James Swinbanks's Reviews
The combat is tactile and purposeful and the story is one you’ll want to see through, but the grind to do so is long and frustrating one. It fails to take advantage of the way it successfully alters the formula by failing at others and, in doing so, doesn’t end up hitting the heights of the game it derives from so heavily.
Flatout 4 brings the franchise into the modern day and gets away from the line with a dash, but nonsensical progression and frustrating AI quickly kills its drive.
With its challenging puzzles and dark, intriguing narrative, Hacknet will upload itself to your must play list
Dirt 4 is spectacular, there really is no other way to put it. From the meta of running your own team and how that can affect your car performance, to the sheer variety of surprises that can hit you during a run… it’s just a beautifully dynamic racing experience, which is really the biggest game changer here
I consider myself a fan of the genre, and whilst discovering new systems and tactics was compelling at first, it didn’t take long to turn into something completely aimless, thus losing its ability to hold my interest.
Bugs and a rough story weaken what is, at its core, a great survival game.
Codemasters sweeps the podium with the best Formula One game ever made.
All in all, Project Cars 2 is simply excellent. Yes, it has issues, some of which are glaring, and some that most people will never notice. But when weighing up the problems versus the advantages, it’s hard to hold back my excitement.
WRC 7 faithfully recreates the challenges of rallying--bumps and all.
Despite its ties to old issues, Forza Motorsport 7 is the game on Xbox for those who worship both automotive speed and beauty.
Gundam Versus is dedicated to the Gundam universe, and the treatment of the source material is easy to appreciate, even for someone unfamiliar with the series. That said, some loose mechanics, the paltry localization, and multiplayer's inability to deal with less-than-perfect network connections aren't easy to ignore.
Elex is an open-world RPG that aims big, but only manages to shoot itself in the foot.
GT Sport is very good at what it’s trying to do; create a core racing esport on console, and to that end they’ve offered up a solid core.
While it doesn't quite score a century, Ashes Cricket still puts in a decent knock.
GT Sport's refined multiplayer racing makes up for a relatively small selection of cars and tracks.
A new open world breathes life into this ancient franchise.
It is an entirely functional video game that (in most respects) looks, feels and plays like Payday 2, and given the right circumstances, can also be a bit of fun. But given how readily available it is on other platforms and the concessions made with this version, it doesn't highlight Payday 2's unique brand of shooting and looting the way other platforms have for years.
A surprising and satisfying action RPG with giant saggy butts.
It remains to be seen how Sea of Thieves will grow in the future–being a live game it almost certainly will change at some point–but it’s hard not to come away feeling disappointed. Because Sea of Thieves is really a likeable, charming game that I want to see become better. It’s just not there right now.
This compact action-RPG will charm you for days on end.