AusGamers's Reviews
More than worth a look-in.
More than worth a look-in.
It's a brilliant sequel and a masterful game in its own right, and a must buy for fans of the turn-based genre, or fans of games in general.
That being said, fans of great visuals, physics-based puzzles and cute characters can overlook the game's ‘basis’ and jump in and enjoy a game that truly delivers in its core elements.
Obviously the audio is top notch as well, the background music is subtle and not repetitive and then there is the amazing narration that really makes Darkest Dungeon something really special.
If you want to cap a relatively serious year of gaming off with no-brain-required explosive fun, it's difficult to look past Just Cause 3.
For me, the game does all the right things. It might not be the return of Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear, and it might have more than a few bugs to iron out before it's competition ready, but it's exactly what I expected -- competitive SWAT 4 -- and Ubisoft keep saying the right things about their post-release plans. Only time will tell though. To quote the mantra of my favourite fictional FBI officer... "I want to believe."
In the end, Legacy of the Void will be remembered for a number of reasons. First, as the final chapter in the StarCraft story that began 17 years ago. Second, as a satisfying conclusion to the StarCraft II trilogy. One that includes some of the best single-player missions in the series. And third, with the focus on the Protoss race it proves that shifting perspective and changing tone can result in some truly entertaining story-telling. Plus, it's still one of the most intricately designed, fast-paced, and skill-centric multiplayer games ever created. One that can be enjoyed by players of all skill level.
Star Wars Battlefront might not be terribly considerate of solo players and its by-design accessibility might deter DICE's hardcore Battlefield fans, but there's no denying the multiplayer is a hell of a lot of fun, and as far as creating the feeling of being part of a Star Wars movie, it doesn't get any better than this.
Even if some of it feels a little extraneous, like trying to keep investors and executives happy with god knows how many future toys and bits of entertainment, Anno 2205 is still absorbing. Plus it looks fantastic to boot, with animation and visuals that are some of the best ever seen in this type of game.
Fallout 4 is impossible not to recommend.
The story takes bigger risks, and is all the better for it. By no means is it perfect, but the negatives are so slight they don't really warrant full disclosure. This is a bigger, meatier sequel, one that improves on an already great game. And again, it gets the balance right. The balance between survival, in terms of facing off against an army of foes as well as giant killer snow bears, and exploration, in the form of archaeology-by-the-way-of Lara being genuinely excited when she comes across an ancient trinket or mural.
Black Ops III shows that Treyarch are in a great position to keep the Call of Duty series fresh and relevant.
Considering there's very little sandboxing in the campaign, 343 really needs to provide some sort of way for players to get their actual Halo gameplay fix. As it stands at launch, it's not there in Halo 5: Guardians.
I dunno, in the end it feels like Guitar Hero Live is a job, and not the party the previous games were.
Assassin's Creed Syndicate gets more right than it gets wrong, but in trying to amend some of the sins of the series, it exacerbates the issues instead of offering a cure. Despite that rather lengthy list of cons at the bottom of my review, one thing's for sure: Assassin's Creed Syndicate is still a hell of a lot of fun.
Bungie has delivered a helluva final act to what's been a very surprising, highly purchasable rethink of this wayward franchise.
Mad Max is obviously a licence close to my heart, and The Road Warrior is my favourite tale in the franchise, so it could be considered unfair to have judged the game how I have, but there are definitely some glaring issues here that make the product schizophrenic in its licence representation. When applying played-out tropes, however, it actually works through the game's size and goals, and is easy to enjoy -- just as long as you forget the past and embrace the present.
About a gazillion times better than Rugby World Cup 2015, but it's just not able to compete in the big leagues against well made, polished titles like FIFA 16, NBA 2K16 and Madden 16.
It's gorgeous, it has a fantastic soundtrack -- including a satisfying array of 80s pop hits to remind you of the time period -- and you always feel like you have perfect control over Punished Snake. And yeah, the story's bananas but... you absolutely have to play this game.