The mentioned faults do knock NHL 17 down a little, but it would be harsh to do anything other than praise what is a very different and much improved game to last year. New modes, impressive tweaks to the AI to make things more competitive, and that stellar in-game presentation that does a darned good job of simulating the real thing mean that there's more than ever for the puck nuts to get their teeth into this time around.
While it isn’t without fault, Hatsune Miku's western PlayStation 4 debut is addictive, compelling, and plenty of fun.
There are plenty of improvements that will keep franchise fans happy and the playing time provided by Alex Hunter’s story is almost worth the asking price alone, but the visual evolution has come at a bit of a cost to FIFA’s gameplay.
The task of combining rhythm action and RPG gameplay styles is not one that many developers would have been able to pull off as well as Puuba have with The Metronomicon. As well as a stack of great jams and entertaining gameplay, there’s plenty of polish and enough depth here to keep you stepping back to the dance floor.
Those that haven’t played Jotun before are in for a real treat.
Some nice gameplay additions and a great look mean that you shouldn’t underestimate the refreshed addictive powers of Pac-Man.
Even though there are flaws in the multiplayer offering, the single player mode gives more than enough bang for your buck. Pixel-perfect control, fast action, and plenty of events to take part in mean that Mantis Burn Racing isn’t far away from arcade racing perfection.
Frustrating it may be, but this is the nature of hunting and Call of the Wild does a generally excellent job of replicating it. It should be noted that those without patience will absolutely hate the game, as there are no options to allow you to play it in anything other than full-on simulation mode. As such, you might play for an hour and bag a couple of kills, but you just as easily might spend an hour roaming around without even having the chance to get an animal in your sights. However, the general atmosphere provided makes those strike-outs easier to deal with because exploring and improving your tracking skills and knowledge are often reward enough. Indeed, theHunter: Call of the Wild is aimed at a specific target audience, and if you're in that group, you'll be playing this for far longer than you'd expect.
While the list of off-field changes is more than limited, PES 2018 improves upon the in-match action of last year's title enough to get by and remain at the top of the footballing table.
At first glance, F1 2017 may appear to be a minor update to an annual franchise, but the truth is that it's a real evolution for the genre.
New players will have to work to get up to speed, as much as the game tries to help them out, but hardcore puck nuts will find themselves going deep into overtime with this one. The almost overwhelming numbers of ways that the game can be played means that it's one that will definitely keep you going way past the finals.
Players who ran through the game on PlayStation 3 or elsewhere will be put off by the lack of meaningful upgrades, and that's entirely understandable. The problem is that nothing here really adds to what already existed. The saving grace is that things haven't gone the other way, either. Burnout Paradise holds up, and if nothing else, you can now experience one of the top arcade franchises in the business on your PlayStation 4.
[A failed attempt] will either steel you for the next attempt, or cause you to put the controller down in anger. If you're in the former group, the sheer wealth of options available to you, combined with the art style and the occasional laugh-out-loud moment, mean that The Escapists is definitely recommended.
But is it the best cricket game ever made? The way in which it simulates the battle between bowler and batsman as well as all of the other nice little touches it provides, means that it knocks the opposition for six.
It's this sort of cynicism that prevents Skylanders: Trap Team from getting close to a perfect score. No, you didn't misread that. The game itself is THAT good. Everything that the game does, it does with style.
There's no doubt that Metro Redux represents real value for money. Neither game is perfect and Metro 2033 does show signs of aging, despite the improvements, but that doesn't mean that it isn't an entirely playable game which serves as a sort of hors d'oeuvre to Last Light's main course.
Mega Coin Squad is a superbly entertaining title. Not everyone will be down with the speedrunning single-player style which sees you completing the admittedly short game multiple times with different characters, but there's fun to be had even for those that oppose the style the most. With multiple players, the game really shines and if you're looking for some fun and competitive action with your friends locally, this is right on the money.
As a package, The Banner Saga is addictive, attractive, compelling, enjoyable, and truly challenging on the higher difficulty level. Some will find fault with the price, given that the Xbox One version is £15.99 and the PC and iOS editions have been available for a third of that in their time, but we say that the price is fair for what you get here. It's been a long wait, but there's nothing like kicking back and overseeing your merry band of fantastically animated fighters trekking across a frozen wasteland on a big-screen TV, or hearing the roaring clank of metal on metal as you fire in a battle-winning series of attacks.
Powerstar Golf is a game that's unpolished in places, but also superbly fun and dangerously addictive at times. Mastering the game will take a fair amount of time, and there's no doubt in our minds that what you get is easily worth the asking price. Well worth a spin.
It may be passé to say, but FIFA 16 is a game of two halves. Off the field, not much has changed that you could really write home about. The stalwarts of career mode and Ultimate Team feel much the same as they did before with very minor changes. With the ball at your feet though, the tooth-and-nail fights to hold on to a 1-0 lead against superior opposition or to take advantage of an entirely organic mistake to equalise in the final knockings of a lower league cup match, along with the general feeling that you're taking part in a decent tactical battle are stellar. The things EA hasn't shouted about are the things that they've clearly worked the hardest on and while there are still flaws, this is the best on-pitch representation of the beautiful game since Konami's PlayStation 2 efforts.