Scott Ellison II's Reviews
Everything you can do in Forza Horizon 3 is vying for your attention: championships, showcase events, barn finds, and speed traps – you’ll be pulled in so many different directions that you won’t ever feel bored or left without a challenge. There’s hardly anything to actively dislike. Playground Games has made a powerfully social, comfortable, and exciting racer that never imposes anything but the freedom to do with what you want, at any speed you’re comfortable with.
nfinite Air could be a lot better, but there’s not a proper attitude to excite you to want to keep playing. It just becomes hard to recommend with how shallow the game is. If you’re hard-pressed for something on PC, or even on consoles for snowboarding, there will be other options. If this is the one you settle on, buy it when it is discounted.
The campaign all congeals the way it should, and while it isn’t revolutionary, it is evolutionary in the way it pushes the sci-fi narrative and series forward that has been needed the past few years. While the other parts of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare are hit and miss, it’s a game that shouldn’t be overlooked. There’s some interesting ideas here, and it is great to see Infinity Ward doing new and exciting things again.
While the game hasn’t aged very well in the years, and the ideas seen here are considered “old hat”, it remains a highly engaging experience that even if you’ve seen it all and know all its twists and turns. The updates to the game cannot be understated. However, it is packaged with Infinite Warfare through a premium purchase that having a simultaneous release of two Infinity Warfare games introduces a lot of choice that players will have to make. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare still remains best-in-show all these years later, and is a rebuilt masterpiece that’s worth experiencing again.
It introduces challenges that to play without this DLC would feel naked otherwise. There may not be UFOs, but there is plenty to keep you on edge during your time getting back into Cities: Skylines.
It is unfortunately hampered by its limitations on this platform. While its social elements are severely lacking, the act of playing, and most importantly, creating a level from your own mind is still really fun. If you find yourself not able to be creative, the 100 Mario Challenge and Super Mario Challenge provide the inspiration you’ll need to make fantastic levels and share them for the world to play.
Dead Rising 4 is far removed from its predecessors, but I highly recommend this game, especially those who have been turned off by the time-limited and grind-heavy gameplay of the previous titles for something a bit more free-flowing and tons of fun. Dead Rising 4 simply puts the fun back in fun.
Forza Horizon 3 Blizzard Mountain is not a required expansion, because there’s more than enough to the core game. But if you’re looking for more Forza Horizon 3, or to just do different things, Blizzard Mountain is an essential expansion to play. Blizzard Mountain also makes meaningful changes to the Forza Horizon 3 progression system. The way Blizzard Mountain looks, feels, and sounds is a treat to your senses, and a place you’ll want to spend a lot of time in this winter.
The Xbox One version is easily the best version of the game to-date. The duo over at Tikipod Ltd. have crafted yet another fine version of the game with a new mode: Dreadnought, that freshens it up enough to warrant another purchase. For new players, the reasons have always been there, but now there are more reasons to purchase Aqua Kitty.
Sniper Elite 4 doesn’t do a whole lot different than its predecessors, but the core gameplay of lining up that perfect shot and seeing the bullet delivered in gorgeous and gory detail is always satisfying.
Diluvion is at odds with itself, and myself. I’m finding more fun to get lost in and traverse than to actually play. While those actions are similar, working towards that progression inserts the frustration of its difficulty. Perhaps Diluvion is brilliant in this regard, in that it is expressing that it is “more about the journey than the destination” approach. I far from hate this game, but there’s just a few too many issues that keep me from loving it. Despite that, I can’t help but recommend it for its unique approach to interactions, navigation, and overall gameplay.
Steep is unlike other games of its ilk. It is a unique game that doesn’t get in its own way and lets you do what you want, how you want. I never felt forced to play an event that I didn’t want to just for the sake of progression. I never felt stressed, frustrated, or bothered by anything in the game. It is a relaxing experience that is worthwhile. Steep is a game that’s grounded in reality but not afraid to have fun while appreciating life and the things around us.
If Yooka-Laylee was made by any other developer who didn't previously work at Rare, this would be considered a blatant rip-off. But instead, Playtonic picks up where Rare couldn't. For whatever reason a new Banjo-Kazooie couldn't be made, and Yooka-Laylee takes its place. I'm looking forward to what's next, perhaps a new Nuts & Bolts-style game after this. Playtonic Games has captured a certain type of magic from 1998 and brought it to 2017 in spectacular form.
Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition is a really fun first-person shooter, but I do not find there to be full value in what's on offer here for a several years old game. And really, the game's main issue for me is that the dialogue and writing have not aged well and it just comes off really insensitive and dumb in ways that may have worked in 2011, but just doesn't in 2017. The improvements, while mainly graphically still make for an exciting shooter that has yet to be repeated in the years since its original release, and Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition is worth a replay if you can wait for a sale.
The Signal From Tölva is a complete experience that makes this open-world first-person shooter a delight, and carefully places the world of Tölva onto your shoulders for an exciting excursion onto a foreign planet. The game hides its linearity well, but thankfully not at the expense of enjoyment because of rigidity. Instead, you’re free to do as you please, and by following the path laid out before you and are able to see the events unfold as intended and given story beats where necessary to keep you enthralled in this planetary mystery.
Snake Pass is both a visual delight and a challenging platformer from Sumo Digital. The controls are unique and take time to learn the intricacies of moving a digital snake around as if it were real. The attitude to this platformer is nostalgic and refreshing in the same breath. Snake Pass will be referenced and remembered for years to come – it's quite the snake charmer.
TumbleSeed was not kind to me at any point while reviewing it. It doesn’t seem like an especially long game, but given its nuance and demanding skillset, is a game you’ll be returning to often. It’s frustrating, beautiful, and unforgiving. There’s a good game here, but I feel it’s upfront difficulty is going to be off-putting for many. But by not playing TumbleSeed, you’re missing out on what is otherwise a unique roguelike that doesn’t shy away from its difficulty, but embraces it to the fullest and tasks you with a challenge you’ll want to overcome each time you play it.
I enjoyed my short time with Little Nightmares, but I wish there was a bit more substance in its subject matter for me to care just a bit more. As it stands, Little Nightmares is a neat distraction, and I hope Tarsier Studios goes a bit further with the story and world they've built, because Little Nightmares goes in some interesting places. The fact that Six's hunger becomes insatiable by game's end raises a lot of questions, but the real hunger is that I wanted more that Little Nightmares wasn't able to deliver.
The name of Slayaway Camp might be a bit on the nose with what goes on there, but this isn’t a movie, it’s a game – a gory and hilarious game. It features a classic horror movie visual style in voxel form, and sliding puzzle gameplay which works to its benefit. Slayaway Camp has been out for a while, and deserves a look due to its well-thought out puzzles and atmosphere that are like no other.
Has-Been Heroes works for the Switch with its small and travel-focused design, but less so at home when there's other stuff on this console and other consoles to play. Has-Been Heroes could really benefit from an easier difficulty, because luck is just rarely ever on your side. There's some fun to be had, but it is far and few between each run you play. The tactics and strategy behind Has-Been Heroes is mostly satisfying, but is sadly undone by its difficulty.