Digital Trends

• XONE
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• PC
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• X360
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Let’s be clear here: this is PopCap’s first attempt to build a proper, modern shooter, and in that context, Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare is worthy of praise. This is not a bad game at all. It’s beautiful, it controls well, and it’s got one of the most unique class-based multiplayer setups we’ve ever seen. The problem, unsurprisingly for a shooter newcomer, comes down to the nuances of the design. The big pieces are there, and they’re pretty great, but the deeper, less tangible hooks could have used a bit more playtesting and polish. The good news is, this is a franchise with long legs. We’ve seen plants wage war against zombies before, and we’ll see them do it again. Things will get better in this game as well. Popcap hasn’t been shy about promising an influx of free content packs (again, think ME3‘s Galaxy at War). Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare is a good time, make no mistake. But it definitely could have been better.

• PS3
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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.

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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
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• PS4
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• PS3
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• X360
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• PS4
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• 3DS
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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
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• PC
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• PS4
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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.

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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.