James Berich's Reviews
It's hard to recommend Narcosis to anyone who wants something more than just a story. There's some interesting concepts here that could've translated to some great gameplay mechanics, but they feel under developed. The story and characterisation is great, but everything else pales in comparison. Narcosis is a great premise that unfortunately never really lives up to what sounded like high potential.
Prey is another win for Arkane. It's a game where everyone who plays it will have a different experience. One thing is certain though – that Prey remains a consistent experience from beginning to end. Providing players with intuitive gameplay systems with great synergy, freedom to approach combat how you want and game design that rewards creativity are just three ways that Prey succeeds. While BioShock was heralded as the spiritual successor to System Shock, Prey feels like a much more successful attempt. An absolute joy to play and experience.
What Remains of Edith Finch is an example of an inventive and engaging experience that both aligns with the traditional definition of what a 'game' can be, and yet also seeks to challenge it. The story can be cliché at times, and sometimes the symbolism lacks subtlety, but what's offered here is a perfect blend of bittersweet themes and motifs. It's linear, but it's enjoyable and intriguing enough to demand your attention for its perfect run time.
Outlast II is a marked improvement over the original Outlast in almost every way. It's still scary, yet utilises smarter designed scares to keep the tension high from beginning to end. The story is bound to be controversial, given the themes it tackles, but will easily demand and keep your attention from beginning to end. First person indie horror as a genre has lost its vision over the years, but Outlast II firmly stands tall as one of the best examples. It's absolutely terrifying and a staunch improvement over the original.
Voodoo Vince Remastered is a great remaster, but the game lying underneath this fresh coat of paint simply doesn't hold up today. There's some fantastic art direction, an interesting locale and an even more intriguing premise. While it might be fun for a younger audience, Voodoo Vince doesn't capitalise on its intriguing premise enough to make itself genuinely essential. Voodoo Vince is an authentic remaster, retaining the feel and play of the original, for better or for worse. Unfortunately, some things are best left in the past.
Persona 5 is one of the best role playing games that I’ve played in years. It’s both a colourful and psychological journey through student life and the darker side of humanity. Combine this story of intrigue with multiple comprehensive systems that are all a joy to get lost in and you’ve got something truly special. While some minor pacing issues and some rigidity with how time is managed bring the experience down somewhat, Persona 5 is a game that everybody should play.
Snake Pass is a delicious combination of interesting concept, a solid execution but with room for future potential. A platformer without a jump button sounds absurd, but Snake Pass uses a kooky physics engine and great level design to make it feel as natural as ever. Though sometimes frustrating, Snake Pass is charming and simple, a different experience, even if it feels like it’s over a little bit too quickly.
Mass Effect: Andromeda manages to successfully bring back the sense of exploration and discovery that fans have longed for since the original Mass Effect, whilst honing and improving the already enjoyable combat mechanics of Mass Effect 3. The result is something truly special – a metaphorical slow burn, a hybrid that is sure to appeal to fans of both the original game and its flashier sequels. Despite this, Andromeda is hampered slightly by its lack of visual polish and presentation, which can kill the wonder and fantasy as quickly as it builds it.
Super Bomberman R is not worth the price of admission, but it is a surprisingly solid entry that plays best to the franchises strengths, rooted deep in multiplayer styles of play. While it does it's best to add value to the package, most of this content comes off as incessant filler. Online works, to a point, but if you're not grabbing Super Bomberman R for some fun multiplayer, it's probably best to skip it entirely.
Despite its issues, NieR: Automata is a game that we rarely have the privilege of experiencing. Auteur designer Yoko Taro successfully blends his oddball knack for storytelling, defying typical video game conventions in doing so. This leads to a truly unforgettable story, but the way in which it's told and demands repeat playthroughs is bound to be lost on some part of NieR: Automata's audience. Regardless, NieR: Automata blends strong action and RPG components into an atmosphere and game that's well worth experiencing.
For Honor feels like both a triumph and a failure in some senses. On one hand, it's an exceedingly genuine melee combat experience that manages to leverage the wild and varied styles of the knights, Vikings and samurai in a comprehensive package. The single player is great, if not terse. The multiplayer well designed. On the other, it's let down by consistently disappointing server and networking issues. These can be fixed in the future, no doubt, but for now, For Honor has some more territory to conquer before it becomes truly great.
Sniper Elite 4 is a vast improvement over Sniper Elite 2 and 3 in terms of scenario design and ambition, but there's just something missing. The team at Rebellion have got the combat down. They've got the sniping mechanics down. They've even nailed the traversal mechanics – whether vertical or horizontal. But there's a distinct lack of fantastical set pieces that stunt Sniper Elite 4 from reaching its true potential. Instead, we have some greatly designed, open missions; but ones that grow repetitive by the time the game ends. Issues with pacing and repetition aside, Sniper Elite 4 is still a competent experience, and one of the more authentic and true-to-life sniping simulators.
While it's easy to sit back and write Nioh off as another Dark Souls clone, it's something very different. Yes, it's slightly less challenging to get into, but it's a result of some incredibly synergistic systems that work so well together to improve and smooth the player experience. Nioh is still a difficult game, mind you, but it's an experience that consistently rewards players for performing well.
Resident Evil 7: biohazard manages to successfully consolidate the exploratory, slower paced, tension filled gameplay of the early games with the modernised visuals and technology of today. A new first person viewpoint will prove controversial with more seasoned veterans but such a change allows Resident Evil 7 to feel fresher than ever before. Make no mistakes, Resident Evil 7 is a victorious progression for the franchise which successfully melds new with old. The weight and harshness that technology like Playstation VR brings to the scares and tension is especially welcome.
After spending some solid time with Eagle Flight it's so, so hard to put into words just how I feel about it. The game itself, as an entire package, is an admirable effort. Eagle Flight obviously started out as a tech demo of sorts but the developers have done a great job of expanding it into a full (albeit, lower priced) experience. Eagle Flight does have its fair share of issues – namely whether it's truly worth the price of entry and whether it'll have longevity.
Regardless of what you think about the quality or effort put into this remaster, the underlying games that inhabit Ezio Collection are still very solid games, with a lot of great content to plough through for a reasonable asking price. It's just a little bit of a shame that these don't have the wow factor that improved models or even 60fps might have brought. Still, an improvement is an improvement, if only slight.
Dishonored 2 is a huge triumph, managing to achieve the lofty goal of outdoing its predecessor in almost every way.
Gears of War 4 represents the next level of classic Gears of War gameplay.
The trio of Dead Rising remasters are much harder to indiscriminately recommend to any players
BioShock: The Collection is an amazing effort. BioShock 1, 2 and Infinite all look their very best and plenty of effort has gone into making each of the games stand up to today’s lofty visual standards.