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If you're going to pick up XCOM 2 having never touched Enemy Unknown, then beware. It's not the happy-go-lucky strategy experience many games will offer, in fact I'd probably say this is the video game equivalent to S&M. It is brutal. It will raise you to the peak of mental ecstasy before your attempt at humanity's redemption comes crashing down around you in only a few turns, your squad returning to HQ a crippled, shambling mess, if they do indeed return at all. XCOM 2 will make you its bitch. And the best thing about it? It'll make you want to come back for more. And you'll love it.
The Witness, then, is an exploratory puzzle game with very limited mechanics and has the tendency to make you pull your hair out in frustration as you begin to reach the limits of your own comprehension. In spite of this, it is an excellently crafted world, with a huge amount of brain teasers to attempt. Some people may not like the lack of immediate feedback when making your way through some of the areas, but the varied nature in solving the puzzles that ultimately combine with each other in such a way make figuring out The Witness an experience without parallel.
All in all, Not a Hero has some fantastic humour, brutal death animations (an achievement when done via pixels) and is pretty fun. You can easily spend a couple of hours trying to perfect a level, or you can kill a bit of time while you wait for your dinner to cook. It's not going to set the world on fire (As much as Bunny Lord would like to!), but it's not a regrettable purchase either.
This War of Mine is strangely compelling, pulling you back day after day despite the unrelenting misery of the situations you find yourself in. Inspired by the real events of the Siege of Sarajevo during the Bosnian War in the nineteen-nineties, you know right off the bat that this is going to be a somewhat harrowing experience.
I was worried for the return of Rainbow Six after the news that Patriots had been cancelled. Fortunately, Rainbow Six Siege is a fantastic entry in the series that has enough depth in its gameplay to keep things fresh each and every time you boot it up. It's currently my go-to multiplayer shooter, and that is genuinely not something I thought I'd be saying at the start of the year! Moment-to-moment gameplay is a real joy, and the balance is as close to perfect as you'd hope. I really wanted to score Siege higher, but Terrorist Hunt and Situations almost feel like an entirely different game because of the drop in frame rate, and there almost feels like a push toward microtransactions once you hit a certain point. It almost feels like Siege should've launched at £30. Still, if the promised free content is good and it can keep a good community, it'll be worth it in the end.
All in all, Telltale's Game of Thrones: Season 1 is an intriguing story of a small house in the north, loyal to the Starks, in the aftermath of one of the most shocking moments in the entirety of the Game of Thrones story. Telltale's well-honed formula serves the story well, and the art style provides a welcome visual treat at times too. A fine blend of ups and downs sees the narrative canter at times, but occasionally start to struggle under its own complexity. Fortunately, it brings it all together in the end, although the typical question is raised of 'just how much did *I* influence the story?' at the end. Still, with my ending proving to be as fittingly grim as I'd expected, it's left me looking forward to the recently confirmed Season 2, even though I'm still trying to figure out exactly why I'm bothered about the Forresters.
Black Ops III really is a mixed bag. On one hand you have possibly the best multiplayer experience since Call of Duty 4, with a strong set of maps and a hugely immersive Zombies campaign to go with it. It's just a shame that it's been let down by a campaign that has some great ideas, but doesn't know where to run with them. I'm sad to say that I think the days of the good Call of Duty campaign are behind us, with last year's decent outing being the exception. Still, there's a lot of content here. In terms of a multiplayer shooter, Black Ops III is easily the best that Activision has published in a long time. After being roped back on board the Call of Duty train last year, I think I might as well buy an Oyster Card at this point, because it has its hooks in me once again. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to play Call of Duty 4's campaign again.
I'm not going to lie, Transformers Devastation was so much fun that it might as well have tattooed a smile on my face. From the moment the 80s themed main menu appeared to the sustained wails of the guitar solos over the ending credits, I was grinning like a Cheshire Cat. A couple of niggles in the game stopped me scoring it higher (the camera frustrations and the length are the two key things for me), but at it's core it's a very impressive game. It looks like the TV show, it sounds like the TV show (albeit one relayed via a Kerrang compilation), and it plays like Platinum's best. A fast paced, riotous action game that grabs hold of your nostalgia and refuses to let go until you're done, it's worthy of your time if you have even the slightest affinity for either these types of games or the Transformers license. It's just a shame there isn't more of it.
Overall, there really isn't much more I can say about Rock Band 4. If you enjoyed the series before, you'll enjoy this one. There are some nice neat touches that will appeal and keep things fresh for absolute veterans of the series, but it's still accessible enough for you to throw onto your system when your friends have had a few beers at a party. The best party game of the last generation finally makes its way to the new consoles, although there is a question of its relevance hanging over it, particularly with the price tag of the full band kit. Issues around the DLC should really have been sorted before launch, as the confidence I have in the store has waned a little, but assurances have been made that they're working on this asap. It's these issues that leave a sour taste in what can otherwise mainly be described as "the most Rock Band that Rock Band has ever Rock Band-ed".
LEGO Dimensions is by far and away the best toys-to-life game I've played. Not only that, it's my favourite LEGO game too. A lot of what you'll get out of it depends on whether you enjoy the Lego games of old, and also whether you embrace your inner child and enjoy playing with actual LEGO. Fortunately for me, I really enjoy both. The fact that Dimensions opens up the Toy Pad beyond being "just a thing" is a really great addition, and ultimately this is the pinnacle of the Toys to Life genre right now. What other game will see you playing as Gandalf, driving the Batmobile, hurtling after a Dalek whilst Marty McFly and Doc Brown are in hot pursuit? Exactly. The only reason this isn't scoring higher is simply down to the pricing. And the fact it's probably going to bankrupt me. Don't these folks know that I'm trying to save for a house?!
Mad Max is probably the best example from the past few years of games that were released on the wrong date. There are moments in the game that will bring a broad smile to your face and leave you feeling incredibly satisfied, but at the same time you'll sit there thinking "Man, I wish there was more variety". For all the comedy, action and genuinely beautiful visuals that the game throws your way, some of the flaws will bring you back to the barren wasteland with a bump. It's a game worth playing, and I really enjoyed the highs that the game has to offer, but it's hard to recommend picking this up over a lot of titles that are out in this horrendously busy period. Unless you like Australian accents. In which case you won't find a better game this year.
The gaming landscape has certainly changed since Dishonored was released in 2012, but the advent of the current generation of home consoles has done nothing to diminish its strengths. Dishonored remains an enthralling mix of first-person stealth action, supernatural special powers and a timeless painterly aesthetic. Thrust into the centre of a diabolical plot, out for revenge, Dishonored gives players the freedom to play the game their way – whether that be good or bad, lethal or non-lethal – and to see the game world shaped by your actions.
Even with its flaws, Volume is a hugely enjoyable puzzle game, wearing its influences proudly on its sleeve. Near-perfect pacing, a wonderful soundtrack and deceptively simple gameplay, Volume will have you creeping back for more to try and top the leaderboards on as many levels as possible, and maybe even create a few more as well.
Lost Dimension certainly doesn’t make a great first impression. On the surface, the visuals aren’t up to scratch, the plot is fairly hackneyed and the turn-based RPG battles aren’t exactly revolutionary. However, there is one particularly unique gameplay mechanic that somehow manages to keep pushing you forward, eager to progress.
Until quite late on in the game, I struggled to figure out what I thought about Everybody's Gone to the Rapture. An absolutely stunning piece of visual art, it's somewhat let down by its impossibly slow pace, and the ease of which key plot points can be missed. It felt at times like I would rather have been "in the moment" of the apocalypse, experiencing the titular Rapture first hand, rather than piecing together the events after the fact. A game in which you sometimes struggle to find yourself caring about some of the people involved, but with enough atmosphere to enable life on the Moon, Rapture really is a mixed bag. If you want a change of pace from the regular "shooty bang" fodder, then it's worth a look, even with its (very obvious) flaws.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is a simple game, yet at the same time an incredibly complex coming-of-age story about fraternal love, loss, the conquering of fear and the importance of family. It's the kind of game that will leave you wanting to go and find someone you love, hug them and never let go. It's not perfect, and the control system will irritate at first, but it's worth persisting with it for the chance to roll with the punches that get thrown all around at the end of it. If you've yet to play it, it's impossible not to recommend it, and if you have then it all comes down to whether you want to experience it all over again.
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection is a great entry point into a series that has now even spawned a Telltale Games episodic spin-off. The games included now look and play better than they ever have, and even a few performance do little to detract from that
All being said, if you've yet to play DmC, it's worth picking up the definitive edition. It's being sold in some places at around £25, which is a great price. The 1080p/60fps makeover has helped the gameplay (and should hopefully have wiped clean any memories of Ninja Theory's "It feels like 60fps" comments regarding the original), but you won't be mistaking this for a new generation game any time soon. It's an enjoyable romp through a world infested with Demons, harpies and masked creeps with swords, and has potentially the most fun boss fight I have ever encountered in the form of Raptor News Network's anchorman, Bob Barbas. If you're still hung up on Dante's redesign and refuse to let the game speak for itself, then there's not much I can do to convince you otherwise, but you're missing out!
Hotline Miami 2 was in a very difficult spot. Had it solely done more of the same as the first, it would have endured criticism for not evolving. Instead, Dennaton has taken some of the formula that made the first game brilliant, and literally expanded pretty much everything in the game. Sometimes to its credit, but often to its detriment, Hotline Miami 2 hasn't quite managed to live up to the hype of the first game, and will often leave you feeling unfairly treated as a single bullet will come from literally out of nowhere. It's gone from a tightly paced action puzzle game, to a slightly flabbier paced action puzzler that relies much more heavily on the firepower that the first one encouraged you to shun so much. It's worth playing, if not for the soundtrack alone, but this is really the only area that it surpasses the original title. All in all, a shaky sequel that is built on extremely solid foundations.
Tormentum: Dark Sorrow is thoroughly successful in its attempts to build a disconcerting world to play through. Its tendency towards being somewhat on the easy side doesn't detract from the experience – by having puzzles that can be figured out through logic or trial and error, OhNoo allow even the most unskilled point and click players to progress through their twisted tale.