PixlBit

Despite its charming personality, this puzzle-platformer doesn't have much going for it.

I've been putting off writing this review for at least the past week because I was having a hard time contextualizing my feelings for Dokuro. In short, the game wasn't gripping me, but I couldn't put my finger on exactly what it was that turned me off. Was it the progression? Couldn't be - it offered a consistently growing repertoire of abilities. It wasn't the aesthetic; that held plenty of appeal, as did the characters contained therein. All along I thought to myself that it must be the challenge. But with a mix of easy and harder puzzles, how could that be the problem? Well, after some further reflection, there's no question that the challenge level of the game is the cause of my apathy. Let me explain.

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For the first time in years, the Madden series has seen some major upgrades.

Over the past few years, I have been very disappointed by the Madden series and have chosen EA’s alternative series, NCAA Football. Each progressive entry only saw minor changes and a noticeable lack of substance. Perhaps worse, most modes in the game were minor variations of the core sport, with some simple roster adjustments. This year EA finally brought some new material to the table making for a great football experience.

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If Muramasa: Demon Blade and Metroid had a baby…

When I looked into this year’s Summer of Arcade, this one stuck out to me the most. Between the art style and insane looking combat, I felt like this game would stand out amongst the rest of the arcade titles released. Now that all of them are out, many might consider this Summer of Arcade one of the weakest. Thankfully, Dust: An Elysian Tail delivers on its initial promise of a beautiful art style and intense combat engine, but there is a lot more to the game than just looks.

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Finally, the player can talk back.

In a defensive style at their E3 press conference, Electronic Arts announced FIFA 13 for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 with Kinect. Like a penalty kick, you probably did not see this one coming since last year.

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Slight tweaks to the core formula prove fun, but Camelot barely volleys it over the net.

It’s much easier to consider Mario Tennis Open the latest home console iteration of the Mario Tennis series rather than the latest handheld title. Lacking the handheld games’ iconic RPG mode, the experience is more like a follow-up to the GameCube’s (and Wii’s) Mario Power Tennis. In and of itself, this isn’t a bad thing; however, Mario Tennis Open is thin on content and new gameplay enhancements don’t do much to vary up the experience from past iterations.

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