Personally I think that The Crew is underrated and Wild Run simply adds more content to what is already a pretty solid package.
Rainbow Six: Siege has a lot of enjoyment to offer but it's hamstrung in some ways by a lack of variety. With only three gameplay modes on offer – one of them barely qualifying- and 11 maps at launch, I imagine that things could get stale pretty quickly despite the dynamic quality of the Siege multiplayer matches.
Capcom have committed to ensuring that Street Fighter V is the only version of the game that will be released this generation, meaning there won't be a slew of the traditional Super Turbo Hyper Mega Street Fighter V – Street Harder versions following in its wake; this bodes well for the game's future but, as it currently stands, it's hard to recommend Street Fighter V to any but the most ardent of Beat-Em-Up fans.
Honestly, I'm surprised that The Following wasn't pushed as a genuine sequel, such is the robust nature of the new content, environments, missions and upgrades that are on offer here. That Techland decided to honour their fans by releasing such a massive expansion rather than nickle and diming players for superfluous costumes or whatever deserves commendation and generates a sense of good will, in me at least, that makes it easier to overlook the occasionally rough edges of the DLC, such as the extreme difficulty spikes during certain missions.
Despite some interesting ideas The Witch and the Hundred Knight: Revival Edition ultimately fails to engage. The plot is surprisingly dull despite letting you take a walk on the dark side and the combat soon becomes chore-like as you diligently spam square until your reach the next area.
The storyline can be a little underwhelming and some can argue that once you reach the end game there's not too much to do besides run the same few mission types over and over on higher difficulties. Whilst this is true to a degree, the sheer addictive thrill of increasing your weapon accuracy by two points well and truly sucked me in and I found myself finally understanding the draw of MMOs and games like Destiny.
Trackmania Turbo combines the thrill of arcade racing with the addictive short-form challenges of games like Trials. The track design is exemplary, if seemingly intentionally designed to elicit the maximum possible amount of frustration from players, and the pick-up-and-play nature of the game makes the barrier for entry incredibly easy.
Despite catering to a slightly wider audience than previous entries, the fact remains that if you didn't really enjoy the Soulsborne games before then Dark Souls III won't go any way towards changing your mind, as most of the barriers of entry still remain – Vague storyline, esoteric puzzle solutions, high difficulty and an overall lack of direction.
If you’re a fan of 2D retro platformers that test both your mental acuity and your thumb dexterity, then Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse should be right up your alley.
With a terrific cast of characters, a compelling storyline and some genuinely laugh out loud moments, Tales from the Borderlands easily maintains Telltale Games' upward trajectory. The few minor audio and graphical glitches are easily forgiven due to the strength of the gameplay experience and the pace rarely slows down, although the fourth episode did seem a tad meandering.
Although certainly not without its flaws, Battleborn is a solid foundation for Gearbox to build upon in the upcoming months. There's the feeling of a distinct lack of modes and variation in the mission structure. Adding enhancements to your character is a fun exercise and allows for a lot of experimentation, even if it can be a little hard to focus on during the heat of battle and the mixture of genres works surprisingly well, for the most part.
Fiendishly difficult at times, Life Goes On – Done to Death will no doubt infuriate gamers who aren’t the biggest fan of the puzzle/platform genre, but for those of us who enjoy having our melons twisted a bit, it’s an accomplished little indie that offers up a tangible challenge that manages to engage the brain cells and thumb dexterity from beginning to end. The difficulty does kind of plateau out by the last world but this is more due to a greater understanding of the mechanics by the player and previously insurmountable obstacles becoming almost trivial.
An esoteric mishmash of genres and with an art style that belies the more sombre elements of the storyline, Valkyria Chronicles isn’t exactly an easy recommend. For me, personally, it all comes together to form a cohesive whole and has reignited my long dormant passion for strategising and turn based combat scenarios but some may come to the game thinking that the RPG elements are much more prevalent rather than simply informing the non-interactive cutscenes.
At the end of the day, Shadwen is merely a passable effort, which is quite surprising considering Frozenbyte are the minds behind the immensely enjoyable Trine games. Although the central gameplay conceit is interesting enough, it’s unfortunately never fully realised and the myriad of glitches and AI issues hamper what, with a little more polish, could have been an enjoyable stealth/action romp.
In case it wasn’t obvious, I really didn’t warm to Neon Chrome at all. The eighties inspired aesthetic of the opening cinematic promised big things that the mediocre shoot-em-up that the game ended up being failed to capitalise upon. The controls aren’t as responsive or intuitive as a game like this demands and the lack of refinement in almost every area leaves players with a hollow gaming experience that quickly outwears it welcome. Co-op can make the whole affair slightly more entertaining but only offering local multiplayer and completely disregarding the almost prerequisite online component seems to me to be a massive misstep on the part of developer 10Tons.
Despite the negative press around it, I came to Homefront- The Revolution with an open mind and fully prepared to not let review bias affect my impressions. Unfortunately, it appears that the complaints were valid; the game is spectacularly broken in a way that very few games can get away with and offers very little redeeming features to justify playing through it.
I really, really wanted to like Mirror's Edge: Catalyst, and when the game lets me run wild and focus on building momentum and stringing together parkour moves, I genuinely do. Then I'll be forced into some mandatory combat section or forced to sit through a monotonous cutscene and the entire game just grinds to a halt.
Despite the writing falling flat for the most part, Trials of the Blood Dragon has an aesthetic charm that is undeniable for anyone who revels in Eighties nostalgia. It’s just a shame then that roughly a third of the gameplay experience fails to be fun in any way. The biking sections are incredibly entertaining and offer up a suitable challenge to series veterans and the R/C sections show the potential for using different vehicles in the Trials context.
Certain technical elements could use some more polish and I personally would have welcomed greater enemy variation, although the bosses are each terrific encounters in their own way, but for the most part Heart & Slash succeeds what it sets out to do and offers up a satisfyingly intense combat experience where every death is an opportunity to dive back in and do a little bit better rather than being a barrier for progression.
Despite some of the puzzles becoming a major pain in the last few hours of the game, it’s pretty easy to recommend Song of the Deep. It’s a relaxing undersea adventure with a compelling storyline and an earnest and endearing protagonist that you genuinely want to help with completing the task of locating her father.