The best way to describe Star Wars Battlefront, I feel, is to call it what it is – a good game that was deliberately designed to not be a great one. I wanted to rate it higher than this. Way higher. At least the online connection is mostly stable, though. As far as EA launches go, that's pretty amazing.
As a big fan of Telltale's work, and a Game of Thrones aficionado, I found this to be a dismal letdown. I expected better – hell, I at least expected to feel something at the end of this chapter. Instead, I feel nothing. I'm just completely apathetic to the whole thing, and I feel no reason to be excited about a second season because, well… it'll just be more of the same, if past experience is any indicator.
Thankfully, the main game itself is easily worth the price of admission. A gripping story in spite of its cliches, with an expanded serving of the gameplay that made Tomb Raider such a wild ride, Rise of the Tomb Raider is a damn fine sequel that does everything a sequel needs to do. What's more, it truly cements Lara's new adventures as a series with a solid future, and I'm excited to see where Croft and Trinity go next.
Fallout 4 is something special. Something special indeed. No, scratch that. It's downright S.P.E.C.I.A.L.
If you'd like to play a limp amalgamation of Deus Ex, Crysis,and BioShock with a multiplayer mode you've been able to play eight times in as many years, then Call of Duty: Black Ops III is definitely for you. For the rest of you, it's just another condom of a game to be spunked into and thrown in the trash.
The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes is a game that's far better than its shackles allow it to be. Even as hampered as it is by online chicanery and distinctly "Nintendo" hassles, it's still a great deal of fun and one of the best handheld online adventures you could undertake. It just requires some patience to get working, with a reward that's well worth it. Also, come on… it's gay as hell. And I kind of love that.
So yeah… Assassin's Creed Syndicate is actually good. Took 'em long enough.
Woolly World is still rather enjoyable in its own unassuming way. That way, however, is most certainly unassuming.
It takes a damn good game to stop me from pooping, and Downwell had me in its thrall as I desperately needed that crap. Desperately.
This could have been good. A dungeon crawler in the Overlord universe has some promise, but there's just nothing here. No satisfying loot drops. No expanding combat ability. Nothing but braindead, horrifically designed combat. Oh, and a few utterly insipid pressure-plate puzzles. Because those are always fun.
It commits perhaps the worst sin a horror game – or indeed any game – could commit. It is boring. Once you've made the audience yawn, you've lost your ability to frighten them forever.
Tales from the Borderlands has been brilliant, easily Telltale's finest work since season one of The Walking Dead, and somewhat superior in several ways.
Dragon Quest Heroes ... is a beautiful game that does more with the Warriors franchise than the main Warriors games have done in a long time. Despite putting hours and hours into the thing, I've got plenty yet to do, and I've enjoyed every second of it so far. Aside from some poor pacing decisions and a rather limp narrative, Tecmo Koei has made lightning strike twice by merging two franchises together in yet another surprisingly brilliant way.
Samurai Warriors 4-11 bases itself on one of the best possible Warriors games, and therefore its core gameplay is of undeniable quality. It's a great game by all accounts. However, most of what makes it great was sold to us a year ago, so while there's still a ton of fun to be had, I am not going to be singing its praises a second time.
No game yet has quite captured the look and feel of the only real Transformers experience quite like Devastation. The fact they added a brilliantly entertaining combat system and an engaging bit of looting on top is a very welcome surprise.
If you've never had a Rock Band game before, this is as good a time as any to jump in, but be aware that you'll be wanting to peruse that huge store of downloadable content in order to get a setlist you're happy with. Series veterans, however, will have no such trouble, and very little reason not to check this one out. It's a good basis for something that has potential to get even better as the years go on.
It's a game I may only ever play once, but I'm thoroughly glad I did. For those who hate "walking simulators" and the "pretentious" side of independent games, you should probably steer clear. The rest of you? There's more to this game than it's 90 minute runtime. The fact I'm still thinking about it, deeply, hours after I played it is all part of the value too.
In my professional opinion, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 can fuck off.
If you were already a fan of the series, this remastered bundle will be worth picking up. Those who are a bit more cynical, as I was, may very well find themselves surprised by the time they've slogged through all three of them. Pleasantly so.
This is not just another horror game. It's a science fiction story with horrific shades, a game that ponders the human condition in an industry where "the human condition" has become an awkward dead horse of a phrase. A horror game that, curiously, would have benefited from a little less horror. Simply put – there needs to be more games like this in the world.