The Outerhaven Productions
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After putting in over 40+ hours into The Surge, I'm happy to admit that this game was a pleasant surprise. I fully expected this to be a failed attempt to capitalize on the Soulsborne series, like some many others. Instead, I played a game with an interesting story, tons of hidden content, a cast crafting system and more than enough combat to keep me swinging away. Deck 13 Interactive should be applauded for what they've managed to pull off and more importantly, it will help to remove the blemish that is Lords of the Fallen.
Overwatch is the spiritual successor to TF2 in many ways, and if you haven't heard it said before, it's worth a look if you come from there. Even for total newcomers, though; the world, the characters, and the sheer chaos of skills, ultimates, and counter picks makes this game not worth missing.
It's been said: if you love Warhammer, you'll love this game. The attention to lore and detail is simply too fantastic to not admire. If you have any attachment to either franchise or even the RTS genre in general, this is definitely worth the buy.
You know the saying, that good things come to those who wait? Well, this wait for Chasm has definitely yielded an amazing fun title, that should appeal to even the more hardcore of Metroidvania games. Beautiful, lots of stuff to do and tons of items and secrets to uncover, makes Chasm the game that will keep you busy for a long time. In fact, we just might be playing it longer than it took for this gem to be released.
Honestly, NHL 16 may be the improvement that was needed to keep fans happy.
The team over at Shin'en have crafted a fast and futuristic racing title in the vein of F-zero and Wipeout. I would go as far as to say that Fast Racing NEO is definitely a nod or an homage to those past racing giants. Even still, Fast Racing NEO has it's own set of features and tricks that make it stand out on it's one, from the beautiful and attractive backgrounds that will ultimately make you crash if you pay attention to them instead of the track, to a mechanic that rewards players that have split second reflexes. With the addition of multiplayer options as well as a smooth 60 frames per second, makes this easily of the better Wii U racing out there, maybe even a little better than a certain racer that features a certain plumber.
Ratchet and Clank does exactly what is was meant to: retcon the series to include all of the expanded lore and present a good jumping on point for recent and new fans in preparation for the upcoming big screen debut. That's not meant to sound diminutive, either. It's a great game, and, in a generation lacking in good 3D platformers, comes as a godsend. Clearly, Insomniac put a lot of work into making the definitive origin story for the duo. That being said, it still feels like a missed opportunity to add something that fans haven't already seen.
If "walking simulators" aren't your thing, this may not be a fit for you. I wasn't a fan of the genre before playing Firewatch, so maybe it might change your mind as well. It is hard to make the call as a critic, because the experience can be pretty personal at times. But what I can say definitively was that I was surprised.
Overall, LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens delivers more value for your money than any of the previous installments to date. The set pieces are bigger than ever and there's far more varied content to keep you occupied rather than the repetitive puzzle solving formula. Easily my favourite of these 'modern' LEGO games.
All in All, Persona 4 Dancing All Night, at first did not see that interesting to me, that is until I got my hands on it. Full of kick ass music, fast and frantic gameplay which will have you on the edge of your chair as you try to hammer out a perfect gameplay session and of course, your favorite Persona 4 characters for you to choice and play with. Aside side a fantastic and colorful presentation, Atlus has created yet another exciting and fun entry in the Persona series, even though there are fans who may argue that this game has nothing to do with the series.
Let's just say that you'll be putting in a ridiculous amount of time into Forced Showdown.
Thankfully all my fears were disproved with the release of Gears of War 4. And even though the game still plays things close to the hip, instead of going balls deep into a new territory, make no mistake that this is a Gears of War title that does exactly what it was meant to do - Get you excited and have you smiling from ear to ear.
Madden NFL 17 is the perfect blend of technical yet accessible game play that a game like this needs. It's technical enough to keep the die hard players satisfied, yet keeps those same mechanics simple for newer or not so advanced players coming back for more. While I'd still keep away from the random online match ups in things like Madden Ultimate Teams due to that being fore the more hardcore crowd, I'd happily give playing the Franchise mode a go with my friends once again.
I'm a fairly casual gamer and enjoy first-person experiences that pose a challenge and tell a great story. While most of this is achieved in Dishonoured 2 - I feel the storytelling aspects left me feel a little lacking. There are huge bouts of exposition and lore to read - things that could be 'shown' rather than 'told' are extremely present and get repetitive quick. With the sheer amount of action taking place I never felt I really had time to read passages of books and pages of notes - and since this isn't a game like Elder Scrolls Online which rewards you for reading, it doesn't feel warranted here. Everything else is absolutely on point - from the excellent levels to intelligent enemies, it's a pleasure wielding your abilities to demolish anyone in your path and restore yourself to your rightful throne.
The King of Fighters XIV does everything right, in a time where just so much is going wrong with Fighting Games. Where e-Sports are at an unparalleled popularity level and the most popular game caved into the e-Sports distribution model, it’s pretty amazing to see a fighting game that is complete on day one.
Perfection in remastering. Batman: Return to Arkham is something that I was hoping for since they announced Batman: Arkham Knight on the PS4. I wanted to go back to the beginning of the series without having to go back to finding my PS3 and setting it up. It's good to see that instead of going the cheap code upgrade route that a lot of PS3 remasters have gone through (I'm looking at you Resident Evil), Rocksteady decided to take the care to get the game engine upgraded and used to its potential. This is right up there with Bioshock: The Collection in terms of how to do a remastered game for this generation.
7th Dragon III Code: VFD might appear to be a standard fare JRPG, and you would be right. However, the deep levels of customization, both in battle and outside of it strive to keep players engaged well throughout the game. It's a 30+ hour game just at its core, so you're going to spending quite some time playing. While it can get a little repetitive, the rewards and little set pieces that can be gained far outweigh the potential negatives that it can present.
A near perfect port of a great game series that is worth playing, and paying for, all over again. Bioshock: The Collection is one of those things that should always have a place on a gamer's shelf.
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is a beautifully made, wonderfully crafted, and totally fun adventure. It's got great characters, fun gameplay that'll keep you entertained throughout, epic bosses that'll keep you on your toes, and plenty of collectables that'll have you going back through the levels multiple times.
While I'm not a fan of the changes towards the timing of layups, NBA 2K17 continues to improve on what many have deemed near-perfection with NBA 2K16. There isn't a single thing not to like about this game, and that's the way NBA 2K likes to do it. K.I.S.S: Keep it Simple, Stupid.