Matt Gardner
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Matt Gardner's Reviews
Bayonetta 2 is mechanically perfect, yet it is also a game that is stuffed with personality and wit and charm and an abundance of ideas and imagery and symbolism that its poor story cannot hope to make sense of or contain. But that's okay -- it is the finest game Platinum have ever made, and the best thing to grace the Wii U thus far.
The likes of Halo 5 and Killzone: Shadow Fall have nothing on Titanfall 2. Call of Duty is perennially stuck between a rock and a hard place, unable to truly innovate, while desperately trying to stay fresh-yet-recognisable each year. Titanfall 2 is a game that can make one kill feel worth ten deaths. You’ll come for the blistering speed and agility of the action, but it’s the invention, the depth, and the unexpected heart that’ll make you stick around. That, and the fact that it’s just so damn fun. Forget the best shooter of the year; Titanfall 2 might be the best shooter of this generation. <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vReOIwxI9JI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Pix the Cat is a joy to play -- a heady, thrilling mix of bitesized, speedy, spatial puzzling that'll keep you coming back time and time again.
Probably the best tower defence game there is. Nothing more, nothing less.
This is the Metro experience how it was meant to be. With 2033 brought up to parity with its successor in terms of visual aspects and a smoother stealth experience, 2033 and Last Light come together to form a glorious whole that's more atmospheric than ever, giving a second chance to one of the most striking and original shooters out there. Essential stuff, especially on console, for fans and newcomers alike.
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is a wonderfully harmonious game. It's enormous, packed with more things to see and do than ever before, but Ubisoft have managed to make every little thing mean something in tangible, impactful terms. Black Flag is a wonderful piratical romp that manages to revive the stealthy focus of earlier series instalments, whilst delivering an outstanding naval sandbox, an excellent setting and story, and lashings of swashbuckling action. Unmissable.
An incredibly deep and engaging RPG, Larian have delivered one of the finest RPGs of the last decade in a paean to player choice and freedom, all presented with the knowing smile and cheeky wink we've come to expect from them. Divinity: Original Sin might prove a little overwhelming for some, but old-school RPG fans will absolutely adore this.
Always Sometimes Monsters is a fascinating, utterly engrossing morality play, delivered as a Game Maker adventure that constantly asks questions of the player. There have been games that deal with difficult decisions before, but perhaps none so deftly as this. Always Sometimes Monsters is a marvel.
A deeply atmospheric, emotionally compelling game that manages to treat war as a serious topic and examines the hard choices made by those caught in the middle of conflict. You might not particularly enjoy your time with This War Of Mine, but it's definitely a game you ought to play, being one of the finest critiques of war that this medium has to offer.
Enemy Within is an improvement on an already outstanding game. It takes familiar systems, builds on top of them and challenges us in new ways, once again wearing our fingernails down to the bone and frazzling our nerves by making us second-guess each and every decision we make on and off the battlefield. It's bigger, deeper, and more challenging than ever before, forcing players to rethinktheir approaches, and expanding massively on replayability once more. Prepare to lose weeks to this game...AGAIN!
An early contender for game of the year, Linelight is a minimalist, meditative masterpiece, and an excellent puzzle game that will utterly captivate you . If you're a genre fan in any way, or just like the idea of a chilled-out slice of pure gameplay, give it a look.<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1LS05l55j30" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/L5V0BTRtLRc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Horizon Zero Dawn is a brilliant, beautiful and bold action-adventure. With this expansive and ambitious game, Guerrilla finally have a masterpiece to their name, and, in Aloy, a PlayStation legend in the making.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AwiaxcC3WvI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Yakuza 0 makes for a perfect entry point to the series, and its unique blend of high drama and entertaining extras creates an action-packed, emotional journey where laughs come as frequently as tears. It's brutal and brilliant and so damn cool.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8GJiJiAcupg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> A fantastic, mind-bending, transmedia tale of time-travel and family, All The Delicate Duplicates is a short but thought-provoking experience that's as engrossing as it is complex.
Even if the mechanisms of this game seem a little dated now, we're reminded how the story and its characters are timeless in their good humour and quality, and in that respect, this Remaster should hold almost as much joy for newcomers as it does for returning fans.
Though lazily framed and under-scripted, Far Cry 4 is a gorgeous, systems-oriented playground that provides endless hours of entertainment. And exploding elephants.
LittleBigPlanet 3 is an impressive game, stuffed with more imagination than ever before, and presented in a manner that makes user creation supremely accessible even as the toolset deepens. Though the Adventure mode is sadly short-lived, and the platform differences are fairly negligible, LBP 3 will surely prove to be a must-have game for PlayStation or series newcomers this winter.
NBA 2K15 is probably the best example of sports game fan service out there. It's a comprehensive package for any NBA fan that does an enormous amount to capture the intricacies and the dramas of the league, all the while creating exciting on-court action that is detailed and nuanced and fun to play. However, its years-old connectivity issues, and the dependency of offline modes on online servers once again threaten to ruin what should an outstanding game.
I'm not coming out of this locker.
A cracking adventure game, possibly the best Sherlock Holmes game that Frogwares have given us thus far, Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments goes a long way to making players feel like we are are Holmes rather than simply playing a game about him. There are little niggles here and there, but frankly if you enjoy your detective mystery games, it would be criminal to overlook one of the best we've had in ages.