Calum Parry
CounterSpy may have it flaws but what makes it stand out is the visual style and design. It is, however, short but with cross buy and cross save on PlayStation it might just be that Spy-filler your looking for.
The Order: 1886 is a visually stunning technical achievement, held back by mediocre gameplay. Fortunately for Ready At Dawn they've achieved on setting the bar high in visuals, and have laid out the groundwork for what could well be one of the best PlayStation exclusive franchises.
Overall, Hotline Miami 2 may suffer at some points due to it's level design, but when it gets good, it becomes astoundingly good. It's still the same top-down f*ck them up but only bigger, longer and more brutal. And certainly a must for players of the first, even if it is for the soundtrack alone.
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood still retains all the satisfying gameplay that made The New Order one of the best shooters of 2014. It's not as long as the original; lasting around 4-5 hours, but it does include a decent challenge mode to increase longevity. For £14.99 digitally it's worth it for a nice afternoon of killing some Nazis.
A Matter of Family could of been so much more. They had the opportunity to bring Batgirl to life and delve deeper into her history as Batgirl before it was torn away by the Joker, instead they gave us a small set piece in the Arkham universe with her playable as the gimmick.
Until Dawn is an excellent addition to any horror fan's PlayStation 4 collection, even if borrowed or rented, you'll still be satisfied with a single 9-10 hour playthrough, but the seeming unending paths towards terror, gore, death and salvation will keep you coming back to see if you can survive another night until dawn.
Mad Max is a delight to play and will have you chant "what a lovely day!" across the fury road, but once the dust settles, you'll find deep down a hollow and dull open-world, with a somewhat mediocre and grindy core design doing nothing original. It's only redeemed by its vast sandstorm swept visuals and well executed vehicular combat.
Gears of War: Ultimate Edition keeps the heart of the 2006 release and reimagines it for the new generation. With remastered 1080p visuals and 60 FPS multiplayer it is a well recommended title to anyone's Xbox One collection. Whether you're a new player to the franchise or a returning veteran you'll soon find yourself gnashing grubs and stomping nubs in no time.
LEGO Dimensions is the best LEGO game to date. It is just simply a joy to play and with the big franchises behind it, there is certainly a huge amount of longevity within, but only if you are willing to pay the price of admission. The move to the toys to life genre is a smart one for LEGO and with some of the available packs including Dr Who, Portal, Jurassic World, The Simpsons and with more on the way, it'll make any LEGO collector foam at the mouth and dive in, even if it's just for the toys. Still, with just the starter pack alone, you'll be in for a huge dimension jumping tale that is just a blast.
Despite its shortfalls Halo 5: Guardians still holds strong as being an excellent contender as the current best shooter available for Xbox One. Afterall it is Microsoft's flagship title, but with a short lackluster story that only the diehard fans will appreciate, the multiplayer is truly where the focus is. 60FPS makes a world of difference and is here to stay with the franchise, but I just hope that they take the feedback from the community and make things better in the next installment.
If you want an experience that offers the closest you'll get to be being part of the original movie trilogy then this is it, but If you're looking for something more in-depth and offers longevity similar to Battlefield then your looking in the alderaan places.
If you're looking for an excellent neon filled twin stick shooter with awesome techno beats, you're not going to find it here and you'd be better off playing Geometry Wars or Resogun on PS4 (if you want something more original), but if you've played them all and you want more, then get this on sale as it is still a fun title.
The Following expansion pack is a fantastic, enjoyable addition to an already great game, you'll bound not to find a dull moment within. By the end you'll be wanting to do nothing more than get behind the wheel and creating chaos as you speed across the dirt roads, taking down zombies in a field of blood splattering glory.
Guns, gore and demons. The classic DOOM is back and it's better than ever. With a glorious and immensely satisfying single player experience, DOOM is one of the best shooters of year. Shame it can't be said about the multiplayer, but at least with the addition of intuitive SnapMap you can create your very own Hell.
As much as the title is memorable and is certainly a bit of a giggle, beyond this we get another forgetful short lived game. Visually terrible and on-par with the likes of a mobile game, Super Duper Party Pooper is another fun for a few minutes time-waster that’s eventually flushed away among your other forgotten steam games. Fortunately if you do decided a play, it’ll only set you back 79p.
Dangerous Golf combines the classic Burnout Crash mode as a nostalgia driven, explosive golf party game. Visually it’s very impressive, but the overall experience borders on glorified tech demo. As it stands, at £14.99 I can’t recommended it for that price, but at a discount it’s certainly worth checking out; especially if you are wanting to scratch that destructive itch.
What we have here is the definition of cash-grabbing and at £40 you’ll be as braindead as the ghouls ingame to buy. The release is obscenely catered towards parents or grandparents who would buy this for their child/grandchild because, it’s all the kids are talking about these days.
WASTED: A Post Apocalyptic Pub Crawler isn’t a game I would recommend to everyone, it’s heavy on the roguelike design and this would put off many, even if you are a massive FPS fan. The frustrating side of a roguelike is that death can come from any corner. What makes WASTED worthwhile is the visual style, gameplay, and humour. It makes for an excellent time waster, and at £9.99 it isn’t badly priced either.
It’s difficult to speak more without delving into the story or spoiling. Event [0] is a unique experience and worthy anyone’s time. Especially for those interested into the sci-fi genre and has a fascination of artificial intelligence.
After having a blast with the campaign, The Coalition have taken the helms of the Gears of Wars franchise and have made it their own. There was little to dislike about the experience and the team have more than proved that a returning franchise can still be epic.