Rishi Alwani's Reviews
Aside from the all but obvious graphical leap that this generation of gaming hardware grants us, it's nice to see fresh ideas in terms of gameplay. Evolve and last year's Titanfall are two examples of such originality. While it took the latter a while to get into its stride, it's nice to see Turtle Rock hit the ground running with a surprisingly competent shooter. All of its elements such as the various class options, environmental hazards, and a slew of monster skills come together to make Evolve a frantic, fast-paced game whose appeal is hard to shake off. Barring the quirky progression system that betrays its depth, there's very little else that's wrong. If you're burnt out playing modern day first-person multiplayer shooters, you may want to evolve to better things.
Don Bradman Cricket isn't cheap. In fact it's a lot more expensive than most games at retail on the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One . . . But if you don't own a PC or missed out on it when it hit the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360, and can stomach the cost of admission, you'll be treated to the finest cricket game ever.
At the end of the day, Life is Strange is an interesting experiment. And while it falters on a few fronts, the first episode does more than enough to keep our interest for the next one.
With a host of game modes, some of which are more addictive than others and slick controls for most part, ScreamRide is a fun bundle of gaming goodness. Until the bigger games hit the Xbox One, rest assured this is more than enough to keep you suitably entertained.
Ori and the Blind Forest combines enthralling narrative sandwiching derivative but solid gameplay. It's this approach that makes you wish the rest of it was as compelling. But by the time you've realised that, you've been played, the fantastic presentation would have pushed you to its end, which should take you around seven hours. Well played Moon Studios, well played.
Clocking in at around 10 hours, God of War III is worth buying if you've never experienced the series before, but there is not much value added, and old fans have little reason to return to this title.
Is Final Fantasy XV everything it ought to be? For fans, yes. Without question, this is the Final Fantasy game you've been waiting for. That's actually surprising given how tumultuous its decade-long development as been. For first-timers, it depends how tolerant you are of narrative failings. Look past that, and you're treated to fantastic moment to moment gameplay, and an intricate set of systems that will have you coming back for more.
The online experience was a mixed bag, but Black Ops 3 is perhaps the most comprehensive Call of Duty game we've played in years. Buoyed by fantastic visuals and a steady frame rate, it's a gorgeous game that is fun to play. Whether you're a veteran of the series or a newcomer, there's more than enough content to warrant checking out Black Ops 3.
With astounding production values, powerful story-telling, and rewarding combat, Quantum Break is a stellar game. But due to an underdeveloped upgrade system and poorly thought out content delivery that demands heavy bandwidth, it isn't exactly a game we can recommend to everyone wholeheartedly. Make no mistake though, if you have the means to play it as it was meant to be, it's worth experiencing.
So Dark Souls 3 might not be the last game in the series, but we won't be surprised if it's taken in a different direction going forward. The remarkable improvements in terms of combat, level design, and boss encounters, made our time with it well spent despite its technical and user interface failings.
FIFA 16 is an interesting beast. The core gameplay veers towards simulation with thoughtful ways that retool some of its most basic actions and your approach to a match, if you're a fan of fast, frenetic pace of play, this is not for you. However it's hamstrung with flawed execution to some of it's headline features like FUT Draft and women's teams. If you can look past these you'll find a competent football game that's worthy of your time and attention, at least until FIFA 17.
If a strong narrative is crucial to your action role-playing game experience, look elsewhere. However, if you can stomach Kingdom Hearts 3's poor story-telling, it's a slick, fantastic adventure featuring diverse worlds and stellar combat.
In spite of its low visual fidelity and creaky performance, Mafia 3 is a competent game. It may not have the scope and scale of its contemporaries, but it bests them where it counts, with solid gameplay mechanics and a fantastic story. Well worth a purchase if you're hankering for a film noir-inspired romp in 1960s America.
Uncharted 4 is not perfect, and creases in its well-worn formula still crop up from time to time. But with a welcome change in composition of its base feature set, it proves the series can still be relevant despite a few missteps.
So has PES finally staged a winning comeback? The answer is almost. The gameplay is faster and undoubtedly easier to get into. It's let down by inconsistent defensive AI and poor menus, which keep it from achieving perfection. Nonetheless, it's a step in the right direction. We can't wait to see what Konami do with PES 2017.
As derivative as it may sound, Salt and Sanctuary is an enjoyable romp on the Nintendo Switch thanks to its entertaining combat. It's good enough to warrant checking it out despite some concerns. With Dark Souls for the Nintendo Switch missing in action, Salt and Sanctuary is an enjoyable way to get your Souls fix.
If you're a fan of RPGs and can stomach the repetitive nature of its environments, Odin Sphere Leifthrasir is well worth the price of entry. With so many remasters available on current generation consoles, it's a throwback to a time when game developers took risks making quirky, offbeat titles, something that seems to be missing in the console space these days.
All in all, Assassin's Creed Syndicate is welcome iteration in a series of open-world games that really should have overstayed its welcome by now. Improvements in the core gameplay and traversal, along with a host of great characters and compelling narrative offset its historical backdrop and technical concerns. It's not perfect, but its good enough to warrant a purchase.
All in all, Tacoma is a great follow up to Gone Home. With a fantastic set of characters and solid execution of its plot, its well worth considering. Unless you're the sort who compares every second of gameplay to the cost of the game, there's no reason not to check it out.
As it stands, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is a great game hampered by some niggling concerns that can thankfully, be rectified with an update or two if Konami deems it fit. Nonetheless, if you persevere and you'll be treated to a slick open-world adventure that few can match.