March 2015 Video Game Reviews

Chuck’s Challenge 3D
Niffler / Nkidu
Reviewed on: PC (Exclusive)
Street: 02.28.14
Chip’s Challenge creator Chuck Sommerville’s been trying to make a Chip’s Challenge sequel for years. However, without the rights to his cult puzzle-platformer, he was left to start a new studio, Niffler, and start over. The result is a pleasantly challenging, if somewhat uninspired, reboot of an old puzzling classic. Chuck’s Challenge 3D isn’t attempting to revolutionize the genre, but it’s a solid entry that will bring a tear to the eye of former Atari Lynx owners or Windows 9x users nonetheless, with its fantastic level design and consistent, welcoming difficulty curve. Sure, the “story” of Chuck being kidnapped by an alien fan named Woop isn’t engaging, and the controls—particularly with a gamepad—are rough around the edges, but the lack of an overarching narrative and occasionally wonky controller support is far overshadowed by the colorful, challenging level design, be it the 125 included in the game, or the many levels created in the game’s editor and shared by users. For those looking to scratch their heads in front of a mouse and keyboard, cursor floating over the ‘undo’ button, Chuck’s Challenge marks a welcome return for a cult favorite. –Randy Dankievitch

Far Cry 4
Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft
Reviewed on: Xbox One
Also on: PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360
Street: 11.18.14
As the old expression goes, “If it ain’t fucked, don’t fuck with it,” or something to that effect. Ubisoft Montreal has certainly taken heed to that wise adage with the follow-up to their 2012 surprise hit. Seriously, Far Cry 4 takes everything that the previous game did right and moves it into the mountains. The weird thing is, it totally worked. The fly-by-the-pants, dowhatever-the-fuck-you-want first-person shooter is borderline perfection—almost too much fun. In it, you are Ajay, a young man who has traveled to Kyrat (a country based on Nepal) to spread your mother’s ashes. Of course, everything gets flipped on its head and you are pushed into the middle of a war. One of the cool inclusions are choices that affect how you go about progressing in the world. Overall, though, it feels familiar, as Far Cry 4 adds to the series and it is a great open-world adventure begging to be enjoyed. –Blake Leszczynski

Game of Thrones: Episode One
Telltale Games
Reviewed on: Steam
Also on: iOS, Android, PC, Mac, PS3, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360
Street: 12.02.14
Telltale has firmly established their formula of decision-based storytelling games with franchises like Fables and The Walking Dead. It seems pretty obvious that Game of Thrones would be next in line, and it’s certainly worthy of the Telltale dynasty. This time around, you play as three characters, each related to House Forrester. Gared starts off the narrative with an unassuming beginning, but a series of dire events quickly unfolds once you realize where the beginning takes place. After a bit of the ol’ fire and death, the viewpoint shifts to young Ethan Forrester, who is just easing into his role as lord of House Forrester. Mira Forrester comes next, with her depiction of life as a handmaiden to Margaery Tyrell in King’s Landing. While the three perspectives were welcome and necessary to rounding out the plot, each section felt kind of short and stunted. That said, the plot advances quickly enough that you’re never treading old ground for long. The visual aesthetics are as strong as expected, bringing out the color in George R.R. Martin’s gritty, muddy world. This one left me with a major shock, and I can’t wait to see what ruin follows in my wake in Episode Two. –Henry Glasheen