Josh Hawkins
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End is by far one of the best games I've played this year, and that list includes quite a few gems. It's a brilliant Act 3 to the series, and it works extremely well to tie up all the loose ends that the games have made over the years, as well as offers up an outstanding third-person multiplayer experience you won't find anywhere else. But exactly whose end is it? Well, that's something you'll have to figure out yourself, as I wouldn't want to spoil it for any of you reading this review. What I can say, however, is it is the best representation of the Uncharted series we have seen to date, and you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't experience it firsthand.
Overall Far Cry Primal is a promising idea, but the underlying potential of Takkar's journey is wasted on a stereotypical surface level story that keeps players from really connecting with the protagonist and supporting characters. The Master Beast Hunts are exhilarating, and require tons of preparation if you want to pull them off without a hitch, but aside from the few hunts offered up in the end game, the forced specialist quests are just as much a letdown as the game's underwhelming story. In the end the new abilities, like taming animals and riding them, are great additions to the game, but they just aren't enough to save Far Cry Primal from being a fairly average and mindless adventure in a time long forgotten.
I enjoyed my short time in the world of Firewatch. The world is beautiful and the voice acting is excellent. But Henry and Delilah's story is far too short, and the resolution of the game's story relies far too much on a backstory that isn't given the breathing room it needs. It's an emotional rollercoaster that just teeters back down to a merry-go-round, leaving me with a detached feeling that everything I had spent the past few hours working towards has been all for nought.
In many ways, XCOM 2 is more of what we already enjoyed in the recent reboot, with a few considerable improvements. The new units liven up the experience and add much more variety, while the procedurally generated maps help to customize every player's experience into a one of a kind novelty. If you're a newcomer to the resistance or an old veteran, XCOM 2 is a smartly designed action-strategy game with a staggering amount of content and replayability.
Oxenfree is sure to keep you guessing until you reach the final ending screen. At which point I can't promise you won't just start over, ready to explore the ghostly realm ocne again.
If you're looking for a game that combines elements of Skyrim, Monster Hunter, Dark Souls, and japanese RPGs, then Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen should be on your watchlist.
Rico's latest adventure is a welcome addition to the Just Cause family. There is plenty of destruction to cause, and plenty of room to explore the world however you want to. It's a welcome amount of freedom from the action-packed linear games we seem to have gotten used to, and I'd easily rank it among the best of the open world games that the current generation of gaming has to offer.Just Cause 3 is more than worthy of sitting on your shelf next to games like The Witcher 3 and Fallout 4, so don't miss out on this action-packed ride.
Star Wars: Battlefront is everything a Star Wars fan could want. The game's locations feel iconic, complete recreations of the beautiful settings introduced to us in the movies. But the game's casual attitude towards weapons, and the limited number of locations to explore make Star Wars: Battlefront sizzle out far too early. Top that with an exorbitant DLC offer, which features content that feels like it could be in the base game, and EA has already done a great job of freezing Star Wars: Battlefront in carbonite before it's even had a chance to live a fulfilling life.
After spending over 35 hours exploring the nooks and cranny of Assassin's Creed Syndicate, I'm saddened to report that my initial findings still ring true. What I had hoped would be a return to everything great about Assassin's Creed has failed to really pull me in. It isn't a terrible game by any means, and I'd rank it much higher on the totem pole than the previous installment, Assassin's Creed Unity. But that doesn't change the fact that Ubisoft's latest assassin-centered story is only a few shades above mediocre.
Overall, Hearts of Stone is a great addition to The Witcher 3 if all you're looking for is more of the same. If you're expecting something game changing or different, then this isn't a DLC worth your time. I enjoyed my time back in the Northernlands, roaming the wild and decapitating monsters, but when you get down to it, Hearts of Stone feels like it could easily have been included in the base game, although that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
While the Uncharted series does have few bumps and bruises, and Drake's wrinkles have deepened over time, fans of the Drake's story, and action adventure games alike, couldn't have asked for anything better. The collection highlights everything great about the Uncharted series, and offers up a sizeable, and thrilling adventure for those willing to brave the wilds.
Volume is a fantastic experience that I highly recommend to any stealth-game lovers. It's a unique twist on the Robin Hood story, and while the game's main storyline might not have been as strong as I hoped, I think it is definitely a great follow-up to Bithell's success with Thomas Was Alone.
Fans of slower-paced story games will enjoy it, but others may very well lose their patience.
After only ten minutes in the game you've already experienced everything that Submerged has to offer. It's a rather dull and shallow title in what could have been an exciting and scary world. There is no combat, no urgency, and no chance of failure. The gameplay is boring, the landmarks and scenery are mediocre, and the story is almost nonexistent. Submerged is a rapidly sinking ship that never even left the harbor.
The story laid within the game doesn't drive the game, but that's okay because there's plenty of rogue-like goodness waiting to be found inside of Size Five Games procedurally generated steampunk heist simulator.
Is a beautiful Norse fantasy world enough to save Tangrin Entertainment's indie-RPG from a lackluster story and bland characters?
However, every positive–the twisting storyline, the iconic villains, and the superb combat–are undermined by other factors. Mediocre acting, rough dialogue, and overuse of the Batmobile, leave Batman: Arkham Knight that much less cohesive than its predecessors.
The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt is a masterfully written rollercoaster, and though there is a lot to do in the game, I never felt overwhelmed by the Side Quests and optional tasks. CD Projekt Red has done a great job of bringing this saga to a close. The best part about all of this, however, is the fact that CD Projekt RED stayed true to its word. Every choice you make will determine how the story unfolds, and what the world becomes at the end of it all.
Obsidian Entertainment's return to the age of the Infinity Engine excels with a beautifully crafted story, and an exceptionally diverse and beautiful world.