Some of the off-track functionality in Forza Motorsport 6 is sometimes surprisingly lazily implemented but you'll tend to forget that when you're in a battle with the elements, trying to shave a tenth of a second off your laptime in your newly-tuned favourite racer, or simply gawking at the outstanding visuals. Time ebbs away when you're playing. "One more race" becomes "one more series" and then you just pop online to have a quick League race, then you just have to take on a rival's laptime real quick…and soon it's 5am and you realise exactly how much game you get for your buck. Warts and all, this is well worth the investment.
This War of Mine: The Little Ones is a fantastically atmospheric, emotional, and compelling game that constantly makes you doubt what you're doing, in a way that feels entirely natural as part of the experience. You have to weigh up every decision in order to keep your crew safe from harm and that coupled with the strong desire to play through just one more raid to see how things turn out, means that you're more than likely to get your money's worth here. Great stuff.
The Jackbox Party Pack 2 is a compilation of four great games and one that misses the target. There's easily more than enough laughs to be had here for the asking price. Some may feel a little bit short-changed by the inclusion of Quiplash XL if they've already paid money for it as a stand-alone product, but even they should find that there's more than enough entertainment here for their money. This is a well-made and entertaining collection that's sure to put a smile on the face of the most curmudgeonly party guest and become a staple amongst regular gaming buddies.
Action Henk is enjoyable and challenging, of that there is no doubt. It isn't going to win any awards for visuals – despite looking good enough to get the job done – and we'd like to have seen the comedy brand placement from the initial playroom area be used more in the levels themselves. With that said, neither of these things is going to interrupt your entertainment and the enjoyment and exquisite frustration that the game provides is more than enough for it to get our recommendation. Good stuff.
Unlocking the various story branches to trigger the different endings provides a sense of puzzling to proceedings that adds some welcome depth but while the trimmings have been given a new feel and the varied cast of characters provides some new attraction, Warriors All-Stars is unlikely to draw many new players in. That won't matter to those with any interest in the game though, as this is exactly what they will have been hoping for since the game was first announced. In short – and I'm sorry to use this, but it fits the bill – fans of the series will absolutely love it.
What we can be sure of though, is that Codemasters has at least put together a great foundation on which to build. They've promised that as well as that ranked mode, new content and features will roll out to players going forward and if they make the right steps, Onrush could end up being an absolutely huge deal. At launch though, it serves as a great taste of what could be, even if it could go with just a little bit more fuel in the tank.
The Sims 4 is a relatively solid console port that provides the tools for players to create pretty much any scenario of which they could think. It won't be for everyone, but those drawn to the idea will get hours upon hours of play for their money.
If you've played Dead Rising 3, you'll know what to expect from Dead Rising 4. There's blood, guts, gore, and fun to be found in spades, but it isn't a massive leap forward from its predecessor.
Even with some obvious issues, F1 2016 keeps you racing right up until the checkered flag.
Team 17 have done a good job of breathing a bit of new life into the franchise with Worms WMD and while it isn’t perfect, it’s a good way to reignite some old friendly rivalries with a pal or two.
WRC 6 is a great step forward for the franchise and can be good fun at times, though the faults it contains mean that it doesn’t really put in a serious challenge to DIRT Rally for the console rallying crown. Nonetheless, there's enough enjoyment on offer to make it a decent alternative for those who are looking for something a bit less hardcore.
Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition doesn't offer a great deal of new content, but new visual polish and the quality and fun of the original game means that the package holds up well.
The extra weight added by the RPG side of things and the dungeon-style challenges means that Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada has more to recommend the franchise than before. Whether it'll be enough to draw new players in, however, remains to be seen.
Everybody's Golf is a decent update for the series that retains the fantastic fun and gameplay found in earlier versions, but the hours of grinding required to unlock the full experience won't be for everyone.
Project CARS 2 is a rich and varied toybox for hardcore racing fans that have the patience to appreciate what it brings to the table. But the unpolished feel harms things greatly even for people in that camp.
The camera problems do threaten to take this off-road game into a ditch, but you'll likely come back and persevere with MudRunner far more generously and readily than you would expect. Providing a reason why driving at a glacial pace through the game's muddy tracks is so gloriously satisfying is as tricky as trying to explain why another episode of Ice Road Truckers always seems like a good idea. There's absolutely no doubt that it isn't perfect, and that more patient players will get more out of this than those with a shorter fuse, but it's impressive how such a relatively simple concept can provide so many hours of entertainment.
Even with the structure of the Olympic events being lacking, there's still more than enough content here to justify the asking price. The Become a Legend campaign will take a few hours to get through, then there are all the traditional Steep-styled challenges, Mountain Stories, and the like that take place in the new Japanese and South Korean mountains. There's certainly plenty to do in Road to the Olympics, and that's before you even consider the number of times you'll find yourself perched at the starting gates on the downhill course, getting ready to try to beat your best time just for yucks.
This doesn't mean that all is lost for lone adventurers, however. With a debt being owed to Castle Crashers and Adventure Time in terms of both humor and visual style, The Adventure Pals has enough going on to keep you interested during the slightly more repetitive sections of play. Had it packed more of a challenge – even if it was optional – The Adventure Pals would be running close to the front of the indie platforming pack. Though the final product doesn't quite get there, it's still plenty enjoyable, especially in co-op.
Jurassic World Evolution is – in many ways – the game that you make it. Fans of the franchise will jump for joy as they stumble across the classic original movie skins for the ranger jeeps while Dr. Ian Malcolm explains his theory on the meaning of life in a voiceover. They'll be so happy that a lot of the flaws can and will be overlooked by those people. For those who maybe only have a passing interest, there's still a solid and overly addictive game to be found, but they'll have to look past a fair few missed steps.
Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China is a fun and enjoyable game that does the franchise justice while taking it into another genre. There are some truly fantastic ideas here, some super-smooth parkour, brain-tingling puzzle challenges and occasional flashes of brilliance when it's time to get down and dirty in combat. Some ideas haven't been explored as thoroughly as we'd have liked, and there are a few rough spots, though. We're looking forward to the next installment.