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Gears of War 4 is the best game in the series so far with more likable characters and a better and more well-written story. The story of friendship and family fits well with the summer blockbuster style that the series has always strived for. Full of action, some humour and maybe even a few scares thrown in with the mix, more than anything else it looks like The Coalition is determined to mature the Gears franchise, and that is hardly a bad thing at all.
Virginia is a fantastic piece of interactive fiction, and a fantastic videogame. It’s rare to see a game that truly innovates on the way a story can be told through this medium, and to have something that doesn’t only push those boundaries but does so this effectively is a real treat.
Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 isn’t necessarily a bad game. The original and the DX versions were just about perfection, and you just can’t improve on perfection. It is simply a case that Bandai Namco needed to make it different enough to set it apart from the other Pac-Man games. On that count I have mixed feelings. The ultimate success story is that Bandai Namco can take Pac-Man as it is in its basic form and still find amazing new, and very modern, ways to apply that formula.
Event[0] succeeds because of that last line there: my relationship with Kaizen. The entire experience hinges on your ability to form a relationship with this character at the heart of the story, an AI of all things. The best books, movies and video games try to make you feel something, and to that end Event[0] is an interesting experiment and a worthwhile experience that stands out as very unique game despite its humble roots.
All in all Toy Odyssey: The Lost and Found works because the game tickles our minds based on a time when our imaginations were their most fertile: childhood. I know my toys often waged large-scale war with one another all over the living room and this game captures that in its level and character design as well as the central narrative revolving around a young boy and his nightmares.
EA Sports’ premier title remains the most refined and well-produced sports game out there. There’s something for every sports game fan in there, and the overall package is of immense overall value.
I hope the next Ace Attorney game has more structure in its overarching narrative and the developers actually have the cases flow naturally from one to the next. Even with its flaws, Spirit of Justice is good fun, through, and another quality example of a narrative from the ever-growing stable of visual novels we are now getting translated into English.
More than anything, the pacing of Sega Hard Girls is so incredibly spot on. It’s a game that’s easy to play for short bursts of time, as missions and dungeons tend to be compact, and there aren’t the long cut scenes to sit through.
NHL 17 is a very good game of hockey that has not really grown much since last year. Tweaks and improvements are there, certainly nothing feels worse about the title than last season, but there is still room to innovate.
While Hailstorm Games does at times get carried away with moralising, the overall story is effective and comes with enough twists and turns to cover the admission price.
While I don’t think Criminal Girls 2 goes anywhere near far enough to be the extreme Sadean experience that it clearly wants to be, at least we have a game that achieves something down that path.
With plenty of activities to do and the option to engage in them with friends online, I can easily say that Forza Horizon 3 quickly succeeded in becoming my favourite title in the Forza series to date.
God Eater 2: Rage Burst is a great mission based action experience. It’s the added narrative and characterisation that makes it more than just another Monster Hunter-like grindfest for better equipment to take on bigger monsters with. They even provide sunglasses, so you get to look cool while doing it all.
Bioshock: The Collection takes three good to great games and does right by them by providing excellent visuals and all of the extra content for those who want to get even more out of the experience. It is surprising just how well the series holds up today - a testament to the original game design.
This game is rich and thought provoking in its design, hiding its depth behind simplicity. It deserves an hour of your time.
At the very least, Four Sided Fantasy is a welcome addition to the flourishing pool of indie puzzle platformers, and is yet more proof that there's still plenty of life left in the genre.
It’s a simple, and entirely appropriate confidence in the quality of the work that led the developers to craft such a lengthy quest back in 2000, and it remains every bit as worthy today.
Mother Russia Bleeds is a solid debut for Le Cartel Studio.
Ember is a fun little game, which sits nicely on mobile to help while away long commutes without pop-ups asking for you to spend money on in-app purchases every few minutes.
Just like Trails of Cold Steel before it, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II is an excellent game, and a fitting second act after the first game’s exquisite setup. I can’t recommend it highly enough – just make sure you play Cold Steel first, otherwise you’ll miss so much of what this game has to offer.