GamingBolt
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The Good, The Bad and The Augmented isn't exactly bad, it's just that it does so surprisingly little compared to the last piece of content, that it feels lacking with the sequel expected within the next year. And this town isn't big enough for the both of them. Pretty hard pass unless you're dying for more Surge.
Thanks to key improvements and additions, WWE 2K19 is perhaps the most impressive game in the series in years. There are still issues that need sorting out, mostly on the technical side, while somewhat ageing mechanics and the microtransactions model also need to be given a bit more thought, but after years of stumbling around, 2K Sports at least have a very solid base to work with now.
Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise can be fun for someone invested in the series, but has too many hurdles that can prevent a new player from enjoying it.
The Bard's Tale 4 has some positives and a whole lot of potential but it's also dragged down by a number of design and technical issues. Hopefully, a revamp and optimization helps it realize the full extent of its charm.
The return of the Blue Bomber is something we've all been desperately hoping and waiting for for many years now, and thankfully, Mega Man 11 proves to be a worthy comeback for this industry icon. It successfully modernizes the series in a lot of ways, making sure that it doesn't feel out of place in today's day and age, but does so while making sure that at its core, it still very much feels like the Mega Man we know and love.
This is one of the best Assassin's Creed games Ubisoft has ever made, joining the likes of Assassin's Creed 2 and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood at the very top of the franchise's hierarchy. While its choice and consequence mechanics aren't radical reinventions, they add a great deal of agency and variation to the proceedings, while a beautiful and varied setting, a meaningful progression system, a ton of enjoyable content, and the series' best combat system all come together to deliver a memorable odyssey.
Even without Seasons and shared world aspects, the design and overall quality of Forza Horizon 4 can't be ignored. Fundamentally similar to its predecessors but still incredibly well crafted, Playground Games' latest is another amazing journey.
While in the last few years, FIFA games have been focused on making flashy, headline improvements in terms of modes or presentation, FIFA 19 instead chooses to make those improvements on the pitch. Off the pitch, there's not quite as much to talk about (other than the excellent House Rules Kick-Off matches), which is obviously a little disappointing, but thanks to a consciously slowed down pace and much more involved and methodical on-pitch gameplay, FIFA 19 proves to be a solid upgrade, and an excellent simulation of the beautiful game.
Destiny 2 Forsaken provides one of the best narratives the franchise has ever given us and the wealth of content available in both the Tangled Shore and the Dreaming City will undoubtedly be more than enough for players to enjoy for quite a long time. And with the promise of even more content coming out in Year Two, Destiny 2 is in the best place it can be right now and for the months to come.
Boundless is tons of fun for any fan of the crafting and building genre but it won't be the game to convert a non-believer.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna, The Golden Country is a hell of a package, and a must-have for Switch owners who are JRPG fans, and who enjoy the Xeno- games. Monolith Soft have, yet again, crafted a world worth fighting for.
EA has an impressive sports line-up, but this year's NHL entry clearly got a bit less love than some of the more universally adored sports.
A few hiccups along the way, especially in relation to some pretty serious online multiplayer instabilities, definitely bring down the experience in 2K19. Thankfully though, these quibbles don't tarnish what is definitely the best option for your basketball fix this year.
The improvements to NASCAR Heat 3 are so profound that it's hard to believe that this is even from the same team. It's still no Forza, or even Driveclub, but the game is moving in a decent direction that makes it easier and fun to play than previous games.
NBA Live 19 is a great improvement over previous years' iterations, but the developers need to show some extra confidence to ever make the game feel like a true slam dunk.
V-Rally 4 requires immense suffering just to eke a modicum of enjoyment from its frustrating, archaic game design. The few things it does right is not remotely worth the price of admission.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is another compelling reason to jump, run and suffer in Lara Croft's boots. Stellar production values, new mechanics and a deftly paced campaign do wonders even if the formula is pretty familiar by now.
Fans of the series, and of strategy games, will be well served by what is one of the best strategy RPGs we have had in years with Valkyria Chronicles 4.
Living Dead Zombies, then, is pretty much what you would have expected it to be if you've played Far Cry 5's last two DLCs. Just like its two predecessors, this final piece of DLCs for Ubisoft's massive open world shooter doesn't really leverage the base game's biggest strengths, but it provides a unique flavour of experience of its own. It's a little bit on the shallow side and can be a bit repetitive, but it's definitely not unenjoyable.
Some persistent issues might hold Spider-Man back from the incredible heights many were hoping it would touch, but a strong core, a great love and respect for its source material, and a number of incredibly fun mechanics make it a dream come true for fans of the famous wall-crawler.