Is there a more quintessentially British driving experience than guiding a Land Rover across a roundabout in the Cotswolds, a light drizzle pattering across the windshield as Classic FM lilts from the radio?
Rock Band 4 is a successful return for a familiar headline act.
There is no doubting the actors commitment to their archetypes, though, and their performances are a big part of why you start to warm to even the coldest character. You end up wanting them all to survive, unlikely as that seems.
You might need some prior connection to Rare to appreciate the nostalgia, of course, but Replay makes you stop and think 'blimey, Rare really were very good'.
As you may have gathered, it is all thoroughly enjoyable.
Football Manager 2016 may not be heavy on new features, but its increased transparency and accessibility make it the most enjoyable and immediate entry in the series to date.
Short, sweet and really rather good.
In a stark textual introduction, this is the first thing you see in Firewatch. It is unusual to see the video game condition laid out so plainly at the start of an adventure. You are Henry. You are someone else. Get ready to play your role. It is an effective gambit, with deft writing settling you into the mind of this character. It is notable because many video games rely on you being yourself, or make an effort to cast you as a controlling observer. A puppeteer. But Firewatch says this with such conviction: you are Henry. But are you really? This is a character that exists, that has already been created. The choices you have in this introduction are slight variations. Firewatch is a video game that extols both the virtues and drawbacks of being someone else , conjuring an illusion of choice within a pre-set story and bumping against the limitations that ensue.
There's a haunting elegance to Oxenfree that's there because each of its constituent parts are working together to create it.
There are speed runs, challenges and endless survival modes to add longevity, but it takes a special kind of game to provide such a lean playtime with such self-assured verve. That is Superhot all over: stylish, confident and perfectly formed.
This collaboration between the DS’s most intelligent and sharply-dressed heroes is a delightful yarn. Tom Hoggins presents his evidence
A Link Between Worlds is familiar but fabulous, offering the leanest version yet of Nintendo’s long-standing adventure. Tom Hoggins returns to Hyrule
Its thrilling, opulent campaign is tempered only by a lingering sense of familiarity and hesitation to capitalise on some interesting new ideas. While its online offerings feature all the bells and whistles you would expect of Gears of War. There is some work to be done for The Coalition to make Gears their own, then, but as the first page of a new chapter for the series? It is a helluva place to start.
Titanfall 2 shines when it is, as Alavi says, doing things that other shooters do not. Whether it is in the surprising invention of its campaign, or the busy ebb and flow of its multiplayer modes, this is a shooter that should not be overlooked.
If nothing else, this is certainly the most fascinating FIFA in years.
Since the excellent Madden NFL 15 corrected a wobble in EA’
While the narrative is getting a juicy setup, the dialogue is altogether more whiffy, full of ‘sometimes you need a monster’ naval-gazing from pretty much everyone.
I suspect that this game will follow a similar path to Ubisoft's equally interesting Rainbow Six Siege, building up a mid-sized, but fervent and dedicated fan-base. And due to For Honor's ferocious combat system and boldness to do things a little differently, its followers will find a war worth fighting.
My word, this is very, very good horror. It is perhaps understandable that Capcom have held back as it ensures that, as Takeuchi ordered, Resident Evil is returned to its core. In that, 7 is a success, providing a rich, atmospheric and reverent chiller that is just silly enough to make sure we are all having fun.
Hardcore PC platformer 10 Second Ninja was a delicious, if slight, slice of twitch gaming.