Considering how much people fuss and fret over the quality of video game graphics and the visual fidelity of game consoles, it’s rather ironic how few games actually use their visual style as a gameplay mechanic. But in doing just that, the side-scrolling platformer Deadlight Director’s Cut (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC) — an augmented version of 2012’s Deadlight — turns something familiar into something far more compelling and fun.
Though platforming in first-person games can be problematic, the first-person platformer Mirror’s Edge managed to pull it off, and well. But while the same can be said for its sequel, Mirror’s Edge Catalyst (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC), the game has other problems that keep it from being anything more than just okay.
As someone who played miniature golf all through high school and college, let me assure the last word you should ever associate with mini golf is “dangerous.” But by adding such words as “bouncy,” “destructive,” and “ridiculous” to the things you can say about the physics-based arcade game Dangerous Golf (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC), the good people at Three Fields Entertainment have made a mini golf game that’s, well, okay, not dangerous — it’s still just a video game — but it is a lot more fun than most golf video games, mini or otherwise.
In anticipation of Dead Island 2 (PlayStation 4, Xbox One) possibly coming out this year, Deep Silver are releasing the Dead Island Definitive Collection (PlayStation 4, Xbox One) which includes 2011’s Dead Island and its 2013’s stand-alone expansion Dead Island Riptide, their respective add-ons, and a new side-scrolling arcade game called Dead Island Retro Revenge (digital versions of Dead Island: Definitive Edition and Dead Island Riptide: Definitive Edition are being also sold separately, but Dead Island Retro Revenge is only available in the Dead Island Definitive Collection).
And while neither this compilation nor these updated games are worth buying if you already own them, obviously, for those who’ve fallen behind on their zombie hunting, the Dead Island Definitive Collection is a solid though not perfect compilation.
Inspired by the recent Nickelodeon cartoon, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mutants In Manhattan (Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PC) is a fun third-person hack & slash action game that will engage fans of that kid-friendly animated series. But for older gamers who instead grew up on the ’80s cartoon or the original comic books — in which they were as big on Metallica as they were pizza — this game probably won’t hold your attention.
Considering that first-person shooters have been around since the early-’90s, you’d think any modern version would, at the very least, get the fundamental mechanics right. But that’s sadly not the case with Homefront The Revolution (Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC, Mac), an open world first-person shooter that has some intriguing ideas, but is ultimately undermined by some rather basic but easily avoided problems.
In games, your objective may be to save the galaxy or rescue the princess, but the real goal, every time, is to just stay alive. After all, you can’t save the galaxy or rescue the princess if you’re dead. But in the clever puzzle game Life Goes On: Done To Death — an updated and expanded version of 2014’s Life Goes On that’s now available for PlayStation 4 as well as PC and Mac via Steam — the only way to complete your objective is to go against thousands of years of evolution and human nature and let yourself die. A lot.
By injecting new mechanics into an old school shooter — or maybe they injected old mechanics into a new school shooter — the good people at ID Software have done something interesting with the new Doom (Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC). Though how much you’ll enjoy this sci-fi first-person shooter will depend more on how much you appreciate those old school mechanics more than the new ones.
With Shadow Of The Beast (PlayStation 4), the good people at Heavy Spectrum Entertainment Labs have resurrected a cult favorite that dates back to the era of the Commodore Amiga. Even cooler, they’ve made an compelling and addictive 2D side-scrolling hack & slash action game that doesn’t require you to be familiar with the original, or even the Commode Amiga, to get a kick out of. Or slice out of, as the case may be.