Michael Elliott's Reviews
Many of the individual aspects of Anthem work well. The world of Bastion is gorgeous, the graphical fidelity is truly next level, and no game has done flight quite as well as this one. Unfortunately, when mashed together in a rough looter shooter, these great aspects of the game are hidden away and replaced with a slow and frustrating experience riddled with technical and balancing issues and a simply average story doesn’t make up for any of it.
Resident Evil 2 is equal parts terrifying, satisfying and interesting.
Overkill’s The Walking Dead is often faithful to the series in all the worst ways.
Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII delivers the same tactile experience that it always has across three enticing modes.
Aside from some launch issues, Destiny 2: Forsaken is everything that it needs to be and more.
Lawbreakers is a great game, both in terms of its construction and its gameplay.
Agents of Mayhem feels more akin to an arcade game or standalone DLC than a full release.
Yooka-Laylee is simply a great quality platformer with few technical issues, a distinct presentation and a wacky world to run around in.
Aside from a few graphical improvements and mechanical tweaks, not much has changed. Sadly, a lack of true originality and asymmetry makes this sequel just a tad weaker than its prequel.
Torment: Tides of Numenera is a complex beast. Many of its parts are well-done and the core of the game is solid, many other elements are less than stellar, especially on the Xbox One.
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is a wildly enjoyable title that is guaranteed to scare all but the most heartless players.
Shiny is an obviously underdeveloped game created by an inexperienced team.
At its worst, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is mediocre, and was quite often enjoyable during my time to play, but ultimately fails to fulfill the potential of a truly original Call of Duty title.
The wretched drought of The Taken King is over, and guardians everywhere have dusted off their copies of Destiny. Destiny: Rise of Iron is finally here, and it does not disappoint.
Forza Horizon 3 is exactly what a sequel is supposed to be, and then some. A phenomenal follow-up to Forza Horizon 2 that takes what's best about the series and improves them. The visual are unmatched by anything else on Xbox, the multiplayer is seamless and extremely social ,and the community and customization features are extensive. Despite some potential server issues, Forza Horizon 3 is an extremely happy and expansive experience that has yet to get old.
Metrico+ fares better than its predecessor but still falls just a bit short. The puzzles are engaging and challenging, but are more frustrating than enjoyable at times and can make it hard to even want to continue. The visuals and sounds are beautiful, but are little more than smoke and mirrors in a game that can be easily completed in under an hour with no real incentive to play.
Headlander is a unexpected but pleasant title that has rekindled my interest in 2D side-scrollers. The title is both familiar and wholly unique, and the main mechanic of Headlanding is entertaining and intuitive. A sleek and stylistic design matched with an incredible attention to detail more than make up for any frustrations with the game’s combat or puzzles.
Prison Architect is a solid title with an engaging premise and an enjoyable campaign that can last as long as 6 hours or more.
Total War: Warhammer just feels right in most every way, even if it can get slow or frustrating at times. Despite a few annoying caveats and some performance issues, most of the game's features are enjoyable, enticing and immersive.
Glitchspace is truly a one of a kind game that takes the best of games like Portal and puts its own spin on it.