The narrative is suitably epic and grandstanding – and makes a bold decision with a long-standing character – but takes itself far too seriously. Which, for a game about purple aliens, planet-destroying super weapons and bionic soldiers, seems a little off-key.
One of the things that has surprised me during my first hours in The Division 2's ravaged Washington DC, is just how thoroughly competent it all is.
I firmly believe that Street Fighter V will become the finest fight game ever. The basis is too strong for it to fail. It is too important to Capcom for them to let it slip. The prize is too big. But belief, however strong, is a shaky basis on which to unconditionally recommend a game. It is why this review remains scoreless.
Arkane's open-world vampire shooter has some of the developer's trademark spark, but is let down by an identity crisis and technical woes
It would be easy to write off the bewildering state that Anthem is in as the result of video game design by committee.
Days Gone is a game that is, at once, both so close and so far from being what it could have been. There are certainly things here to enjoy and sufficiently pass the time. Those dusty roads of Oregon being the most prominent, but when that world is so empty and its inhabitants so vacant, it starts to become a real challenge to care.
The Roman Empire provides the setting fo Xbox One's Ryse, a visually stunning but distressingly shallow hackathon.
Rare's collection of sporting mini-games hopes to justify Mirosoft's inclusion of the Kinect camera with every Xbox One. Unfortunately the jury is still out.
This Xbox One port of the top-down Windows Phone shooter has fizzy gunplay but mediocre missions and questionable monetisation
Can Avalanche Software's Harry Potter adventure escape the shadow of the JK Rowling backlash?
Overrun by mutants, Jupiter's moon is the setting for this spiritual Dead Space successor
EA's latest gridiron sim makes big gains on the field, but barely inches forward off it
Interactive slasher specialists Supermassive return with a creepy, if patchy, summer camp chiller
Nintendo's boisterous take on our national sport is thrilling and hilarious, but doesn't offer enough options to play with
Nintendo's manic revival of Wii Sports could use more variety, but its lively appeal is a joy for the whole family
Techland's horror sequel features crunchy combat and thrilling parkour, but buries its best bits with a clumsy story and open-world excess
Luis Antonio's smart timeloop starring James McAvoy is an absorbing yarn... if you can see past its frayed edges
Nintendo's latest golfing adventure is good fun, but doesn't find the perfect club choice
Bloober Team provides the Xbox Series X/S with its first console exclusive in this psychological horror with a technological twist
Watch Dogs Legion's innovative 'play as anyone' gimmick gives a fresh twist to the open-world template