By quite some margin, this week is the best week of the year so far for new releases. Let’s not waste any time cracking on.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengence and Crysis 3 are going head-to-head for your hard earned cash. We were a little apprehensive about Metal Gear Rising: Revengence given its troubled development, but with Bayonetta developers Platinum Games at the helm it has turned out to be something of a stunner. Reviews first surfaced in UK magazines where it was awarded 9/10 and 91% from gamesTM and Play respectively. Play even went as far as calling it the best Metal Gear yet, which is quite the statement when you consider that it has a focus on hack and slashing instead of stealth. Online reviews have been glowing also, including 9/10 from Eurogamer. EDGE, however, wasn’t quite as forthcoming with praise and gave it 7/10.
7/10 is also the score Eurogamer handed out to Crysis 3. Patchy AI and some linear level design were their biggest gripes. It does look stunning though: “It’s easy to forget how good Crysis 3 looks while you’re playing it. The difference emerges when you play something else,†they said. EDGE’s review echoed this, albeit with a 6/10 at the end. “Crysis 3 has neither direction nor freedom, though it does have human weapons, alien weapons, a cloaking device, an Armour mode, and a bow. And with this many options at your disposal, Crysis 3 insists, surely you must be having fun,†ended their review.
There are also two exclusives Sony-bound. We can’t find any reviews online yet of Dynasty Warriors 7: Empires, but if you enjoyed the previous Empires games then you’ll probably like this one too as they’re all the bloody same.
There are however plenty of reviews of Persona 4: Golden on PS Vita, as it was released in the US late last year. It’s a remastered version of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4, for those not in the know. It currently stands with an almighty 94% Metacritic average – the list of 10/10 scores is both long and impressive.
In the world of downloads there’s something of a retro twist with run and gunner Serious Sam Double D XXL arriving on XBLA and Capcom Arcade Cabinet crashing onto both XBLA and PSN.
Reviews of Serious Sam Double D XXL have been mixed. Perhaps unsurprising considering that it sees the series go from first person to 2D. “This is a bombastic, flippant, amusingly grotesque game that compensates for a lack of wit with hyperactive energy and overstatement,†said Eurogamer in their 7/10 review. Eurogamer’s Swedish chums didn’t think much of it though, awarding it 2/10.
Capcom Arcade Cabinet meanwhile sounds like a funny old thing, with games split into DLC packs. The first includes Black Tiger, 1943: Battle of Midway and Avenge for 400 MSP, while over the next two months new packs will be released for 800 MSP/£7.99. Those who purchase all DLC will receive two extra bonus games. Destrutoid gave it an 8/10 but noted that you’re best off waiting until 21st May and buying the complete collection at a discounted rate. Although the presentation looks pretty good, the distinct lack of actual classics is putting us off.
Urban Trial Freestyle is also arriving on PSN. I think we can all agree that it’s a blatant clone of Trials HD. Even the studio’s manager admits this: “I can’t say that we weren’t inspired by it in some way,†he said during a recent interview. It does, at least, look pretty decent if uninspired, with a lot of effort going into the PS Vita version. A 3DS version is also in the pipeline.
Finally there’s Tiny Token Empires on PSN. It’s billed as a turn-based strategy game on the PlayStation website, but after visiting the official site, it would appear to be another one of those match-three puzzlers. It does look more interesting that most, mind you.
Next week: Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Plus (PS Vita), Jewel Link Safari Quest (DS) and LittleBigPlanet 2 Extras Edition (PS3).