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Ken Barnes

Reviews59
Outlets2
Avg score61
Agreement

Reviews

59 reviews
Project CARS2015
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Pure Xbox
Ken Barnes·May 10, 2015
Critic60/100
Agreement

Project CARS is not for the faint of heart. It undoubtedly has the ability to grab players and take them on an outstanding tour of Simply Mad's racing world, and does look absolutely stunning at times. However, the game is ultimately frustrating with a controller and features more than its fair share of bugs. With a wheel, it's a more rewarding proposition.

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No vote recorded.
Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China2015
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Pure Xbox
Ken Barnes·Apr 20, 2015
Critic70/100
Agreement

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.

Read full review at Pure Xbox
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We Are Doomed2015
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Pure Xbox
Ken Barnes·Apr 16, 2015
Critic50/100
Agreement

We Are Doomed makes a good attempt at being a compelling and addictive twin-stick shooter, getting a lot of things right along the way. There are some problems with the basic design though and the very limited amount of modes on offer means that unless you're hooked by beating your own best scores or unlocking the limited (but tough to obtain) number of achievements, it'll be over way, way too soon.

Read full review at Pure Xbox
No vote recorded.
Ride2015
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Ken Barnes·Apr 11, 2015
Critic40/100
Agreement

There's the essence of a good game in here - make no mistake about it - but it really is very, very hard to see it with all the problems in the way. We'd like to think that the development team at Milestone is working on patches for the game, but whether that's the case or not with their next attempt – MotoGP 15 – being released in only two months, remains to be seen.

Read full review at Pure Xbox
No vote recorded.
Bladestorm: Nightmare2015
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Pure Xbox
Ken Barnes·Mar 22, 2015
Critic30/100
Agreement

It's a half-hearted attempt at bringing the series into the current generation, and is only barely recommended for the absolute die-hard fans of the original. This is a real shame and even if you can get past the bare-bones approach to remastering that Omega Force have taken, you probably won't get past all the bugs.

Read full review at Pure Xbox
No vote recorded.
White Night2015
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Pure Xbox
Ken Barnes·Mar 11, 2015
Critic50/100
Agreement

White Night is a great concept with a really nice art style. The atmosphere it provides is incredibly convincing and genuinely unsettling, right up until the time that the perceived threat becomes a reality and things take a nosedive. A tad more polish would have seen this become a real benchmark for the genre, but a number of missed steps mean that it will likely just fade into the darkness.

Read full review at Pure Xbox
No vote recorded.
ScreamRide2015
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Pure Xbox
Ken Barnes·Mar 2, 2015
Critic90/100
Agreement

ScreamRide is thrilling, addictive, fun, enjoyable, well-crafted, rewarding, challenging, and has the potential to go on to be a long and successful franchise. It isn't just about holding on to your hat as you fly down a vertical drop, building the biggest coaster you can, or trying to hold on to your lunch as you hit an inversion at 120mph. There's thought, the tools for a community to spring up around it, and lots of longevity here, and at really is only some very minor niggles that stops ScreamRide from picking up perfect marks.

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No vote recorded.
The Escapists2015
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Pure Xbox
Ken Barnes·Feb 12, 2015
Critic80/100
Agreement

[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.

Read full review at Pure Xbox
No vote recorded.
Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell2015
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Pure Xbox
Ken Barnes·Jan 27, 2015
Critic70/100
Agreement

Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell is a bargain for fans of Saints Row IV. There's less content included, but what is on offer here is good. We expected a slightly more mind-blowing jump to the current generation of consoles from the Saints after the relatively impressive showing that we saw on Xbox 360, but that isn't to say that the game isn't fun, compelling, and a real time-sink.

Read full review at Pure Xbox
No vote recorded.