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Undeniably, if you're a Star Wars fan, Battlefront remains one of the year's most essential purchases – and you can probably add an extra point to the score below – but you will have to rely on, and invest in, DICE's future plans for it to be an experience you'll return to time and time again.
Rise of the Tomb Raider is an action-packed tour-de-force that, while derivative at times, is a fantastic romp from beginning to end. This sequel learns some of the lessons of its predecessor by making the game more like a recognisable Tomb Raider game, while at the same time implementing some new features and impressive visual design. While not quite the globetrotting adventure some were hoping for, Rise of the Tomb Raider is well worth playing.
We're not likely to find out exactly what troubles the team at Prope faced on Rodea's rocky road to market. The end product is evidence enough to suggest that something went wrong along the way, and it's a real shame. With a little more refinement and even the lightest of facelifts, Rodea could easily have been a Nintendo exclusive worth owning.
Need For Speed feels like a plucky contender, that is close to greatness but tragically falters at number of key moments. There is genuinely plenty of fun to be had in its world, and the return to the themes of Need For Speed: Underground are welcome. However, there simply isn't the level of consistent quality that the franchise has had during Criterion's stewardship, despite a large number of their staff moving to Ghost Games, and indeed in a number of ways it feels like a step back from 2013's Rivals. This year's Need For Speed is close to greatness, but it doesn't quite make the podium.
From the big marquee features to the small touches and hidden modes, Black Ops 3 features an awful lot of content, and every aspect of it is designed with cooperative play in mind. It can feel a bit disjointed in places, but it's a broad and expansive game with plenty to enjoy, especially so when playing with friends.
Although somewhat far fetched, Coast Guard's storyline can be rather captivating and adds a refreshing layer to the game. However, it gives the impression that it doesn't really know what it wants to be, without the depth to a full ship simluator and with some lacking gameplay during the investigations. If you're looking for something to keep you busy for a few hours, this will certainly do just that, but you might be left wondering if you could have better spent your time with a game that focuses solely on the side of the game you enjoyed most.
Still, this beautiful wrapper isn't enough to cover up Poncho's fundamental flaws. It's a lovely experiment and although it works well in some parts, an overall sense of cohesion is missing. Being able to move along the z-axis is a clever feature yet Poncho uses this as a crutch, failing to flesh out other essential areas of the game. In short, there's certainly something special here yet, sadly, only a minority will succeed in finding it.
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker is a fantastic handheld RPG with a deep combat system, characters that you care about, and a well-delivered story. Returning fans will also find plenty to enjoy here too, whether it's the new difficulty settings, voice-acting, or the fresh story arc. As such, Devil Survivor 2 takes its place amongst the best the Nintendo 3DS has to offer.
One Upon Light is a bit of a quandary in a way. Technically it is a well crafted game without any bugs in sight. The look SUTD Game Lab has gone for with it stands out well, and works in the context of the game's setting. The soundwork is also very well done. The majority of puzzles are decent too, but it is the ones that take ages to get past, even though you know the solution, because of timing that remove a lot of goodwill for One Upon Light. There were points where fun wasn't being had because of them. At the same time One Upon Light feels very mechanical. All the pieces work together well but at the same time it is missing a certain spark. One Upon Light isn't a bad game, and if you're a puzzle fan you may enjoy it.
In some ways, Driveclub Bikes is Evolution and Sony's opportunity to rehabilitate DriveClub's image in the eyes of the public, just as The Taken King redeemed many of the flaws of Destiny. Outside of the online issues that persisted for far, far too long, it was hardly a bad game, and it's excellent and rewarding handling model has effortlessly been replicated with the bikes. Whether you want to pick up the main game on the cheap, grab the generous and expansive season pass of DLC or dabble with Bikes, it's never been a better time to jump into Driveclub and get racing.
As such, it's tougher to recommend BlazBlue: Chronophantasma Extend to those wishing to get more out of it than a solid fighting game experience. However, the two new characters that join the growing cast are great additions and the conversion to the next-gen consoles is almost completely successful. If you're not intimidated by the competitive scene or if the massively convoluted plot doesn't faze you; BlazBlue: Chronophantasma Extend is a good choice for scratching that pugilistic itch.
If you're growing tired of the franchise and were really hoping Microsoft and 343 would hold true to their promise to evolve the formula a bit, be wary that the newest stuff is where the game gets a bit shaky. However, if you've loved the Halo blueprint up to now and are looking for an updated current-gen version, there's more than enough here to offer a solid recommendation. It's not the best Halo game I've ever played, but it is good, delivering most of the Halo essentials without compromise.
It's telling that having played through the whole set we returned to play Quiplash XL and Fibbage 2 for a number of hours, and they're both hugely amusing and engaging games that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to play with a group of friends. While the other entries aren't as strong, with Earwax proving to be a particular disappointment, and despite technical issues that suck some of the fun from the experience, Jackbox Party Pack 2 still offers one of the best multiplayer experiences I've ever had on a console.
Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition is an in-depth and thoughtful RPG that offers console gamers an experience normally reserved for PC gamers. It's pace and mechanics may take some getting used to and there are a few mild technical issues, but for those willing to put the time and effort in there are countless hours of questing and combat here that should enthral any RPG fan.
Wasteland 2 is an excellent game, but at the same time does nothing particularly new or ground-breaking within the RPG genre. It's easy to see why PC gamers have become so enamoured with it, yet it's hard to imagine Wasteland garnering the same appeal on consoles. Despite inXile's valiant effort in bringing the game to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, it never feels quite at home.
Ultimately, Syndicate comes off as another Assassin's Creed game with a handful of improvements. London is beautiful if a bit laborious to travel around, and the missions are repetitive, but this doesn't make Syndicate bad by any stretch of the imagination. It's still a good game, it just hasn't made a significant step up over the previous instalment. If you are a fan of Assassin's Creed, or you think you might be, then Syndicate comes as recommended as any other AC. It likely won't convert people who dislike the series, but it won't lose any who are still interested in it, either.
Sadly, The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes doesn't quite wow the catwalk. It may have the character, control and theme down to a tee, but the dungeon design is nowhere near as tight as those from the main franchise. If you have the right minded people playing locally or using some kind of voice chat, you will have a blast if you can get past some of the flawed dungeon design. While far from a fashion disaster, The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes does need some touching up.
Niggling flaws aside, Vermintide is easily one of the most surprising games to launch this year. Although there's a clear lack of originality, Fatshark has done a brilliant job in throwing together a patchwork of borrowed designs with its own previous work on games like War of the Roses. It's got the makings of a sleeper hit and hopefully, with a few more refinements, can grow into the next multiplayer must-have.
Hearts of Stone is a piece of DLC that has been done right, genuinely adding to an already great game. The antagonist in this content is for me a better and more interesting character than the members of the actual Wild Hunt from the main plot, and you also learn more about Geralt's past too. If you own and enjoy The Witcher 3 then Hearts of Stone is easily recommended, but go in knowing as little as possible because there are some truly spectacular moments to be had.
WRC 5 is a new beginning for the series, and when viewed in that light, Kylotonn's efforts come out quite well. There's several issues, both big and small that detract from the game as a whole, but underneath it all there's a rallying game that's just a good bit of fun. When it's just you and your co-pilot racing through a forest, barely making it through a series of tight twists and turns, that's really what matter.