IGN's Reviews
NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 proves pick-up-and-play arcade basketball is still alive and well.
Space Hulk: Tactics is a wonderfully challenging, asymmetrical tactics game in spite of its poor PC controls.
WWE 2K19 is a rebound in the right direction, but it is held back by many long-standing issues.
Astro Bot Rescue Mission brings a genuinely new perspective to the platform genre.
Super Mario Party is the best Mario Party in two console generations, but even with a few real winners among the 80 minigames, the party might get stale.
It's not revolutionary, but Mega Man 11 feels almost like a classic Mega Man game, and is a good foundation for the next 10 games.
Assassin's Creed Odyssey's open-world adventure through ancient Greece is a gorgeous thrill, and the best the series has ever been.
FIFA 19 is a threadbare experience on the Switch. The inclusion of the Champions League and a significant graphical upgrade goes some way to approaching the levels on presentation found on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC version, but on the pitch it's a mile away from being a premium football simulation and fails to build on last year's game. I can see myself having some fun playing the new House Rules modes locally with friends, but in most single-player modes there is no doubt that it is a repetitive and unfulfilling experience.
At its roughest edges, The Bard's Tale IV shows its retro revival roots in some not so positive ways. It may not be special enough for me to easily overlook these technical shortcomings entirely, but it's an RPG that's brimming with enjoyable, challenging fights, elaborate and entertaining puzzles, and plenty of visual and musical flair. And that was more than enough to keep me humming along contentedly to its tune more often than not.
Looking back, the final season thus far feels the direct opposite of the first.
I'll always have a massive soft spot for the down under delights of Forza Horizon 3, but open-world racing has never looked as good as it does in Forza Horizon 4. It combines a beautiful world that's really four hugely distinct maps in one with a constantly rewarding and self-renewing racing experience and I really can't tear myself away from it. Playground Games hasn't just upped the ante once again; it's blown the bloody doors off.
The first episode of Dontnod's Life is Strange 2 promises a bigger, more complex story than told by its predecessor, charting a cross-country road trip across Donald Trump's America. Though its social criticisms feel broad and rather clumsy so far, its core story of brotherhood and fraternity between two believable characters is already enormously touching. Like the original, Life is Strange 2 Episode 1 makes time for small details and quiet moments, and when it does it's capable of a beauty we rarely see in video games.
Star Control: Origins does a great job of creating a new universe and stocking it with a diverse range of weird and funny aliens to fight in intense arcadey space battles. But everything you're forced to do on a planet's surface is boring at best and an annoying chore at worst, and that kills a lot of momentum. Because of that, I didn't really start to click with Star Control: Origins until the last third of the campaign when money became mostly irrelevant and the focus shifted to its strong points of story and space combat.
FIFA 19 is a definite improvement on last year's effort, despite not all new additions quite hitting the mark.
Valkyria Chronicles 4 is the sequel I've been waiting for, returning to the roots of what made the first game so special. It adds a handful of new and interesting mechanics to its tactical battles, nearly all of which improve the formula in tangible ways, but otherwise plays it fairly safe. The story can feel a little bit impersonal and disconnected from the rest of the series, but the way it makes even the smallest characters important and alive is remarkable. It's great to see the Valkyria Chronicles series back on track, as it's still one-of-a-kind.
PUBG v1.0 on Xbox One runs smoothly, features three vastly different maps, and includes a ton of weapons, gear, and items to use in the deadliest online game. Its unique brand of tense, realistic shooting mixed with slow-paced tactical combat manages to stay fresh and exciting even after hundreds of matches. It makes coming back for another attempt at a "chicken dinner" victory hard to resist.
NHL 19 proves you can have your cake and eat it, too. It has a complex, sim-heavy Franchise mode, fun, fast, ridiculous arcade modes, and everything in between. There's a style of play here for anyone, from the absolute rookie to someone who lives and breathes hockey. The action on the ice feels excellent and there's just so much to do in NHL 19 that I was able to find a game mode to match any kind of mood I was in at the time. We don't need to ask “where did all the arcade-style sports games go?” anymore, because NHL 19 folded them all into a fantastic, robust package oozing with pure fun. What's most amazing is how the modes are so different in tone, but maintain excellence throughout.
Frozen Synapse 2 is a welcome return to the intensely micromanaged turn-based tactical battles that made the original so compelling. The asynchronous multiplayer is unquestionably the star of the show, and queuing up multiple online games at once means you're never stuck waiting for an opponent, and that you can play at your own pace. But while the new City Game story mode is conceptually interesting, in practice the largely scripted sequence of story missions doesn't allow for much in the way of meaningful gameplay depth.
Battle for Azeroth has a lot to live up to thanks to its stellar predecessor in Legion, and for the most part it delivers.
For many, basketball is more than just a game, and NBA 2K19 doesn't take that lightly. It throws every resource it has into the theatrics of the sport, creating charismatic presentation, a well-written story mode, and strong core gameplay. The series' persistent weaknesses are still apparent in areas like the transition game and ludicrous microtransactions, but there's so much variety to how its extensive MyLeague mode plays out that there's always a reason to look forward to the next game of basketball.