EGM

• PS4
• États-Unis

NBA 2K15 delivers a solid core basketball experience, particularly with MyCareer mode, which features real-life NBA player voices. But the game ties too much of the experience to its shoddy online component, which sabotages the experience—and even makes the game literally unplayable at times.

• PS4
• États-Unis

While its refreshing combat offers a different kind of strategy-RPG challenge, some ridiculously punitive design decisions sabotage a good deal of the potential fun in Natural Doctrine. Considering the experienced pedigree of the developers involved—they count Patapon among their previous works—that's simply inexcusable.

• XONE
• États-Unis

Alien: Isolation might not deliver the scary, intimate experience players expected for its entire running time, but smart design, good pacing, and a ton of gameplay variety more than make up for the lack of chills.

• 3DS
• États-Unis

• PS4
• États-Unis

• PS4
• États-Unis

Sniper Elite III’s gory killcams and open-ended arenas succeed at making the act of sniping more involved and rewarding than you’ll find in most other shooters, but it struggles to flesh out a complete game experience around that one mechanic.

• PS4
• États-Unis

Entwined spins a single passable mechanic into an overlong (but still quite short) experience with absolutely none of the emotional heft or art-game cred it feigns having.

• PS4
• États-Unis

The Show was clearly on its last legs on the PS3, and the revamped, more true-to-life ballparks infuse some much-needed atmosphere in the series’ PS4 debut. Meanwhile, Road to the Show includes several tweaks that help you create a more dominating prospect. Unfortunately, the player models don’t receive the same level of care, and the game’s online components aren’t on the level of most other sports franchises—issues that absolutely must be addressed going forward.

• PS4
• États-Unis

Transistor falters near the end by giving players access to a few game-breakingly powerful abilities, but the anticlimax is more than made up for by its touching story, gorgeous presentation, and imaginative take on the action-RPG formula.

• VITA
• États-Unis

Don't let the concept scare you off if you’re a role-playing fan. Yes, Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars does revolve around making “battle babies” with a collection of female companions, but there’s a Persona-esque addictive quality to the package, and RPG players shouldn’t be ashamed to tote this one around on the bus or plane.

• PS3
• États-Unis

Ragnarok Odyssey ACE tries its best to salvage last year’s disappointing Vita-only action-RPG with a few new gameplay mechanics and expanded content, but the minor fixes can’t come close to patching the fundamentally boring core.

• PS3
• États-Unis

As a potential preview for what Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain might do to revolutionize the series’ classic stealth-action, Ground Zeroes is an intriguing, bite-sized playthrough. As a $30 retail disc and $20 download, however, it’s a concerning, unwelcome step for game development—and it’s nothing close to a complete, finished product.

• X360
• États-Unis

As a side project to the main series, Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z offers an interesting shift in tone and a main character with a lot of promise, but the combat and puzzles feel too rote and unpolished to deliver on the strong potential of the concept.

• XONE
• États-Unis

Actively unpleasant to play, embarrassingly buggy, and wholly devoid of any personality, Eidos Montreal’s Thief reboot certainly isn’t the worthy continuation fans waited almost a decade for.

• 3DS
• États-Unis

Bravely Default is a reminder that classic Final Fantasy themes and gameplay elements are timeless in the right hands. Unfortunately, its later segments are some of the worst examples of unnecessary padding in RPG history. All told, it’s a flawed masterpiece that shows more potential than any other current Square Enix RPG property.

• PS4
• États-Unis

• X360
• États-Unis

BandFuse leans a bit too heavily on fluffy video interviews with musicians that offer little educational value, but the underlying systems and mechanics are a smart aid for learning to play the guitar.

• VITA
• États-Unis

Adol Christin is one of the oldest heroes in Japanese RPGs—and he may have aged more gracefully than any of them. Ys: Memories of Celceta reimagines his previously Japan-only PC Engine/Super Famicom quest from 20 years ago and delivers one of the Vita’s best role-playing experiences, infusing the classic concept with modern sensibilities and respecting the player’s ability to chart their own course of adventure.