Hardcore Gamer

• XONE
• 3.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Max: The Curse of Brotherhood doesn’t break any new ground, and should have had the option of using the Kinect for the drawing mechanic, but still delivers. It has rough edges, but overcomes most of them because the platforming is done well. The controls for it are responsive, as are the drawing controls — they’re just naturally hurt by the lack of touch screen functionality and hampered by time not stopping for most drawing events. Visually, it looks fine, but isn’t the game to showcase the console’s power. The audio is excellent in every way, with a strong voice cast, soundtrack and impressive sound effects rounding it out. If you enjoyed Max’s first adventure and can tolerate some iffy drawing mechanics, The Curse of the Brotherhood is easily worth its asking price.

• PC
• 3 / 5
• États-Unis

Dementium II comes as a bit of a disappointment. While a lack of competitors made this a standout horror title on the DS, all of its flaws and shortcoming become magnified tenfold when it makes its way to a platform with a surplus of great horror titles. As a huge fan of the horror genre, there was just barely enough here that I could justify a purchase if I found it for the right price, and early portions of the game were enough to draw me in even if the final payoff was lacking. It certainly has its moments, and the core shooting mechanics work well enough, but it’s a short, bare bones sort of experience, doing just enough to move you forward but not enough to be worth remembering afterwards. The good news is I will at least remember it this time, albeit as the game that was so forgettable I forgot about it until halfway through my second playthrough.

• VITA
• 3.5 / 5
• États-Unis

That’s not to say the game has been broken in the process of coming to Vita. On the contrary, the original product is so good it’s hard to fault it for the limitations of a handheld. There are so many levels, great music, many characters to choose from and a ton of other hidden content to unlock. Those who want the best Runner 2 experience, however, should seek it out elsewhere. If you only have a Vita to play with, though, then this is still a mighty fine way to get your dose of Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien.

• XONE
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Those who loved the original Peggle will easily get their money’s wortht out of its sequel. While it’s basically more of the same with a different twist thanks to the use of different power-up masters than before, it never wears out its welcome. Newcomers to the series should first check out the original or one of its variants — like the free Peggle Extreme on Steam — to make sure the gameplay is for them. No matter the audience, however, Peggle 2 offers up a lot of value in part due to it lacking microtransactions, but mostly because it sticks to a formula that’s very fun and replayable.

• PS3
• 2.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Farming Simulator 2013 is a very basic simulation. You’ll repeat the same actions enough times to make you wish you could dive in front of a thresher, and once you’re able to abandon tedious labor for micromanagement, you’ll be tired of staring at your lifeless cows and pixelated fields. There’s no option to violate the livestock, which immediately diminishes any semblance of realism, and everything looks like it was produced for the GameCube. At the end of the day, unless you’re an agriculture fanatic that is interested in the rush of cultivating and harvesting fields for hours on end, you’re likely to feel cheated by a lack of content, boring gameplay and unimpressive visuals. Ultimately, the farm life is exactly what I expected — a lot of hard work for very little pay off.

• VITA
• 3.5 / 5
• États-Unis

• XONE
• 3.5 / 5
• États-Unis

• 3DS
• 4.5 / 5
• États-Unis

• PS4
• 2.5 / 5
• États-Unis

NBA Live 14 isn’t awful. Faint praise, to be sure, but with the way the internet has erupted the past few weeks, one would think that this is the Fighter Within of sports games. NBA Live 14 looks and plays fine, but unfortunately that simply doesn’t cut it with a next-gen launch title. In this case, a comparison with NBA 2K14 is apt, and that title simply trounces this. After such a long absence, this is a disappointing effort to say the least. EA has promised that they will remedy many of the predominately visual issues that plague it, but until that or a drastic price drop occurs, there’s simply no reason to own NBA Live 14 with NBA 2K14 in existence.

• PS4
• 4.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Who would have thought that the latest entry in a near-twenty-year-old franchise would be the best original PS4 launch title? While Shadow Fall may be best representation of the PS4’s visuals, Need for Speed Rivals is the best representation of its power. It's blisteringly fast, not batting an eye at speeds over two-hundred miles per hour for a sustained period of time. Cars look realistic, environments are highly-detailed and the dynamic HUDs and interface are the best the series has seen. It’s raw, visceral, intense and boasts a ton of replay value thanks to over one hundred events and seamless online multiplayer. Need for Speed Rivals proves how impressive a PS4 racing game can be by offering a fully realized product that blows past conceptions of what a launch title can offer.

• XONE
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Killer Instinct is available in a variety of pay models, with the free version just getting you Jago playable in all modes, while $20 gets you the five other characters currently available and the season two characters. $40 gets you that, some costumes, items and the original KI game. Spending basically $20 for the original KI may be tempting, but the port is bare-bones and the game itself hasn't aged well. Whatever rose-colored glasses you'll have on before playing the reboot will likely be erased when you play Classic. Compared to the new game, the controls are muddy, and beyond an iffy-looking bold scanline filter and forced stretch option, you can't do much to change up the graphics beyond adding a border to keep the original aspect ratio. Still, this reboot is worth paying $20 for as it's better than the original games in every way. It plays smoother, looks better than anything out there, and has a kick-ass soundtrack with a goofball announcer to boot. If you absolutely must recreate your childhood, then pick up the $40 pack, but most will be satisfied spending half that.

• X360
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

BandFuse: Rock Legends is the most technically impressive rhythm-game ever released. It’s a music enthusiasts dream come true, and the only discomforting hindrance I could account for is that I’m simply not seasoned enough as a guitarist to appreciate its pitch-perfect execution. It’s less of a learning tool, and more of a real-instrument rhythm game, but it comes packed with enough features for both beginners and experts, as well as a phenomenal tracklist. BandFuse combines function and fun to make you feel like a real rock star — hookers and cocaine withstanding — and manages to provide an overall engaging experience despite its difficulty curve. While I won’t be rising to fame, marrying a drug-riddled singer and shooting myself after confessing my new-found hatred for the music industry in a long suicide note anytime soon, I’ll be enjoying BandFuse for a long, long time.

• XONE
• 3.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Crimson Dragon is an impressive game that falls short of Panzer Dragoon's lofty heights. Visually, it looks better in every way but playable character design. Environmental details make the world come alive, while an epic soundtrack makes your battles within it seem worth fighting. The iffy camera and bumpers can make those fights tougher than they should be, though, and no amount of power-ups and difficulty setting changes can make up for the flaws of the gameplay. Still, at twenty dollars, this is well worth picking up to show support for the franchise and the on-rail genre as a whole. It's lucked into getting a reasonably prominent release during a major system launch, so if it's ever going to become a well-respected niche again, this title's success will be the key that opens up the door. It's got some dings on it, but is still worth traveling through.

• PS3
• 2.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Saint Seiya: Brave Soldiers feels like a rushed game with a very small budget. Every character works and plays largely the same and you can easily master the fighting system in a couple of hours. The lack of real cutscenes is a bit disappointing, though fans will appreciate the inclusion of the Poseidon and hades arcs. While the single player offers a decent experience, the dumb AI and simple mechanics will limit your fun. Thankfully, online requires a lot more skill, but that still requires you to unlock the fighters you want. Overall, unless you’re a huge fan of Saint Seiya, it's simply not worth playing.

• XONE
• 2 / 5
• États-Unis

Even looking fantastic wouldn’t save how inane, silly and not fun Twisted Pixel’s latest effort is. A generic voice and personality for IRIS, a weird twist in the form of Pablo, and tired vehicular combat do not make for a fantastic Xbox One debut. At least the studio’s other games had their moments of cuteness — what can I say about LocoCycle, other than este juego es basura?

• XONE
• 1.5 / 5
• États-Unis

• XONE
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

• PS4
• 2 / 5
• États-Unis

Thinking of picking up the game anyway? There are literally thousands of better things to do with $50. Here are a few examples: purchase Angry Birds: Star Wars on 50 separate devices, get 5 haircuts at any Walmart salon (assuming you don’t tip), locate a payphone and call 200 people to tell them that you almost made the mistake of buying Angry Birds: Star Wars on the PlayStation 4. But be warned: once you take possession of the game, much like the wooden Loki mask from the Jim Carrey film “The Mask,” the only way to rid yourself of the Angry Birds: Star Wars curse is to trickily pass it on to another host. At the end of the day, Angry Birds: Star Wars isn’t a bad game, but a great one that has unfortunately been exploited to take advantage of console launch madness. My suggestion? Stick with the mobile version and feel sorry for all the poor kids on Christmas morning who’s parents were fooled into thinking this was the must-have PS4 launch title.