games(TM)'s Reviews
Nothing like it has been done on console before, and we have to respect Bungie – and Activision – for that.
Yes, there's some weak voice acting (Loki, we're looking at you), some pretty straightforward level design and a few too many gratuitous pieces of camera work. But mechanically, Bayonetta 2 steps into the original's heels and somehow looks even better in them. A near-perfect action game, then, and a irrefutable reason to own a Wii U.
Super Smash Bros. for 3DS does an immaculate job of bringing Nintendo's beloved fighting game to the handheld system and has packs in the best character roster and feature list to date, but the shortfalls of its hardware prevent it from reaching greater heights. It's the perfect Smash Bros. game on an imperfect console. We wait with much anticipation for the Wii U version later this year.
So, goalkeepers aren't as good as promised, the soundtrack is rubbish as usual and the menus still aren't as simple as they could and should be. Regardless, when all is said and done, FIFA 15 is the best football game we've ever played. It combines match day pageantry and superb gameplay perfectly, and builds nicely on last year's sterling effort. After so many years of trying, EA has, with the exception of a few little missteps, finally gotten player AI right and created a fast, fluid football experience that looks and feels like the real thing. This will go down as the year that EA finally ticked all the boxes.
Like its predecessor, Civilization: Beyond Earth is going to benefit from Firaxis' attentive and proven post-launch development plan. Its series of interconnected systems are well balanced and while some of them will feel disappointingly familiar to series veterans, there's sufficient diversity and flexibility here to feed the series ongoing evolution.
It's a tough game to criticise. The setting is perhaps not quite as striking as the original game's clay-coated Colorado, but that could be as much to do with the familiarity of the European landscapes for a European reviewer as it is the actual layout of the roads. Perhaps the offline mode could have a little more structure to keep you locked in to its most thrilling events, but that would damage the freeform amiability of everything. It's just a very special racing game. There's a depth of content here that matches the game's undoubted class, and ensures Playground Games is a genuine powerhouse in the world of digital racing. Forza Horizon 2 is a gorgeous, confident and relentlessly gratifying drive, and easily the best first-party exclusive on Xbox One.
It's here, in the Toy Box, that Disney Infinity 2.0 thrives. The game suffers from a few technical hiccups in frame rates and broken quests, but there's a wealth of content here waiting to be unleashed by your own imagination. On the surface it looks like Infinity 2.0 is offering less (with its one play set compared to last year's three), but the truth is the opposite. With a focus on improving the creativity tools matched with a wider selection of characters and settings, there's more game here to sink your teeth into.
As well as the main story mode, Trap Team offers longevity in the form of a large number of redeeming quests for each villain, a silly amount of Arena battles that will put even the toughest Skylander veterans through their paces and the epic Kaos Doom Challenge. Part horde mode, part tower defence, it features 100 waves across nine different locations that proves that Activision's franchise is not just for kids. An enjoyable adventure, but it's really starting to show signs of fatigue.
It speaks to the strength of the challenge and club systems that DriveClub remains wholly enjoyable despite such an omission. A few less serious forms of racing would do a lot to improve to the experience and catapult it into the same realm as the greatest of arcade racers, but what's on offer represents a commendable attempt at changing the way we think about how competition is served in a racing game.
Find out what the PES team had to say about rival FIFA in our football rivals interview here.
Check out our interview with Shinji Mikami to hear what he had to say about making Resident Evil and why he wanted it to be like beer.
An epic, if derivative, return to form
Don't judge a game by its gimmicky-sounding premise
The humour grates, but it's fun to play… eventually
Your rose-tinted glasses won't slip much
Rescued by fearsomely good multiplayer
Just don't expect any different results
Could alienate those who favour Play
If only it could be so grossly incandescent
Better than ever, but know the risks going in