Fallout 4’s second slice of DLC is under a fiver, yet still somehow feels overpriced. Granted, there’s a good idea hiding in there somewhere – capturing wild creatures for defense or spectator sport purposes is a genuinely interesting concept, particularly against the end of the world scenario – but Wasteland Workshop fails to execute it with the finesse needed to see it through. As such, it instead feels like a paid, and therefore largely underwhelming, mod.
Fans of Supreme Commander and Total Annihilation will lap up the similarities, but Ashes of the Singularity is far more than a clone. When you take all of this into consideration and add unsurpassed scale to the mix, you’re definitely onto a winner.
You'll cry. And cry and cry and cry. But I think you'll love it.
It's a game that understands everything about itself and how it works. It's the best stealth game ever made and feels like a game-changer for the medium as a whole - through its scope, the freedom it offers its players, and its deft structure. Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain is the apex of the series and a fitting way for Kojima et al to bow out: as one, as best, as Big Boss.
Which is what makes Metal Gear Solid so relevant today: its unwavering capacity to adapt and evolve. It's a game that understands everything about itself and how it works. It's the best stealth game ever made and feels like a game-changer for the medium as a whole - through its scope, the freedom it offers its players, and its deft structure.
Despite the butterfly effect's premise, a ham-fisted story means you won't care about who might live and who might die. It's not enough to save the game from disappointment, and in the end, Until Dawn is its own self-inflicted nightmare.
At times, Volume may fly too close to its Metal Gear Solid roots - creator Mike Bithell has unashamedly noted 1998's stealth 'em up as a distinct source of inspiration - but what it lacks in immediate originality, aesthetically at least, it makes up for in innovative, engaging, and challenging level design. To brand this a clone would be more criminal than Gisborne's corporatocratic rule.
It can get frustrating at times, but it's meant to - and that's what makes it work.
This year has blessed us with many massive, must-play releases. Her Story regally joins the list and is one that we're sure will be discussed for years to come.
Payday 2: Crimewave Edition has been given a spit shine and a sprinkling of new features, but unfortunately the nuance ends there. If you already own the original on PS3 or Xbox 360 there's not an abundance to write home about. If you don't, Crimewave Edition is still worth your time, but it's far from the perfect score.
It's a unique take on the war-based theme, and will evoke your inner voyeur, dazzling in its moments of exposition as well as its suggestive junctures.
OlliOlli developer Roll7's newest project is a frantic shoot 'em up that revels in its messy, hedonistic chaos.
Acid Nerve's tough boss run is precise, ingenious and rewarding.
When it's good, Dennaton's subversive, hyper-violent sequel is outstanding, but questionable design decisions and a confused story means it does not have the precision of its predecessor.
This is a game which clearly values quantity over quality and is worse off for it, leaving you with the lasting impression that this was a team over zealously trying to make up for a failed crowd funding project. There may well be a half-decent game lurking beneath the facade of tired jokes and nods to RPG tropes and stereotypes, which Citizens of Earth then insists of portraying anyway, however it's far too caught up in its own bravado to realise it.
Now for the age-old question: is war worth it? At £30, Ardennes Assault might be slightly overpriced, yet within lies a brilliant war sim RTS. Only the best need apply.
There's a famous Doug Larson quote that goes: "Nostalgia is a file that removes the rough edges from the good old days" Unfortunately for Gabriel Knight's 20th Anniversary Edition, the lead character himself - much like his dated wit - isn't sharp enough to carry this off.
Aside from the odd moments where Magic's innovative ruleset is allowed to shine, this entry feels like a complete cash-in, forcing players to rely on their wallets, not their wits. Long term Magic fans will want to avoid Magic 2015 to avoid utter frustration, whereas newcomers should look further into the Duels of the Planeswalkers' back catalogue for a more appropriate and fulfilling platform for inauguration.
"When you need it there yesterday," reads Buck Mann's catchphrase in reference to his delivery ethos. As far as Space Run: Fast and Safe Delivery as a game is concerned, part of me wonders if yesterday is really where this adventure belongs.
Unfortunately, the last quarter of A Story About My Uncle does become a little too repetitive, and slightly overly obscure grapple set pieces require blind luck more often than skill. That said, this is still a great adventure - one which will return you to childhood fantasy, and one which will far from get your goat.