It sees Blizzard go back to where the series began, bringing its seasoned bag of tricks to a new Terran campaign.
Even in a world where a magical Edict by an evil Overlord can engulf an entire region with earthquakes and deadly sandstorms.
The community is open and inviting, the world is lovingly detailed, and the questing and lore is expertly crafted.
Given an empty block and the freedom to do what you please, Project Highrise doesn't quite reach the heights of SimTower.
Here's hoping that we don't have to wait another five years to see find out what happens next.
With a brilliant musical score, some truly breathtaking deep sea vistas, and a profound ecological message ABZU; is a journey you won't soon forget.
Story is what you pay for, and ‘Realm of Shadows’ will certainly leave you in a position of wanting to see more.
Headlander may be a mixed-bag, tonally speaking, but in terms of everything else there’s a clear sense of purpose and intuitiveness to it. From the level design, to the combat, to the puzzle solving, to the secrets, to the progression system and power-ups you can unlock. It’s probably be the best severed astronaut head game you’ll ever play.
And every now and then, the feeling of playing a classic BioWare RPG from a decade or so rises to the surface.
If you stick with it, will leave you genuinely interested in the next instalment.
As loud, brash, and in your face Trials of the Blood Dragon is, it’s all over after a few hours. So it doesn’t outstay its welcome. Which is about the highest praise you can assign to this oddity. Part ‘80s love letter, part Trials game, part mash-up of new and mostly terrible play styles.
A stellar online experience that feels familiar yet still entirely new. It takes something that people have enjoyed for a number of years, appeals to fans of the online shooter genre whilst also adding a layer of inclusiveness to makes it fun for casual players too. And for a Blizzard release, what else could you ask for.
You'll want to play [all the races], and probably will. And for that reason alone Total War: Warhammer is a fantastic game, and one that no fan of either franchise should pass up.
And even with a number of problems, it's still a lot of fun to play.
By continuing the StarCraft II story, with the same impeccable production design seen in the full games, Blizzard has all but ensured that Legacy of the Void was in no way the end of the great strategy series.
And if you find yourself spending minutes going through all your latest purple items after a few successful high-level Dark Zone extractions, then you'll probably be sticking around to find out what that will look like.
In the end, Legacy of the Void will be remembered for a number of reasons. First, as the final chapter in the StarCraft story that began 17 years ago. Second, as a satisfying conclusion to the StarCraft II trilogy. One that includes some of the best single-player missions in the series. And third, with the focus on the Protoss race it proves that shifting perspective and changing tone can result in some truly entertaining story-telling. Plus, it's still one of the most intricately designed, fast-paced, and skill-centric multiplayer games ever created. One that can be enjoyed by players of all skill level.
Even if some of it feels a little extraneous, like trying to keep investors and executives happy with god knows how many future toys and bits of entertainment, Anno 2205 is still absorbing. Plus it looks fantastic to boot, with animation and visuals that are some of the best ever seen in this type of game.
The story takes bigger risks, and is all the better for it. By no means is it perfect, but the negatives are so slight they don't really warrant full disclosure. This is a bigger, meatier sequel, one that improves on an already great game. And again, it gets the balance right. The balance between survival, in terms of facing off against an army of foes as well as giant killer snow bears, and exploration, in the form of archaeology-by-the-way-of Lara being genuinely excited when she comes across an ancient trinket or mural.
The core shooting mechanics are quite possibly best in class. It's a shame then that everything around them fails to reach those same heights. Destiny Expansion II: House of Wolves is no exception, and seems to be an expansion in name only. If anything, it makes the already overplayed sections of the core game feel smaller. And for a grand sci-fi universe, that's a bad thing.