Warriors Orochi 4 is a disappointingly cheap sequel. Stripped back and basic, it feels like a quick and easy apology aimed at fans who were left disgruntled by the dire Dynasty Warriors 9. There's still enjoyment to be found here, with the series' trademark action holding strong, but poor presentation and unstable performance drag the experience down. Koei Tecmo really needs to get its Warriors games back on track, but until that happens, you're better off nabbing the far superior Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate.
Like its predecessors, Destiny 2: Warmind struggles to justify its price tag thanks to a throwaway campaign and some incredibly tired mission design. The quality of Destiny's core gameplay is still clear to see and the expansion as a whole is dotted with a handful of high points, but it ultimately just feels like the game is purposefully treading water until September's big arrival -- and that's simply not good enough.
With the online being a bit of a bust and the single player modes failing to really showcase the game's strengths, it's difficult to recommend Slice, Dice & Rice. Against a human opponent, the title's interesting and entertaining on a fundamental level, but as an overall fighting game package, it's found lacking.
Dynasty Warriors has been on a steady run since it fumbled with the divisive Dynasty Warriors 6, and now it's in danger of fumbling all over again. Dynasty Warriors 9 goes open world and the result is a game of extreme ups and downs. For every gloriously huge battle there's a boring stint of traversal across a dreadfully barren map. For every interesting story moment or interaction, there's a horribly ugly graphical glitch. Factor in an unconvincing combat system overhaul, and you've got a Dynasty Warriors title that may disappoint even the most dedicated of fans. There's still some good historical hack and slash fun to be had here, but we expected much more from the return of this flagship series.
Final Fantasy XV: Comrades ends up being a missed opportunity.
Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris is ultimately more Destiny 2 for those who want it, and that would be fine if it wasn't stuffed with so much squandered potential. For its asking price, there's no reason not to expect more from this first expansion. The story missions range from okay to insultingly dull, and the one truly interesting concept that Bungie introduces -- the Infinite Forest -- ends up being little more than a tedious shooting gallery. The most frustrating part of all this is that the developer has been here before, and it still insists on repeating the same mistakes all over again.
Warriors All-Stars is a colourful hack and slash title that can be fun in short bursts thanks to its varied cast of playable characters, but it just has too many problems to be considered a good Warriors game. Frustrating, tedious mission design, a throwaway story, and a wildly unstable framerate make it very difficult to recommend when there are so many better Koei Tecmo titles on the market.
Vikings - Wolves of Midgard takes a fair swing at the loot-heavy action RPG genre, but its middling gameplay fails to leave a lasting impression. Going up against the likes of the mighty Diablo III on PS4, its dull blade bounces off the competition, but Vikings is just competent enough to survive the scuffle and live another day.
Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme VS-Force is at its best when it sticks to the series' trademark two-on-two battles. Smaller encounters give the tense combat system room to breathe, but all too often, the game's campaign shoots itself in the foot with overly chaotic group skirmishes and boring boss fights. If you're a Gundam nut then you'll probably be able to stomach some of the title's flaws, but don't expect a true Gundam VS experience.
It looks great and it's bursting with appreciation for the source material, but JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven just can't detach itself from its disappointingly shoddy gameplay. Fun for a few bouts now and then, this is a brawler that doesn't quite do the original work justice - even if its nicely crafted story mode will keep fans entertained for at least a few hours.
Dragon Age: Inquisition's second expansion is perhaps even less essential than the first, and that's a real shame given the add-on's intriguing premise. Even though there are a few beacons of light in the darkness, such as some meaty combat scenarios and stints of exciting exploration, The Descent is damaged by a disappointingly bad ending and too many underwhelming side quests.
Onechanbara Z2: Chaos is essentially Devil May Cry on what feels like a budget of about £20, which is funny, since you can buy the far superior Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition on the PS4 for that same amount of money. To be fair, though, Z2 Chaos does have its fun moments, and it's kept afloat by a decent combat system that has a lot to offer once you've got a handle on the controls. It's not a totally brain dead release, but it's hard to recommend when it's launching on a console that already boasts several better action games.
This is a Godzilla game that's struggled to evolve beyond the basics of what's expected of it – it's the iconic roar without any of the menace to back it up.
When you're dashing and slashing with capable allies, Warframe is decent game – but there's still a lot of work that needs to be done before it can be considered a good one. The user interface isn't controller friendly, you're given little to no direction, and the title's free-to-play model hinders its overall design. Until these issues are rectified, we recommend waiting in the shadows for the release to finally emerge from its beta state.
With Assassin's Creed Unity, there's a great game buried somewhere beneath an unforgivable amount of technical issues, from annoying glitches to frustrating crashes. It's a perfect example of how Ubisoft's insistence to annualise the series has backfired, as it's clearly an unfinished product.
On a fundamental level, The Dark Below fails to justify its expensive price point for anyone who isn't a hardcore Destiny fan. While the story missions are enjoyable and the Strikes are some of the best, there just isn't enough new content here to reinvigorate Bungie's project for more than a few hours at most.
UFO Robot Grendizer: The Feast of the Wolves is a heartfelt tribute to the giant robot genre. It's clearly a lower budget title, and technical issues certainly sour the experience somewhat, but there's good, straightforward fun to be found if you're a fan of classic anime.
If you're in the market for a mostly typical JRPG, and you can stomach some low budget presentation along with slightly flawed gameplay, you could do a lot worse than Monochrome Mobius. It's one of those games that feels like a heartfelt effort, and that might be just enough to outweigh its problems.
All in all, Lost Eidolons is a fairly ambitious outing that just about sticks the landing, despite some seriously rough edges.
The bottom line here is that Red Dead Redemption deserves so much more.