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For now, it's wholeheartedly recommended you dive in with a crew of friends, provided they're willing to take the long-term approach. The horizontal progression means players won't be punished for not playing, which could make Sea of Thieves fantastic to dip into as and when the content updates arrive.
Time will tell how this game develops but I truly hope that they continue the support and add more content and features to Pure Farming 2018, hopefully, to make it the fantastic game it so nearly is. It's already got much more crop diversity then Farming Sim 17, and the potential to better it is there for all to see.
For all the fervent hatred of Konami that forms the current gaming-hate-bandwagon of choice, based on its own merits, Metal Gear Survive isn't a terrible game. It's not a great one for sure, and certainly not near the pedigree we expect from a Metal Gear product, but it's a serviceable enough survival game that benefits greatly from layering in a few of The Phantom Pain's systems. It won't scratch that same itch of sneaky badassery that has made Snake a household name, and it's almost certainly not worth the full $40 / £35 asking price, but there's definitely fun to be had here even if it doesn't come close to troubling the series' heights.
There's so much to love in KLD. It's so close to being wonderful.
All in all, it's a nice but really, really short adventure, an increasingly common occurance for Telltale Games.
The core of the game is sound, it just needs to be more upfront with the player about what it's doing. It's really frustrating for me because I keep booting it up and I keep playing it, but eventually tangled web of systems gets the better of me and I've got to close it in a rage.
I found Nantucket to be high on style but thin on substance, but its modest price point saves it from my more barbed harpoons. It has some pleasantly nostalgic reminiscences of Sid Meier's Pirates and a management system that borrows some of the more surface-level mechanics of Paradox games - both of which are good things. Plus, it really is the only thing that does exactly what it does. The originality of the concept is worth something even when it's not necessarily backed up with mechanical innovation.
In the short term, if you're willing to think of the prefab fantasy setting as comfortingly familiar, Spellforce 3 is a pretty fun. The voice acting is terrific, and the plot easy to understand without requiring weeks of learning why THESE giant wolves are different to other games' giant wolves. Whether this familiarity is a brave counterpoint to the endless setting creep of gaming is really a matter of personal taste. And if you're looking for a fantasy RPG/RTS hybrid, this is a promising contender. However, by trying to do two things at once, it fails to be really remarkable at either.
Everything about Seven is just a bit of a shame. Fool's Theory has come so close, and in doing so proven itself the jack-of-all-trades, master of none. A game of this budget lives and dies on having one or two insanely unique or memorable standout features, and yet Seven lacks in this area. With the thousands upon thousands of games now at our fingertips, it's never been harder for devs to get noticed. None of Seven's particularly bad, it's just not especially memorable.
All in all, Steep: Road to the Olympics doesn't do much to upset the formula. There are tweaks and refinements, but at its core, this is the same uniquely playable game that delivers something nothing else quite manages. If the prospect of doing it all over again on a staggeringly beautiful new Japanese mountain appeals, then step up to the podium.
Enjoy the long journey, and watch out for the Polizia in their Lamborghini. Happy trucking, enjoy beautiful Italia.
American Truck Simulator: New Mexico is hugely enjoyable, and if you didn't nod off while driving before, the vast expanse of New Mexico and its assorted highways is a must for any ATS fan.
This Wolfenstein has been broadly politicized and has been the no-doubt eager focus for political stunts and controversy. Which is odd, really, seeing as how at its heart it's one of the most clear-cut examples of an FPS that we've seen in a while. No tricky resource management stuff, no new sub-systems to learn, just straightforward running and gunning, with a side-order of throat-slashing. And leg-removing. And eyeball-popping. And forehead-hatchet-burying. And exploding with diesel-filled grenades. And evaporating with laser guns. Typical, uncomplicated Wolfenstein stuff!
The three game modes mean there's probably something in here for everyone, but it's doubtful many will get their money's worth when you take the short campaign and the obligatory map pack into account.
I could wax on about Assassin's Creed Origins for a long time. For all its foibles it's a staggering achievement, and most certainly the best the series has ever offered alongside Black Flag. Those who prefer the dense city networks of the original games may bounce off it a little, but for anyone even remotely interested in the prospect of The Witcher and Assassin's Creed crossing paths, this comes highly recommended.
Providing thrilling gameplay, a flowing combat system, pleasing Tolkien landscape, challenging charismatic bosses, deeper story and a bigger end game mechanic to keep the player entertained for many many hours, today Middle Earth Shadow of War is one of the best games available in the third-person RPG-action genre.
The Evil Within 2 is definitively better than the original. An already great horror game has been refined and expanded, offering just the right balance between overwhelming oppressiveness and a satisfying fight for survival. It's another love letter to fans of Resident Evil 4.
Rogue Islands, even though it looks disarmingly simple at first sight, is a challenging and immensely enjoyable game for those who love to play challenging titles. It's a simple take on the survival genre mixed with gung-ho FPS action makes it a really unique and memorable experience. I'm a relative newcomer to the rogue-like genre, yet I adored Rogue Islands, poised as it is perfectly between enjoyable and challenging.
So we come to the fun payload. It's sort of lacking. We've played games like this before, many of them really excellent and with depth and character. Oriental Empires certainly looks nice and has a classical Chinese feel that helps it along its way, but once you're through the surface, it's a lacklustre 4X without a great deal to set it apart from the pack. Much of the time, Oriental Empires feels like playing a game of Total War where you auto-conclude all of the battles, but with a penchant for very slightly unfair and unavoidable disasters.
Regardless of how its future looks, today we get to enjoy Total War Warhammer 2. With all its polish and rich Games Workshop lore, it's the most well balanced and enjoyable Total War game so far, and that's a strong accolade.