Chris Harding's Reviews
Spyro Reignited Trilogy offers great value for money with three fantastically presented remakes of classic games. The quality-of-life additions are a nice touch, too, as is the option for dynamic music. The performance could have been a little better, but if you played these games on the original PlayStation then you’ll no doubt be able to look past the very few shortcomings this collection has.
It's definitely rough around the edges and it's not comparable to FIFA or PES, but that's not a terrible thing at all. It's a completely new way to experience the beautiful game from the comfort of your living room, and new things always come at a cost. If the player base for VRFC can stay alive, I can definitely see VRFC being a permanent weekend fixture in my house.
Pure Farming 2018 isn't going to change the genre in one go, but it does a good enough job to stand out from the current leader in the farming sim space. It's welcoming to newcomers with an extensive campaign, but it doesn't shy away from the hardcore micro-management that proper farming nuts crave.
X-Morph Defense is a strange one: it doesn't deserve to be as good as it is, and it's very good! Fans of twin-stick shooters will be happy, while tower-defense nuts will also be happy. You take on Earth, you kill the good guys, and you can even do it with a mate in co-op mode. There's a decent campaign, though that's about it. In all, it's a shame there aren't more modes and that the voice acting can be irritating, but if they're my biggest complaints then I say it's a job well done to the developers.
Infinite Minigolf has the ingredients to make a great little addition to any game collection. There's a solid offering in the single player, and the Creation Mode will just expand the content exponentially. The only problem is finding the gold may take a bit of digging through the crap. If you're a minigolf fan, or just a fan of fun, really, then Infinite Minigolf will suit you to a tee.
That's You! is a simple quizzer that's dressed up pretty, to put it simply. It's a smart move to let players play by using their mobile phones, and I can definitely see it being a go-to game for when the extended family comes to visit. Questions range from mundane to bizarre, but the real fun will be authoring your own questions and getting to know your friends and family a little more than they'd like...
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles has no right to be as good as it is. I had low expectations going in, but I've come out a believer that pacifistic games have a place in gaming today. If you're looking to just chill out, explore a bright and colourful open world while collecting all sorts of bits and bobs, then Yonder will have you smiling for hours on end.
Snake Pass is a charming little game indeed. It takes the familiar collect-a-thon formula and turns it on its head with its fresh take on the genre. If you're hankering for an old-school platformer with some light puzzles, slide right on in with Snake Pass.
Dexed is a nifty little game that'll get you moving your arms about like a bit of a div, but it'll also fire up a few brain cells as you try not to bugger it up. It's not the mindless shooter you were expecting, but trust me when I say that it's worth a punt at a penny under a tenner.
Batman: Arkham VR may seem like a glorified tech demo, but it's actually got a lot going for it and you'll get more than your money's worth after finishing the story and having a mooch around for the collectibles. It's a good looking release, too, and it does a great job at not only thrusting you inside the murky world of Gotham, but actually making you feel like a bad arse Batman. Top job, Rocksteady. More please.
The story is quite meaty and definitely worth playing through more than once, even if it's just for the cheap thrills. It's a truly terrifying experience, and now after having been inside a horror game, I don't think I'm ever going to be wimpering at anything on a regular 2D screen. That's VR, baby.
While my experience with Windlands may have been a short-lived romance that ended as all such things do: lots of puke, lying down... A few tears... It's still an excellent game that really shows what can be done outside of the done-to-death first-person shooters that VR and motion controls tend to attract. It's a lovely world to get lost in and I'm hoping that I'll be able to revisit this old flame one day in the future.
No Man's Sky aims to capture your imagination and throw you into an adventure like no game has ever done before. It succeeds in creating a scarily vast universe in which you, the player, feel so tiny and insignificant. The thought that you'll never see another human is equally depressing as it is awesome. You know there's others out there, but the most interaction you'll ever have is landing on a planet called 'Your Mum'. It's a drag at times, especially once you dedicate yourself to getting to the center and seeing what all the fuss is about, but it's not really the end goal that matters, it's the journey. If you're a fan of exploration games, go for it.
Far Cry Primal does enough to shake off the feeling that it's just Far Cry 4 with a different coat on. Exploration is the name of the game and the story kind of takes a back seat. Obviously the game follows the Ubisoft open-world playbook to the page and doesn't skip a beat, but it's actually a refreshing palette cleanser to do away with the futuristic shooters that have bombarded the market in recent years.
Arizona Sunshine is a little rough around the edges, that much is obvious, but it's still a fun, albeit frightening experience. If you're looking for something a little meatier than some of the crap that finds its way on the PSVR, Arizona Sunshine is a worth a peek.
Mafia 3 is all about Lincoln Clay's rise from the bottom. It's a good old fashioned single player experience that wants you to be suckered in. And you know what? The writers, developers, and actors all deserve your undivided attention whenever a character opens their mouth. Invest in Mafia 3's narrative and you'll be rewarded with a payoff that'll have you begging for more. Gameplay is strong, even if it is a little bit on the samey side of things after a while, but with such a large map to explore and side missions and meaningful collectibles to, er, collect, there's no chance you're getting out of New Bordeaux in under 20 hour
N.E.R.O: Nothing Ever Remains Obscure isn't your typical game but is instead an experience worthy of your time, provided you've got a bit of maturity about you. The story is excellent, if a little predicatable, and it moves along nicely thanks to the expertly deployed music, creepy yet fantastical world, and strong controls that keep you in the moment. The only real downside I can think of is that its running time is just a couple hours too short for my greedy self.
After a dozen or so hours in Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition, I can safely say that it's the real McCoy. This is not a watered-down port to give Microsoft an easy first-party Xbox Game Pass release. It's the real deal and as feature complete as the PC edition, which is quite an accomplishment. A myriad of quality-of-life improvements makes the original game, while still a classic, very much redundant. The only reason to keep hold of the original is to preserve those big beautiful boxes PC games used to ship in. We're in a new age now, and Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition is the perfect example of taking an ancient game and giving it just enough love to make it feel almost new, something that many other remasters and re-releases so often miss the mark on.
Toy Soldiers HD is a fantastic tower defense game that fans of the genre should definitely play. It's easy to learn, hard to master, and there's a ton of replayability with the lengthy campaign, the extra levels, collectibles, achievements, and survival modes, which I've spent a lot of time playing. The controls for vehicles can be a bit stiff and the lack of co-op multiplayer is a big disappointment, but given how few decent tower-defense games there are on console, it's easy to overlook the very few shortcomings Toy Soldiers HD brings to the table. Now, when are we getting Toy Soldiers Cold War?
Marvel’s Iron Man VR is a decent game, no matter where you play it, though I would argue that the Meta Quest 2 version is perhaps the best way to play thanks to its ease of use and cleaner visuals. The intuitive controls, fun aerial combat, and some quality presentation make for a heroic effort by developer Camouflaj, and a worthy addition to any Quest 2 library.