Alan Bell's Reviews
DiRT Rally 2.0 is a master-class in how to do the rally genre justice. While it certainly presents a steep learning curve, rally enthusiasts will find a lot to love in Codemasters' latest entry in the highly-revered DiRT franchise.
X-Morph: Defense is a superb tower defense title with a twist. Those looking for solid action with a side of strong strategic elements will find a lot to love with EXOR Studios excellent take on the genre.
Jump Force could have been another great fighter but is held back by dreadful animation, a tiresome main hub, questionable mechanics and a lackluster story. Fans looking for the next great thing in Anime Fighters will likely be left unimpressed and wanting.
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe is a perfect addition to the Switch's ever-=growing library of excellent games. A huge amount of content, coupled with perfectly executed tight controls makes this entry a must play for any and all fans of the genre.
My Hero One's Justice stays faithful to the source material and offers a wealth of quality content. The story may be a bit convoluted for those who haven't seen the anime but the depth of combat nuance will keep most fighting game fans happy.
Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle is a curious marriage of gore and puzzles which unfortunately doesn't quite it right. Fans of the franchise will get more enjoyment than others, but it's hard to recommend this puzzler to any but the most die-hard Vorhees fans.
All in all, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams - Owltimate Edition is a great platformer that lets you get by as you learn and feels great to ace once you nail the skills. It looks cool, works well in both handheld and docked modes, has tight controls, and enough depth to make replaying its copious content worthwhile. Recommended.
City of Brass is a fairly standard rogue-lite that distinguishes itself with its setting, visual stylings, and fun-as-hell whip.
Skyrim now fits in your pocket. It runs shockingly well on Switch, and there are even motion controls if you want 'em. What's not to like?
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite doesn't electrify the way its predecessor does, but it's nonetheless a competent and chaotic, newcomer-friendly yet deep competitive fighter with a huge amount of fight style flexibility.
Agents of Mayhem fails as caretaker of the Saints Row dildo-torch, with passable gameplay and characters the only vague upsides in its a repetitive, bug-ridden sandbox.
Injustice 2 is the goods: a great fighting game with an absorbing narrative, plenty of content, and a legendary cast.
Dragon Quest Builders is an entertaining RPG, a marvellous builder, and simply a tremendous game all-round.
Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness is a decent example of game from a niche genre. Just don't expect to be doing much more than advancing through dialogue screens and you'll enjoy yourself.
Legion is excellent, a thoroughly enjoyable expansion made all the more impressive by the base game's age. It might have taken a demon invasion, but WoW's players are back together at last.
W.M.D does more than enough to justify its existence. In fact, it gets the series back on track after several recent-ish disappointments. Now 25 titles deep, Worms is truly the cockroach of the gaming world.
Many elements of MilitAnt's core design are flawed, so it's no surprise that the game as a whole is pretty dire.
Carmageddon: Max Damage ain't no Cadillac, but it's no jalopy either. Rather, it's just alright: fleetingly frustrating, often enjoyable, but never transcendent the way killing pedestrians should be.
Shadow of the Beast is an action title whose combat simply isn't particularly enjoyable. Throw in some off-putting map design, and you have a game that's a shadow of what it could have been.
Trackmania Turbo isn't substantially different from other games in the series: it's polished, fleet, and enjoyable. That makes it a great purchase for long-neglected console players, but it offers less to series veterans on PC.