As it stands, this first part passes the time, promises more but ultimately devolves into a third-person shooter peppered with fetch quests. Like the combination weapons it proudly (and rightly) brandishes, Operation Broken Eagle seems hastily constructed but not half as entertaining.
Fighter Within doesn't just tarnish the tenuous franchise that Ubisoft seems to be attempting to forge. It does motion-controlled brawlers a disservice, writing off a genre that probably shouldn't exist anyway. Even worse it tarnishes Microsoft's shiny new Kinect as well as the black box to which it's leashed.
It doesn't do anything new and it doesn't feel next-gen but Dead Rising 3 is a solid and welcome return to gleeful, quirky zombie killing. Like the rotting corpses that populate its streets, Dead Rising 3 has a long life after it's finished. The game is one to which, amidst a barren forthcoming release schedule, you'll keep revisiting.
In bringing the challenging subject of slavery to the forefront of such a blockbuster franchise, Ubisoft has shown that games are the perfect vehicle to reopen discussion and confront darker moments of history. Freedom Cry may not be particularly long or radically different from Black Flag but as a companion piece it feels important, imbuing its protagonist with a desire for retribution and justice that bleeds through the screen and inhabits your own persona. For that reason alone it deserves your attention.
Knack seems to have no ambition beyond wowing you with rendering lots of objects, making it feel like an overlong tech demo. If parents are looking for some cartoon fun to keep the children occupied... well... the PlayStation 4 has a knack for playing blurays, too.
By no means a bad game, Shadow Fall instead feels consumable, there to be experienced and then forgotten. Enjoyment is there in spades, although each moment of awe is fleeting with no lasting impact. Killzone has finally become part of the Sony legacy - not as a franchise of compelling depth, nor in delivering iconic gameplay. Instead its legacy will be one of visual fidelity - a legacy that Shadow Fall attempts to rise above but to which it seems eternally bound.
In taking and refining the best bits of previous games, Ubisoft is admittedly treading water and, some would say, stagnating. The eavesdropping should really be, well, dropped but those moments of frustration and repetition are far outweighed by the lure of the sea. Not a flagship title for the series then, but one that will delight fans and newcomers alike.
The best part in being free-to-play will be that Neverwinter is there for those looking to try and there's certainly no harm in paddling in Cryptic's pool. The number of players encountered is a testament to its accessibility. However, veteran MMO players may find it too easy; newcomers may disagree with the payoff vs. time spent. Either way it's worth venturing in - just don't expect a tale for the ages.