking many of the modes that made its other versions a hit, I’m certain series creator Katsuhiro Harada was confident in the core fighting and entertainment value of the movie to carry it. Did the gamble work?

Well..it’s Tekken, it’s quite solid, but Prime,it is not.

Tekken 3D: Prime Edition
For: Nintendo 3DS
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: $39.99
Release: 2/14/2011 (North America)

Feeling like a shrunken down version of Tekken Hybrid (mostly due to the inclusion of the Tekken: Blood Vengeance 3D movie as a bonus) Tekken 3D: Prime Edition is the latest version of the popular franchise, which is to say 6 in a portable form, packing an impressive 3D pedigree and cramming all 40 characters and even new stages into the 3DS’ tiny frame. It’s once again an impressive feat and a testament to how talented Namco’s teams are that they can continue to keep putting out near arcade-perfect versions of their high fidelity arcade titles, but while much of this version does well in preserving the arcade-like core fighting experience, it seems to be all that’s on offer here, affecting the quality of the title in the areas that count.

If not anything else though, you won’t find too many people complaining about the graphics. Much has been said about the highly publicized fact that this version of Tekken runs at 60 frames per second (even with the 3D on!) and it delivers with flying colors. As a benchmark no game on the system has achieved thus far, the game does achieve this effect consistently and without falter, but it comes at a bit of a visual expense as some cutbacks were clearly made to achieve this. The stages suffer the most from this penalty, with a few exceptional looking ones on display that play up the 3D well, but the majority of them are missing background objects present in other versions and suffer an overall lack of life. This makes some fights look at worst like they’re taking place in barren wastelends, and the fact that some made it through without even so much as a tumbleweed to liven things up is a bit of a rub. Character models are also very sharp and detailed, and frame for frame on par with their arcade counteparts, but feature a strange lighting about them that occasionally makes them stand out harshly against the backgrounds. It’s not a bad looking game, as you can see in the photo below. It’s a smooth visual package that looks great in motion, but When the cutbacks to keep the framerate smooth are noticeable at the times they’re noticeable.

If it sounds like a bit of a bare-bones package….it’s because it is, and the game is seemingly unapologetically unashamed of being so. It signifies a disturbing trend in recent Fighting Game releases, where players are receiving packages that appeal solely to the hardcore gamer. Weren’t they they once were the trailblazers of stuffing their fighters to the gills with content? Recently they haven’t been living up to that, been releasing packages that have the bare minimum of extra content included because their core audience is solely set on pushing the engine to its limits and burying themselves neck deep in frame data. For a more casual user, one desiring perhaps a challenge, but actual content NOT involved solely in refining skill like story or extra play modes, there’s nothing for them.

The other half of this package is yet again Tekken: Blood Vengeance 3D, Namco’s second attempt at forcing this movie down our throat with a barebones port attached (okay, I’ll stop). The 3D is nicely done, with some mild depth and rare instances of popping, and the CG itself is about on par with their game efforts with a stylized realism, albeit this time in the 3rd dimension. But there was a movie to be watched underneath all that gloss, and I’ll begin by saying this: I have absolutely no investment in Tekken’s storyline. That having been said, I was hoping a movie serving to bridge the events between Tekken 5 and Tekken 6 would give the story new light in my eyes, and finally rope me in with a stylized blend of..oh whatever.

Seriously.

Truly, it boggles the mind as to why the best parts of the single-player experience were omitted for this version. If this was to preserve the 3D and make room for that ridiculous movie, then I’m even more disappointed, because, as entertaining as it was, I can’t say I would’ve sat in front of my 3DS for that long watching a movie had it not been for review purposes. It would’ve been more practical to just cut that thing out if it meant me getting the Force Mode or customization items back, which would’ve worked perfectly with the system’s social features. They could’ve omitted that indecipherable mess if it meant the arcade ladder returning, with is cheesy and occasionally larger-than-life bosses making a welcome 3D return. No sticking Goku hair on my character, no fighting an inexplicable mech, no beating up slews of faceless thugs for moneybags. Instead, I have the option to either versus, train, or turn my brain off for a little over an hour.

Prime edition?

prime/prīm/
Adjective:
Of first importance; main.
Noun:
A state or time of greatest strength, vigor, or success in a person’s life.
Verb:
Make (something) ready for use or action, in particular.

Oh Namco. You jest.

Rating:6.5

In January of 2012 I found a game on Steam called Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon by Vicious Cycle Software. One of my friends previously owned the game on console and was raving about it nonstop, so I thought I would give it a try. Well, after trying it out for myself, let me say that I am both surprised and disappointed. What surprised me the most was how good the combat actually was. Honestly, I was really expecting nothing more than another rehashed modern day arcade shooter. Instead, what I received was a 3rd-person shooter that allowed me the unexpected freedom to navigate and shoot in a limited open-world environment. Another great thing about the game is the way the story was presented. In terms of atmosphere, one of the best things about this game was the fact that It made me feel like I was in the middle of a Science Fiction B-movie from the 60′s.

Another thing I definitely I liked about the game was the fact that it wasn’t a hallway shooter filled with 5 minutes of game play broken up by cutscenes after each objective. Each level in EDF:IA is huge, fully destructible, and open ended enough that I was able to change and go through different routes to accomplish the same goal. These three factors add more to the game in terms of tactics than any other modern shooter, making this game more than just a ‘simple’ arcade shooter.Customization with each of the classes was another thing I enjoyed. There are 4 classes to choose from: Jet Armor, Tactical Armor, Trooper Armor, and Battle Armor. Each class has their own upgrade system and weapons that can be used, with a ton of weapons for each that you can unlock by two methods: Playing the game and leveling up, or by earning credits that can be spent to unlock more weapons. Like any game with classes, each has pros and cons, so choosing the right weapon for the job is not only crucial, but the differences between them adds replay value. That plus the endless amount of color pallets and weapon combinations add so much variety that each time you play through the game, you can without looking the same way twice.

But, for each good thing the game does, there are a few equally bad things that take away from it.

As much as I enjoyed it, one thing I found disappointing was the overall length of the game. At 3 chapters long, I was done with the entire game in 5 hours and it left me wanting more, especially since the game is a bit light on the story. To the average player, 5 hours might not seem long enough, but one play through of a level takes about 10-20 minutes depending on how good you are at the game and the difficulty chosen. These missions have no checkpoints to speak of and rely on your lives, so as long as at least one partner is alive you can revive each other endlessly. If all team members are dead, that is Game Over and you have to start from the beginning of the mission. On top of that, reload times tend to take a bit longer (even with the fast reload option) so if a weapon you are using has only 5 shots, then you need to make sure you can find some cover or dodge long enough to reload and start firing again.

Some people may consider the AI of the enemies to be too easy, but it’s the sheer amount of them (numbering in hundreds) that makes them a daunting enemy. Another disappointment from the game is the online play, and while you can read what ExpertPenguin thought about the console version, I am not sure how populated it is at this moment. I do know that right now, it is difficult to find a game online, and with some games having cross platform play, it makes you wonder why the creators didn’t consider it an option. Starting a co-op game from scratch, I was able to make it through the entire first chapter without running into anyone else. Perhaps having the option to search for other players on the 360/PS3 can make its way into the sequel?

All in all, Earth Defense Force : Insect Armageddon is a fun fast paced 3rd person shooter that brings a bunch of new ideas to the table in the shooter genre. It has a ton of action, high replay value, and is one of those games you can play with several friends in local or online multiplayer, as long as you have a spare pad laying around, or were lucky enough to bump into a few soldiers online. Happy gaming!

Rating: 7.0

I played the first EDF and I lamented at how weak the mulitplayer was in that version. It supported no online play of any kind, but as a local split-screen game, it was just the type of simple, arcade fun that you would need between days of grinding out combos in Street Fighter, or just from dealing with any other similarly complex titles. My first look at this game was during PAX East and I was instantly excited for its release. I instantly fell in love with the new Heavy armor class, as large machine guns and explosives are a fast way to win my undying love, and the new online multiplayer, supporting not just two, but up to four players at the same time Most of the details about the game have been covered in the previous review, so with no further ado we’ll jump right into my thoughts on the multiplayer experience!

Seeing how I received this game pretty late in its cycle, a couple of my CL teammates already had the game and were up for blasting some bugs with me. This is great, as the game seems to come alive when you’re not dealing with some AI drones. When you can instead coordinate attacks and focus your combined firepower on the same target things become a million times easier. The only thing I don’t like is having multiple players use the same suit in battle. I feel having two battle suits walking around detracts a little bit from the overall experience because the armors share a similar control scheme, but have different play styles that can be useful on their own. It creates a situation where you’ll have two players playing the same way, with the same weapons, and with no real new techniques being shown off. The weapon balance is spread between the classes like this on purpose to encourage variety, and sharing the same weaknesses makes some stages a bit harder to complete than others. If there’s any problem I really had with this system, it’s like Geekboi mentioned earlier, that the checkpointing system is a bit unforgiving. Most of these levels take 20-30 minutes to finish, and if all players are dead, it requires a start to the very beginning of the stage. If anyone on your team is ill equipped, it can make the levels feel tedious at best and an endless grind at worst.

The net code seems solid for the job as well. As my team and I ran through the campaign, we weren’t thrown off by any slow down, and there were no hiccups to speak of. Survival mode is where we started to encounter problems though, and with 3 players in the room, things became a little bit dicey as the screen filled with enemies. we experienced some slowdown as things got hectic, but other than that? They hammered themselves out just fine.I also experienced a strange bug regarding how the game saves itself. I have backed out to the loadout screen from the pause menu more than only to have all my progress lost. It happened even when I quit to the main menu as well. I don’t know if this was a glitch they’re planning to patch or what, but going solo through 5 levels in this game tough enough. To lose it and start all over again is needlessly frustrating.

Overall, I give this game an 8 out of 10. The save hiccups were annoying and there were some slowdown issues, but it wasn’t enough to make the game unplayable, or any less fun. This is definitely worth a playthrough.

Rating:8.0

THQ & Yukes stay true to the formula of addressing a couple things at a time each go around with WWE 12. What sets things apart from the usual two steps forward and one step back motion of progress in the series this time is not only the re-naming of the title, it’s the major facelift and engine that has taken the series in an entirely new turn. Everything from the controls to visual, sound and presentation are nowhere near where they were last remembered to be. WWE 12 surely has taken the ball of change and run with it more so than ever before, but the same question still remains, does this work?

There is a lot of ground to cover in answering that question, with presentation being the first impact to be made here. While the menu this time around pretty much sucks due to bland themes not really suited for a wrestling game and the poor job of a soundtrack that does anything but pull you into the experience, a great turn about is made once you actually get into the action. The character select screen no longer uses in game models once your wrestler is highlighted, which is a nice touch. Instead their vs match profile pictures from the actual televised programming are displayed, giving a more realistic feel for what’s to come leading into the opening bell.

Entrance themes are pretty spot on with a few small motion capture flaws that hardly take away from the feel at all. A great deal of fan service has been done with some current and updated themes accounted for and even some cool unlockables including Triple H’s King of Kings entrance yet other majors are missing from the dance like Undertakers theme featuring Johnny Cash’s “Ain’t No Grave”. While this is no excuse for laziness on the developers part, whatever pieces are missing from the equation are however completely customizable should you feel the need to tweak anything or just revamp things all together. The Create an Entrance option also returns with a few more custom options in addition to last years giving the player complete control over a slightly wider range of improvements.

The camera angles are closer than ever to the feel of the televised programs, the main camera is fixed on the middle portion of the arena’s stands in the crowd and zooms in on the action at appropriate times. Cut camera’s are brilliantly placed at the bottom rope, turnbuckles, announce tables and other various locations between front row and ringside to mimic the actual televised placing’s and capture the action whenever things begin to move about outside of the ring. With such amazing attention to detail here, the feel would be considered perfect if it wasn’t for the recycled commentary from last year and even the year before that. While thankfully this isn’t overly repetitive, it’s still pretty annoying hearing the same things said about certain superstars that we’ve heard 2 years ago. A large chunk of moves share the same motion capture from what seems like several decades as well and with such smooth camera work, it becomes even more apparent that there are moves that certain wrestlers shouldn’t be doing all together.

Smackdown VS Raw gamers will have a bit of a learning curve to sink their teeth into as controls have been revamped towards more usage of the face buttons, similar to the early versions of the Smackdown series. Strikes and grapples are determined by usage of the face buttons while the joystick is used for transitions between different chain grapples, allowing the player to target specific areas such as the arms, head, torso and legs for damage. A targeting HUD has also been added into the controls which can be used to monitor your opponents damage without taking away from anything on screen. The run button has been remapped to the left trigger button which might take the longest to get used to but after a while all these changes begin to make more sense as you go along and feels a lot more natural in the grand scheme of things. Hit detection is at the best it’s ever been while performing your favorite superstars moves, from the simplest strikes to most complex suplexes, contact is made at a much more believable range and pace creating a much more authentic feel of wrestling.

To keep players in the action longer and keep things more engaging, gameplay has been sped up by keeping players off the mat and into the action longer with a new recovery system. Until a significant amount of damage has been made to the superstar in the orange or red damage indicator, superstars will recover from knockdowns and power strikes a lot faster in seamless transitions back their feet, ready to counter or create an offense of their own. These additions allow momentum to shifts frequent and rapidly throughout all match types that build up wonderfully for those closing clutch moments later on into the final 3 count. Transitions from signature moves into a finisher has been well complemented atleast, causing a stagger effect on the opponent during a taunt, or signal set up, for the big finish just like the real life counterpart.

Road to Wrestlemania mode returns this year as well with it own unique facelifts and changes. Three storylines are available but this time it is not longer up to the player which order in which they will be played. It’s broken down into segments which follow a Villain, Hero & Outsider path each starring one main superstar Sheamus, John Cena and Triple H. While the mode is fun and provides tons of worthy unlockables to be had along the way and some pretty decent story arcs are to be had. However the game suffers a bit from trying to tell too much of story by often times dictating when and how a certain match will end. The thrill of real victory in many matches are watered down when you are forced to simply beat down your opponent until an overhead prompt indicates when to “end the match” which will result in a cut scene where the rest of the action unfolds. While this is a bit over used, some gamers may not mind it too much, a more hands-on alternative should be looked into where you can atleast participate in the climax via quicktime prompts at least.

Speaking of unlockables, this is another fine point of WWE 12. Whether your a fan of customization, alternate attires or lengthy rosters, there are enough quality goodies in all of the mentioned categories to keep everyone happy. To date, this is easily holds the most plentiful number of arenas, entrance themes, up to date attire selections and by far one of the most memorable rosters to be had upon completion. The selection of legends this year are great, spanning from multiple generations of the 80′s Road Warriors, beloved Eddie Guerrero, dominant Brock Lesnar, modern day The Rock and much more. Quantity and quality were definite focus’ in the unlockable department.

All in all, WWE 12 does take the series and turn it up on it’s ends but does so with minimal casualties compared to the last 3-4 installments. If this is any indication on where future WWE games are headed, it’s surely off to a promising and exciting start, given at least the potential displayed in the areas which recieved actual attention to detail. It’s been a long time since any wrestling game has left us more pleased than frustrated, making WWE 12 not only a little bit more of a breathe of fresh air but holds a large potential as new lease on life for the franchise as a whole as long as the developers create more than a half done revamp.

Gameplay: 7 A couple of new additions have been placed with good execution. Matches feel closer to what we tune in to on TV to watch and notable efforts have been made to keep those authentic feelings to last. There aren’t exactly any new modes or match types to speak of but all previous fan favorite existing ones are accounted for.

Visuals: 6 Too much recycled motion capture. If there was minimal effort put into this title, it definitely lies within the visuals. Some wrestler’s seem a bit off which can be forgivable over time, but seeing the same movements and executions from 3-4 years ago becomes an eyesore, taking away from this feeling like an actual redux on the series as a whole. A real trip to the mo-cap studio could have set this game above and beyond expectations.

Controls: 8 The remapped control layout makes total sense once you get the hang of it and learning to adapt isn’t much of a climb. A few add-ons allow more pin point limb damage, giving the player more control on where the action is focused and how the opponents can be broken down to better suit their playstyle and complement finishers.

Replay: 8 There are some pretty worthy and wide ranged unlockables to hunt down and enjoying them with some friends are a blast.

Rating: 7.5