Child of Light is a delight, one of those games that comes along with a nice budget price tag but nothing within could be considered 'budget'. Bursting at the seams with creativity, an excellent fantasy based story, silly yet entertaining script and a fine battle system make for an engaging if not truly taxing adventure. If you like a fantasy rich turn based RPG you'd be an absolute fool not to buy Child of Light.
The sumptuous graphics are enough to keep you playing even if the missions have bored you and the combat whilst tricky initially really sours when you have acquired a few of the obtainable powers. It's genuinely fun once you hit that sweet spot and shows off the PS4's potential in a big way, it's just a shame that it plays it very very safe throughout. Here's hoping the next Infamous game pushes the boat out that little bit further in terms of world and gameplay.
Titanfall isn't a stunning technical achievement, it isn't a master class in storytelling however it is arguably the best evolution of online multiplayer in some time. A godsend to those Call of Duty players who aren't 'hardcore' and have grown very tired of getting shot in the back with no idea how it happened. Familiar and different at the same time, simply a must for any Xbox One owner and a very convincing argument for an Xbox One.
Plants Vs Zombies is bright, colourful, lovely to look at and fun to play - it's the third person shooter no-one knew they wanted and may go a little way to filling the small gap before the big triple A games start to drop.
Underwhelming is probably the best way to describe The Lego Movie Game; sticking too closely to the movie, lacking in the fun factor, having little character of its own as a result, feeling padded and most certainly rushed to coincide with the movie launch
Tomb Raider is one of the games of the last generation and now it's that little bit prettier, and better for it. More realistic, more visceral as a result and an absolute delight to play through one more time. If you missed it first time around buy it now, if you loved it originally it's better the second time around and if you are still on the fence, trust us when we say you really should pick up the definitive version as soon as your wallet allows for it. A great release to fill the void before some decent games come out on both next gen platforms.
A reasonable twin stick shooter elevated from complete mediocrity by the licence - not really worth the asking price due to limited amount of content on offer but at the discounted rate for Windows 8 game owners it's probably worth picking up, if only for the addition of co-op and the inclusion of the DLC for free. Halo fans will purchase regardless and likely love every minute of it, this is the nature of adoring everything about a franchise, for anyone who doesn't live and breathe the franchise though there just isn't enough content and what there is has been done bigger and better many many times over.
Max The Curse of Brotherhood is a mixed bag. It looks fantastic, it can be fun, even exhilarating plus some of the puzzles are totally wicked (in a good way). Sadly though it is unable to be anymore than something reasonably priced to play on your Xbox One over Christmas if you have completed your Xbox One back catalogue from launch day. Platforming/puzzle nuts will easily overlook the issues and the difficulty that these present, and if you are one of them, Max will satisfy.
Zoo Tycoon is challenge free but a fun, fuzzy, warm experience that could just be the change of pace that some gamers would welcome, particularly those with small children. Reasonably deep and utilising the Xbox One pad really well, Zoo Tycoon can be fun if severely limited in challenge. It remains one of the most random launch titles of all time but is well worth a purchase if you are looking for something that isn't a first person twitch fest.
Forza Motorsport 5 is quite simply car porn running at 1080p, 60fps. Visually stunning and without a rival on the next gen stage. If you are looking for car porn along with a cold, distant racing simulator then grab a copy as quickly as humanly possible, you will fall in love with Forza Motorsport 5. However if you are a more casual player of racing games, sadly with the scaled back content, stiff driving, dreadful soundtrack, microtransactions and completely unengaging career mode, you will need to wait for a racer that is actually fun. So sadly whilst it looks absolutely gorgeous the overall experience leaves you feeling a little bit cold, the feeling that you are simply going through the motions consumes you and how could we ever forgot "Press Y now to level faster".
Yes it screams "I used to be a Kinect game," yes it's limited in story as well as combat and yes, you've played many, many games like this previously, better games with more systems and gameplay but...but...crucially, Ryse: Son of Rome looks breathtaking. The perfect launch game, doing nothing new, arguably less so than current gen games but adequately showing off the new hardware - think of it as a tech demo with quick time event executions and you will not be disappointed.
It's Lego, it's Marvel, it's pretty awesome - a must for any kid who loves The Avengers, X-Men, Spiderman, hell there is too many to name! There are still some issues that have come across from previous Lego games preventing it from being a perfect experience but its audience won't care one little bit. Hulk smash!
The best Skylanders game to date and a must for all fans of the franchise, young and maybe old
FIFA 14 pushes the franchise forward in baby steps without providing any major surprises or new 'wow� features, yet is still streets ahead of the competition and a must for any footie fan. A solid but slight evolution of the franchise, here�s hoping that the next iteration brings us closer to perfection, word is the Xbox One/PS4 version is a ground up rebuild!