Ryse: Son of Rome is a bloody, gorgeous adventure. It's a shame then that there's so much squandered potential. Its short length and the lack of variety bury what good the game has to offer. I wouldn't be averse to a sequel if they can flesh out the experience and tell a purely human story, but as Ryse stands it's hard to recommend at full price.
It's a vibrant shooter with finely tuned characters that play very well off each other, providing for an almost party-like experience that should be fun for almost anyone. This new direction for the series is mostly a welcome success, but fans of traditional tower defense games or those from Dungeon Defenders and Orcs Must Die! may bemoan the lack of strong strategic placement and plotting.
South Park: The Stick of Truth may as well be an achievement. The soul of the show is captured perfectly with its visuals, consistently funny writing and ridiculous scenarios. It also happens to be damn fun to play. After the 13 hours it took me to complete it, all I've been able to think about since is going back to it to find every lost collectible and missed achievement. If you've ever enjoyed South Park, then you absolutely need to own this game.
Titanfall is a shot of adrenaline. It constantly presents you with awesome scenarios thanks to its speed, freedom of movement and accessible content. I can't count the times I whooped and hollered in delight. Win or lose, I was having fun. That's not something I can easily say for its competition. But it also feels a little bare bones, missing some content we normally expect from such games. Regardless, if you're looking for your next competitive shooter, Titanfall deserves your attention.
I have a love-hate relationship with Sword Art Online, and yet despite its faults I find it difficult to stop consuming. It's a light but fun franchise, which is the best way I can describe Hollow Fragment. If you're already a fan of the show, dungeon crawling and perfecting damage numbers, it's easy to forgive the game's sins for its vast, addicting content. If not, the moderately high asking price may be worth a pause.
If you loved Age of Wonders 3, the Golden Realms expansion is a no-brainer, especially for its low asking price. Some of the what's been added doesn't completely come together, but the Halfing race, Wild Magic specialization and new objectives make it a more exciting and purposeful package.
The Nemesis System is an achievement, one that overshadows any faults Shadow of Mordor otherwise has through sheer fun factor, and I can't wait to see its influence spread.
Starpoint Gemini 2 isn't the most profound release in a genre that's been promising some imagination inspiring experiences in the near future. Even so, the fog of war of its vast map begs me to clear it, hiding ships and upgrades that I just need to collect. There are a lot of toys here to play with, even if the world around them is somewhat simplistic, but that might just be enough to keep me occupied for another 20 hours.
Despite my reservations, I can't wait to jump back into Black Desert Online. Its tight combat, numerous tradecrafts, and extensive setting have left me hooked. If you're craving something new over the well-traveled roads of many other MMOs, you owe it to yourself to give Black Desert a deeper look. But if dungeons, raids, and the treadmill of increasingly impressive loot are what you're looking for, then you'll have to look elsewhere.
Battleborn carves itself a deserving spot on people's lists. Its endearing roster, wild set of abilities, great variety of modes, progression systems, and the promise of free content in the form of new heroes, modes, and maps have left me addicted and turned me into a MOBA fan, a feat I didn't think was possible.
DOOM is almost everything I could have asked for. Its campaign has left my heart literally racing in my chest from sheer excitement. It's fast, impactful, and a damn good lot of fun. Multiplayer and SnapMap may be disappointing by comparison, but the perfection of its better half is greatly elevating and I cannot recommend DOOM enough. This is a first-person shooter you don't want to miss.