Ultimately, Creative Assembly has delivered on its promise of an unforgiving thriller that refuses to pull its punches. Isolation reaffirms the Alien as the ultimate horror icon, both terrifying and awesome; trapping you within its cage proves to be the shot in the arm the franchise needed. Bold, unrelenting and very scary, Alien: Isolation is a triumph in every department. No prior knowledge is necessary. Just prepare yourself for the most terrifying game of the year.
It's disappointing that Shadow of Mordor couldn't match the originality of its superb Nemesis system with a more engaging world, but the characters which populate it are more than enough to spur you through the campaign. Shadow of Mordor might owe something of a debt to numerous games that have come before it, but by adding its own flavour to the mixture the result is a surprisingly expansive and hearty experience that is more compelling than plenty that have come before it. A hugely entertaining, tongue-in-cheek and fulsome experience, it's a worthy expedition whether you're a Rings fan or not.
New 'N' Tasty is exactly what it claims to be: a new experience still instantly familiar to anyone that played the original, and vital playing for those that didn't. Oddworld was a defining presence on the Playstation, and New 'N' Tasty will remain a defining experience on the new generation of consoles, too. It's a pleasure to see a remaster done so well.
But it won't be a game for everyone. The game offers a Trophy for completing it in under an hour, but we can't imagine the type of players Hohokum attracts will find this prospect appealing. It should be taken almost as a palette-cleanser; the type of experience you find yourself spending a few quiet hours immersed inside, soaking up its atmosphere and getting lost inside its dreamscape. There's little doubt Honeyslug has created something truly original and utterly absorbing, but it's also a game that requires a detachment from reality along with a complete investment from its participants. Don't venture into Hohokum hoping to understand what it's all about, just sit back and enjoy the ride.
The whole experience isn't awful, just thoroughly uninspiring; a box of biscuits where some are moldy and all are digestive. It's fun to be a pirate, but it's far, far more fun elsewhere, with Risen 3 once again struggling and failing to rise above anything but its own mediocrity.
But that isn't the problem with the puzzler, however; difficulty in and of itself is not criticism. Though the beasties change – and the increased difficulty with each round will definitely get you thinking – the game itself never does. Its art style, tone and unique gameplay all make for a fascinating experience that you should certainly give a try, but it's hard to ignore the sense of repetition you'll encounter as you play. Randomly generated puzzles results in increased replayability, but it also means a lack of variety – and that forms the ultimate demise of Road Not Taken when it is so clear there is a direction, an end goal, a climax. Original and novel it is, but there just simply isn't enough reward to keep you going against the odds.
Rise Of The Dark Spark feels rushed: a mess of half-baked ideas and sloppy execution that's put Transformers on the same track as the Spider-Man games, approaching the point of no return. We can't be certain as to why Activision seems so intent with steering these wonderful properties so deeply into the dirt, but we hope it realises the value in the brands before it's too late. passable co-operative mode aside, there's very little to recommend out of Rise Of The Dark Spark.
Considering the scope of its predecessors and how far the genre has come since the series' inception a decade ago, that's as unnecessary as it is unwelcome. Still, there's potential here and approached with the right mindset and a group of friends there's some fun to be had. Streamline your expectations, in other words, and you're more likely to view Sacred 3 as slick rather than shallow.
Always Sometimes Monsters again shows up that 'game' is a word whose time is done. There is nothing playful about this experience – it's a mixture of repetitive tasks that riddle your fingers with despair and increasingly-depressing plots. This then is a 'life failure' simulator, like Cliff Harris's sandbox Kudos 2. Like that, it's compelling, enlightening and moving – but hard to call 'fun'.
It's a shame that poor execution lets Entwined down so badly. The themes being explored here have the potential to be touching and are, unquestionably, underrepresented in videogames. Hopefully PixelOpus can learn from its mistakes and deliver something next time that better blends its interactive elements with these themes.
While the great entries to the Sim City series, the Civilizations of the world, even Ubisoft's Anno series and Galactic Civilizations II all give more back the more you put into it, Tropico 5 is unable to do that. And a lack of longevity in a game that should last so very long is just, ultimately, disappointing.
Ignore the discordance within its narrative and get your way past the incredibly dull opening stretch: Wolfenstein is a brawny, gratifying shooter experience – the likes of which you probably haven't played in some time. Consider it a history lesson.