A list of games (from any year) which I completed, stopped playing, or even just played enough to comment on in 2015.
Showing 1-10 of 44 items
01/19 -- Not an amazing game, but still a fun 4-player "co-opetitive" romp. Play with friends who have a good sense of humor.
01/25 (3DS version) -- I really like where Nintendo is taking the Smash series (more single-player content, better online support and more attention to fighting elements), but the 3DS is not the right platform for fighting/party games.
02/01 (first book)
02/27 -- I enjoyed this PS Plus freebie.
03/01 (two campaigns) -- This definitely felt like Heroes of Might and Magic II (a game which I enjoyed many years ago), with plenty of smart updates. The story was a major attraction for me. A cool opening cutscene and sprinkled in-game character dialog describe how a young duke, his siblings and his duchy are drawn into an epic war. I would have liked to see shorter campaign missions with more varied gameplay.
03/08 (Wyatt normal), 03/21 (Reina hard) -- Valdis Story's platforming, exploration and puzzle-solving elements are fun, but fairly basic. Its atmosphere is cartoonish, and while its characters are interesting its story doesn't make a lot of sense. Basically, Valdis Story is not Super Metroid. Its combat system, on the other hand, is great. The game is challenging and there are plenty of boss fights ranked by your performance. Building up long combos using magic, air attacks and dodges is satisfying, and Valdis Story's distinct characters and RPG elements offer quite a few viable build options.
03/08 (multiplayer) -- Turtle Rock knows how to craft amazing co-op gameplay experiences, and they did a great job with Evolve. Coordinating to corner and kill a powerful (sometimes human-controlled) monster is a uniquely satisfying experience. Evolve's 5-player competitive format definitely hurts the experience. The hunters can't afford even one weak teammate, but the odds are high when matchmaking. Matchmaking (at least on PSN) is also often slow and poorly matched.
03/21 -- Some of this game's best moments came from the always-on friendly fire. Like when I died to my teammate's turret, only to watch my other friend, now distracted, be crushed by his own supply drop. Helldivers plays like its predecessor Magicka (which is a good thing). Managing the enemy patrols was an interesting gameplay mechanic, and the cooperative difficulty scaled up well (until we mastered the mechanics). The whole "global community war" setting didn't really do it for me or my friends, though.
03/24 (turret boss) -- I like many of the elements Heavy Bullets adds to the FPS genre, but it's not quite there overall. Roguelikes are often difficult (if not brutal), but usually with more progression and variety along the way. Its combat is also unpolished (if not outright glitchy) for a modern FPS. 06/11 (update) -- This sums up the experience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7Vb7Yhkrrs&t=26m15s.
03/25 -- Solid. Forced's hook is its co-op ARPG play, which it does well. The game has slow points, but I enjoyed it more as we continued playing, unlocked more skills and took on challenge missions.