Chris Harding's Reviews
Destroy All Humans! 2 – Reprobed is a really good game that doesn’t take itself seriously. In some ways, it’s a relic from another era, a reminder of how simple and fun games used to be; a time before the endless grind. Heck, there’s even couch multiplayer, once a standard feature in games that has slowly faded out over the years. Despite its heritage, Destroy All Humans! 2 – Reprobed feels and plays modern enough with refined controls, decent visuals, and enough over-the-top fun to easily overlook the few shortcomings.
The Last of Us: Part 1 is the definitive version of Naughty Dog’s classic. Sadly, I’m afraid the conversation, at least among the old guard who first took Ellie under their wing all those years ago, will hone in on the economics rather than the breakthrough emotional storytelling and the grounded gameplay.
With a large number of collectibles, endlessly fun gameplay across various modes and a very friendly and approachable aesthetic, Kirby’s Dream Buffet is the perfect couch party game for younger players.
Arcade Paradise lives up to its name by essentially being a modern plug-n-play TV compilation (remember those?) wrapped in a competent and rewarding business sim dressed up in the most garish of 90s fashion, complete with dial-up internet, Solitaire on the PC, and more turquoise tracksuits than I’d ever like to see. The collection of games on offer is massive, and the earn-buy-earn loop works well at keeping the game from becoming too stale too soon.
While the length may be an issue, there is a flip side to it. Just as I was starting to tire of the guns and sword combo fest, it was over. It wasn’t long enough for me to get tired of its main selling points: the top-tier graphics and the chaotic combat. The visuals are stunning, granted, but the game takes place more or less across very similar environments, except for the gunfight on the wing of an airplane hurtling toward a black hole – Neil DeGrasse Tyson would pull that scene apart in a second. If the game ran for a further six hours but locked in with the linear locations I’d tire of it before the end. The combat, while being fun and encouraging experimentation, doesn’t have the depth to carry the game for much longer – I’m sure that by hour four I’d completely drop the melee side and just stick to running and gunning, and then it’s no different to most other shooters out there.
I’m conflicted when it comes to PowerWash Simulator. On one hand, it’s an absolute bore and a chore with one-dimensional gameplay – can I even call it gameplay? – but on the other, it’s still strangely fun and moreish, and seeing the grime trickle away and the percentage done counter ticking slowly upwards was enough to keep me wasting water for hours on end. It’s an oddity, for sure, but one that I can’t seem to peel myself away from, and the more I play it, the more I wonder if the world wouldn’t be a cleaner place if we could all get the job done with a gamepad.
Hell Pie isn’t the funniest game around but it really doesn’t need to be, because its solid gameplay and fantastically disgusting world is more than enough to carry its not-so-lovable hero through the duration of this not-so-family-friendly adventure.
Redout 2 has no time for the casual player and, sadly, that means it's often an infuriating and frustratingly un-fun experience.
As a fan of the original arcade coin-suckers, I can say that Shredder’s Revenge hits the right notes in all departments. However, modern gamers who didn’t grow up with cartridges that needed a good blow and a bang might find the admittedly simple and one-direction gameplay a bit too basic. Basically, if you’ve used a VHS player in real life, you’ll get what Shredder’s Revenge is all about. If you’ve never touched a floppy disk, you might get bored of button bashing by Episode 6.
What The Dub?! is the best party game I've ever played - simple as that. Its core concept is super simple and the execution is easy. The hard part? Being funny enough to make it worth playing, but that's on you.
Ubisoft delivers another open-world epic, but this time it's a focused and streamlined affair. The graphical overhaul works to announce the end of one era and the beginning of another as Assassin's Creed continues its ongoing evolution as an accessible action-adventure for the long-time fans, while still offering a deep RPG experience for those introduced via Origins and Odyssey.
Watch Dogs Legion is a fantastic continuation of the franchise. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel with its gameplay, even if it does flip tradition by ditching a main character to follow. The new systems in place work really well and hacking around London is as good as it ever was in previous games. Where next?
DIRT 5 is a brilliant racer and that provides an early taste of next-gen, at least on PS4 Pro. The gameplay is great arcadey fun, and there's depth to the single-player mode that gets much deeper with the player creation kit in Playgrounds. Dirt 5 blurs the lines between current and next-gen with DIRT 5. It's ahead of the game and perhaps one of the best racers of this console generation, and if you're left playing on the older machines this side of Christmas, you shouldn't feel too hard done by - you're still getting an exceptional racer.
The Walking Dead: Onslaught is an easy game to recommend. The gameplay is solid and very, very fun, even if it's a little gross at times. The story isn't the highlight, and it does fall into some traps of repetition and tropes, but The Walking Dead fans will be happy to take a step into the miserable world with Daryl as their avatar. The real highlight is in Scavenger missions and all the walker bashing it brings. It's a shame there's no co-op, and not all of the original cast voice their characters, but there's really not much to complain about.
Hotshot Racing is pure fun, and that's something I can always get behind. It's good fun for all ages, but I suspect the older generation will look on Hotshot Racing with a little more love in their eyes than the clueless kids of today.
THPS1+2 is probably the best remake I've played. It perfectly captures the core fun of the original games, including the original soundtrack and skaters, and brings it up to modern standards with surprisingly few tweaks outside of the graphics and audio work. Perfect for long time loyal fans, and a great starting point for newcomers.
Windbound may look like a Zelda knock-off, but it has a lot more going for it. The core gameplay is solid as a rock, and aside from some niggles with combat and the pressure to survive, it’s a really fun game.
The Last of Us 2 takes a massive misstep with its story, but it’s saved from failure by its brilliant gameplay. It’s slow and shallow far too often, but when the gameplay is allowed to take centre stage, there’s something special to be had. It’s a thriller and a bore, and while I enjoyed the gameplay, I don’t think I’d be able to endure it again for the New Game+ mode.
GORN is good fun. It’s not clean fun, mind you, so you’ll have to watch out for younger players, but it’s good-natured and it works well on the PSVR hardware. The controls are decent enough, but the hardware does pull it down a touch from the PCVR version. All said and done, I highly recommend GORN for PSVR players looking for their next sweat-inducing game.
Saints Row: The Third Remastered is ridiculous in so many ways. It’s over-the-top to the point of parody. It’s hilarious, it’s outrageous, and it can be quite offensive to delicate souls. It’s not perfect, but it’s a bloody good game made better with a few coats of new paint and polish.