Steve Wright's Reviews
There’s a lot of good within Gravity Rush 2, but you’ll have to wade through the muck to get to it. A meandering story, repetitive open world and menial fetch quests steer players away from the things that makes the franchise great: goofing around and never knowing which way is up. Franchise fans will get a kick out of the continuation of Kat’s story – if they understand it – but those with a love of action or experiences like Jet Set Radio will also enjoy this different take on a beat ‘em up.
Those of us a bit on in years will still enjoy the slang and the platforming, but don’t expect a challenge.
Up Multimedia delivers a quality point-and-click adventure with same-sex attracted characters and gay culture in a way that doesn’t alienate players of any sexuality, religion or creed. While its very nature clearly targets those in the LGBTI community, fans of point-and-click adventures will have a splendid time exploring Arcadia alongside Minogue and his motley crew.
A solid ending and the ability to get up close and personal with dinosaurs is Robinson’s saving grace, but it’s a bit of a slog to get to those bits. Robinson showed a great deal of promise, but ended up much like any other VR game in this launch window. You’ll be amazed by the sights until they become commonplace. Then, you’ll get frustrated by controls and ultimately, start to count down the minutes until you’re finished with it.
For newcomers to the Assassin’s Creed franchise, this is the place to start — and with the Master Assassin, no less. For others, it’s probably one to miss, unless you really, really want to get back into the thick of things.
The Special Edition of the game, complete with DLC and available on Windows PC, Xbox One and PS4, manages to look great and old at the same time.
Even with the weakest on-disc tracks to date, Just Dance 2017 is a massive step in the right direction. While last year’s entry was a massive miss, this one’s a definitely buy.
What follows next is lacklustre. Predictable jump scares, ringing telephones, spooky notes, guys in animal masks humping things and malfunctioning flashlights litter the landscape, and with each new instance, you’re left less and less impressed. Take your pick; this could be a result of mickey mouse writing or because you’re more concerned with how much game you can take before you need a sick break.
With a range of brain-taxing puzzles, it’s hard to go wrong with Tumble VR.
RIGS: Mechanised Combat League is a good start for PS VR, but it’s clear there’s a long way to go. Offline balancing, virtual reality image shift fixes and a rejig of pre- and post-match presentations should be high on Guerrilla Cambridge’s post-launch support list. Even then, it’s a fun little sports game that provides something other than horror or walking simulators for PlayStation VR. It’s worth checking out if you’re into sports or competitive shooters.
Until Dawn: Rush of Blood is a great little title that makes great use of virtual reality. It’s not as terrifying as you’ve been lead to believe, especially against the likes of Resident Evil 7. This is one to grab if you’re a fan of the franchise, or if you’re open to a jump scare here and there.
All up, the disc is forgettable and not worth your time, unless you’re keen to have a showreel of VR’s greatest hits for visitors. Move on to Until Dawn: Rush of Blood or Batman: Arkham VR instead.
This is the best use of PlayStation VR that I’ve seen currently available. The other, Star Trek: Bridge Crew, won’t be available for a bit. Their common denominator is an easy one – who wouldn’t want to be an actual part of a lifelong love? Batman: Arkham VR is a must-have for any Bat-fan with a PS VR system.
All up, The Coalition’s multiplayer offerings make up for an inconsistent campaign in Gears of War 4. Even then, and as much as I hate to admit it, what’s been presented has me eager for more – even though I would have preferred some resolution in this title, thank you very much. Gears fans will love it and newcomers should find enough to get them geared up – pun intended – for more.
Even then, this is an extremely solid bundle worth your hard earned. Grab it. Relieve some great gaming moments of the past and be thankful that your nostalgic memories aren’t tainted with expectations that can’t be lived up to today. Bioshock‘s still got it — even if you can’t use current-gen OS to actually capture any of it all at present.
In all seriousness, you’re better off skipping the Triple Pack and getting Dead Rising 3 instead — and for the same price. Or, just saving your cash for Dead Rising 4 and (hopefully, a less assholish) West.
NHL 16 saved the franchise from utter ruin, but NHL 17 shows you just what developers who love hockey can do when given ample time to work on a product. This year’s result is polished and bursting at the seams with care and love. With more modes than you can shake a stick at and niggling bugs of the past destroyed — I couldn’t find a single glitch over a marathon play session while preparing for this review — this is the best version of NHL to date. Grab a copy, some beers and a friend and show each other what you can do.
Federation Force isn’t bad — especially when you factor in Blast Ball — but it’s not going to fill the hunger felt by most franchise fans. It doesn’t work as a single-player offering, and those who want to play with friends will need to exert ridiculous levels of willpower and patience to get games in. If you’re willing to give it a go with mates, synch things up ahead of time for the least amount of stress.
Its gameplay loop means you’ll be able to have an entirely different experience with each playthrough
I’m a die-hard fan of the game and have loved jumping back in to Resident Evil 4. I have a feeling others who feel the same about the franchise will as well, as will Achievement and Trophy addicts, enticed over reasonable simple lists. For everyone else, it’s a harder sell at $24.95 AUD — while greatly improved over last-gen’s release, it’s still the same game on yet another platform.