IGN's Reviews
Because of its diminished graphics and clumsy combat controls, Skyrim VR definitely isn't the best way to actually play Skyrim. However, if you leave the difficulty on the default lowest setting and roam the world as a god who can slay enemies with the flick of the wrist, it's a good way to experience Bethesda's legendary RPG from a whole new perspective.
The most important parts of LA Noire have aged beautifully, with incredibly detailed faces, diverse characters, and unique, challenging crimes to solve as a detective. The top-notch writing and voice acting bring 1940s Los Angeles to life, but are let down by a dull open world with frequent frame rate drops. Aside from difficulty aiming in gun fights, it's a smart port with accurate motion controls and the ability to play almost entirely touchscreen, too.
Battle Chef Brigade successfully mixes genres to create something wholly engaging. The charming art direction and characters, creative combat, and clever puzzle mechanics help put Battle Chef Brigade squarely in its own genre. Despite a few storytelling stumbles and some minimal repetition, the sunny disposition of Trinket Studios' puzzle/platformer/beat ‘em up ultimately shines through.
The Sims 4 on console includes all the free feature updates from the PC version, and while they are good new additions that should have been included with The Sims 4 to begin with, they don't make up for the performance issues. Most of the problems are minor annoyances, but because save and menu bugs have been so frequent, this version of The Sims 4 is a generally unreliable experience, which is unfortunate since it is a genuinely fun game. And while it is disappointing that the console version is missing some community features from the PC version, I'm glad that at least cheats work.
Rebounding from a weak second episode, Batman: The Enemy Within's third episode restores my hopes that this season will turn out well. Major developments around Batman's big secret and strong interactions with Harley Quinn, Selina Kyle, and John make Fractured Mask work, right up until the extremely abrupt ending.
Unless you played through both Sun and Moon extensively and have already collected every Legendary Pokemon, it's easy to recommend to any Pokemon fan.
Ashes Cricket isn't pitch perfect, but it's the best videogame representation of the sport to date.
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 doesn't deviate much from the established LEGO template, but its wide variety of settings, heroes, and abilities make it constantly fun to play, especially in co-op. The combat is still quite simple and it's sometimes difficult to tell what you should do next, but the story is lighthearted and fun enough that mild annoyances like these fade into the background.
On top of the joy of creating and playing as your own character, there's a lot of goofy charm that makes Sonic Forces hard to be too disappointed with. The graphics are colorful and engaging, and the music is a pumping backdrop for extreme team-ups, super-speed cinematics, and lots of ruminations on the power of friendship. There are some really fun levels in the mix, too, and surprisingly strong boss fights make for some unexpected highlights. But Sonic Forces doesn't build on its handful of good ideas as much as it should, and it screeches to a halt just as it seems to hit its stride.
The core of Episode 5: Don't Stop Believin' provides a thrilling and fulfilling resolution to the season arc with a couple interesting surprises in store. I just wish it hadn't been immersed in this flimsy, fake crisis of the Guardians breaking up and getting back together that was never fully realized, and ended up dragging the whole season down. Flaws and all, however, Guardians of the Galaxy is, overall, one of the stronger stories Telltale has put out. This has become the version of the Guardians team I see in my head first when I think about them. I'd be thrilled to hear we might get to join them on the Milano for a second season.
Call of Duty: WW2's offers a fast-paced and fun World War II experience with its new multiplayer mode and return to Nazi Zombies.
WRC 7 doesn't unseat Codemasters' Dirt 4 as this year's premier rally game, but it definitely continues Kylotonn's upward trajectory in the genre.
Hand of Fate 2 doesn't change much of the concept that made the first game so appealing, but everything here – whether it's challenges, smarter deck building, companion characters, and better combat – marks a major improvement over what we saw in 2015. Repetitiveness can still be a problem, but it takes much longer for it to show up. This time around, this is definitely a hand worth playing.
Need for Speed Payback is a big, competent, and confident arcade racer but it's really let down by its linear cop chases, its overwrought and insidious upgrade system, its dreadful dialogue, and its superficial action sequences. It feels fine and it looks flashy, but Payback really went all-in on its direct-to-DVD revenge tale and it was a bust for me.
Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds is an excellent addition to an amazing game. Developer Guerrilla has doubled down on the thrill of the hunt with more challenging machines and testing side quests that are added to the original map through an intriguing new storyline that delves into the mystical side of this post-apocalyptic world. It left me wanting start a brand new game, just to wander around the world, marveling at it.
Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back is an extremely short and completely forgettable platformer based on nothing but irony and nostalgic notoriety. I'd honestly rather replay the original Bubsy than this - for all of its serious flaws, at least that game was memorable. The Woolies Strike Back isn't even that.
It's all such a disappointment. I very much wanted to like Lucky, because the Xbox could use a decent answer to Nintendo in the 3D platformer genre. Unfortunately, Super Lucky's Tale definitely isn't it.
Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus is a fantastic single-player shooter, but what really got me invested was the brilliantly written characters and the performances of its cast. BJ and his crew are full of spirit and personality, and General Engel is as memorable a nemesis as you're likely to find in games. Machine Games has once again turned the well-worn act of mowing down Nazis into something to get excited about.
Assassin's Creed Origins is a deep-dive into a truly stunning realization of ancient Egypt, with a rich series of cultures, genuine characters, and more mission variety than any other game in the series. The combat is challenging and thoughtful, and while the loot system doesn't match up to games like Destiny 2, there are enough different weapon types and enough enemy variety to keep you swapping between weapons, catered to the situation. The RPG elements encourage challenges of their own, and even despite a handful of bugs, I desperately wanted to keep playing.
Mario's games have been around for almost as long as game consoles have been a thing, but thankfully, he's always evolving. We rarely get the same Mario twice. Super Mario Odyssey delivers on that ongoing promise of originality and innovation: It distills the venerable series' joyful, irreverent world and characters and best-in-class platforming action, and introduces a steady stream of new and unexpected mechanics. It's all spun together into a generational masterpiece.