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Mantis Burn Racing’s presentation of itself is slightly wrong, and it feels like a game in disguise. Regardless of this, it plays very well despite being fairly devoid of much in the way of character. A cheerful diversion rather than something to really sink your teeth into, Mantis Burn Racing is a jovial experience that could have been much more with a little more creativity behind it.
Assetto Corsa is definitely a solid driving simulation. Although it is let down by the lack of content, this is definitely one of the most realistic simulators around. I tend to prefer a little more fun, and if not, would like a bit more help in terms of tutorials on offer which I mentioned above. I think if you had a decent steering wheel, that is where Assetto Corsa could become one hell of an experience. If they do plan on doing a second one down the line, a more complete and meaningful Career Mode would definitely mean a higher score from me. Assetto Corsa is more frustrating than anything, and one that is only for the very hardcore driving fans out there.
Ultimately, there are a number of things Watch_Dogs does right. It's a solid enough feeling open world to warrant checking out. The hacking mechanic, whilst at times negated by an easy shootout, does open up a huge number of possibilities within gameplay. A solid base for Ubisoft to build upon, Watch_Dogs does more wrong than it does right, and ultimately results in a frustrating example of a game designed by committee and with very little that is "next gen" provided. Oh, and Ubisoft? Please get rid of that silly underscore for the sequel.
Lords of the Fallen is a challenging and well paced hack 'n' slash RPG. If you're not a fan, or have yet to dip your toes into the waters of the Souls series, it might seem somewhat frustrating at first, but once you get your head round the mechanics and pacing, it becomes a satisfying, if not brutally difficult, RPG. Whilst it's not really my cup of tea, I can see this taking a spot in some players' libraries as the wait for Bloodborne gets ever more excruciating. Whilst it's probably somewhat harsh to compare it to From Software's output, it's inevitable really. This is to its credit and its detriment, as certain elements outpace From's games, but other areas fall sadly behind. Overall though, Lords of the Fallen holds its own, but fails to do much more than that.
Functionally solid but ultimately repetitive, Until Dawn: Rush of Blood is a good example of one of the types of VR game you can expect to play. These types of shooting galleries are a dime a dozen on Steam and the Oculus store, but this is a good example of how well they can be done, particularly when mixed with a bunch of horror elements. If you want something to scare the living daylights out of your house guests or people at a party, throw this on and watch them squirm!
Honestly, overall I am disappointed with the lack of changes, but if you loved the first game then you won’t feel the same. Think of it as Xenoverse 1.5 and not a real sequel. The majority of fans of Dragon Ball gamers want a game more akin to Budokai 3 but I don’t see that happening anytime soon. This is the future of DB games and while it’s not perfect, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is definitely still a fun and enjoyable game.
If you can look passed the rage this game generates, it’s actually quite a lot of fun at times. I had a very different experience to most of the people playing this game with a gamepad because I feel that some of the mechanics (like sprinting) work against your favor. You have to sprint at the press of a button and it’s not an automatic occurrence. Even then, (and somewhat realistically) it takes Eyas time to get from 0 to 60 if you know what I mean. The game has a long way to go to be perfect in my eyes, but if I had to one or two faults they would be the aforementioned sprint issue and the fact that the story itself lacks a require oomph to push you forward and want to see if Eyas actually makes it home not. With all that being said, the game is not bad at all. The unique gameplay/gravity mechanics make the game interesting and as I said before – it’s hard, so you just want to keep playing until you beat that annoying level and gain the satisfaction of doing so.
Overall, the Return to Arkham wasn’t quite as welcoming as I’d hoped it would be. The changes to certain character models and environments, be it subtle or blatant, have combined to strip the Asylum of some of its creepy charm, whilst technical issues mar both titles in the collection. It almost feels like the game could do with another few months of development, even after the delay, as the performance is something that could theoretically be tweaked and improved. Hopefully the team at Virtuos can get some patches together and tighten up the frame rate and adjust some of the lighting and colour grading, because if they do? This will be essential. As it stands, though, it’s a collection of two technically underwhelming ports of two incredible games that make some disappointing art style choices.
As an open world sandpit to explore and sink your time into, Watch Dogs 2 provides a lot of content and opportunities to have fun. How much fun you can have depends on your capacity for exploration. Things start to fall apart once you are forced to take part in the very structured main missions and the glaring mechanical issues come to the fore. A refurbishment and a lick of paint can work wonders – but if the foundations aren’t solid, then the results won’t be fantastic. Watch Dogs 2 is a massive improvement over its predecessor, but if a stealth game isn’t fun to play in a stealthy way, then you know something isn’t quite right.
Windlands is an enjoyable PlayStation VR game. This the closest thing to actually becoming Spider-Man yet so it gets a thumbs up from me. Shadowed by a lack of depth, this is a game for the explorers out there. It may not get the most of playtime, but you’ll definitely have fun swinging along during the time you have with it. A Windlands 2 with a deeper, better story and more innovative ideas? Yes please!
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.
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.
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.
Honestly, there isn't a huge amount more to say about F1 2014. It's more of the familiar Formula 1 gameplay with a couple of added tweaks, but ultimately it's not a reinvention of the series. The biggest disappointment for me is that the game has clearly been developed for the lowest powered machines available on the market, and only had cosmetic improvements pushed on the PC. I can't speak for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions at this time, but it definitely feels like a "last gen game running on high settings" than a new experience. Averting your gaze from the impeccably modeled exterior of whichever car you've gone with to the flat and lifeless surroundings definitely has the power to detract from things at times. Here's hoping the next-gen version releasing next year brings the improvements to make it a worthy upgrade. Right now, however, it feels a bit like the sport itself in the Schumacher era; reliable but a bit predictable, and ultimately similar to the season before with not much new to show for it.
As an unashamed fan of Quantic Dream's previous output, Detroit: Become Human is a mixed bag. On one hand, there is a continuation of the work that they've done with the previous titles, and they have crafted a wonderfully bleak world with Detroit. While it doesn't quite push the boundaries as much as Heavy Rain, there are some interesting ideas planted in the early stages of the story that never blossom fully, but still gives a somewhat satisfying conclusion, regardless of how you decide to play. On the other hand, the occasionally frustrating control issues and borderline laughable moments in the script made me shake my head on more than one occasion. It's a real shame, because there is an absolutely brilliant game tucked away somewhere in here. As it stands, it's only going to be great if you're willing to look past the obvious inherent flaws.
The LEGO Harry Potter Collection is a great LEGO game that pays tribute to the Harry Potter fantastically, and humorously. Whilst there is quite the disappointment that there was no extra content made for players who have already completed these on the PlayStation 3, this is a perfect chance for those, like myself, to get into and go through the whole Harry Potter adventure, LEGO Style! It’s not perfect by any means, but this is another franchise where the LEGO format fits perfectly.
Throw your headphones on, blast out the Iron Man version of AC/DC’s Shoot to Thrill and gun down everything in your path; ignoring your teammate’s cries for help! On the surface Killing Floor 2 looks like any another zombie horde killing FPS, but deep down it’s so much more. Yes, I’ve had issues with it and yes it’s far from flawless but really, it’s a damn good solid shooter. It’s probably not going to win game of the year but its impressive perk system and variety of maps/weapons makes up for its down falls. I’ve had issues with connectivity but that’s nothing new to video games and I’m sure once that gets fixed it’ll be well on its way into my top 10 for 2016.
Overall, RunGunJumpGun plays the role of the franticly enjoyable 2D scroller well. Narrative is non-existing ultimately, but weirdly cool in that Hotline Miami kind of way, where blithering randomness manages to feel like expertly deployed story-telling. The parts where the game excels is in the way it forces you to multi-task forward thinking and twitch reaction and if you make it through a passage there’s a huge feeling of reward for your pain-staking perseverance. It won’t be everyone’s bag, but you won’t want to let its simplicity beat you – human nature dictates that.
That said, I didn’t dislike Virginia. I was disappointed at the lack of definitiveness and resolution to the matters presented, but the atmosphere and style of the game, as well as it’s brief meditations on society in 1992, stayed with me for some time after I finished playing, and provided a lot to think about. This is far from everyone’s tastes, and I would recommend doing some investigation before parting with any money to consider whether this is going to hold your attention or repel it, but if sedate thrillers that offer more questions than answers are your thing then you’ll find a short but sweet package on offer from 505 Games here.
Rive is a gorgeous looking game, which has taken two styles and fused them together pretty successfully. The blend of traditional twin joystick shooter and action platformer fits perfectly with what Two Tribes have done, but there are some caveats. The insane difficulty spikes destroy the pacing of the game at times, and sometimes the feeling when you get through an area that’s causing you trouble isn’t triumph, but relief. I suppose it’s to be expected from a game that starts off with its only playable mode being “Hard Mode”. Despite this, however, Rive proves itself to be more than competent, and is genuinely one of the better looking games of the year so far in terms of style. A game that fans of the genres should enjoy, Rive deserves your attention, but may well struggle to hold it all the way through.