Pillars of Eternity: Complete Edition on PlayStation 4 is, with no doubt in my mind, the best console port of a classic-style isometric RPG that has been seen in years. Brilliant use of the controller in place of a keyboard and mouse tie in together with the gorgeous effects, compelling storylines, incredible performance and challenging though oh-so-rewarding combat to deliver a masterpiece to the millions of console owners the world over. Originally released on PC in March 2015 after an incredibly successful Kickstarter the year prior, Pillars of Eternity final makes its triumphant entrance on consoles and it is glorious.
Killing Floor 2 is the sequel to Tripwire Interactive's 2009 cult hit Killing Floor, which is actually a full release of the popular Unreal Tournament mod that debuted in 2004. With a long and relatively successful history, Tripwire took to the masses back in November 2016 by releasing Killing Floor 2 on Windows and PlayStation 4 platforms to favorable reviews (scoring around 75% on MetaCritic). Nearly a year later Killing Floor 2 has finally come to Xbox One and those of us that prefer Microsoft's home console for FPS games are finally able to join the fray… Unfortunately for us though, Killing Floor 2 feels a bit dead in the water, lifeless, and redundant given the abundance of far superior first person shooters available today.
I think that the most shocking aspect of Blood Bowl is that it has been around since the mid-80's, with the first tabletop release being in 1986. I guess that goes to show how much I paid attention to it when walking into a GamesWorkshop retail store (when they still existed in abundance here in the States), though I was admittedly staring at the gorgeously painted models, so I had eyes for little else.
Finally. It has finally happened. In the past three or four years there has been a massive outpouring of support from development studios large and small for space-based video games. From the absolute juggernaut that Elite: Dangerous has become to the much maligned (but still not horrible) X-Rebirth release to a smattering of stellar 4X titles (pun intended) like Endless Space 2 or Galactic Civilizations III; space games have recaptured the world and every year more and more excellent titles are released giving the fans of space games more than their share of bodacious titles to play. Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock, minus a few balancing issues that Black Lab Games has assured us are being cleared up, is an excellent licensed turn-based strategy game.
It is no secret that I love Elite: Dangerous; I have covered it quite extensively since we first got our hands on the preview in 2014 and ever since I have been utterly hooked. Now, after what seems to me is a lifetime of waiting (it wasn't), Elite: Dangerous is now available on the PlayStation 4 and it is every bit as glorious as the other platforms and in regard to the consoles, it is far, far superior than its Xbox counterpart. With HOTAS peripheral support on the PlayStation 4, Elite: Dangerous is absolutely the game to show that space sims not only work on console, but they excel there.
I have historically been extremely critical of the Warhammer/Warhammer 40k franchise so when I first learned of Total War: Warhammer I was a bit skeptical. I love the Total War series and with the exception of Total War: Attila they have produced some of the best strategy titles to date. Attila was not bad, just not up to par with previous titles and that, along with the abysmally bad pile of Warhammer crap that has come out in recent years, had me seriously concerned for the franchise. Fortunately Total War: Warhammer is actually really, very good. So good that it almost washes the bad taste of over a dozen horrible Warhammer/Warhammer 40k titles out of my mouth.
Everspace is a single-player space shooter that takes its primary gameplay influences from roguelike games, and rather than dungeon diving you are careening through stunning sectors of dangerous space. With a captivating story, massive 3D environments, fast-paced and brutal combat, Everspace does what few other titles could do, and that is make the incredibly frustrating and often cheaply challenging roguelike genre an interesting, gorgeous, and most importantly, an accessible genre to those gamers like me that are put off by roguelikes. Everspace, now fully released on Xbox One, is easily one of the best games of the year.
In all honesty I am not sure where to start with Victor Vran. Back in July 2015 Pierre-Yves scored it well and said quite a bit that remains true nearly two years later. Victor Vran is an excellent hack-and-slash action RPG set in a Van Helsing-esque Victorian-era fictional world that has you playing the role of a Hunter and carries you through a number of sprawling dungeons full of spiders, skeletons, specters, and everything in between. Even two years after the original launch the magic of Victor Vran, while familiar, is still present.
When I first caught wind of The Surge a year or so ago I was immediately intrigued; after all Deck13 are the minds behind the success Souls-like pseudo-clone, Lords of the Fallen. Returning to the difficult twisted-dungeon crawling action-RPG genre, Deck13 brings us The Surge, a title steeped in high science fiction and it works. While I am a huge sucker for GrimDark fantasy of the Dark Souls games, the High Fantasy of Lords of the Fallen , the Cthulhu-esque setting of Bloodborne, or the Edo Period-esque world of Nioh, taking that same type of gameplay and placing it in a hard science fiction setting had my eyes alight with a ravening desire to play. After what seems to be an eternity, The Surge has released and goes to show that From Software and Team Ninja are not the only two that can do a punishingly good action-RPG.
While the Sniper: Ghost Warrior games are in no need of an introduction, I myself am new to the Ghost Warrior line of Sniper titles and was a bit unsure of what to expect when going into CI Games' Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3. From the developers of the criminally under-appreciated Lords of the Fallen, Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 takes the previously-linear tactical snipe-fest and opens the franchise up. Though enjoyable, the open-world aspects of Ghost Warrior 3 do tend to pull away a bit from what it is that it does best, and that is sniper rifle-filled tomfoolery. Half-hearted open world shenanigans aside, Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 an excellent tactical sniping title set in a beautiful world that tends to get in the way of itself.
Halo Wars is a comfortable and appropriate evolution of the original and is a glowing successor to the original's daring attempt at creating a real-time strategy game for consoles. A new threat, an old friend, Halo Wars 2 fits into the entire Halo franchise quite well. The biggest complaint that I have with Halo Wars 2 is less about the game and more about the franchise. Time and time again it feels that 343 Industries has strung out the franchise with a carrot-on-a-stick, and that carrot is always "another splinter faction of the Covenant is haywire, go kill them all." While fun it has gotten old, quickly, and I would love to see something truly new come out of the franchise, but until that happens, Halo Wars 2 is an excellent spinoff series for Halo fans.
Not only am I a pretty big fan of Rebellion, but so is most of the staff here as back in 2014 Chris gave Sniper Elite 3 an excellent 8 out of 10 and a year later nearly every member here at CGR was able to get in on the action of slaying zombie Nazis in the Zombie Army Trilogy. Fun fact, I am so incredibly "zombie'ed out" that I actively avoid anything to do with them … except for Zombie Army Trilogy. When Sniper Elite 4 was first announced I could not wait; not only did I want to get back into the action to revisit World War II from a sniper's perspective, but I was itching for some good old fashioned cooperative play. Few titles in this day and age have engaging cooperative campaigns and much to my excitement, Sniper Elite 4 continues the excellent trend that Rebellion set in years past. Sniper Elite 4 is a fantastic example of how to refresh a franchise while staying true to its roots.
In typical Ubisoft fashion, For Honor has received some significant hype over the past year or so. Set in a fictional world full of strife and chaos, choose your Hero from the noble Samurai, the relentless Vikings, or the bloodthirsty Knights and represent your faction in a war for dominance. Whether you are in the captivatingly beautiful wilderness or the majestic ruins of civilization, your Hero will stand as a bulwark against the oncoming threat of annihilation. With an interesting twist on the action-fighting platform, For Honor uses an innovative control system called "The Art of Battle" that provides full control over your choice of one of twelve heroes. Stab, parry, and block your way through the fight control. For all of the interesting new fight mechanics, focus on faction-specific persistent PVP world, For Honor is both new and exciting while feeling, at times, incredibly frustrating and empty.
Tales of Berseria is the long-awaited pseudo-prequel to 2015's Tales of Zestiria (which we loved). Set in the same world, Berseria takes place many centuries prior to the events of Tales of Zestiria, where the world is torn asunder by daemons during a Scarlet Night (which is also, occasionally referred to as the crimson moon) and the young protagonist Velvet is on a crusade of revenge and hatred. Velvet and her merry band of misfits will embark on a journey that tries to be something that it is not. A poor script, struggling combat mechanics, and a world full of contradictions, Tales of Berseria is one of the weakest in the long-running franchises.
Super Dungeon Tactics immediately had me itching to run through another game or two of Super Dungeon Explore, which to me is the ultimate love letter to the source material. Though it has a few rough edges, Tactics is more than enjoyable, easy enough that new gamers can pick up the game and roll with it while more experienced players will find plenty of depth to keep them occupied. More camera controls and a port to mobile would be more than welcome to fans of the world of Crystalia, but until those wishes are granted, sate yourself on the incredibly enjoyable Super Dungeon Tactics.
Though fans of the series will feel right at home with the latest release, those that are not familiarly with the world and the stories of the main characters may feel a bit left out, even though there are a few attempts at explaining the backlog of events interspersed in the first hour or so of the game. With its wonderful visuals, compassionate, if naive story and character development, plethora of customization options, and wonderful relationship builder wrapped up into a universe that is beloved by many, Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization is a fun action-RPG romp that does an amazing job masquerading around as an MMO.
From the gorgeous, if tired, brown-infused broken environments of Tiers to the colorful noble classes and shabby peasants, every aspect of Tyranny redefines what it means to be a great cRPG title. Incredibly memorable and haunting overtures play softly in the background as the apocalyptic-ly hostile world swirls around you in a bevy of an ambient aural explosion that is deep enough that you can almost feel the dusty, rust-filled Blade-Grave to the soaring and ancient Spires, every moment in Tyranny is truly a moment to behold. The attention to detail and push for a world that feels both truly alive while simultaneously feeling broken and defeated is marvelous and truly a work of art. It is without a doubt that future generations of gamers will look upon Tyranny with the same grounded, yet awe-inspiring greatness that we currently see when we look back onto Baldur's Gate II.
Terrible controls and mismatching quality difference between models and backgrounds aside, WWE 2k17 is (dare I say it) a pretty excellent game. With a little work on those controls and spending a bit more time on bringing the full experience to bear, I could actually see 2k's WWE franchise becoming one of the best sports franchises period. Until then? It is a solid title with just enough familiarity for an old codger like me to be able to pick up and play, and just enough new for veterans of the franchise to be able to justify picking up yet another annual sports title.
I recently previewed Warhammer 40,000 Eternal Crusade and, like most Warhammer games in the last few years, I was let down. Severely. Enter the lovable folks at Fatshark games and Pierre-Yve's glowing review of Vermintide on the PC and I thought "Here it is, finally, a Warhammer game to be proud of!" I was wrong, and that pains me to admit it. Warhammer: The End Times - Vermintide is not a bad game, but it is a bad port.
Despite the orphaned feeling of the first half of the game, not to mention the snappier more responsive gameplay, Gears of War 4 is still a rock-solid third person shooter. Set in the broken world of Sera, humanity is trying to rebuild after the Locust (and later, Lambent) devastated the world and in doing, somehow turns into an Orwellian nightmare for the first few acts. Muscle through it, whether through single player, couch co-op, or online co-op, and you will be rewarded with a decent "next step" in the franchise that really ends on a cliffhanger worthy of a follow-up.