Ken Barnes Avatar Image

Ken Barnes


179 games reviewed
60.0 average score
60 median score
24.7% of games recommended
Oct 27, 2017

Unless it somehow convinces you to go after the "legendary" fish that exist in the game, you'll more than likely find that it'll only take a few short jaunts out onto the water before you've had your fill.

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Oct 20, 2017

It's far too early to say if Gran Turismo Sport is the final word when it comes to eSports style racing on consoles. The on-track action is excellent, but the remainder of the package is severely lacking at this point in time.

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Sep 29, 2017

Frustrating it may be, but this is the nature of hunting and Call of the Wild does a generally excellent job of replicating it. It should be noted that those without patience will absolutely hate the game, as there are no options to allow you to play it in anything other than full-on simulation mode. As such, you might play for an hour and bag a couple of kills, but you just as easily might spend an hour roaming around without even having the chance to get an animal in your sights. However, the general atmosphere provided makes those strike-outs easier to deal with because exploring and improving your tracking skills and knowledge are often reward enough. Indeed, theHunter: Call of the Wild is aimed at a specific target audience, and if you're in that group, you'll be playing this for far longer than you'd expect.

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Sep 25, 2017

Project CARS 2 is a rich and varied toybox for hardcore racing fans that have the patience to appreciate what it brings to the table. But the unpolished feel harms things greatly even for people in that camp.

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While the list of off-field changes is more than limited, PES 2018 improves upon the in-match action of last year's title enough to get by and remain at the top of the footballing table.

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8 / 10.0 - NHL 18
Sep 14, 2017

New players will have to work to get up to speed, as much as the game tries to help them out, but hardcore puck nuts will find themselves going deep into overtime with this one. The almost overwhelming numbers of ways that the game can be played means that it's one that will definitely keep you going way past the finals.

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Aug 30, 2017

Everybody's Golf is a decent update for the series that retains the fantastic fun and gameplay found in earlier versions, but the hours of grinding required to unlock the full experience won't be for everyone.

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7.5 / 10.0 - Warriors All-Stars
Aug 29, 2017

Unlocking the various story branches to trigger the different endings provides a sense of puzzling to proceedings that adds some welcome depth but while the trimmings have been given a new feel and the varied cast of characters provides some new attraction, Warriors All-Stars is unlikely to draw many new players in. That won't matter to those with any interest in the game though, as this is exactly what they will have been hoping for since the game was first announced. In short – and I'm sorry to use this, but it fits the bill – fans of the series will absolutely love it.

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Aug 21, 2017

At first glance, F1 2017 may appear to be a minor update to an annual franchise, but the truth is that it's a real evolution for the genre.

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Aug 14, 2017

Sonic Mania is a fantastically well-worked continuation of an iconic franchise and a great reminder of why the Genesis games were so well loved. Everybody who has waited patiently for 20-odd years for Sega to get it right again is in for a treat. Top notch.

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5.5 / 10.0 - Sudden Strike 4
Aug 11, 2017

Sudden Strike 4's issues are a real downer, as they get in the way of what is an otherwise well put-together challenge.

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6.5 / 10.0 - The Long Dark
Aug 4, 2017

If it sounds as if I'm overly frustrated with The Long Dark, it's because I am. The sheer number of times that it hints at being a special game that entirely dominates every single survival-based title that has come before it is staggering. But for every one of those times, there's another time where it's broken, bugged, or just plain poorly thought-out. If the development team patches up those bugs and tweaks things here and there, it's no exaggeration to say that this could be a must buy that reaches the top end of the scoresheet. The fact that it gets the score that it gets stands as testament as to just how enjoyable the game can be and often is in the face of a veritable snowstorm of issues and imperfections.

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Jul 31, 2017

Namco Museum for Switch is about what you'd expect if you've played any of the other packages that the company has put together over the last quarter of a century. What's here is decent, but there just isn't enough of it.

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4 / 10.0 - Circuit Breakers
Jul 29, 2017

With Circuit Breakers, what you get for your money is a very, very basic twin-stick shooter that is missing a lot of what makes the best in the genre so special.

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6 / 10.0 - Aven Colony
Jul 25, 2017

Ultimately, those performance issues are what will stop Aven Colony being a title that you'll put dozens of hours into. Though the campaign is unimaginative and some areas are not fleshed out as well as they could have been, the game is still addictive stuff. But, once you've run through the campaign you're only left with the sandbox mode, which grinds to a halt as soon as you start to do well.

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60 / 100 - MotoGP 17
Jul 20, 2017

When you accelerate away from the line for the first time, you quickly realize how clinical and devoid of character it all is.

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Jul 5, 2017

Some will get an hour of two of enjoyment out of the game before they realise that they're on a hiding to nothing, but with an open goal in terms of competition on the platform and what is sure to be a stack of air combat fans waiting for something to sink their teeth into, it's hard to see how the developer has fluffed this so spectacularly.

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35 / 100 - Formula Fusion
Jun 9, 2017

As you progress to faster ships, the weaponry becomes less of a problem, since the design of the tracks doesn't make for an enjoyable time anyway and you'll be spending all your energy just trying to avoid walls.

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84 / 100 - DiRT 4
Jun 6, 2017

If you like your racing fast, filthy, and challenging, there's no doubt that DiRT 4 ticks all of the boxes.

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65 / 100 - Feral Fury
May 31, 2017

It doesn't quite make it into the elite, but Feral Fury's relatively low asking price means that there's value for money to be found.

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