90% brilliant, 10% excruciatingly tiresome.
Overall, Need for Speed Rivals is a great game, but one held back by some disappointing, avoidable flaws.
For the average fan, Madden 25 on Xbox One offers little in the way of upgrades, making it hard to justify dropping another $120 for the game. On the other hand, for the hardcore Madden player (and I know there are a lot of you in New Zealand), the improved realism offered by some of the mechanical changes under the hood make this a hard game to pass up.
Given how poorly designed some parts of the game are, its hard to recommend it to anyone. And yet, like I said, I had some good fun with it, despite everything else. As long as you go in not expecting a life changing experience, there's an afternoon or two of enjoyment to be had here.
A simulation game fan looking for a hardcore micromanaging experience might want to look elsewhere, but for anyone else, Zoo Tycoon offers a whole lot of fun - with an important and oft neglected side dish of education and awareness raising.
Still, beautiful visuals can only do so much to redeem a game, and as beautiful as Ryse is to look at, it's still more than a bit underwhelming to play. Which is sad, because, with a bit more thought put into the game design side of things, this could have been the Xbox One's standout launch title.
And then, of course, there’s the fact that puzzle platformers and arty games like this aren’t for everyone. If you’re not into this type of game, Tearaway probably isn’t going to change your mind. In spite of that, I’d still say this is a must-buy for anyone with a Vita. At worst, it’ll make you rethink the value of some of the system’s more “gimmicky” user input mechanisms; at best you’ll get to have your heart set aflame by one of the most adorable, charming, and genuinely moving game experiences to date.
For now, our recommendation would be that if you're looking for a fighting game that skimps on story and has just a handful of options, but still delivers tournament-ready credentials, look no further. Killer Instinct is making a brash play at the top table and, as far as we can tell, it's got the goods.
Nonetheless, Just Dance 2014 is still a whole lot of fun, particularly if you bring a few friends around to join in. Just make sure you keep a towel handy, as all that dancing can be sweaty work.
[I]f you're a dedicated Dungeons and Dragons fan or budding content developer, you might just find what you're looking for here. Neverwinter also has a lot of potential; once it has had some time to find its feet (and maybe install a server farm in Australia, but that's wishful thinking) this could be a game worth taking another look at.