Steve Hannley's Reviews
The third iteration of the series on current-gen platforms, Madden NFL 16 continues its growth. There's not a myriad of changes this year, but what has been tweaked is noticeable and makes for a fantastic game of pigskin.
Until Dawn is gripping through its nine-odd hour running time and never lets off the gas. It's scary — although sometimes cheaply so — and does a great job illustrating the butterfly effect. What Supermassive has accomplished so early in their tenure is impressive and something all horror fans should experience.
Codemasters has lost a lot of goodwill for their F1 series in the past few years. In a perfect world, everything here (minus the updated racing info, of course) would have debuted last year as F1 2014.
It boggles the mind that a good Godzilla game hasn't been produced yet; it's a franchise about a giant lizard destroying things for Pete's sake. Until a studio like Platinum is given the reigns, however, perhaps it's time for the King of Monsters to hang up his size 1000 video game shoes for good.
God of War III has aged surprisingly gracefully. Although it's over five years old, somebody inexperienced with the series could easily mistake Remastered for an original PS4 game.
Now that the PS4 has been on the market for over a year, SD San Diego has had time to fine-tune the MLB franchise, giving it more sheen to the point that it's easily one of the most realistic sports games on the market. MLB 15: The Show doesn't bring any major additions to the table, but it does respectably tweak the most beloved modes to streamline the experience for pros and casuals alike.
Make no mistake: Bloodborne will put hair on your chest.
After almost two years of anticipation and endless hype, The Order: 1886 introduces itself with the bravado of a dead fish. With a premise interesting at surface level, enormous backing from Sony and technically incredible visuals, The Order seems like it would be a sure-fire hit.
Rockstar has improved upon one of the greatest games of all time. The original version of Grand Theft Auto V was a major accomplishment upon its initial release and remains that way even after a year of the new console generation.
The first Call of Duty built for the current console generation, Advanced Warfare is a leap in the right direction for the series. The exoskeleton power doesn't change "everything," but it creates a fresh experience.
Just Dance is a series that's hard to hate as it genuinely wants players to have a good time, but 2015 is a misstep. Hardly anything has changed and practically nothing has for those who don't partake in the online functionality, some features are missing and the interface has become too basic.
The magical combination of two creative powerhouses in Disney and Harmonix has produced one of the best Kinect rhythm games to date. Like no other to come before it, Fantasia: Music Evolved combines the required accuracy of the best of the genre with wholly enjoyable remixing tools that allow players to create new compositions on the fly merely with their hands.
The Evil Within marks Shinji Mikami's triumphant return to horror, cementing his status as a mastermind of the genre. Smartly aiming for psychological horror over cheap jump scares, it gets under the skin and effects the psyche. Unfortunately, it falls into the modern trappings of boasting too much firepower at the cost of stealth and intelligence.
Part of a surprisingly strong series, Skylanders Trap Team is arguably the best iteration yet. Although Traps are a way to further increase merchandising, they add both a enjoyable layer of depth to gameplay and a fun new aspect of collectibility that will encourage players to trade/loan their captured villains amongst friends.
More than just a great Lord of the Rings game, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor marks a new era for the franchise that can be enjoyed by fans and the uninitiated alike.
After a serious misstep with NHL 15, FIFA 15 is a leap in the right direction for EA Sports. Shrewdly taking advantage of current-gen's capabilities with added emotional intelligence and improved animations, this is easily the prettiest EA Sports title this year.
The physical quality of the figures have remained outstanding and focusing on Marvel should bring in a whole new group of collectors and gamers alike. It may not revolutionize, but Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes 2.0 Edition firmly establishes the property in the gaming landscape.
Destiny isn't the convention-bending masterpiece it's been touted to be, but it remains a fine shooter.
NHL 15 is one of the most frustrating sports releases to date. The core experience has been markedly improved.
Madden NFL 15 marks a noticeable improvement for the long-standing franchise. This is a solid game of football, both on a technical and visual level.