The ideas on show in AO International Tennis do suggest that with the bugs ironed out and a little more development time put into livening things up a bit in career mode, it could be a contender. The stamina and timing systems are enough to differentiate the game from the slew of tennis titles that have come before it and are undoubtedly good ideas. Ultimately though, the poor execution and the cracks in the gameplay cause this wildcard entry to fall well short of being a grand slam effort.
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.
Drive!Drive!Drive! is an interesting concept and definitely has bags of potential, but the execution of the final product and an entirely dead multiplayer scene means that it's easy to overlook for the asking price.
The result of Ace Banana’s somewhat narrow design spec and the control issues that it presents mean that it isn’t really something that can be recommended. It isn’t a total trainwreck and might be a fun diversion for younger players for a while, but there’s a chance that even they will ultimately come away frustrated.
There’s no doubt that some will be hooked and will find ways around the bigger problems but while Warband promises a lot and is truly ambitious in scope, this console version falls well before the battle is over.
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.
While it has some good ideas that are well-intentioned and will surely provide some entertainment to die-hards, NASCAR Heat 3 is missing all those things and, in the wider scheme of racing games, is still several laps behind.
When you're doing the same and cruising downhill through the beautiful countryside or fighting and clawing to get your wheels in front at the top of a grueling climb, Le Tour De France 2018 is enjoyable stuff. But outside of those times, it's yet another buggy and undercooked update for a title that had fallen off the pace a few iterations ago.
Dead Island: Definitive Collection is great value if you're a fan of the games, given that it's the only way you can play them on Xbox One. Players that fit that description shouldn't be expecting any major gameplay changes though since they're very thin on the ground, outside of an unlockable "one punch" mode which was available on PC as a mod for the first game. Even at a budget price, players new to the franchise can safely avoid the set as there's much better gameplay to be found elsewhere, such as in the likes of the Metro: Last Light or even Techland's own Dying Light, both of which outshine Dead Island and Dead Island: Riptide in almost every area.
Despite TRON RUN/r's relatively simple running nature, there's a fair amount to like here. There's a slight control issue with control when riding a lightcycle that you'll need to get used to, and we're confused as to why you'd be riding in the brightest game world ever when the movies almost entirely take place at night or in dark arenas, but those things can be overlooked. What we can't get past are the money-gouging tactics that end up detracting from the experience, the botched launch, and the missing season pass content.
If you liked Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China, then there's a decent chance that you'll have a good time in India, in spite of the problems outlined above. There's enjoyment to be had, but the main worry is that almost everything new that has been thrown in is flawed to the point of not being a worthy addition. With the Russian entry just around the corner, we're hoping that this is a missed step in the journey, rather than an inevitable and unalterable course.
It all looks pretty nice and tries very, very desperately to be cool, but the actual game behind the graphics isn't close to being polished enough for a recommendation. The always-online requirement which is apparently only there because you have to be online to be able to share snapshots (seriously, that's the claim) is an absolute abomination but you'll be able to live with it, at least until EA kill the servers in a year or two and you won't be able to play the game anymore. Need for Speed isn't unplayable by any means, but there's a laundry list of things that can – and often do – stop that playing time from being very enjoyable.
WWE 2k16 provides everything that wrestling fans will want to see outside of the ring. Was it not for the long and annoying loading times, the creation system and general control that you have over things would be enough to get it into the main event at Wrestlemania. A few minor fixes and changes here and there would do wonders, but the constant loading and the frankly abominable issues with the fighting engine that remain unfixed destroy any semblance of realism and are enough to relegate it to the indies.
NHL 15 plays a great – if somewhat atmosphere-free – game of hockey, but the sheer amount of modes missing from the package as a whole mean that unless you become obsessed with Ultimate Team or enjoy playing severely limited career modes, there's very little to actually do.
All in all, Kickbeat is an entertaining diversion for a rainy day, but it isn't what you would call an essential purchase.
We'd welcome more games from the developer as there's promise here, but promise may not be enough this time around.
There's enjoyment to be had, but plenty of frustration to be found - mainly from the amount of times you'll be thinking "well, why isn't this finished?" or "why on earth have the developers done that?"
A passable game that can be good for a couple hours of play, sure, but that's about the best of it.
White Night is a great concept with a really nice art style. The atmosphere it provides is incredibly convincing and genuinely unsettling, right up until the time that the perceived threat becomes a reality and things take a nosedive. A tad more polish would have seen this become a real benchmark for the genre, but a number of missed steps mean that it will likely just fade into the darkness.
There's no doubt that some will be hooked and will love it – it's certainly therapeutic fare – but with the issues it contains, there's a much greater chance that you'll feel the opposite way.