Jay Ball's Reviews
The most important thing that everyone needs to know about Cyberpunk 2077 is that while it’s imperfect, it is without a doubt a superb game.
Prince of Persia The Lost Crown graciously blends the best components of previous iterations -- the original game included -- into what is easily the best Metroidvania game we’ve seen in recent years.
I can’t emphasise how much fun Doom Eternal is to play and that’s what really counts.
Watch Dogs 2 is the game that the first one should have been and is a shining example of Ubisoft’s already proven ability to respond well to feedback. It offers true freedom and creativity to play the way you want, laugh out loud moments found in scripted events and self-made fun in a virtual city that needs to be seen to be believed. Starring characters that you’ll genuinely care about the more you get to know them you’ll have no trouble finding motivation to see this one through to the end. Put this one on your Christmas list.
The best in the series, by far.
This new version of Dead Space is one of the few remakes that has managed to slot in that little window of time where it’s not been too soon or too long since the release of the original. It brings with it nostalgia, and almost enough change to make it feel fresh and familiar at the same time. For some this will be good news, for others not so much. For me, having loved every minute of only a single play through back in 2008 I was elated by the fact that I had pretty much forgotten almost all of the details in the game.
Alienation is a must-buy for any fans of twin stick shooters. Featuring fun gameplay, a deep weapons system (for the genre), smooth visuals and plenty of reason to repeat missions it’s certainly worth your $30.00 AUD.
Despite changes to the formula, New Dawn is still very much Far Cry at its core.
As a recreation it highlights how good the original games were for their time. Challenging, original, addictive and damn fun to play.
For the sheer size of it, the beauty of the hundreds of different landscapes you can explore and the always engaging missions, Starfield is a massive technical achievement.
With familiar characters and concepts, upgraded visuals, excellent level design and some new toys to play with, the changes made between the last instalment and this one are welcome improvements without invoking the "if it aint' broke" rule. Veteran Deus Ex players will likely jump in head first and love every minute they spend in this world. This is certainly one for the fans.
The decision to only release MWR with purchases of the upcoming Infinite Warfare and the apparent intent on never making it available as a stand alone game appears to be a desperate cash grab. This sales model either assumes that every COD 4 fan has been a dedicated franchise devotee for the past nine years which is most certainly not the case, or it hopes that hardcore COD 4 fans will be willing to shell out just to play the remastered version of their favourite game. But let’s face it: nobody in their right mind would spend $129 AUD on a nine year old game with improved visuals… would they?
Combat against all the bosses is both challenging and rewarding. There's great variation between all enemies in their look, how they fight and how you need to behave with each
Mega Man 11 is as challenging, fun and frustrating as every other game in the series in literally every single aspect.
Due to its niche nature, Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown won’t be for everyone. You’d really need to love this style of game to get the full benefit of it. That being said, it’s a well crafted addition to the genre and may very well make some some new fans of aviation titles that were otherwise not interested
Mafia III is consistently inconsistent. An engrossing and mature narrative told between repetitive and boring missions, satisfying gun play against moronic AI enemies all taking place in a beautifully designed city that's ruined with shitty lighting effects.
Amidst the hype and the vitriolic criticism from keyboard warriors around the world feeling like they’re owed something better, it’s easy to forget that this game — possibly the largest ever made and certainly the most anticipated of the year — was developed by a team of just 15 people (at its biggest). Its visuals are basic, there’s no narrative to speak of and it’s infested with game crashing bugs in its current state (patch coming very soon, we’re told). Its primary focus on resource gathering is repetitive, but discovering a huge deposit of something rare and valuable breaks the repetition to keep you motivated to continue exploring. All things considered, No Man’s Sky is the first game in years to actually justify the use of the word “ambitious”. That’s why I like it.
The Zelda devout have already decided to to buy this game and I hope they love it. Everyone else might want to spend some time with the demo first.
While VR definitely makes things better by making the the world feel a little more real, the enemies feel a little larger and adding in the ability to free aim your weapons — all without being too gimmicky — it’s not enough to warrant a purchase of new VR gear if you don’t already have it.
Horizon Call of the Mountain is absolutely beautiful and features some fun moments, but it bears repeating that it in no way feels like an $80 AUD game; it barely feels like a $60 AUD game and should have been included with the PSVR2 without an additional cost. It’s without a doubt a fantastic way to show off what the PSVR2 can do (eye tracking aside as it’s only used in menus and dialogue sequences). When your friends come over to check out your new toy they’ll come to see Horizon Call of the Mountain, but they’ll stay for Gran Turismo 7. While this offers fans a literally alternate perspective into a universe that many really love (myself included) and is a fantastic as a tool to show off the PSVR2, it lacks depth as an actual game. Challenge and balance are overloaded with tedious climbing sequences and not enough of the fun stuff.