AO Tennis 2 is a better-looking, smoother-playing and more fully-featured follow-up to the original.
Terminator: Resistance's authentic looks fail to disguise its uninspired design and forgettable action.
Death Stranding delivers a fascinating world of supernatural sci-fi, but its gameplay struggles to support its weight.
Ion Fury is an authentic throwback to Duke Nukem 3D that certainly hails to the king but can't quite dethrone him.
Judgment is a superficial detective experience, but an extremely good Yakuza one.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy is a solid collection of courtroom dramedies, but far from essential for fans.
The Occupation is an investigation game that tries to make every second count but is ultimately a missed opportunity.
The Occupation is an investigation game that tries to make every second count but is ultimately a missed opportunity.
Metro Exodus brings its survival horror to the surface without sacrificing any of the series' signature tension.
The Hong Kong Massacre is an action movie fan's dream played out in stylish slow-motion.
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe is an enjoyable re-release, but doesn't stand quite as tall next to modern platformers.
Big Bash Boom is a fun, flashy, family-friendly cricket game that's a bit too light on features to make it a must buy.
The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories is a dark, strange and utterly compelling journey.
Despite the fact that the made-for-PlayStation 4 Yakuza 6 was only released a few short months ago, Yakuza Kiwami 2 is the best and most fully formed Yakuza game of 2018 even though it's a remake of a game that's now two console generations old. Its storyline is gripping, its weapons-heavy fighting system accommodates no shortage of spectacle, and it serves up plenty of enjoyable side activities – both mini and macro – to divert to or return for after the story wraps. Yakuza 0 may still be the high watermark for the series on the PS4, but Yakuza Kiwami 2 isn't too far behind.
Like the gaming equivalent of binge-watching a playlist of the funniest Vine videos, WarioWare Gold provides some enjoyable short attention span shenanigans, particularly for newcomers. But in the absence any substantial new additions and a paucity of worthwhile extras, WarioWare Gold is more like a runner-up silver for long term fans of the series.
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life presents the most detailed virtual chunk of Japan the series has managed to date, and its story provides a satisfying end to the Kizama Kiryu saga. However, as far as gameplay goes, Yakuza 6 doesn't make enough of an effort to break new ground, making it weaker overall than last year's Yakuza Zero.
At its best, AO Tennis is a clumsily controlled simulation of the sport. At its worst, it's underdeveloped, under-featured and entirely broken in certain areas. It could well be improved in the weeks and months ahead via dedicated developer support, but as far as first serves go this one has landed with a thud, well wide of the service box.
Ashes Cricket isn't pitch perfect, but it's the best videogame representation of the sport to date.
Thanks to the imprecision of its shooting controls and the cheap behaviour of its AI, I could never really develop any confidence in Tokyo 42's frustrating combat. Which is a shame because, glitches aside, I really loved exploring the wonderfully crafted world and the simple yet still challenging nature of its stealth-based assassinations. This tiny hitman game dresses smart, packs the right kind of ammunition and certainly aims its sights high, it just doesn't quite nail the execution.
If you’ve already played the original LEGO City Undercover on Wii U, then there is little reason to pick up this re-release. However, if you were one of the many who missed it the first time around then LEGO City Undercover remains a hilarious riff on police procedurals, built upon a GTA-for-juniors open world blueprint, and stuffed with enjoyable side missions and collectibles to hunt down. The addition of split-screen play, cursory in its execution as it may be, only makes the game more appealing to players who would prefer to experience LEGO City Undercover with a friend riding shotgun. And what's a good police story without a partner in crime-fighting?