Geoffrey Tim's Reviews
Unflinchingly tense and gruelling, Creative Assembly's Alien: Isolation is a better sequel to Ridley Scott's original movie than the film that followed it. Dripping with as much atmosphere and attention to detail as it is with acidic Xenomorph spittle, it's hardly let down by its weak narrative and unnecessary padding.
Online issues and forced connectivity for single player modes keep NBA2K15 from being the year's best sports game. Impressive visuals and rock-solid core mechanics however, make it a necessary addition to any NBA fan's library.
Harkening back to a bygone era, Flying Wild Hog's nostalgic re-imagining of Shadow Warrior is filled to the brim with bad words, b-grade jokes, buckets of blood, bullets and blades. And sometimes, that's all a gamer needs.
With clever puzzles and a dash of modern sensibilities inspired by the BBC show, Crimes and Punishments is an easy recommendation to armchair detectives - and the first to let players really experience being Sherlock Holmes.
A whimsical and charming adventure, LittleBigPlanet 3 makes a few welcome changes to the core game; namely new characters and new powerups four our old knitted chum, Sackboy. With an even more robust set of creation tools, it's a game of limitless possibilities.
Whether you're a long-time fan wanting to revel in the nostalgia, or somebody who missed it the first time round – pick up Grim Fandango and delight in this prime example of adventure games at their peak. Its got a lot of heart – and it deserves yours.
For long time fans of Super Stardust, this is probably a disappointment. There's not much that's new, save for a new mode or two. If you've never played the game before though, this is as complete a package as you'll get.
Great visuals alone do not a great game make - and there's unfortunately very little in The Order: 1886 to elevate it beyond being a pretty, but shallow and insipid shooter. It commits the one sin no interactive entertainment should: it's painfully boring.
If you appreciated the streamlined vehicle approach introduced in Mario Party 9, and have yet to bored silly by mini-games you'll probably enjoy the vast amount of content that on offer here. It's hard, however, to shake the feeling that we've seen, and played this all too many times before.
It's hard not to be impressed by Xenoblade Chronicles, not least because it's rekindled my long-dormant love for a genre of games I thought I'd never be interested in again. It's one of the best JRPGs in a generation, capable of inspiring wonder - and it fits in your hand. It may have been one of the Wii's swansongs but it's a great start for the New 3DS.
Splatoon is a vibrant, colourful and innovative competitive multiplayer shooter that's beautiful, addictive and undoubtedly fun - but a lack of maps and modes could hurts its lasting appeal.
Yoshi's Woolly World is a challenging, cleverly designed platformer that as delightful to play as it is to look at. It's unbelievably beautiful, unrelentingly challenging, and undeniably adorable.
It all feels like a bit of a missed opportunity. Had it been a compilation of all three numbered God of War titles, it'd be easy to recommend without hesitation, but as it stands now it's only really worthwhile for God of War neophytes.
Rare Replay is more than a collection of old games from one of the most revered developers in the world. It's a digital museum that stands as a testament to how wonderful and wondrous video games have been, and continue to be.
It's more of the same, then – but when you're getting more of one of the year's best games, that's not something to complain about.
Played alone it can be a chore, but with a group of friend or like-minded people, Tri Force heroes is inventive and fun; wonderfully distilled co-operative take on the Legend of Zelda.
The story presented in this first chapter isn't the most engaging, but the writing, coupled with the detail makes it all come together. As is usual though, I find it hard to recommend until all of its episodes are released and we can judge it as a whole - but this first episode is indeed promising, laying the groundwork for what should be a grand adventure.
The second episode of Minecraft Story mode isn't near as charming as the first. Thought it features some genuine character development, its poorer writing and direction leave it feeling flat.
It's hard to deny that it is a fun thing to play with family and friends – even if the formula is in dire need of a shake-up. Its focus on having fun over meticulously learning dance steps makes its a great game for all ages, though it's "if it ain't broke, then don't fix it" approachis waring a bit thin.
Cut from the same cloth as Limbo, Nikola Kostic's puzzle platformer Albert and Otto exudes a strange, otherwordly charm. It's equally fantastic and frustrating, with the experience hampered by it being not quite as polished as it should be.