Reviews In Review: Watch Dogs, Monochroma, Wolf Among Us

Plus World End Economica

Reviewer? I hardly know her! This week’s reviews in review goes out to Steven Hansen. Check out the video and all the reviews below.

World End Economica Episode 1 (PC)
Developer: Spicy Tails
Publisher: Sekai Project
Release: May 5, 2014
MRSP: $12.99

World End Economica has so much going for it: an interesting premise, a protagonist with an actual design and personality (even if it is a little rotten) and the opportunity to capitalize on a business rarely (if ever) explored in video games: stock trading. Unfortunately, it squanders the opportunity to capitalize on these great bullet points and winds up a generic, muddled mess of pacing issues, bland dialogue, and characters too difficult to connect with.

Verdict: 4/10 – Read the full World End Economica Episode 1 review 

Watch Dogs (PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One [reviewed])
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft
Release: May 27, 2014 / TBA 2014 (Wii U)
MRSP: $59.99

Despite the fact that Watch Dogs hasn’t made any meaningful impact on the genre, I found myself having a ton of fun with it. Between the deep levels of customization and the sheer breadth of content, there’s no shortage of things to do. If Ubisoft can take the game’s core fun factor and marry it with an actual “next-gen” experience the next time around, they’ll have something truly special.

Verdict: 8/10 – Read the full Watch Dogs review

The Wolf Among Us: In Sheep’s Clothing (iOS, Mac, PC [reviewed], PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
Developer: Telltale Games
Publisher: Telltale Games
Release: May 27, 2014 (PC, PS3, Xbox 360) / TBA (iOS)
MSRP: $4.99 (Each Episode)

Having said that, Wolf Among Us continues to wow me with all of the details therein. From the Little Old Lady who lived in a shoe in a random painting to Curds and Whey in a jar, there’s lots of lore building, and all it makes me want to do is read the comics proper. While The Walking Dead always feels like more of a micro-tale with each individual group, Wolf Among Us feels like something greater, and bigger than Telltale — and that’s a good thing.

Verdict: 7.5/10 – Read the full The Wolf Among Us: In Sheep’s Clothing review

Monochroma (Linux, Mac, PC [reviewed])
Developer: Nowhere Studios
Publisher: Nowhere Studios
Released: May 28, 2014
MSRP: $19.99
Rig: AMD Phenom II X2 555 @ 3.2 GHz, with 4GB of RAM, ATI Radeon HD 5700, Windows 7 64-bit

The narrative itself is generally engaging overall, but it suffers from a few holes. Aside from being told that the little brother is in fact the protagonist’s little brother, the player is given no intrinsic reason to want to help him, and in fact, the player can grow to resent the character. Otherwise, there is not a good reason given that the two brothers decide to walk to the city and infiltrate a corporation instead of staying home and calling for medical help.

Verdict: 4/10 – Read the full Monochroma review

Worms Battlegrounds (PS4, Xbox One [reviewed])
Developer: Team17
Publisher: Team17
Released: May 27, 2014
MSRP: $24.99

Like most Worms games, you’ll need other people to play with or risk monotony. Enemy AI still isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed even this far in the game, and they can take far too long between turns, leading to boredom. Given the price tag of $25, it’s perfect for those of you who haven’t played a Worms game in years and have the itch. But if you’ve been playing along for the past few years, you might be able to skip this slightly upgraded collective of recent entries — unless you’re a fanatic, of course.

Verdict: 7.5/10 – Read the full Worms Battlegrounds review