Stuart Gollan
- Medieval II: Total War
- Mass Effect
- NFL Blitz
Stuart Gollan's Reviews
XCOM 2 is not more XCOM, but better XCOM. It will make you feel like the original may not have been the great game you thought it was, and for me that is all I can ask of a sequel. XCOM fans will not be disappointed, nor will any gamer with an affinity for strategy and tactical games who somehow missed Enemy Unknown. A brilliant game.
Super Mega Baseball has unseated The Bigs as my favourite baseball game of all time.
I reckon I could play this forever, ay.
I don’t factor cost into my review scores but Superhypercube is such an egregious example of VR price inflation that it had to be mentioned. If money is no object (or this review has become outdated and the game is now available for $20), don’t hesitate to grab Superhypercube, it is one of the best games available for PS VR today and I anticipate for some time to come.
Anybody who enjoys, or has ever enjoyed, a Trials game owes it to themselves to check this out. Folks out there that just really enjoy challenging themselves should probably give it a look too
If you harbour even the slightest desire to build then you have to experience Cities: Skylines. It provides most of the complexity of Maxis' 2013 Sim City but isn't bogged down with restrictive city size and a focus on co-operative building. The customisation and mods will keep this game alive for a long, long time and Colossal Order are due great praise for their embracing user created content.
The quality of life improvements are perhaps a bigger deal.
True Colors will delight fans of narrative games, but is unlikely to win over the doubters. You probably know if you’ll like this one, and I’m here to tell those people that they won’t be disappointed.
If you still enjoy the campaign aspects of Total War then you will find Warhammer simply brilliant, the Warhammer license makes this the most interesting Total War game in years. If the promise of the most exciting battles isn’t enough to stir your loins then this is just a game of more research trees, resource grinding and shoddy diplomacy, the same you have played for the last decade.
Who knows how long it will last, but Rivals had me clearing a permanent place to store the plastic drums and guitar once again, items that were long ago retired from the lounge room. It took Harmonix a year and an expansion pack with a hefty price tag, but Rock Band 4 is once again a headline act.
The Pillars of the Earth weaves a fascinating tale and does so with superb style.
The strategic polish of two decades is on display in Age of Empires 4, both in the history of this series and the pedigree of the developer. Relic has wrapped an interesting if slightly flawed single player experience around what is a superb strategy game.
While I have my qualms, building a university is a worthwhile, entertaining experience. Two Point Campus could do with a bump in challenge and some better pacing, but its core of building and management are great fun. Two Point Campus is funny, engaging and rewarding, a fine example of the management sim.
Midnight Suns is long and overloaded with systems (I didn’t even mention the light/dark faux-morality system, or new game plus, or levelling up your dog), but it is fun, both its combat and its superhero friendship simulation. The combat is good enough to keep you wanting more, and the story and character moments interesting enough that I didn’t mind how much they punctuated the flying fists and swinging swords. Making fighting alongside Wolverine as interesting as having a fireside chat with him is a tough ask, and Midnight Suns has nailed it.
Prison Architect is an excellent sandbox, a throwback to the days of Bullfrog's Theme series that forces you to balance an eye for aesthetics with pure functionality. Those who don't need to be led by the hand to explore the deep systems at play will find an excellent simulation to lose themselves in, with online sharing options providing a huge selection of prisons to explore, tear down and rebuild. If you can stomach the morality of prisons for profit you will enjoy Prison Architect.
For how great the core mechanics of Superhot are, I wish there was more to it and much more of it...Superhot leaves plenty on the table, there is more these mechanics can do and for how great the game is it is a shame that it only scratches the surface of its ideas.
Don't think I can't see right through you, Detroit!
The early pace of Hue was leading me to disappointment, but the stellar second act was more than enough reward for that labour. Hue delivers a polished package and a strong platform puzzle game, it isn't a Braid or Limbo but merely evoking those names can be taken as a sign of quality that Hue most certainly possesses.
100ft Robot Golf is a good laugh and a solid game. If an anime spoof is up your alley you owe it to yourself to check this one out, as does anybody looking for a good multiplayer bash for nights when mates are around having a few beers. The golf may be simple but there is fun to be had, just don’t expect much staying power for solo sessions.
If you’ve been hanging out since the PS2 era to just have some fun with a rugby union game, you might just find it in Rugby 22.