Ben Salter's Reviews
If it didn’t carry the COD name, it could very well have been labeled as an entirely different game marketed as “from the creators of Black Ops”. Raven and Treyarch have tried something new here, and delivered a refreshing Call of Duty single-player experience — just be aware it’s a smaller scale spy thriller, not an epic open warfare game.
Like Origins, Valhalla benefits from a year off with a fresh audience. It doesn’t reboot this time, but instead improves upon the duo it’s following, introducing proven elements from some of the best in the business.
While the gameplay remains strong, and is improved in this Deluxe repackaging, Pikmin 3 is visually a dated game, and it’s a shame Nintendo refuses to remaster last-gen games, whilst still charging full price. Nevertheless, the cracks are covered up to a degree in handheld mode, as Pikmin 3 almost rounds out the full Wii U collection on Switch.
Any new ideas have clearly been held back for when the new consoles are actually obtainable by the masses, but FIFA leaves the Xbox One and PS4 in a pretty good place — and with some extra pace — in 2020/21, still with plenty of scope to go from good to great next-generation.
It presents as a modern game but retains the essence of an old one, and it’s that combination that well and truly entrenches the original Mafia, now reborn, as the best in the series.
Paper Mario The Origami King is a delightfully charming game, with a vibrant open world to explore and endearing characters that are genuinely funny, so long as you can handle a healthy dose of dad jokes.
There’s more fun to be had here than the past couple of games, and it feels like it’s been made with more passion, by AFL fans, for AFL fans who desperately want an AFL game to play.
Moon Studios has built upon its own great work to delver a fantastic sequel.
I had high hopes for Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, and it delivers across the board.
On their own, none of these elements are going to win awards and are all done better elsewhere, but as a package they form something exciting — much like the Star Wars films.