Trials Rising isn't trying to be realistic, it's trying to be simple fun, and at that it excels. It looks good, it will make you laugh, and most importantly, it's entertaining.
An open world game needs to be engaging and exciting for dozens of hours, and JC4 doesn't manage that feat. It has amusing moments, but it isn't $60 worth of fun unless you really love the series. If you're interested in this game, I suggest you wait til it drops to $25 on sale. It's a nice distraction, but not much more than that.
Overkill's The Walking Dead is pretty, but doesn't do anything that we haven't seen before in a number of other post-apocalyptic first- or third-person games.
Forza Horizon 4 is a tremendous achievement and will most likely displace Gran Turismo Sport as my racing game of choice. Yes, even without a racing wheel. With hundreds of cars and dozens of race tracks and more to come, I won't run out of stuff to do any time soon. See you in Scotland!
This is an excellent start for the second season of a game with big shoes to fill. We may have lost Telltale Games forever, but you can dry your tears with Dontnod's big-hearted adventure of a story game.
The game is cute and looks great, but thanks to its control scheme, isn't very fun to play.
It's not often that a game opens you up to a whole new sport, but if you give F1 2018 some time, it will do that. Fans of sim racing should give this one a look, even if they're more into street cars and exotics. Why wait to unlock the most amazing cars in the world when you can start behind the wheel?
Done Running isn't perfect, but nothing TWD-related ever is. This game remains the best incarnation of the IP, and long-time fans won't be disappointed.
The Crew 2 transforms America into a high speed sandbox with unmatched variety. Terrorize New York's West Side Highway? Check. Buzz the Pentagon in a prop plane? Check. Leave tread marks in New Mexico desert? Check. There's a lot to do here, and it feels great to do it, particularly for casual racing fans, while sim fans who want to just chill out and go fast in their home city will also enjoy themselves. The Crew 2's minor flaws could easily be ironed out with a few quality of life patches.
After Dontnod's ambitious but deeply flawed Vampyr, it's great to see them return to form with Captain Spirit. E3 is a whizbang explosion of PR hype for huge titles sporting adrenaline-pumping action. In the midst of all that, it was easy to miss Captain Spirit's heartfelt trailer about childhood wonder. But this free title is a must play.
Vampyr would've been far better as Jonathan Reid's Point and Click Tale of Moral Adversity than what we got, which was essentially Jonathan Reid's Mashy Exercise in Combat Frustration Sparsely Sprinkled With Plot. Games do not need combat sequences if those sequences do not serve the game's themes and story.
Despite a strong connection between the choice-oriented gameplay and the script's themes of free will and liberation, DBH's exploration of these themes is ankle deep.
While Battletech won't convert gamers looking for their latest twitch fix, fans of the source material and the strategy genre will find a lot to like here. Fans of the Shadowrun series in particular should give Battletech a look.
Sea of Thieves has glimmers of promise and is gorgeous to look at, but single player play is virtually worthless, and the repetitive nature of the quests and empty world leave the game feeling incomplete and overpriced.
Despite my frustrations with its shortcomings, I want to see where The Council leads me, and if it manages to deliver a narrative payoff in spite of itself.
Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 combines two exciting properties into an uninspired package.
Star Wars Battlefront II has solid core gameplay and offers a wide variety of content to enjoy, but at the moment it's hard to look past the loot crate issues in order to appreciate what the game does well.
If you are a Call of Duty fan, you'll have a good time (hacks aside). If you aren't a Call of Duty fan, there isn't much reason to come back. Playing CoD: WWII is like eating a great salmon filet; if you're into fish, you'll have a great time. If not, you should go find a burger or something.
If you want to dive deep into the genre of racing simulation, Gran Turismo Sport is a great place to start.
ECHO tries new and interesting things, but doesn't always succeed. The gameplay and visuals wear thin over time, but some players will appreciate the game for its originality.