The Bad
Date Night Bowling
***click here for our review***
Date Night Bowling is a combination bowling game and dating sim. Unfortunately, the game’s directives aren’t very clear, and unlocking all the characters is a chore. The pixel art and character interactions are charming, but unlocking those characters requires a lot of solo busywork. Those issues probably wouldn’t be a huge deal if the bowling mechanics and mini-games were fun, but sadly they weren’t. Our reviewer noted that “the mini-games require a level of precision that isn’t welcoming for newcomers”, which limits Date Night Bowling as a practical co-op experience.
Halo Infinite
***click here for our review***
It’s not that Halo Infinite is a bad game, just a disappointing one. The gameplay is tight, but there are so many glitches right now that the game feels unfinished. The campaign narrative does little to make itself special, which means Halo Infinite presently shines only as a glitchy multiplayer experience. Sorry Halo fans, our reviewer couldn’t give the game a score based on how refined they hoped it will become. They ended their review on a positive note though, writing “I can’t wait to see how Halo Infinite evolves over the coming months and years”.
Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX
***click here for our review***
Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX is a re-release of two original PlayStation monster simulation games. There’s very little in the way of story; the focus is on training monsters and battling them. The game’s hook is that is has a music database, and the monsters that players start with depend on which music albums they choose. It’s a fun, strange novelty, but there just isn’t very much gameplay variety. It’s more fun to test out music albums than it is to battle monsters. Our reviewer wrote “the combination of rumor, magazine publication, and CD trading is what made the Monster Rancher games special. It’s hard to recreate that kind of feeling today”.
Thank you for keeping it locked on COGconnected.