Gadgets 360
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If you have a PS4 or Xbox One, BioShock: The Collection is the best way to experience the series if you never played them before. For existing fans on consoles, it’s a convenient compendium for a series that’s begging for a new entry.
In so many ways this feels like a vastly improved and polished instalment in the Forza Horizon series. That makes us wonder where Microsoft will take this series after this. In the short term we can perhaps expect some expansion packs but what about the next instalment? Perhaps adding different kinds of vehicles and a different location will work, but the biggest challenge will be topping what's been achieved with Forza Horizon 3.
Nonetheless, persist and you'll bear witness to a sound narrative pay-off, a rarity in the world of gaming these days. Recore's story isn't particularly original, but it's paced well enough to keep you playing, and in our case, power through its more glaring problems. As it stands, Recore is a flawed, albeit fun, game that could have benefitted by a longer development cycle. You could do worse, you could do better, and for now with Recore the overall experience is rather middling.
PES 2017 is not perfect or revolutionary, but it is a solid entry into the PES franchise that fixes some of the problems of PES 2016 and features enough AI improvements that make playing a bit more enjoyable. If you want a taste of how good the game can be, try the co-op mode at a higher difficulty level - that is how we enjoyed the game the most. If you've never played football games, PES 2017 is beginner friendly. Training modes and customisable controls are good enough for new players. Experienced players will also find enough of a challenge to have a blast this game. Its only major weakness is the commentary. If that doesn't bother you, then you should buy PES 2017.
Much of what the game shows or talks about has been discussed elsewhere in the past. That too in a better fashion, to be completely honest. Nevertheless, it's present here in a well-packaged puzzle entry that is by no means revolutionary, but still manages to do enough to not come across as a poor rehash. Helped by terrific voice acting and accompanied by a tense soundtrack, The Turing Test is an admirable effort.
Owing to the shift in development course, Champions of Anteria comes off as a confused title. It’s got its fingers in two completely different pies, and it can’t pull off even one of them properly. Its cookie-cutter approach to battles, along with the highly constrained city building elements, make it a rather forgettable experience.
Unsolvable moments are far too common with Obduction, and hence it’s best that whenever the game makes you want to bang your head against the wall, put it aside for the day. If there’s one trap the game falls in, it’s the puzzle maker’s most obvious fallacy. The logic, while apparent to the creator, can be quite opaque to the player.
Overall, we were very impressed with Hue. It's a good example of how a fresh mechanic makes a puzzle/ platformer game great. We can wholeheartedly recommend this game, which is available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, with a PS Vita release in September.
Clocking in at around 25 hours, Mankind Divided is a fantastic entry in a franchise that's finally coming into its stride. If Human Revolution was the foundation for Adam Jensen's adventures, Mankind Divided builds upon it in meaningful ways. From a narrative standpoint, it's The Empire Strikes Back of cyberpunk video games - mandatory for fans and newcomers alike.
The largely solitary experience of No Man's Sky is monotonous, easily frustrating and loses its charm way too early. For a game with the promise of all the wonders of the universe, it delivers so little.
The real strength of the game is the crisp and enjoyable writing that's full of sly jokes, which play on your expectations and tell a novel story in a completely new way.
As it stands, if you were expecting The Division: Underground to do to the game what The Taken King did for Destiny, you're in for a massive disappointment. With no meaningful additions to its lore, it's a slog that tries to play up the game's great combat but does very little to make the proceedings feel perceptively different. Unless you have a ton of friends still playing it, you're better of avoiding the first expansion to The Division.
As it stands, Batman: The Telltale Series is off to a strong start, promising a contemporary retelling of a pop-culture icon while shedding light on his life outside the cowl. Wether it lives up to its promise remains to be seen, with all too familiar technical concerns marring an otherwise solid experience.
With over a 100 courses across four locations, Dangerous Golf is a bombastic romp well worth its asking price. It might not have the feature set of bigger releases or their sense of scale but laying waste to a Hall of Mirrors in a French mansion never gets old.
At [a low price], Carmageddon: Max Damage is one of the cheaper console games on the market, but that alone doesn't warrant a recommendation. The poor presentation, long load times, and clunky driving don't do it any favours either. This is one game you can safely avoid.
Thanks to its fantastic storytelling VA-11 Hall-A is a highly engaging experience wrapped in retro aesthetics. Some may argue that its simplified gameplay being subservient to storytelling does little to make it a game in the modern, mainstream sense. However, it succeeds in presenting a slice of life in a dystopian future and drives home the point that not every video game has to have you as its central character. They can just be as fun with you serving its heroes copious amounts of alcohol.
At the moment, however, we just can't recommend Vanquish: The Adventures of Lady Exton. The game's art and music gave us a great first impression, but sadly as the game wore on, our excitement rapidly wore off. A better, more involved story, along with a rewarding rather than punishing difficulty curve could go a long way in improving the game.
So if you're looking for your fix of Star Wars, Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens might keep you occupied. Unless you've played any game in the Lego series prior to this. Recommended for die-hard Star Wars fans and newcomers to Lego games only.
Avoid it all together, if we're being honest. If you do want some delicate bike physics action, you're much better off with the previous major entry: Trials Fusion.
Mirror's Edge Catalyst isn't a perfect return of the 2008 cult classic and that's okay. If you're looking for a free-running romp through a city ruled by shady corporations backed up by slick controls and navigation, you can't go wrong. As long as your expectations are in check in terms of its open-world what with many a game sporting one, you'll be fine.