Ashley Bates's Reviews
A solid first lap for a racer that might need a bit more time to hit top speed, LEGO 2K Drive is still worth playing whether you're young, old or somewhere in between.
Meet Your Maker is a good first step for a game that needs some more content and ideas if it's going to keep any momentum.
While Lone Ruin is currently sparse on content, there's some solid gameplay foundations here that could be built upon in the future.
The Rumble Fish 2 isn't the most groundbreaking port ever, but there's still a solid fighting game on offer here.
Pacer's lacklustre career mode and some dodgy event types might be turn-offs, but the core racing gameplay makes up for it.
Maneater is a game that, for the most part, lives up to its potential, offering something a bit different than other games. While it could be regarded as something of a one-trick pony, it’s still a very good trick that you’ll enjoy while it lasts.
Flawed, but not a failure, Code Vein offers the same hardcore Soulslike action with less of a barrier of entry, making for a decent gateway into a growing genre.
Metal Wolf Chaos XD isn't some grand revolution of the third person action genre. It's a 15 year old game where a president in a mech suit fights giant tanks, and that's fine by us.
A fun budget fighter that has its core mechanics in the right place but is currently missing a lot of content, Battle for the Grid is a good fighting game with the potential to become great.
Though the glitches are still present, along with the Bible puzzles, Episode 4 of The Council focuses more on what works: narrative twists and tense conversations between the characters where everything is at stake.
After being soured by the last episode, Episode 3 of The Council, Ripples, does a decent job at getting us excited for the game again. Colour us cautiously optimistic for the rest of the series.
Though it might not have the most long-term replayability, especially if you're playing on your own, Battlezone: Gold Edition is an entertaining tank battle game with some interesting roguelite elements.
Though the games themselves far outshine the packaging that binds them, Street Fighter: 30th Anniversary Collection is a fine celebration of one of the fighting game genre stalwarts. Plus, it's the only way to play Third Strike on current consoles, which makes it invaluable.
Even though De Blob 2 isn't without fault, it's a joyful and wholesome experience that amuses more than it frustrates. Adults might find it too simplistic, but it's perfect for children.
Though Raiders of the Broken Planet brings some unique characters and ideas to the table, and can be a lot of fun either as an antagonist or with a full party, it's simply too frustrating to enjoy for any long period of time.
Whilst there's a lot of enjoyment to be found from carving the aliens into tiny pieces, the campaign offers nothing of real consequence. Earth's Dawn feels like a game that could have been improved using permadeath or more significant time management implementation. Instead, we've got a fun, if disposable beat ‘em up.
ClusterTruck isn't a complicated game. The formula has been around since games began: avoid obstacles and reach the goal. The interpretation that ClusterTruck delivers is interesting and fun to play, but can be quite short lived.
Frank's a likeable protagonist - witty, gruff, and we suspect he has a heart of gold to go with the elixir of eternal life he's clearly been sampling. And, to be frank, Frank deserves a little more polish and a lot more jeopardy than Capcom Vancouver has delivered with Dead Rising 4. Slaying zombies with a variety of ridiculous weapons is as fun as ever, but we hoped for more.
The Xbox One launch means a new audience can experience the hilarious gameplay that Gang Beasts offers, but it won't do anything for players who own the game on other platforms.
A fun space-faring RPG held back by a few glaring decisions, Starfield is a good launching point for a game that'll become something great in the future.