Nexus Hub's Reviews
With crisp and colourful visuals, a soundtrack that mixes traditional and modern music scores and out of this world boss battles, Super Mario Odyssey is a milestone in both the highly acclaimed Mario franchise and gaming history in general.
Performance and controller nit-picks aside, Pinball FX3 is a solid pinball simulator with an impressive amount of content, only let down by the inclusion of overbearing progression systems and annoying UI design.
GT Sport is a bold direction for the series, one that many may feel at odds with. Having spent a substantial amount of hours with the game to this point I can say its grown on me. Players looking for the same old Gran Turismo experience will be left wanting, but if you embrace the multiplayer you will find hundreds of hours of top-class professional online racing.
South Park: The Fractured But Whole is a good game buried beneath some crassness. The mechanics are perfect for newcomers and veterans alike to the turn-based JRPG-inspired gameplay, and while the story isn’t as good as it should be it holds the space between battles together nicely.
I never really got into Shadow of Mordor the way many others did. Shadow of War, however, is another story entirely and is definitely one of this year’s games that you should not miss.
There is no other game in this genre with the amount of post-game content that Dragon’s Dogma offers. All in all you are looking at an easy 100+ hours of content if you are new to Dragon’s Dogma, as a complete package this is incredible value for money and easy to recommend to new or returning players.
Despite a fairy short playtime, compared to other Lego games, Ninjago is the most fun I’ve had with a Lego game since Lego Dimensions came out.
While the story isn’t as tight as you’d expect from a major Fire Emblem game the over the top shonen style battles and mixed cast definitely put together a fine show. I can definitely suggest the game to any fan of either series.
FIFA 18 falls behind in the gameplay section once again when compared to its rival, but it makes up for a lot of those shortcomings in the rest of its offering. It’s not the best FIFA ever, but it is, at least, starting to move onwards and upwards after a couple of years of stagnating. A worthwhile purchase if you love football or football games.
The Evil Within 2 will probably please horror gaming enthusiasts hoping for a refreshing new, more freeform approach to survival horror, but fans of Shinji Mikami’s first triumphant game might leave underwhelmed.
When the gruesome pixel art, amazing soundtrack and arcade-like gunplay come together, Let Them Come is an experience.
Regardless, in the end, Total War: Warhammer II is a fantastic “Upgrade” to its predecessor and a great addition to the Total War series.
Forza Motorsport 7 presents itself exceptionally well. It's edgy without being in your face about it, handles like a dream, and invites you to return to collect a few more of the 700 cars on offer each time with diverse and varied gameplay. Beautiful and accessible, it is a milestone for the series and one I can see myself putting infinite hours into in the quest to be the best.
PES 2018 is a solid performer in the world of football games, recapturing the wonderful game as it so often does. There’s, as always, room for improvement, especially on the aesthetic side of things, but with the gameplay as good as it is, with those incredible player likenesses and smooth animations.
Where it really matters, NBA 2K18 is yet another solid outing for the franchise. It takes all the best elements and refines them like never before.
The music is great and the new voice work, although often campy, keeps the Chosen hovering somewhere between menacing and humorous, providing some much needed levity.
The puzzles are both fun and challenging, which somewhat make up for the uncompelling story and generally weak characters.
When you reach the 4th down and nearing a touchdown, Madden 18 delivers, just. It’s got a fresh new look to it, great production value (as ever), an awesome soundtrack and a story mode that raises the bar.
Project CARS 2 is a worthy successor and equally impressive contender for the 2017 racing title, given its stiff competition, Slightly Mad Studios can raise a glass and give themselves a pat on the back for a job, mostly, well done.
Overall Cuphead has managed to live up to the hype that chased the game all through its lengthy development. The game has a character all of its own that bleeds out of every nook and cranny while it tests the limits of your perseverance against a wonderful gallery of enemies.