Digital Trends

• PS3
• États-Unis

Combat is the star of Lords of Shadow 2, without question. There’s a sense as you play that everything – particularly the story and the level design – is a slave to that, created to better enable those mechanics rather than complement them. If it weren’t for Dracula and his castle, this could be any game. The incredible history of Castlevania is badly underused, which is a shame, but the combat makes up for it. Once you stop fighting, everything else falls by the wayside. You won’t be looking at the castle or the backgrounds; you’ll be looking for the next fight. And then the next, and the next.

• XONE
• États-Unis

Without the emphasis on choice that other stealth games have, Thief feels like it is already behind the times. That slant may make the game more accessible, but the bland level design is another issue. The gameplay mechanics and side quests do help, but ultimately Thief can’t recapture the glory of its past.

• X360
• États-Unis

• PS4
• États-Unis

• PS3
• États-Unis

• X360
• États-Unis

• PS4
• États-Unis

• 3DS
• États-Unis

If there’s any strike against this role-playing game, it’s that it never feels quite as dramatic as the old games that so inspired it. Deeply talented people collaborated to produce a lovely fantasy, but it’s not an epic one. Ultimately that’s okay. Bravely Default doesn’t need to be lonely like Final Fantasy was nearly three decades ago. Even as just this, a game that is light and pretty and sweet to touch, it’s still got the spirit of Final Fantasy in its guts. It is good soil.

• XONE
• États-Unis

• PC
• États-Unis

• PS4
• États-Unis

The NBA Live series will continue on, that much has already been decided. It’s a shame EA Tiburon put out what feels like an incomplete game. When you are trying to compete with a rival that has not only had the market to itself for years, but also managed to put out exceptionally good games, you need to do better than release a pale imitation. The Live Seasons mode is a good start and the dribble controls offer decent depth, but everything else in this franchise needs to go back to the locker room and come out with a new game plan.

• XONE
• États-Unis

• XONE
• États-Unis

Dead Rising 3 is a brute-force example of next-gen technology. Capcom Vancouver skips foundational gameplay revisions in favor of iterative improvements and lots and lots (and lots and lots and lots) of zombies. And for that, all can be forgiven. The shortcomings are numerous, sure, but they are far outnumbered by the massive horde of shambling undead that are as fun to pick apart with everyday objects as they’ve ever been.

• XONE
• États-Unis

• PS4
• États-Unis

• PS4
• États-Unis

Need for Speed: Rivals encourages the griefing of other players by making it the most fun thing to do in the game. The controls are smooth enough to make the act of racing fun, but there just isn’t enough to do There are only seven mission types in total and the ramping difficulty as you progress doesn’t make them better, just harder. Instead, the thing to do is ruin everyone else’s day, or wait for them to get you first.

• XONE
• États-Unis

• X360
• États-Unis

Nitpicks are few. While the PC and Xbox 360 versions of the game weren’t available for comparison, the PlayStation 3 version of Enemy Within is particularly buggy. Textures are slow to load, both during a battle and back at XCOM base, and the game simply froze on us a couple of times, requiring a hard reset. Nothing flat out broke the game or caused a loss of data, though, and the aging console tech never impeded on the fundamental quality of the game itself. A narrative sequel to Enemy Unknown will be welcomed by fans whenever it arrives. There are plenty of places to take the series in a future after this adventure. Maybe Earth brings the fight to the aliens completely changing how resources are gathered in the game? The options are there. Enemy Within is halfway there, though, in terms of making those expansive rule changes that mark a great game sequel. The new story content in Enemy Within is nothing to dismiss, but what it adds mechanically is why even old players that have gorged on last year’s game should dive back in.