Awesomenauts Assemble! is a platformer in the broadest sense. The game has a ton of modes, a lot of characters and several offline and online matchmaking features. I'll give a brief rundown. Also, there is no major story to talk about. So there wont be a story section.
Gameplay: The game has the players fighting for control over certain maps both online and split-screen. You'll have to face off against opposing players and AI controlled obstacles as well. The various versions of games available are variations of this concept. It can be classified as MOBA. The players can select a character, customize loadout and outfit for perks and bonuses. The gameplay is very good. but its only in small bursts. Dont try to grind it out in one long sitting. You'll hate the game.
Visuals: The game has a cartoony style and its looks pleasant. Even the most intense battles look like small skirmishes and as a result, its hard to know when a team mate is in danger. I found it adequate.
Sound: The music is ok. Not very memorable, but not irritating or anything. Its just there.
Trophies and Achievements: The game has a long grind to 100%. There is no platinum. It took me about 30 hours to finish it. the longest one being grind to level 110. Keep that in mind while trying to finish it fully.
Final words: The game is decent enough. If you have friends to play with, I can recommend buying it. The price is not too high for its content. I got it for £8.49. I thought it was worth the game.
Note: If you have already played RPG's skip the first paragraph.
South Park Stick of Truth is my latest Plat and I think I played enough to warrant a review. The game is a turn-based-role-playing-game. It means the combat occurs in turns. You'll have to select your players and direct them to attack the enemies one after the other. After your team is done, the enemies have their turn. This repeats until one team is completely dead.
The game is very simple and short. But its good. It reminded me of Super Mario RPG (During the attacks, there will be button prompts). But for the asking price, the game is not worth it. Wait for a price drop. I'll briefly touch upon the aspects of game below.
Gameplay: Adequate. Its too simplistic for my taste. But for newcomers, this will be perfect. All the bosses and normal enemies follow same patterns. Except a few bosses in the last part of the game in hard mode, the same strategy can be used. Even the bosses I'm talking about are only different in one way. They will resurrect dead enemies. This can be countered with hitting the dead enemies with a multiple attack projectile (Many idiot reviewers were confused by the inclusion of this in game. Guess that's why you have to play in hard before reviewing a game).
Several items are acquired in story progression which opens up the map. They are ok for the most park. The weapons and equipment are standard fare. The weapon patches require a lot of busy work.
Visuals: The game looks like South Park. It has its charm. But I wont blame you if you expect more from a full-priced game. I liked it.
Audio: The game has decent audio. The fight music may seem repetitive. But it switches up constantly with story progression. So its ok.
Story: Its South Park. What do you expect ?
Special notes: The game has a bunch of glitches. Having Cartman as party member crashed the game for me 4 times during loading screens. The first update I downloaded corrupted my game data. Compared to other Obsidian games, its ok. But it still needs work.
Trophies and Achievements: All trophies and achievements are comparatively easy. But this is one of those games that require you to have a trophy guide by side. One of the the collectibles trophy (More popular than John Lennon) is missable in the first few minutes, You'll have to start over again if you dont have a guide. There are also a few chapter specific missables and events. Overall, easy enough without any grinding(thankfully).
Final words: The game is fun, but in my opinion, not worth full price. Wait for price drop. Also, if you cant stomach crude humour, this game is not for you.
So, its over 6 months since PlayStation 4's release and I thought I could safely pick at least 5 games for it that I loved. Even though this is not an extensive analysis of these games, i'll try to add a few words to describe them. Also, they are not console exclusives. So bear that in mind.
5. Don't Starve
This game would have been higher on this list except for one of my pet peeves. Its perma-death. I applaud the makers to finally give a game where death has consequences. But I guess I'm too old to try again with renewed energy. Except that one bit, the entire game is perfect. The story, visuals, sound design, art work, level design and the game play are just pitch perfect. I loved it. Special mention goes to the death sequences. Its dark and charming at the same time. Well done team-Klei.
4. Mercenary Kings
Mercenary Kings hit me in the sweet nostalgic spot between Metal-slug and Contra. Granted I got it for free from PS Plus. But its a great game nonetheless. Except for a few convoluted menus, the game is perfect. Its paced greatly, has sweet music and awesome power ups. I have only been playing it for 2 days but I already played through it twice. And it has guns that sound like guns. Not the realistic bangs from many games with similar design. I loved that. It encouraged me to try every power up and extension just for sheer curiosity and it never failed to deliver.
3. Outlast
This is another game I got from PS Plus and I'm glad I found it. I generally suck at horror games because they always have weird puzzles that I cant figure out (Go to hell Silent Hill 3). But this game is sweet. It had all the right things at the right places. Its one of those rare cases when jump scares work. And its adrenaline-pumped romp from beginning to end. There is never a dull moment and the insane mode is awesome. Granted I did not beat the game in insane mode yet (you get only one life).But the atmosphere and sound design is superb and the asylum is scary. Thats a great win in my book.
2. Resogun
I cannot completely explain why I loved this game so much. And I dont expect everyone to like it. Its fun. Its action packed. Its simple. Its beautiful. Its bright and colourful. It has good replay value. But its not for everyone. I loved it. If you have spare credit, give it a try.
Honourable Mentions Strider
I have recently finished Strider and the game is pretty fun. Some old school elements and some some modern tropes bring out the best of this game.
Doki-Doki Universe
Another game that I cant completely explain why I loved. The game has personality. Thats all I can say. I was a bit skeptical going into this that it would be a bit too artsy. But the game is fun and relaxing as well as challenging. The game also made me smile a lot.
Finally, my No. 1 game to get on the PS4 till date is.. 1. Infamous: Second Son
Lets face it. That next gen gaming system needs a game that can pull off beautiful textures and effects. And while Killzone; Shadowfall delivered the graphics, I'm not a big fan of the FPS genre. I think third person games can better show off the environment and character traits. Also, Second son has something that Shadowfall did not have: COLOURS. Its finally great to see colours being used for things other than explosions. While Killzone had various levels like Jungle, broken complexes, etc., Second son has a living, breathing city which is spectacular. The game plays well. Looks good. Music is great. Has a decent length. Gameplay is easy to get into. The only gripe I have is with the limited mission variety. In fact, I clearly remembered playing the same mission types in the first Infamous. Apart from that, the game is perfect. If they add more mission variety through DLC (even a horde mode is appreciated), the game will be this generation's console seller. This is the best game I played on the PS4 till date.
I hope there are more good things to come from the Playstation studios. Great job till now and Good Luck.
