Megan Walton's Reviews
Whilst the LEGO games may not be to everyone's taste, it is hard not to enjoy the exploration, comedy and adventure of LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham. With simple controls and easy-to-run-through levels, this is the perfect game to get into the LEGO franchise if you haven't played any of the previous titles.
The story may be short and the graphics might not be of the highest quality, but Roundabout is more than worthy of your time.
If you are a fan of puzzle games, then Shiftlings is definitely worthy of a purchase. At £13.99, you are getting over 50 levels to explore, and that will be more than worth your money if you aim to complete the game and all of its achievements. What Shiftlings brings to the Xbox One is a puzzler that is both fun and funny all the way through, with levels that can accommodate both casual and hardcore puzzle gamers. So take a chance on a couple of aliens, I doubt you'll be disappointed.
For a game that started its life on the PSP, it plays very well of the Xbox One. Whilst it may not be perfect and the graphics might not be as nice as some Xbox One games, there's plenty here to keep you entertained and busy for a lot of hours. With the potential of a second playthrough to get all the achievements, there's also a high replayability value. With a wide choice of characters and variation of weapons, there's bound to be a play style to suit everyone. This is not only a game for veterans of Final Fantasy to have a go at, but for gamers new to the franchise to sink their teeth into.
Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones is a funny little puzzle game, which seems to have a good balance of stealth and puzzle element, whilst at the same time managing to never get too repetitive. The levels are well-thought-out and the simplistic story has you rooting for the clones all the way through. A price tag of £11.99 (or your regional equivalent) seems appropriate, with the potential for well over ten hours of puzzling on offer here for completionists. Sometimes it may seem a little too easy to misplace a jump or kill one of your fellow clones, but this all adds to the fulfillment when you finally succeed. So take a chance on a game of clones, and you'll be addicted beginning to end, until you manage to save every last one of the little guys.
A game where you are simply running all the time shouldn't be fun, but Infinity Runner somehow manages to be most of the time. The game is unfortunately short, but with the teasing of a sequel at the end, there is obviously the potential for more. At little over £5, it is hard not to recommend the game because you get a nice combination of fun and frustration for your money. It is definitely worth the price, but Infinity Runner had the potential to be so much more than what it is; a good game that could have been great.
Seeing as it started its life as a mobile game, BADLAND: Game of the Year Edition works surprisingly well on the Xbox One. With simple controls, plenty of levels and both co-op and multiplayer to spend your time on, it is easy to jump in and out of this game and contains hours of fun to be had. The achievements add a nice sense of replayability to the game's levels, and the lovely settings means you can enjoy looking at the game while you play it. You're getting a lot of gaming time for your money, so it is worth taking the time to help save a clone or two in this bad land they have to make their way through.
The Swapper is a unique and interesting puzzler, with a story that keeps you intrigued all the way to the end. The clone creating and swapping element to the puzzling is something brand new, and the puzzles themselves are the right balance between too easy and too hard. The game's setting is suitably eerie with music and in-game conversations to match. For £11.99 (or regional equivalent), it feels like the game could be a little longer, but the content of the story and puzzles that you do get, it is still worth swapping your hard earned money for.
If you haven't had the chance to experience an MMO or previous Elder Scrolls game before, then this is a perfect one with which to take the plunge.
The Fall is definitely more than worth your time and money, and whilst the experience may be over quickly, it will certainly be one that you thoroughly enjoy.
If what you want is a fun and simple platformer, then look no further than Tembo. The whole game has a fun, nostalgic feel to it from start to finish, and the civilians and phantom enemies as collectibles give you a reason to go back and play the levels again. The game is never too easy or too hard, but, at the same time, it doesn't really challenge you too much in any way. For the price, Tembo the Badass Elephant definitely gives you your money's worth in a short but enjoyable experience. If you don't take it too seriously, then there is a lot of enjoyment to be had here, because an elephant never forgets - to have fun and be a Badass!
Whilst point and click games may not be to everyone's taste, Broken Sword 5 manages to weave in a sense of mystery and a bunch of puzzles, which allows it to appeal to a wider audience. Even veteran puzzlers may find themselves stuck for a little while at some points in this adventure, but there are hints throughout the game should you feel you need the extra help. You are thrown straight into the excitement of the murder, and the story only gets better the deeper into the game you get. Although the conversations are often slow and drawn out, the characters are amusing and the game constantly pokes fun of itself and is never too serious, even given the subject matter. Players of any of the previous games should feel right at home here, and for fans of puzzles that may be a little outside of the box, there is plenty to keep you entertained. There's a lot of fun to be had here and it will definitely get the cogs whirring in your brain, even if it doesn't quite hit the mark all the time.
You'd be forgiven for thinking Extreme Exorcism is just another game spawned from ID@Xbox that you can happily ignore. If you are willing to take a chance on it though, it is definitely worth it. Even though your time spent will be fairly short, the challenges will keep you playing after the arcade mode has been completed, and the opportunity for local multiplayer adds another layer of fun. While the levels don't differ a lot, and it definitely isn't a game you'll sit and play for hours on end, Extreme Exorcism offers 8bit graphics and music to entertain you while you take out endless rounds of ghosts with your friends, and what is more satisfying than blowing up a ghoul with a rocket launcher?
It is a shame I didn't get to spend as much time with Tony Hawks Pro Skater 5 as I would have liked or needed. Despite the massive amount of bugs and fatal crashes, there is some fun to be had here. Anyone who played the older Tony Hawks games will feel right at home. Unfortunately, it is impossible to look past the constant problems and bugs. Most of these don't make the game unplayable, but still cause a lot of bother along the way. With only seven levels to explore and play through, your time with this game might be short (and made shorter with the frustration of its problems), but the addition of the player created levels mean there is a little something extra, even if it's nothing we haven't seen before. It is sad that the game turned out this way, because it really should, and could, have been the sequel that the series deserved, and instead has fallen so short. For a full priced retail game, these bugs and design flaws can't be forgiven, and being unable to play the game after only five hours was the final nail in the coffin. Should the game become playable for me again, I will happily play through the rest of the levels, explore the game a bit more, hopefully form a fuller opinion, and write an addendum to this original review, but for now it's not skating by.
The best thing about Fallout 4 is the freedom that it gives you, not only with what to do and where to go, but also how quests will turn out. Will you talk your way out of a certain quest or run in all guns blazing? The choice is yours. Obviously the game is not without its problems; starting and ending conversations can sometimes be a little awkward, NPCs have a habit of getting stuck or being in the wrong place, and there were more than a couple of problems in figuring out what the settlements needed. Overall though, the game is pretty close to perfect, and if you decide to pass on exploring the vast wasteland, then you only have yourself to blame. The hype is real, and you won't be disappointed.
Whilst it is hard to justify the $24.99 price tag, the "Orsinium" DLC does add all of the extra content that we were promised. You can easily spend over 20 hours here if you explore all of the areas, complete all of the quests, and finish all of the levels of the Maelstrom arena (normal and/or veteran). The quests with which you are presented are interesting and allow you the chance to complete them in different ways, depending on how you want to play the game. The new area of Wrothgar is exciting to explore and you will, quite possibly, spend more than a minute or two admiring the landscape as you run through it. A few bugs and glitches with the quests and the sound stop it from being perfect, but for gamers still knee deep in The Elder Scrolls Online, this DLC will be a nice addition for you and your character to go and explore.
Our trip to India is not dissimilar to our original trip to China; the style and gameplay are almost identical to the first game, not that there is anything particularly wrong with that. Being given the choice to play stealthy or by using full on combat is refreshing and you are able to go through the whole game without directly harming a single enemy, but it does sometimes feel like you are forced into combat with the layout of the levels and the frequency of the enemies. The 2.5D style is used to good effect and works well for the assassination based gameplay, being able to dodge enemies and hide in hidden doorways in the background, or ledges in the foreground. Whilst there is no new ground being broken here, Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India is more than enjoyable to play through, especially if you enjoyed the first game, and it will surely keep you entertained until we get the chance to visit Russia the next time around.
This War of Mine: The Little Ones forces you to make tough decisions throughout and the real consequences from these actions are seen in the game. Whether you choose to steal from the hospital, an old couple on medication, or a homeless man's squat, you are made to feel guilty. Consequently, you feel good for helping out a stranger. Keeping track of all your supplies and having enough of everything to keep your people alive is not an easy feat, and it feels like the first story that you are given is a little too hard. The ability to create your own scenario is a great addition and it allows you to tweak the game to your own survival ability. Whilst the days can get a little repetitive and boring if you have to catch up on sleep and not much else, the game challenges you, your morals and your survival instincts against the backdrop of the serious subject of war.
Whilst still being a very similar game to the first two instalments, our visit to Russia is definitely the most interesting of the three. Bringing in Ana as a second playable character makes the gameplay more interesting, allowing for sections where you switch between the two and help each other out. The overall look and feel of Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia is exactly the same as China and India; there isn't anything new in this game that makes it stand out from the other two, or from other games in the same genre. If you enjoyed the past two Chronicles games then you will most likely enjoy this one. Otherwise, this one won't be changing any opinions.
What Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 has managed to take all of the best bits from the first game, build on them and then add more good things on top of them. All of our favourite characters are back, whilst the newer characters that have been introduced are fun to play. One of the biggest improvements is the addition of the Backyard Battleground hub base, and the addition of the single player focused quests, missions and collectibles means that this game appeals to both single and multiplayer gamers more than ever. The bright colours and fun gameplay are ever present and there isn't a lot going wrong here apart from some issues with the sound and music. For fans of the first Garden Warfare game, this sequel is a must play. For those who haven't had the chance to experience the plants and zombies war yet, it's hard to find a reason not to recommend this game.