The quests (both self-contained and the companion extras) are up to Tyranny's written standards, but in terms of combat and broader consequences Bastard's Wound doesn't make a massive impression. It's comfortably familiar, just not essential.
A pleasant experience from start to finish. But that conclusion comes rapidly, and the post-game crafting and farming activities are too light to be truly compelling.
It’s a more physical FIFA this year, with greater emphasis on build-up passing and positional movement than one-on-one dribbling. Aspects of these changes can irritate, but the major disappointment with FIFA 17 is its failure to engage with any of the series’ lingering legacy problems, even on a new engine.
Those who covet unique 4X factions and absorbing, atmospheric exploration should probably head elsewhere, but if you’re looking for logistical military exercises and satisfying galactic planning then Polaris Sector has you well covered.
The Deadly Tower of Monsters is not the tightest 3D hack-and-blast arcade homage you'll ever play, but it is the only one to feature puppies dressed as deadly hoovers, amazing stop-motion dinosaurs, and set design to rival Forbidden Planet.
Decent third-person shooting mechanics, geared strongly toward co-op; but unless your brain is tickled by colour-tiered items the rote repetition will eventually drive you from Manhattan. The Division's speculative catastrophe fiction never sits convincingly with its pure, stat-based loot grind.
Assassin's Creed: Rogue is Black Flag with worse writing and (broadly) improved missions. Does very little to alter the formula, but is about as mechanically sound as Assassin's Creed gets and runs well on PC.
Relic's attempt to create a more dynamic single player campaign is partially successful, but the systems of company permanence don't entirely gel with the inflexibility of an Iron Man save system, and the map is light on grand strategy.
Friendlier F1 handling in a Grid 2 wrapper, Grid Autosport is a tour through the Codemasters back catalogue. Single player is hampered by predictable AI, but tuning options and improved cornering elevates the multiplayer above Grid 2's.
A criminally short opening chapter that nonetheless offers a glimpse of Rapture at its opulent heights. The noir intentions are dispensed too soon, so the Booker/Elizabeth relationship and familiar combat have to see Burial at Sea through to its disturbing, perplexing climax.
A precise, highly challenging parkour platformer with a heavy emphasis on replaying stages and somewhat unfortunate fascination with projectiles.
Season Two's early promise has consolidated into sporadic flashes of greatness, but the consistent excellence of Clementine's character alone isn't enough to carry the series. It needs the lift of an outstanding final episode.
Putting a solid score on a game whose overriding ideology is a rejection of certainty is an act of high absurdity. But it's also somewhat appropriate for The Old City: Leviathan's other persistent theme of reconciling incompatible truths.
Van Helsing 2 is a near-complete title that NeoCore are clearly racing to finish in time for release day. It'll end up a better game than the first, but will almost certainly retain some deadline-crunch bugs until a couple of patches are out of the way.
Freedom Cry is pretty much another four or five hours of Black Flag, but this time in the capable shoes of Adéwalé. A self-contained tale about the human catastrophe of slavery is an abrupt turn from the original's happy-go-lucky plundering style, but the game's mechanics adapt relatively well.
In sporadic bursts, Evolve can be outstanding. But its design depends upon uniting players of idealistically equivalent skill levels, and it struggles to consistently do so. The game's gated progression system is superfluous and, at times, actively harmful to positive team-play.
An episode where plenty goes on, but neither story nor characters are actually advanced a great deal. The Ironrath Forresters are still miserable hostages, Asher still needs an army, and Gared is still doing Nights Watch duties. A few revelations, plus Mira's dynamism, keep things from going stale.
Jade Dragon is a touch pricey, and benefits from ownership of prior regional DLC, but its off-stage empire is a compelling enough reason to revisit the eastern portions of the CK2 map.
Compelling tactical fleet combat and a middling strategic campaign layer combine with some carefully applied Galactica aesthetics. That extra attention to detail earns Deadlock a little more than a hard six.
Rating Football Manager is a two-pronged affair. As the premier management simulator, it's (literally) unchallenged. As an iterative installment, FM2018 is broadly desirable, but with some feature and UI missteps.