ThisGenGaming
HomepageThisGenGaming's Reviews
Rockstar delayed the release of the enhanced GTA V on the PC by several months, and now that it is released, it's easy to see why. In bringing what is essentially a flawless game to the PC, they have understood the most important aspect of porting over any console game to the PC: control. The ability for players to control even the most seemingly benign setting of their game is crucial to any decent PC port. Combined with its superior visuals, movie making tools and flawless controls, Grand Theft Auto V on the PC is with little argument the best way to experience this acclaimed title.
Overall, Isolation is a superb game that stands on its own feet, regardless of its ties to the Alien franchise. Of course, fans of the series will be the ones who enjoy it the most; if you consider yourself an Alien fan even slightly, you pretty much have to play this game. It treats the alien creature with the respect it deserves; as an indestructible perfect organism, and not some screeching bug that can be blown apart with a shotgun. The Sevastopol is a pure joy to explore, brought to life by the game's pristine visuals and sound. Newcomers to the series will also find plenty to enjoy, as Isolation brings a new level of unpredictability to a genre that has lately come to lack it. The long segments of exploration will probably put off people who don't understand where Isolation is coming from, and some might find it too long. My opinion is that a game like Isolation, which many of us have been waiting for longer than today's newest generation of gamers have even been alive, can never be too long. This is a stunning return to form for a series that hasn't seen anything good since 2001's Alien vs Predator 2, and I hope a signal for more to follow.
Shadow Of Mordor might end up being the surprise hit of the year due to its fantastic combat system, intriguing and original nemesis system, and a whole lot of things to keep you entertained in this amazing open world game. While it does have its similarities to other successful games like Assassin's Creed and Batman Arkham series, it doesn't just copy and paste everything, they put their own special sauce on it and make it even better. One of the only real problems I had with the game was the story wasn't really that good, but everything else is done well making this a must own game!
Assassin's Creed IV breaks the streak of disappointing Assassin's Creed games for me personally.
If you're a fan of the Borderlands series, you simply must experience this game series!
The Witcher 3 still triumphs as one of the greatest RPGs ever made, largely on the strength of its complex characters and first rate storytelling. There is no shortage of narratives to uncover and activities to partake in that all feel unique and lack the canned, recycled feel that has plagued other open world games like Watch_Dogs, Far Cry 4 and Dying Light.
The truth of the matter is that Pillars of Eternity has no significant or crippling faults; it is merely a game so dedicated to its genre and its lore that players who don't know what they're getting themselves into are likely to be blindsided. For players that do know what they're getting themselves into, however, Pillars of Eternity is another triumphant example of the resurgence of no-nonsense, story driven PC RPGs.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection is one of the best collection games I've ever played, and that is due to the actual hard work that has been put into making this excellent bundle of arguably Xbox's biggest series of all time. I've never played Halo 1, 2 or 3 before, so this collection was the perfect reason to finally say I've played these great games, and I recommend any new Halo players reading this review to buy this game just for the crazy amount of Halo content you will be getting in one game. I was also extremely impressed with the visual upgrade of Halo 2's campaign, which has set the level of quality you should expect from remakes on current gen consoles. Many wondered whether a masterpiece could be remastered, and in this case it can.
Overall, however, Crypt of the Necrodancer is a solid game that is easily recommendable to just about anyone. Although it consists of twelve brief levels, each of these levels are randomly generated and, if you want, can be played to your own custom music, rather than the game's own soundtrack. The game's ability to map out the rhythm of whatever song you select from your music library is great, but it's highly recommended that you select songs that have distinct rhythm and manageable tempos (My attempt at playing the game using Fredrik Thorendal's Herr Faust, for example, ended in complete disaster). This well-thought out element of the game ensures that players will have potentially unlimited amounts of replay from this indie game, and with Steam Workshop support, there's so much that can be done within Crypt's simple but effective gameplay. Crypt of the Necrodancer is a fine, fine game that serves as yet another example of what game developers can do when they are free to take creative risks and try new things out, and as such, it deserves both your time and money.
Simplicity is the secret ingredient in Rocket League's fun. If the game didn't nail the 'feel' of the game then perhaps the reception of the game would have been very different but everything just 'clicks' and works together to create one of the most genuinely enjoying games I have played in a very long time.
Is Batman Arkham Knight the best in the series? You know what I really think it has eclipsed the previous two games made by Rocksteady which were both great games in their own right. I feel the changes made along with this being a current gen experience along with an epic finale helped make it the best of the trilogy. The only serious issue I have with this game is the overuse of the Batmobile. If you are a fan of the Batman Arkham series then this is a must buy, and in my opinion the current Game Of The Year for 2015. There is still tough competition with such games as Fallout 4, Battlefront, and Metal Gear Solid V to come, but for now Batman Arkham Knight has safely secured that spot. Go buy it!
Overall, Fallout 4 has surpassed expectations across the board with a great story, strong base mechanics and some excellent new ideas that really shake the pillars of the Fallout franchise while retaining the classic feel of the games. It's everything I expected and more and I fully expect to be spending a significant amount over the next few months investing a lot of time into this game.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is a fantastic package filled to the brim with enjoyable content. The new addition of cooperative campaign, super soldiers, and fun game modes tie this together as one of my favorite Call of Duty games to date. I feel that this COD will outlast the recent ones and will continue to keep gamers engaged at least until the next Call of Duty game!
Forza Motorsport 6 is all about making things right after Forza Motorsport 5 was disappointment to many fans. The use of popular features in Forza Horizon 2 to make Forza 6 feel fresh was a great idea that also finally gave us the much wanted rain/night tracks that we've asked for many year. Although limited it's still great to have it. I feel like Forza 6 is taking the right steps towards bringing the Motorsport series back to the glory days of the Xbox 360, and with Forza 6 it's almost surpassing those days.
NBA 2K16 might be the best NBA game out there today. It's one of the best sports simulations I've ever played, the TV feel has been captured better than any other sport simulation. The gameplay also managed to feel like an actual Basketball game, and the gameplay has had some significant changes from last year to help make it that much better. There's also a lot to do in the game with MyCareer and MyGM being the best examples of sandbox modes that will keep you coming back to this great game until next year.
I've felt over the last few years that Pro Evo was starting to get somewhere again as a football game, and with 2016 they have nailed it. The gameplay is the best it's been in years, the licenses issue is not really an issue any more with a little bit of extra work that will just take an hour. I just hope the commentary gets some looking in to next year as that was one of the biggest issues I had with the game, and stopped it short of being a perfect football game.
In conclusion, does Salt and Sanctuary borrow a lot from the From Software games? Yes it does but it doesn't try to hide that fact and Ska Studios has put their own stamp on these kind of games in my opinion. Salt and Sanctuary nails the atmosphere and the combat and I highly recommend it if you enjoy 2D RPG's or if you are a fan of any of the From Software games. The game doesn't hold your hand and will deliver that same brutally hard experience that you loved about those other games. I can already say that Salt and Sanctuary is going to be in the running for my personal pick for game of the year in 2016.
Overwatch is unlike anything else on the Xbox One and PS4. Yes, Battleborn exists and I've enjoyed that game for what it is and even reviewed it positively (you can read that here) But it'd be incredulous to not admit that Overwatch just brings something 'special' to the genre that makes it stand out from other shooters of a similar nature. Personally, I'd even go as far as calling it the most enjoyable multiplayer shooter on console to date. That's not to say that other multiplayer shooters have been bad; they certainly haven't but the Pixar-grade visuals mixed with everything else that makes Overwatch so great just puts it above the fray compared to other shooters. If you're looking to get some genuine fun out of a multiplayer game then you can't go wrong with Overwatch.
I could go on forever about Warhammer: End Times Vermintide, it really hooked me.
If you want a great new twin stick shooter that looks great, sounds great, and most of all plays great pick up Assault Android Cactus on PS4. Whether your a pro at these kind of games or an average gamer you can have fun with it and it gives you plenty to do.