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Resident Evil Zero is a joyless game. Every section feels like a tedious lateral thinking puzzle – "the farmer has a fox, a chicken and some grain, but can only carry one at a time" – and the locations and creatures are half-heartedly designed. If you haven't played it, it provides valuable insight into where Resident Evil, and perhaps games at large, went wrong over the past decade or so. Other than that, it feels like work.
Nice as it can be to look around the world of Everbody's Gone To The Rapture, its story is dead, empty, and filled with redundant notions of player engagement.
It's difficult to recommend Yooka-Layee to adults let alone the children this game is aimed at. The unbalanced challenge it presents and the lack of in-game direction is sure to infuriate. You could argue kids of this generation could play the game alongside a YouTube video for help, but why should any game need to be played alongside a video guide? The first three-hours of Yooka-Layee are delightful, but after that the experience quickly sours. Playtonic's ode to platformers past should have been something special, but instead it's a reminder why video games have evolved, and why quality over quantity should be the first decree in every developer's rulebook.
It's the same game as Hustle Kings PS4, only with the addition of rudimentary virtual reality support and irritating Move control support. Unless you're a particularly obsessed with video game pool, Hustle Kings VR offers little more than the ability to look at balls closer than you ever have before.
WWE 2K17's adherence to 'realism' brings notable gameplay improvements, but ultimately comes up short when it comes to the main event. MyCareer continues to be an unpolished, unfocused chore and is indicative of a WWE game that forgets that why two testosterone-fuelled titans enter the ring is as important as the action between the ropes.
Accessible and routine, This Is The Police is simultaneously a rich video game and a poor depiction of its subject matter. Whether the game's creators welcome it or not, at times like these, when police officers in the US are under intense scrutiny, This Is the Police's representation of their work bears similarly close examination. By that measure it falls short of relevance and borders on removed.
Massive, full and with a list of things to do which borders upon incessant, Forza Horizon 3 is a driving game both without direction and made by a studio seemingly – understandably – bored with cars. It isn't wholly different or worse than its predecessors, but after four years of these games, and with titles like DiRT Rally rediscovering the fundamental, basic thrills of racing simulations, Horizon 3 feels tired.
Abzu is well beautiful and well put-together, but cannot escape its self-inflicted sense of déjà vu. Matt Nava and Giant Squid Studios have played it safe. Too safe. There is an obvious artistry to Abzu however, that we can only hope is put to better use in whatever comes next.
Just Cause 3 is an absolutely functional, totally pedestrian sandbox game which just so happens to launch at a time when the old models of open-world structure and design feel more overused than ever. Every standard issue, familiar mechanic and conceit is present here – if we needed one more argument for a new type of sandbox, one that doesn't prioritise or even feature the tropes and clichés we've come to expect, this is it. It's fine. It's there. It's benign. Even if you haven't played it, you've already played it.
What may seem like an ambitious project is in the fact the combination of a standard third-person shooter and the kind of cheap sci-fi drama you might find in the darkest corners of Sky TV. Visually tepid and filled with abortive gunfights and platforming, Quantum Break also struggles to contain its plot, while at the same time underselling its characters. Remedy's previous games have been characterised by a distinctive tone and knowing humour. By comparison Quantum Break is a glossy, charmless, wholly moderate outing.
WWE 2K16 is the best WWE game for a while, but largely by default. Every successful tweak to the gameplay edges it closer to the license's former greatness, and makes this particular entry a fun multi-player wrestling game for a short time at least. Eventually however its limitations present themselves and – like the real thing – you're left frustrated that not enough has changed.
Games are better than this now. Call of Duty is becoming a relic.
Tokyo 42 has been sold on the strong, vivid visual design of its world, but how player's view it is at the root of the game's biggest faults when it comes to play. The isometric angles and transitions between them often hinder smooth movement and a player's understanding of where they are in the world.When the game comes together as intended, it serves up inventive missions with the thrills to match its obvious influences, but those moments are broken up too frequently by frustrating design choices.
Arkham VR is a limited game but a robust experience, with only some replay value through collectable Riddler trophies dotted around subsequent playthroughs. Like many other VR games it serves well as a showcase for the possibilities of virtual reality, but doesn't offer players an experience with any real depth.
Bethesda bids farewell to Fallout 4 with a final trot around the Commonwealth that epitomises the base game's glaring issues. Frustratingly inept AI, inconsequential decision-making and an over-reliance on adequate, but far from exceptional gun-play undermines Nuka-World's occasional moments of promise.The minutely-crafted, faux-Disneyland environments pack a visual punch but the obscenely bland, zero-dimensional characters completely suck the life out of the DLC's multicoloured palette. Nuka-World gives ardent fans plenty more to explore, collect and shoot but don't be surprised if its flat delivery ultimately leaves a sour taste in your mouth.
Battlefront's Bespin expansion is let down by some functional but uninspired map design, inhabited by the location of choice. New mode Sabotage also feels like a misstep. DICE's next expansion will finally take Battlefront to the Death Star – and the developers will absolutely need to up their game to match what will be very high expectations.
In spite of its myriad frustrations, I Am Setsuna is far from a characterless husk, but its mechanical regurgitation of shallow tropes and the over-complication of a ready-made battle system manages to cast a dim light on its reserved tone and glacial atmosphere. Designed to be a reverential ode to cherished RPG classics, I Am Setsuna is a functional footnote rather than a sweeping fresh stanza.
Unravel is an ode to cherished memories, but doesn't create any of its own. It is gorgeous to look at and listen to, but its repetitive, sometimes laborious and frustrating, puzzles undermine the game's relaxed tone without offering much in the way of a challenge.
Mafia 3 is a game of real gravitas in terms of its story, which tackles some serious subject matter. However, the efforts and intentions of Hangar 13 here are let down by repetitive gameplay, a lack of side missions, and some embarrassing glitches that sadly leave the whole experience lacking.
A disappointing but noble effort.