If you’re really into your XCOM’s and Space Hulk, but find the steep curve of the former and the seriousness of the latter too much, then this is a welcome change. It brings the brightness and colour back to mass-murdering aliens, alongside the wacky, irreverant humour and self-deprecation that the British are so delightful wonderful at.
It’s a very solid and responsive racer, reminiscent of its earlier iterations that kept the racing tight and less over-the-top lunacy. It’s got its hooks back in to me, pushing me to keep getting those top times and not bogging us down with eight minute long spectacle tracks. That being said, it’s hard to ignore the incessant use of microtransactions and what it brings with it, the in your face constant reminders about loot crates and such. It taints the experience that it’s saving grace is really in the gameplay, that all the bumf just spoils it somewhat.
The SNK 40th Anniversary Collection is by no means a bad bevy of retro delights. It’s just such a niche collection from a company that’s always going to play second fiddle to the likes of Capcom and Konami, that unless you’re a hipster of classic gaming, and is unlikely to attract your attention.
It’s pretty to look at, but is such a jumbled mess and we couldn’t get our heads around it…a bit like their furniture, then.
Despite the faff and taint of shady modern practices, it is still a competent and well worked fighter. The length of moves and tricks at hand, as well as the wealth of extra skills to learn is staggering, coupled with a very strong roster of new and old favourites. Combat has been reworked and tweaked to suit a faster fight system, and there is enough customisation to suit most kinds of playstyle for each character. Push aside the flaws and embrace it for the legacy that Mortal Kombat has created for itself.
If you missed it the first time around, treat yourself. If you’re coming back from the original, cast aside any aspersions and just lose yourself in some classic Sniper Elite goodness.
As a full title, I would recommend Team Sonic Racing as a suitable counterpart to the Mario Kart games. It may not have the same pedigree as that series, but remember: Sonic and Mario are always going to be competitive.
If you're after something a bit lighter on the action RPG pallet, you can't really go amiss with Super Cane Magic ZERO. If Crossing Souls was the Goonies of this genre, then SCMZ is the Monty Python: some jokes hit, some miss, some are too daft and some fall completely flat. But you can tell that everyone involved has had a good time making this, and that is conveyed in the end product.
As a console game, it’s a waste of everyone’s time to play a terrible knock off of a timeless classic (of which there are much better versions of out there).
It’s a fun, satirical little romp that has enough going on to keep veterans going, and hopefully invest newcomers in something different. There’s some neat little trophies that require slightly divergent means, but that just adds to the length and fun. They’re optional, but it adds to the humour and tone somewhat.
If you’re into your steampunk with a side of apocalypse, then you’re covered. If you’re a WarCraft alumni who fancies a bit of a twist in the not-technical-zombies mold, this will inject some fresh life into the RTS catalogue.
Whatever your constitution, The Blackout Club gets a strong recommendation from me. It’s got a tense feel to it, some cultist shenanigans going on, and especially off the back of the latest Stranger Things series, it’s something a bit different in the horror ranks.
It’s beautiful, it’s got a manic soundtrack to keep the adrenaline pumping, and it is a faithful throwback to the days of arcade past.
Clunky controls, terrible on-screen litter and the slow pace just kill any semblance of enjoyment for me. Even the nonsensical plot and voice acting don’t make me want to play this again.
Damsel gets a middling recommendation. If you’re looking for something you can file under “slightly difficult to get used to, eternity to master” then this would be in that rather specific category. As I said at the start, this won’t look out of place on the Switch or Steam library, as those two are bread and butter for this kind of game. Whereas on the supposed powerhouse that is the Xbox, it just seems like a waste of potential. Granted, this is only an indie title, so there isn’t going to be mass dollar behind it. It’s just that the end result on the Microsoft flagship is a bit of a damp squib.
Strong emphasis of racing/destruction, with a plethora of cars to tweak and modify to your heart’s content, the only gripes are down to musical preference and patience with loading times.
It’s not easy to start with. It’s the difference being jumping in a plane in Saints Row to playing Flight Simulator, the Mario Karts to the F1’s. But hey, if that’s your bag and you feel like you’ve rinsed the Dirt games, or you’re looking for somewhere to start, then this would be it.
If you were to sit and nitpick each minor part, The Surge 2 wouldn’t hold up to the scrutiny. Yet if you play it as a whole, it’s a brutally beautiful romp in the mold of what we’ve come to expect from this type of game.
If you enjoy playing the same kind of JRPG over and over, with tweaks on the battle or level systems, then you’ll be right at home with this one. It may have a generic story, with many elements of similar games already, but it’s not the worst RPG I’ve ever played.
It’s going to be hard to recommend it when I’ve knocked it as being repetitive several times (which is ironic, when you think about it). But then, that’s what usually creates a cult classic: it may not come out to critical acclaim and rapturous praise, but if the little seed of charm is in there somewhere, it just needs time to grow. It’ll be tough, and not everything it grows will be to everyone’s taste, but there’s something in there that you want to survive.