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At the end of the day, Hitman's buzzword is freedom. There are so many things to do – and so many ways to do them – that you'll never have to persevere to find something fun to do. It's all in front of you: a bloody, disturbing playground rife with opportunity. The trial and error gameplay brings back memories of older Hitman titles, while new ideas such as the excellent Escalation mode keep things fresh. Simply put, the Intro Pack is a great buy for old fans and new blood alike – there aren't many stealth games of this calibre.
Despite a very novel central premise, Screencheat simply fails to maintain attention. The title features a variety of weapons, maps, and modes, but its mechanics take too long to grasp for it to succeed as a party game, while being too shallow for it to succeed as a serious shooter. To be clear, there's definitely some fun to be had here, and the goofy visuals and music help emphasize this, but the entire experience reeks of wasted potential.
A love letter to the noteworthy shooters of yesteryear, Gunscape combines old ideals and new ways to play, with mixed results. The level creator is extensive and brimming with potential, but the shooting itself feels detached, and the clunky presentation makes it harder to get into the creative side than it should be. However, once a community of players get to grips with the game's toolkit, there'll be plenty of maps to play, and there's still some fun to be had in multiplayer – if you can convince enough friends to buy it.
Broforce is everything awesome about action films amplified to a satirical degree that will leave you grinning non-stop. The tight run and gun gameplay never outstays its welcome with a steady stream of fresh bros, locales, and challenges. Fine-tuned visuals and audio serve to make its patriotic bent all the more entertaining, and even though performance issues knock the game down a peg for now, there's not much else that keeps this guilty pleasure of a game from resounding triumphantly like fireworks on the Fourth of July.
Alekhine's Gun's amateurish animation, godawful gameplay, faulty framerate, abysmal AI, and garish graphics all conspire to ensure that you'll never, ever enjoy playing this game. There's no variety or originality, and it's more bug-ridden than an abandoned sandwich – it seems that testing wasn't given much consideration during development. This title is one of a very rare breed, one that will appeal to absolutely no one, and buying it would quite literally be akin to throwing your money away. Simply put, we can Nazi anyone having fun with this.
Action Henk is a slick and addictive platformer. Its mechanics and controls are perfectly tuned, and its momentum-based gameplay is somewhat original and fun, but a couple of visual hiccups, some slightly bland level design, and a few wonky power-ups mean that it never reaches its full potential. However, as an exercise in running and jumping, few titles match its physics-based prowess.
The forecast was never exactly great for Heavy Rain on the PS4. This remains a ground-breaking game, and it's still possible to appreciate the areas where it innovated, but time has not been kind to the title's damp performances and dismal writing. If you're eager to go back to the release that gave life to the current spate of narrative-driven games, then this new-gen port does an admirable job of sprucing up the visuals. But while we don't want to hang this important outing out to dry, you should certainly beware of the inclement weather within.
TRON RUN/r may not make the best first impression due to its genre, a somewhat hefty price tag, and the inclusion of microtransactions, but don't be too disheartened. When it comes down to it, this may very well be one of the most intense runners ever crafted, and it proves to be a good fit for the property to boot. It may not be the TRON game that many fans were expecting, but it's still a ton of fun, and can pack a real challenge. User, enter this Grid. Review/r out.
The Witch and the Hundred Knight: Revival Edition is undoubtedly a Marmite game, even more so than its niche Nippon Ichi siblings. For JRPG fans who missed this on the PS3 and are willing to sink hours into mastering its various systems, menus, and combat skills, it can prove to be a worthwhile battle-'em-up. For everyone else, it may be too much of a commitment – unless being bossed around by a super demanding, foul-mouthed evil witch is your cup of tea.
Ironcast is a surprisingly strategic and complex game, while will hold your interest for quite a while. There's enough randomisation for the title to feel fresh for a long time, and every battle is one of tension and risky moves, with each action really meaning something. Winning a skirmish feels very satisfying, with the rewards after feeling even better, and though the difficulty may put people off, those who can grin and bear the painful defeats will be treated like un prince.
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 improves upon its evergreen predecessor by expanding the scope of the title with single player content and new classes and modes. Popcap has responded to the criticisms pointed at the original release well, and while this isn't a revolution by any stretch, the format has been precisely pruned for shear joy.
In Too Deep is a stepping stone to introduce Michonne that detrimentally plays it safe. There aren't any advances in Telltale's formula or notable sequences that we haven't seen in other forms before, but the miniseries can be a cut above its predecessors if it takes advantage of the brutality and moral centre of the protagonist by embroiling her in more memorable confrontations with both the infected and the living.
Toki Tori 2+ is a cheery tune of delight which thumps to the rhythm of a chick's stomp. It's a beautiful, colourful, and clever environment to play in, and harks back to those feel-good games which used to be so prevalent but have unfortunately fallen from grace in recent years. This is a fine 2D platformer with original ideas tied to a tried-and-tested formula of platforming goodness. It can be frustrating at times, requiring thought and precision, and a little vague in its exposition, but it rewards you for your efforts with bundles of charm and eventual satisfaction.
Ninja Senki DX reads like an old codger's take on modern literature and walks like a decrepit schoolgirl gallivanting her way to her first tax return and, fittingly so, her first heart attack. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Tribute Games made garbage.
Blockbuster brands like Hitman seldom make the transition to mobile successfully, but Hitman Go: Definitive Edition is a well-presented puzzler that we can get behind. Despite being respectful of the source material, its slide puzzle spin on the series is strongly executed – even if it can feel a teensy bit too rigid at times. This port's perhaps a little pricey, but with plenty of content and cross-buy on the cards, we'd recommend moving in and pulling the trigger if you've got the appetite for a little assassination.
Despite some new additions – and a brand new setting in a largely untapped historical era – if you dig under the surface of Far Cry Primal, you'll find a remarkably well preserved edition of Far Cry 4 entombed within. As a result, if you were hoping for more of a revolution to the formula, or didn't particularly enjoy the hunting mechanics in past games, then you're best off steering clear of this title. Of course, if you're merely looking to jump back into the familiar Far Cry gameplay loop in a captivating open world, then there's still plenty of fun to be had. And at the end of the day, who on Earth doesn't want to ride around on a bear?
The Escapists: The Walking Dead is a visually charming game with a standout soundtrack, but its gameplay is shallow and repetitive. It follows the narrative of the original comic books, but uses them only superficially without any real depth or engagement with the license. It has its moments of fun, but more often than not is a frustrating time-sink made up of trial-and-error mechanics with little sense of reward.
SideQuest Studios' re-release isn't all that different from its past iterations, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. The world is still as expansive and pretty as ever, although a lot of its niggling flaws have found their way into this edition, too. However, this is still a solid adventure that promises oodles of gameplay and sports a satisfying battle system, so fantasy fans could do far worse than invest their hard-earned gold in Rainbow Moon.
Dying Light: The Following is DLC done right, offering new content for the Dying Light faithful while changing things up more than enough so that it doesn't just feel like the reanimated corpse of the base game. Ultimately, it's the inclusion of the off-road buggy that turns out to be its smartest addition, which coupled with its challenging new setting more than overcomes any of the all too familiar shortcomings.
Megadimension Neptunia VII stumbles into the same traps that many of its peers have fallen into before, serving up lazy quests and a questionable amount of fan service. Fortunately, it makes up for these shortcomings with boundless energy and endearing characters who provide an enjoyable and light-hearted trip through alternate dimensions. While the game may have benefitted from enhancing some of its mechanics, it's by no means a bad RPG experience – just one that we feel like we've had many times before.