IBTimes UK
HomepageIBTimes UK's Reviews
With Battlefront 2, DICE has done everything to please Star Wars fans short of bending space and time so they can experience the original film's 1977 release as excitable ten-year-olds. There are problems, but the biggest are the fault of EA; a publisher publicly, frantically figuring out how to run a game as a live service, and which crossed a line now well-defined by its mistakes.
Dontnod's first season of Life is Strange is a wonderful work, and one of the finest episodic adventure games of its kind. That's a lot to live up to, but Deck Nine does a top job recreating what fans love about the series while setting up a new story to be told about a pair of young women bound by new, exciting feelings and a shared distrust of the world around them.
Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus's story is a rich tapestry of violence, wild ideas and memorable characters, but when its excellent cutscenes end, its play struggles to reach the same heights. Mowing down Nazis is always a blast, but often those moments are undercut by the encumbrance of a counter-intuitive health system. New Colossus hosts some exceptional storytelling and unforgettable moments, but underneath all that is a shooter that never really excels.
The Lost Legacy is both Naughty Dog's fun farewell to the Uncharted franchise, and a pitch for where it could go next. The smaller scale works for such swashbuckling adventures, and its more open-plan design shows how the series should evolve. Early promise falters around the halfway point due to some noticeable shifts in what the player is able to do in any given space, but it quickly ramps up again to a spectacular finale. The game also serves as a reminder of how strong the supporting cast of these games has been. Chloe makes for a fine hero, and Nadine would have been as well. Perhaps they'll get a chance to return one day.
Snake Pass is designed for 20 to 30 minute bursts, getting a little frustrated during that time but revelling in the satisfaction of completing a climb and finding a new trinket for the pile. It has issues with its structure and pacing, but not at all with the artistry of its mechanics or audio-visual design. Given life by David Wise's laid back, fun and thoroughly-hummable score, Noodle's world is rich, vibrant and a joy to slither around.
Its flaws are legion, but I can't begrudge the game when it's so much fun to play. The single player is shallow nonsense, but the game pulls it back in multiplayer, and Warhammer fans will struggle not to smile when everything whirrs into explosive motion.
As suspected, 1-2 Switch would have been much better served packed in with every Nintendo Switch (and it may yet become that). As a demonstration of the Joy Cons' abilities it's fantastic, as a multiplayer party game it's fun and often hilarious, but it could stand to have just a little more in the way of longevity.
Virtual reality racing has an enormous amount of potential. Racing games are often visual delights however, so what Driveclub VR lacks in this department is notable despite the sense of presence that makes it so fresh.
Until Dawn: Rush of Blood isn't genre-defining, nor is it a shining example of virtual reality at its best. It is, however, bloody good fun, and offers a more exciting introduction to virtual reality than the mini-game bundles dominating PSVR's launch line-up. It also demonstrates the potential that franchises like Time Crisis and House of the Dead have on PlayStation VR, possibly bringing a return to the arcade thrills not felt in gaming since we ditched coin-ops for consoles.
If Dark Souls 3 is the franchise's greatest hits album, Ashes of Ariandel is its B-side collection – a mostly unremarkable, yet complimentary addition that hides one unmissable gem – in this case, the gloriously climactic final showdown.The bare-bones PvP arena offers a fleeting blast of adrenaline and the painted world's gorgeous wintry landscapes are enchantingly brutal, yet as a whole, Dark Souls 3's first expansion colours within deeply worn lines and falls short of FromSoftware's illustrious history of unforgettable, industry-leading DLC.
Spirit of Justice is yet another enjoyable entry in a cherished franchise, which doubles-down on the delightfully zany aspects of the series to great effect. The back-and-forth courtroom disputes suffer from a weak presence on the opposing bench and several decade-old mechanical flaws, but none of its sins are egregious enough to quash the divine character work and enchanting anime style.An imperfect, but nonetheless victorious, return for Capcom's distinguished defence attorney.
The best single player campaign Call of Duty has produced in years provides a decent story with some really impactful moments. The set pieces are as good as ever and the cinematics look phenomenal. Zombies in Space is a nice idea and well-implemented, but will be a disappointment to hardcore fans of the mode due to its relative simplicity. Unfortunately the multiplayer is a bit of a let down. Too few changes make this feel like a rehash of Black Ops 3 and the new ideas fail to hit the mark. That beings said this is still one of the best multiplayer shooters available, and by no means is it a bad game.
Paper Mario has historically given Nintendo free reign to bring something new to the table, all while poking fun at the titular character's notable legacy. In this light, Color Splash is a riotously funny, joyfully eccentric, but disappointingly safe reimagining of its premiere mascot. For every instance of dull combat, though, there's a humorous home run that makes Port Prisma a worthy vacation spot.
The Journey is a great showcase for all the new Frostbite engine brings to Fifa, but the move hasn't exactly rocked the boat. Beyond the fancy, and compelling new career mode, Fifa appears to have maintained its form at a time its competitors are running away in terms of quality.What the game lacks in finesse and gameplay, it makes up for with deep game modes and a graphical update to rival competing engines. Fifa 17 is neither a departure, nor a revelation, but a safe entry in a transitional year.
Once free of the arduous and obnoxious trappings of its main mode of play, Superhot is nothing short of a delight. At its core is a gameplay mechanic that deserves to be revisited, only next time we hope it's all held together significantly better.
Neither evolutionary nor revolutionary, Ratchet and Clank is gorgeous trip back down memory lane that reinvigorates a passion for a genre which never really should have gone away. Hopefully it paves the way for the future of the series on PS4, even if the film proves not to be successful.
Street Fighter 5 has a great, newbie-friendly fighting system that retains the depth of its classic predecessors for players to master. In many ways it's the best Street Fighter yet, but launching with the netcode in such a state can't go unnoticed, especially when it impacts such an important part of the multiplayer. The core of Street Fighter is still there, and is as good as ever, but unfortunately these problems - plus lacking options in single player - mean there's not a lot else.
If you loved the original Mirror's Edge, or enjoy the concept of free-running around a beautiful city without the fear of falling off a skyscraper or crotching yourself on a railing, Catalyst is most definitely right up your alley. As an open world adventure game however, it has some way to go. There are too many elements in the mix, and not all of them pan out.
Everything that would make the game a beautiful and unique classic to match or even surpass its predecessors is here, but like its captivating star the game doesn't always perform as you'd hope.
Considering its development history, it's unsurprising that Final Fantasy 15 lacks crucial focus and depth when it comes to its largely stodgy tale of Oracles and Crystals or its unspectacular combat, with both found particularly at fault during the game's dour concluding chapters. Yet like Prompto's incessant nagging to go ride Chocobos, it's easy to give in to the breezy charm of the game's luscious open-world and the whimsical antics of its Tumblr-baiting bro-tagonists.