John Cal McCormick

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John Cal McCormick·Dec 7, 2018

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Just Cause 4's traversal system can be wonderfully entertaining, and the chaotic, explosion-sim physics in play are frequently exhilarating, but they're manacled to a game that has absolutely no idea how best to use them. What's the point in giving players an array of tools that lets them cause wanton destruction on a gargantuan scale, and then designing a campaign full of drab, copy-pasted missions that barely require you to use them? It's a bit like getting the coolest BMX on the market for Christmas, but then your Mum tells you you're only allowed to ride it around the garden where she can keep an eye on you. Cheers, Mum.

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John Cal McCormick·Nov 19, 2018

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Each mission in Hitman 2 is a treasure trove of wonderful emergent gameplay, excellent satirical writing, and lashings of delicious, jet-black humour. The targets you'll hunt are almost universally rotters which thankfully takes care of any lingering moral quandaries you may have about their imminent demise. It's better that way. We really don't want to feel bad about tinkering with an old man's oxygen tank so it blows up and kills him when he sparks up a cigarette, do we?

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John Cal McCormick·Sep 10, 2018

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Valkyria Chronicles 4 has the unenviable task of reinvigorating a series that hasn't seen a mainline home console entry in over a decade, as well as washing away the bad taste left in players mouths after the dreadful Valkyria Revolution. That it succeeds so comfortably on both fronts is at once a surprise and a delight. The storyline is thoughtful and engrossing, the cast is varied and likeable, and the combat is challenging and rewarding throughout. This is the game Valkyria Chronicles fans have been waiting for, and one that newcomers to the series should be equally excited for.

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John Cal McCormick·Aug 28, 2018

Critic90/100

Agreement—

With stellar writing, challenging combat, a compelling central quest, and dozens of worthwhile side activities, Divinity: Original Sin II is one of the finest role-playing games available on PlayStation 4. There's the occasional small issue and some scant technical hiccups – particularly when playing online – but these are minor quibbles. This is a dense, engrossing adventure, packed to the hilt with stories worth hearing, conflicts you'll want to resolve, and secret treasures just begging to be discovered.

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John Cal McCormick·Jul 27, 2018

Critic90/100

Agreement—

The Banner Saga 3 is a fantastic tactical role-playing game that confidently concludes the overarching storyline of the series in a manner entirely befitting with what has come before. Little has changed on the combat front - although this game does perhaps feel a mite easier than first two Banner Saga titles - but it's the storytelling where the release truly excels. The stakes are high, and after two and a half games spent getting to know dozens of wildly different characters, watching their fates unfold during the superb finale can be both exhilarating and soul-destroying.

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John Cal McCormick·Jun 18, 2018

Critic50/100

Agreement—

The Lost Child isn't a game bereft of merit, and we're sure that there's a number of people who'll enjoy the visual novel slash first person dungeon crawler approach taken here. But it's certainly a game with limited appeal - even among the role playing game demographic - thanks to the lifeless battles and cumbrous dungeon design. It's a game that pays more than a passing nod to numerous other RPGs - Pokemon, Persona, and other Shin Megami Tensei titles - but sadly, never approaches the quality of any of them.

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John Cal McCormick·Jun 12, 2018

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Jurassic World Evolution sits happily in the difficulty sweet spot: it's easy enough to pick up and play that park builder novices will likely have a good time, but it's involved enough that genre veterans should enjoy it as an amusing diversion between more hardcore titles. While there's a couple of tedious processes involved, building a park is generally entertaining, and dinosaur fans – who isn't a dinosaur fan? – will likely be enamoured with the array of creatures available, and the mischief they can get up to.

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John Cal McCormick·May 29, 2018

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Yoku's Island Express is one of the most surprising games of 2018. The combination of pinball and Metroidvania is, on paper at least, a little like dipping your French fries into your milkshake; as good as the two elements are separately, they shouldn't really work together. But thanks to an array of smart design choices, a wonderful art style, and some genuinely inventive puzzles, Yoku's Island Express is a game that only rarely frustrates – and frequently delights.

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John Cal McCormick·Feb 26, 2018

Critic30/100

Agreement—

Past Cure is a bad game. It's bad bad. But it's also the best kind of bad game, in that it's not for a lack of effort or that the team were bereft of ideas that the finished product doesn't come together. If anything, the game is too ambitious, with too many ideas, and it inevitably crumbles under the weight of numerous poorly implemented gameplay styles and a total lack of a cohesive identity. It's a bit like when your mum tries making Baked Alaska for the first time – sure, the end result is a sloppy mess, but you've got to applaud the audacity to try it in the first place.

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John Cal McCormick·Feb 12, 2018

Critic50/100

Agreement—

Final Fantasy fans will likely be enamoured with the array of classic locales to battle in, re-imagined songs from previous games, and the impressive roster of fighters on offer here, but it's all downhill after that. Dissidia Final Fantasy NT is a disappointing fighting game that crumples under the weight of poor design choices and crippling technical issues, leaving little reason to recommend it to anyone other than fervent supporters of the brand.