Video Game Reviews



Disney Magical World

h.a.n.d/ Nintendo

Reviewed on: Nintendo 3DS (exclusive)

Street: 04.11

Disney Magical World is the end result of Walt Disney unceremoniously forcing himself upon Animal Crossing. This game is a great introduction to fetch quests, collecting, and of course Disney characters. It would be unfair to call the game terrible as it serves its purpose well. It isn’t built for the seasoned gamer, or reviewer (i.e. me), it is built for children that are fans of Disney. This game is perfect for someone age 4-14 who just wants to rot their brain with the rest of the Magic Kingdoms staff.  The game is solid from a technical perspective and is driven by stickers. As you solve problems of the Magic Kingdom locals you receive stickers, and can unlock different portions of the kingdom as you get more and more stickers. While working to unlock stickers you are also given the opportunity to tailor fancy outfits with the hopes of good reviews and interact with your favorite Disney Characters. Don’t think that because you’ve been streaming the Frozen soundtrack on YouTube for the last ten days that this game is made for you—buy it as a gift for a younger family member instead. – Thomas Winkley



The Elder Scrolls Online

ZeniMax/Bethesda

Reviewed on: PC

Also on: Xbox One, PS4, OS X

Street: 04.04 (PC, OS X) 06.30 (Xbox One, PS4)

Online gaming has always been a tough sell for me. After playing The Elder Scrolls Online during both its beta test and after the game officially launched, however, I may have found my online gaming niche.  Boasting a more mature aesthetic than that of World of Warcraft, ESO feels more like a computer-generated Dungeons & Dragons campaign, which provides the basis for its appeal.  Adopting the extreme levels of customization that were present in all of The Elder Scrolls’ previous incarnations, creating an adventurer in ESO can be a truly individualized experience.  Once the player has finalized the design of their avatar, they are thrust into the gigantic world of Tamriel, which is teeming with a vast bestiary and countless dungeons waiting to be plundered.  Selecting character abilities can be a bit daunting since there are so many possible places in which one can drop skill points.  Once you’ve made your selection, however, the ability mapping and quick cast options allow the player to use and cycle through abilities in an efficient and intuitive way.  After getting the hang of gameplay and joining up with a well-balanced team of adventurers, it’s hard not to get absorbed in ESO.  –Alex Springer

Kinect Sports Rivals

Rare/ Microsoft Studios

Reviewed on: Xbox One (Exclusive)

Street: 4.8.2014

When the Xbox One came out in November of last year, one of its main selling points was the inclusion on the Kinect 2.0, a Johnny 5 looking camera/ microphone. Fast forward to April, and the only real Kinect-only offering on the system was The Fighter Within (which, by all accounts, is terrible). Don’t get me wrong, the voice commands, the automatic sign-in feature, and even some of the Kinect features in some of the traditionally-controlled games are great, but none of these things are Kinect sellers. That’s where Kinect Sports Rivals was supposed to step in. Does it? Not quite. As a casual party game, it’s fantastic. It had my 60-something father-in-law off the couch for about an hour or so, bowling, playing tennis, laughing and loving it. A lot of the sports work well, especially the rock climbing and wave racing games. Some of them don’t (I’m looking at you Soccer). And the “Champion” creation process—where the Kinect makes a buffed out digital version of you—is too cool.  Overall, the game falls a bit short of the Kinect seller it maybe could have been. -Blake Leszczynski