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Halo Wars didn't rewrite the RTS playbook, and Halo Wars 2 is unlikely to bring on many converts who weren't convinced by the first attempt. In many ways this is an iterative sequel, with new units and balance, and a handful of additions. The campaign is well-made and the multiplayer shines thanks largely to Blitz Mode. It's a streamlined take on a genre that has faded even more in recent years, but in its own way, Halo Wars 2 is still carrying the flame.
When I began Horizon: Zero Dawn, I was anxious it wouldn't be able to maintain itself for thirty-plus hours. I'm thrilled that fear was unfounded. The play was constantly rich and rewarding, and the mysteries constantly unfolding. I'm left not just feeling satisfied the entire time, but wanting more. This one is something special.
For Honor will inevitably be a favorite of mine. It combines easy to pick up, complicated to master fighting and action-style gameplay with compelling gameplay types and there's nothing quite like it. However, if you were looking for a single-player game, you might not want to purchase this title. The heart and soul of For Honor are its multiplayer modes, and unfortunately, at this time, there are enough issues with matchmaking and peer-to-peer connections that you may want to wait until Ubisoft has some time to fix those problems.
If you have an Oculus Rift headset and Oculus Touch, I heartily recommend Everest VR as a great way to introduce others to VR or as an awesome trip through the history of the world's highest mountain.
Sniper Elite 4 offers more of the same great gameplay that its predecessors were known for while tightening it up for the current generation.
To call Nioh a copycat would be doing it a disservice. Combat is tight and layered with options, levels are gorgeously rendered and ooze atmosphere, and the story is entertaining enough to keep me interested yet can still be set aside when I'm more interested in perfecting my ki pulses.
To all Resident Evil fans out there, I say welcome home. You’re going to enjoy your stay with the Bakers.
Gravity Rush 2 is a game unlike most of what’s out there on offer right now. It might take a little getting used to, especially if you didn’t play the first game, but if you give it a chance it will absolutely grow on you. Taking on the role of Kat is rush of an experience, and there’s so much here to absorb that you’ll need a couple dozen hours to get through it all. Whether or not you played the original Gravity Rush or are looking for a unique game to add to your PlayStation 4 library, Gravity Rush 2 is certainly a breath of fresh air.
2064: Read Only Memories is a great game for anyone who agrees 100% with what its heavy-handed, politically-charged plot forces down your throat without question. However, like a political conversation on social media, 2064 is long-winded, overly aggressive in its message, ill-presented, and accomplishes nothing.
As a game, Final Fantasy XV inhabits that special place that titles like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt; Fallout 3, New Vegas, and 4; and the Elder Scrolls games do. While you're playing it, you're an inhabitant of its world, and it's a place that can be almost as vivid as reality at times, with its own history, lore, and culture. As a Final Fantasy, FFXV returns the series to the wonderment that Final Fantasy VII inspired in a generation of gamers.
Once you've seen one slope, you've more or less seen them all. Characters don't have much of a sense of personality, and the entire thing feels more like a surface-level experimental photo mode than a fully-formed video game. But, I plan to invest a few more hours into it for the sake of attempting to get a better sense of it before issuing a final verdict.
All in all, I didn't really enjoy the game as a whole when looking at its mechanics, narrative and characters separately, thanks to technical issues and bizarre choices that mar it as an interactive experience. But I did find a forever friend in Trico, who I'll remember for the rest of my time in gaming. If you do play The Last Guardian, I surmise that's the takeaway you'll have from it too.
It's fitting, somehow, that a game series so lovingly modeled after a famous B-movie would itself result in a B-tier game. Dead Rising 4 is uneven and less polished than many other games this fall. It's the kind of light, airy game I would have expected earlier in the year, when it wouldn't risk being swallowed up by the holiday season. At its core it's a pulp adventure, with winking witticisms and bloody messes strewn throughout. That makes it, if not entirely memorable, at least a bloody good time that understands the ephemeral nature of camp.
Dishonored 2 proves to be a return to a classic formula that worked so well in the orginal. Strong level design, open world exploration and the ability to play your own way with powers that can be adapted or modified how you want makes the game one of the top titles of the year. Now to start working on my low chaos playthrough.
Watch Dogs 2 is a rare sequel where the developers took a chance instead of sticking by what was a successful formula. Although I personally wasn’t a fan of the original Watch Dogs, the game sold well and Ubisoft could have easily slapped some new paint on it and released another dreary, boring game. They didn’t though, and I hope it’s a trend other developers pick up on because Watch Dogs 2 is a superior product.
Perhaps one of the most interesting features to make its way into Tyranny is the new reputation system. Unlike other RPGs, where morality plays a key part in the story, Tyranny takes a different path, basing its reputation system on Fear and Loyalty. Throughout the story the things you do either instill Fear or Loyalty into your party members and companions. It is an interesting way of going about the famed RPG repuation system, and it gives you a little more leeway with how you play the game. But when it is all said and done it almost feels like a wasted system. No matter what your reputation with your companions, their story never changes. They will always be there, unless you let them die, and you never get a chance – no matter how scared or loyal they area – to see more into their lives. Unlike Pillars of Eternity, which featured different quests to showcase your companion’s lives, Tyranny allows the companion system to fall flat, ignoring it in favor of stifled choices and tiresome combat.
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is the first product of Activision’s new three-year production cycle on Call of Duty titles, and the extra time taken on it shows. While Infinity Ward might have played it a little too safe when it came to the competitive multiplayer mode, the improvements in the single-player campaign and Call of Duty: Zombies are substantial. The single-player campaign, in particular, hooked me, and I hope that future campaigns in the Call of Duty universe get the same care.
Battlefield 1 might not be the best Battlefield game, or the best FPS game I've ever played, but it succeeds at doing what it needs to do. It feels like Battlefield, it works like Battlefield, and it has plenty of opportunities for amazing things to happen that have only ever happened in a Battlefield game. It’s nice to see DICE returning to the roots of what makes this series so amazing, and I’m happy that, for the first time in years, a new Battlefield game doesn’t feel like it is in the middle of an identity crisis.
As the 30th anniversary of Final Fantasy approaches, there’s no better way to celebrate the adventures that we’ve treasured than World of Final Fantasy. Even though the game is a huge crossover event, by making everything make sense in its own world of Grymoire, the game doesn’t rely exclusively on nostalgia to hook players. Even though you’ll see Sephiroth, Squall, and other friends in your quest, even those who somehow don’t know these iconic characters can get enjoyment out of the great gameplay and light-hearted story of World of Final Fantasy.
Titanfall 2 realizes the dreams of its predecessor. It looks amazing, plays fantastically, and is finely tuned in virtually every aspect, from the crisp sound design to smooth platforming.