PCGamesN's Reviews
Rivals puts a spin on its predecessor’s formula, but doesn’t really improve on it. For the yet to be initiated, the original is simply bolder, represents a more unique take on the 4X genre, and is thus the one to pick up. The ability to choose how to take on the Sorcerer King, directly or indirectly, is still a welcome addition though. Indeed, I wish it could be added to the original game as a mode or optional victory path. With that not happening, the standalone is the only way to get that extra choice and experience the apocalyptic war from a different perspective.
Absolutely bursting with breathtaking vistas, No Man's Sky works best as a stellar walking sim. Sadly the half-baked survival elements only detract from the experience.
A handsome, thoughtful blend of shooting and stealth that delights with its choice-driven play. Though it can feel painfully rushed at times, which is a shame.
Catalyst is certainly a step forward for Mirror's Edge, but not the leap that it could be. If this is the return of Faith on a regular basis though, DICE have created the foundations for a very strong sequel indeed.
Total War games past have expanded, changed and morphed over time and this will doubtless be similar. As it stands, Warhammer is a worthy addition to the series, particularly as a melding of two universes we've long wanted to see collide. And before long, as the patches roll in, it could be even more than that.
I bloody love Hearts of Iron IV. Even when I’m not doing anything, I really am, because my brain is still racing through all the things I need to do, all the focuses I’m contemplating, all the countries that might soon face my wrath.
It was inevitable that The Witcher 3 would close on a high, but few will have expected what they’ll find in Blood & Wine. While unrequited love, barrels of red with a blackberry aroma, and excessive amounts of pomp may not be what you think you want from The Witcher, it won’t be long until you’ve changed your mind.
Calling Stellaris Europa Universalis in space is probably reductive, but it was the first thing I did in this review not because they are almost exactly alike, but because, when I put away my empires and get on with my day, the stories that have played out in these digital worlds embed themselves in my brain, and I so desperately want to tell people about them. Both games tickle the part of my brain that wants every battle to have some greater context, every move I make to be part of a larger narrative. Stellaris manages to do this without history to lean on, though, and does so with aplomb.
The Banner Saga 2 captures much of what made the first game such a compelling fight for survival. It has a tendency to focus on the bigger picture and with the large number of characters that don't have much to say, some of the emotional engagement from the original is lost, but both the management side of things and the tactical battles have been lavished with improvements. The journey is bleak and savage, but the game is great.
You start off as a weak, undead wanderer and eventually grow into a being that can kill god-like monsters, and it's not because the game's narrative needs you to be that powerful, but because you've worked so very hard to get to that point. It's an incredible feeling, and makes Dark Souls III an incredible game.
Fans of Supreme Commander and Total Annihilation will lap up the similarities, but Ashes of the Singularity is far more than a clone. When you take all of this into consideration and add unsurpassed scale to the mix, you’re definitely onto a winner.
True disasters crash, burn, and are never rebuilt. Visit a game of Conquest or Rush in Battlefield 4 today, and you could be easily fooled into thinking there'd never been a problem in the first place. Hopefully such a launch is one for the history books and not a future repeat, but Battlefield 4 is testament to both DICE's dedication to enduring design and getting things right, no matter how much pain they have to endure on the way.
Approach it with the view to completing the campaign and sightseeing New York with friends and you'll have a blast. But this isn't a world you'll be living in for years to come.
The Walking Dead: Michonne is supplementary at best. It's a sidestory that fills in a brief gap in a much bigger narrative. There are hints of more interesting things to come, but as of the first episode, this is far from essential for either fans of The Walking Dead comics or Telltale's other episodic games. It's a diversion, and not a great one.
Rise of the Tomb Raider truly makes you feel like Lara Croft: a bow-wielding, mountain scaling, bear-slaughtering, cave diving mad lady with more curiosity than can be healthy. And that feeling is just wonderful.
I'm not going to beat around the bush here: Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is the greatest RTS I have played since I first started flirting with StarCraft II.
XCOM 2 encourages a holistic kind of thinking that was never really necessary in its predecessor.
Why would I want to drive a car or shoot an assault rifle? I just dropped a tank out of a cargo plane and, while surfing on said tank, blew up a jet that was in pursuit with a rocket launcher.
But while the overfamiliar flavour may mean Fallout 4 doesn't quite stand tall, it does mean you can guarantee what you're getting and that's a damn fine game. Its combat is the best Bethesda have ever produced: involving, kinetic, and exciting.
Legacy of the Void, in true Blizzard fashion, doesn't break astounding new ground but does build expertly on what's come before. With an ending so ridiculous I couldn't help but love it, including three of the finest levels ever put in a strategy game, and a plot that never lets up on twists and went brilliantly unspoiled in marketing materials thus far, I don't know how else I would have put the series to rest. No matter your experience with the RTS, StarCraft 2's campaigns are only matched for value and fun by one another.