Stevivor's Reviews
I’ll be honest in saying that my initial impressions of Farming Simulator 17 when I first started were somewhat poor. It felt a little daunting, a little slow and a little boring. After ploughing through the tutorials though and spending a little more time, you do start to appreciate just how detailed a game like this is. Being able to grow crops one moment, cut down trees another and then look after livestock the next, it’s a fairly complex game for what would seem like a trivial concept. The only problem though is that it’s hard to really keep your attention when everything is so mundane. Sure, there’s some enjoyment in switching between tractors, changing your machinery for the task and completing your goals, but when it all moves at a snail’s pace it grows tiresome very quickly. For those wanting an authentic farming experience then yes, Farming Simulator 17 is your game, but for regular gamers wanting to try something new, I’d recommend going down to Bunnings, buying some seeds and doing it yourself.
Who knows how long it will last, but Rivals had me clearing a permanent place to store the plastic drums and guitar once again, items that were long ago retired from the lounge room. It took Harmonix a year and an expansion pack with a hefty price tag, but Rock Band 4 is once again a headline act.
Paired with a well-written story and varied soundtrack, Owlboy does something that a lot of pixel-art games don’t – it elevates the medium from the bare requirements. While some games utilise pixel art as an easy way to convey a mechanic or story with simplified visuals, D-Pad Studios have clearly chosen pixel art because that’s what they WANTED to use. It’s no wonder the game has been cooking for nine years now – anything with this much love poured into it doesn’t leave the kitchen until it’s good and ready.
With a total of five episodes releasing over the coming weeks, Orwell’s story has not yet come to a close. Based on the first two instalments however, I can happily recommend this for anyone that loves to dig into a layered story – or just wants to snoop around in somebody else’s emails.
The Special Edition of the game, complete with DLC and available on Windows PC, Xbox One and PS4, manages to look great and old at the same time.
Even with the weakest on-disc tracks to date, Just Dance 2017 is a massive step in the right direction. While last year’s entry was a massive miss, this one’s a definitely buy.
In our preview, we mentioned we weren’t sure if Civlization VI feels like a new game, or merely DLC for Civlization V. After many hours with the game, it’s safe to say that it’s a separate entity, different yet the same. It’s one that franchise fans will enjoy, most definitely.
I don’t factor cost into my review scores but Superhypercube is such an egregious example of VR price inflation that it had to be mentioned. If money is no object (or this review has become outdated and the game is now available for $20), don’t hesitate to grab Superhypercube, it is one of the best games available for PS VR today and I anticipate for some time to come.
I had some fun with Pixel Gear but it is hard to recommend. There is about two hours worth of content here and before I’d even finished the first level on normal difficulty my mind was wandering. Higher difficulties are more engaging but this is a shallow, simple shooting gallery you would expect from a motion control minigame collection, adding a VR layer to expand it to 180 degree action isn’t enough and even if you are engaged there is no way to compete against yourself, let alone the world. Thoroughly mediocre.
What follows next is lacklustre. Predictable jump scares, ringing telephones, spooky notes, guys in animal masks humping things and malfunctioning flashlights litter the landscape, and with each new instance, you’re left less and less impressed. Take your pick; this could be a result of mickey mouse writing or because you’re more concerned with how much game you can take before you need a sick break.
Overall Headmaster is a solid experience for testing out the PS VR’s functionality but at its core, the mechanic isn’t sustainable. The game even warns you not to play for too long to avoid any strain, and the frustration of not-quite-perfect tracking can leave mission failures feeling imposed rather than earned. The story threading through the game is entertaining and did make me chuckle a few times, but I’m not sure it’s enough to keep me invested. It’s a unique use of the hardware to be sure, but it might not quite be there yet.
At its best, Titanfall 2 is the same nail-bitting mayhem that made the original such an invigorating start to this console generation. The contrasting combat between titan and pilot intertwines seamlessly, with both having a greater arsenal at their disposal. Attrition is given a run for its money by Bounty Hunt as the obvious mainstay, while Amped Hardpoint is a clever tweak to a game mode you’ve played a thousand times.
When Dead By Daylight was first launched, it was a flawed but fun game that needed a bit more work to tighten things up. Since its release, Behaviour Interactive has spent the last few months doing just that; it’s in a really good place right now. It has a healthy, active community where the player base can also go and interact with the developers on a weekly basis. All in all, Dead By Daylight is an amazing survival horror experience and my favourite indie game so far this year; you’ll sure as hell see this one on my list of top 5 games of 2016.
Other puzzles involve you weighing your mirages and their resistance to a certain element, or are tied to the dungeon’s interior, such as using the glaciers in a snowy mountain terrain to skate through a room with an ice floor. Each area in the over thirty-hour narrative is colourful and dungeons are well-structured. World design also continues the game’s nostalgic theme by basing some of its towns on iconic locations from mainline games, albeit renaming them but keeping a majority of their details.
If motion controls worked I could mildly recommend Ace Banana for those who want their archery fix or just enjoy a decent arcade game. It is moderately priced for a VR game and for the brief moments it works properly it is immersive. With no way to guarantee you won’t have motion control issues (looking online I am hardly alone in my complaints here) I can only recommend Ace Banana if you desperately need a fix of mediocre motion controlled VR.
At the end of the day, Job Simulator has been one of the best and most lasting experiences with the PSVR so far for me, alongside Batman: Arkham VR. The amount of fun you can have in each job really helps to extend the gameplay without feeling like it’s been padded out. There’s plenty of weird little interactions and easter eggs to be found — try photocopying your face in the office — so be prepared to have a good laugh at your own expense.
Race mode also has been slightly reworked, feeling more responsive. Some real fun can be had, with up to four players competing online in head-to-head races. It channels a decent Mario Kart vibe.
100ft Robot Golf is a good laugh and a solid game. If an anime spoof is up your alley you owe it to yourself to check this one out, as does anybody looking for a good multiplayer bash for nights when mates are around having a few beers. The golf may be simple but there is fun to be had, just don’t expect much staying power for solo sessions.
Battlefield 1 is the definitive Battlefield game not only of this generation, but this decade. By focusing on moments and emotional realism, rather than a continuous campaign, it’s crafted the best single-player experience of any Battlefield game, and backs it up with stellar multiplayer. Operations is the best addition in years, and the returning favourites suit the World War I theme to a tee. Now, I’m off to attempt to land a plane on the airship and take it down from the inside. That’s possible, right?
With a range of brain-taxing puzzles, it’s hard to go wrong with Tumble VR.