Football Manager 2019 is a fantastic entry in the series and anyone that hasn't picked up the game in a few years will be blown away by the structural changes to the way it works. The training system allows so much more flexibility in management, whilst drawing on real world examples of how teams are coached in the modern age. In addition, the tactical system overhaul makes creating a specific style for teams to play in much easier. The all-round performance is great, with the UI sensibly remaining as clean and user-friendly as it has been for a number of years now. There are a few minor things that could be polished up, but this is a great buy and sure to have a whole new group of football fanatics addicted.
We Happy Few is a warning to any developer about the vision and ambition of a game overtaking the ability of the team to deliver all aspects of it.
From a pure mechanical point of view Lost on Mars is decent. It generally retains the fun of Far Cry 5 action in a different setting and story. The problem comes in the execution, with the previous originality and variety of missions and situations replaced by bland tower climbing and frustratingly repetitive boss fights. There is humour in Hurk and his tale and the AI 'ANNE' displays all the traits of a typically psychopathic computer system well. However, this humour only goes so far and can't assist in battling through the hours and hours of looped gameplay with weapon upgrades being the only meaningful reward for doing so. It is fair to say it hasn't been a vintage collection of expansion campaigns for Season Pass holders so far, with many arguably wanting more quality so far for Far Cry 5. Hopefully, the final one will make up for these disappointments.
PES is always such a hard game to review and a frustrating one to score. Pro Evolution Soccer 2019, despite the issues mentioned previously, is by no means a bad game. In fact, this is a very good game. It is probably the single best representation of the sport of football that someone has created in the videogame medium. It represents the beautiful flowing moves and the tough as nails tackles. It represents the skill and movement of a variety of different types of players. It makes it a challenge to score great goals past strong AI defenders and rewards putting time and dedication into developing teams and tactics. All of this is wonderful and just what a football title should be. The issue is that whilst people can appreciate this for a few years, standing still is not acceptable when charging full price for a new version every year. There are some glaring flaws that need real focus and attention in order to elevate PES back to the glory days as the king of football.
Hours of Darkness is a solid DLC entry for an already great title. It certainly presents a diverse style of stealth oriented gameplay, alongside a different setting to the main story. Seeing the background context of a previously acknowledged Far Cry 5 NPC is also a neat bonus. However, there are issues with the lack of content and having just one main objective in a relatively straight and linear path means that the realistic timeframe of a play-through is going to be somewhere in the region of one to three hours depending on how incentivised the player is to complete side objectives and collect items.
Within the VR community, a mech title is something that is regularly touted as being something that could bring the best out of the platform. On the evidence of Archangel: Hellfire, this is certainly the case. The production values in the single-player campaign do a fine job of rivalling Skydance Interactive's movie arm, and the graphical fidelity and scale is impressive. However, the multiplayer expansion adds a real shot in the arm and provides the potential for a community to spring up and really enjoy this unique experience together.
Ultimately, Naked Sun is a good first VR effort by a small team. There is definitely a lot of potential here and a base to build on for future titles. Where it slips is simply a lack of content and imagination on the narrative front, with a lot of stereotypes employed within the setting. However, the gameplay fundamentals here are solid, with a fine shooting system and some impressive graphics. A bit more scale in terms of expanding from simply a linear on rails with only 180 degrees of movement stops Naked Sun from really excelling over some of the competition which have done this genre a bit better.
In some ways, Siegecraft Commander works well for the VR medium; it introduces an apt and engaging control mechanism with the structure flinging. In addition, the control of the map and units and the touches of love in the UI all are positive things. The disappointing part is that the main gameplay on top of those things is just simply not anywhere near engaging or interesting enough to make for a great experience. Battles, whilst having a touch of strategic thought, more often than not descend into a boring slog of tower-defence mechanics. Similarly, the campaign is not interesting or lengthy enough to pull the rest of the game up to standard. It's not the cheapest VR strategy title on the market, either, and with multiplayer effectively dead, the chances of having a long-term relationship with Siegecraft Commander looks rather unlikely.
Zombie Grenades Practice has something really pleasing about it.
Skyrim VR is an excellent RPG that obviously directly plants down all of the amazing work developing it. Of course, even in VR there are an abundance of user-created mods to enhance the experience. With that said, judging it purely as a virtual reality title, the limitations of trying to deliver a grand RPG of this size crop up a little more clearly than otherwise would be the case. This feels like a technological leap too far for the current generation of headsets and, despite the world being easy to get lost in, it displays constant reminders of just how far there still is to go. However, this is still one of the most ambitious VR titles on the market and possibly one of the very few AAA experiences so, in that sense, it would be a shame to take away from Bethesda's effort in not just bringing Skyrim to VR but to making a distinct change to the combat engine and allowing people to experience a great story in a whole new way.
Far Cry 5, while having some issues, such as the janky AI and a rather far-fetched plot, more than makes up for these things with some compelling and truly innovative approaches from Ubisoft. There is a real sense that it put a lot of love back into a series that over the last spin-off and fully-fledged entry was possibly becoming mundane. The world set in the USA presents a real contrast to the tropical paradise settings of all the previous entries. Additionally, the organic approach to missions and narrative advancement mean that Far Cry 5 avoids the 'cleaning up of the map' feel that some previous games have conveyed. The gunplay is smooth and fantastic and the graphics are stunning. Anyone who hasn't played a Far Cry game before needs to get this and any doubters of Ubisoft's ability to deliver a truly great open-world title need to do likewise.
Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition is firstly and primarily a fantastic addition to the Final Fantasy catalogue. It addresses the critical faults of its predecessor and sets the franchise back up on the path to greatness. Memorable characters, exciting combat, and a risk taken with the change to the open world, show Square Enix as developers who have proven their credentials for delivering top-class RPG experiences. It just slightly feels that it was behind the curve here, which may be as a result of the long development time. There is the overriding feeling that the open world lags behind some of the competitors in the field alongside a story that has a number of issues that detract from it. With that said, the PC release has redressed many of the technical issues with that world and has given it a whole new lease of life that brings out the immense beauty of the world.
Quite simply, Rise and Fall is a must-buy expansion for any Civilization VI owner. The fundamental core of the experience has, of course, not been radically changed - however it didn't need to. Rather, what has been added is a refinement that encourages strategic development and thinking and gives a constant treadmill of challenges to overcome in order to create the greatest civilisation. The loyalty mechanic accompanies this all nicely by again increasing the difficulty curve by just the right amount to avoid annoyance. The disappointment about the global emergencies does not detract from the experience enough to consider Rise and Fall anything other than a triumph.
It is definitely worth a buy for nothing else than enjoying an old school dungeon crawler within a unique style.
Sariento VR is one of the most impressive VR titles in many ways. From the technical standpoint, with the graphics and engine stability, to the movement system (which is a pure thrill) right through to the sounds of the weaponry, which really make everything come to life. There are a few titles that mix some of the acrobatic movement and bullet-time mechanics separately but none have combined them so well and in such a complete package. This is one of the first VR titles on the market that could be reasonably described as a true AAA VR experience, with an addictive gameplay loop of missions offering plenty of rewards and a voiced campaign. Best of all, it might be a first class title but developer Mixed Realms has delivered on a budget price of £22.99. For VR owners, this is a must buy.
For a budget title, Headmaster is definitely worth a buy and is great at demonstrating some of the best aspects of VR. Certainly this is not the most epic of the medium, but what it does provide is an addictive pick-up-and-play style of game that is always welcome on any gaming apparel or add-on like VR. Very solid graphically, as well as being humorous, and underpinned with a realistic physics engine, Headmaster is a good introduction into VR for developer Frame Interactive. Hopefully, it now follows this up with some more great ideas using this as a base.
For the very modest price of this first chapter of the Stories DLC, it is hard to criticise. Starting at $1.99, or the season pass for $4.99, there is plenty of content here to entice fans who may have set This War of Mine down to pick it back up again. Hopefully, the rest of the stories match up to the quality on show here in terms of the narrative of the protagonist, Adam, and his journey to save his daughter and escape the besieged city. The same compelling gameplay, graphics and sound from back in 2014 remain, and placed on top is the forward momentum that a story brings.
At its heart, Football Manager 2018 remains a compelling experience, delivering rollercoaster highs of conquering the world while battling the agonising lows of relegation and sackings. The problem is the first signs of weariness are really starting to show themselves in this year's edition. It is like an ageing star in the twilight of their career; more than previously, there is a lack of genuine innovation from a team of developers who are held up to an exceptionally high standard. For sure, there are some welcome additions; the performance of the 3D match engine, alongside the revamps of scouting and medical teams, for instance, show that Sports Interactive does take refinement seriously. However, the continuing focus on the aspects most fans of the series find the most tiresome - the social media and player conversations - portray a worrying trend of the wrong path being pursued. The fundamental strengths of Football Manager remain, yet it seems a better strategy these days is possibly to pick up the title every two seasons for the best 'bang for buck' factor. For the annual buyer, this year's might prove a tougher pill to swallow and could well be deserving of one mark lower.
This is an experience that needs to be discovered and savoured by any PC gamer, but especially any role-playing fan.
Detached is a tricky experience to make an individual conclusion on and the verdict given might not reflect what a lot of people may feel when they experience it themselves. As with so many VR titles, and as referenced above, the physical experience of the title reflects a lot of what shapes the opinion. Some people are better versed to cope with the demands that the movement and physics place on them. It is also fair to give props to Anshar Studios for taking a risk like this and not compromising on their vision. For some, that will give them a lot of goodwill. However, even accepting this debate, it still stands true that the experience of Detached is only ever compelling in a few all-too-fleeting moments, and the full potential is yet to be unlocked.