Includes PureXbox
Last reviewed: Forza Horizon 6 · 2 months ago
Resident ol'reliable. During the current generation of gaming, it feels like a good cluster of once-mainstay franchises have started to fall by the wayside. Either by declining in quality or simply due to a less-frequent launch schedule, many of the AAA franchises I grew up…
Starfield is Bethesda's best RPG to date, an enormous space odyssey that serves up some incredibly evocative and engaging exploration, satisfying combat, and a narrative that had us hooked right to the end. Yes there are issues here with the usual jank, and some very messy and fiddly menus and interactions, but all of these problems feel minor when compared to everything this game gets right. In a year that's been packed full of absolutely essential games, Starfield manages to sit right up top with some of the best of them. After all the hype and bluster, this is just a very, very good RPG and a game we'll be playing and replaying for a long time to come.
Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 builds on the original brilliantly. It takes everything its predecessor did right and does it again with more bells and whistles. There's new characters, levels and quests to explore and the sticker and levelling system have been tweaked to make acquiring the masses of new content feel achievable. The addition of single player quests and AI companions for Garden and Graveyard Ops make it a viable choice for when you just don't fancy playing with others or you want to power level a character you aren't too comfortable with playing in multiplayer. The current balance issues are an annoyance but the developers have already reassured users that this will be fixed soon; leaving little to criticise in this frantic, fun and family-friendly shooter.
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.
Fighting back against nature and surviving utterly dire circumstances makes The Flame in the Flood a gripping experience... for a while. It's the unambitious campaign, the repetitious rogue-lite structure, and a number of bugs and technical issues that get in the way and keep the game from reaching its full potential. But even though The Flame in the Flood is somewhat of a disappointment, that doesn't mean there's not enough tinder to sustain the flame for at least a weekend outing. You just have to decide whether or not you want to risk dealing with the pesky bugs hiding in the foundation.
While there are more complex and intriguing crime games out there and it isn't the longest game, The ABC Murders still offers good entertainment for the interested and serves as a decent port into the murder mystery puzzle genre. Some core mechanics need fine tuning, but the balance between the different game elements is generally good. The interrogation scenes as well as the deduction phases could be a bit more elaborate and slightly longer (because they are - hands down - the best bits of the game) but the overall flow of the game is pleasant.
Relatively very minor gripes aside, Rocket League is a genuinely new type of game that provides addictive, enjoyable, skill-based fun that doesn't prevent new players from joining the fray and which never threatens to become dull. Even folks who aren't necessarily excited by football, sports in general, or cars will find something to love here and for many, it'll become their new favourite pastime. This is absolutely superb and will keep you entertained for many, many hours.
Dying Light: The Following's nightmare difficulty setting and additional legend level system along with improved visuals and advanced AI make for a new experience for players of the original Dying Light. The Following content itself - whether bought separately or as part of the new Enhanced Edition - offers a very different but yet worthy test, with the open fields and buggy opening up a completely different set of rules to exploit and best the legions of undead.
D/Generation HD is a game that is a product of the early 90s. Story? Not much. Scenario? Ridiculous. However, what it does bring from that era is character and gameplay that all too often today are replaced by graphical flashiness. This is an unashamedly retro experience and even with the (gamebreaking) bugs we found, the urge to finish the game remains strong. To us, that stands in its favour. However, this isn't going to be for everyone, and there's no getting around the fact that if you're unlucky, you won't be able to finish the game. Add to this the relatively high price point of £19.99 and it turns into a product that we can't really, in good conscience, give a recommendation to. Fans of the original will enjoy it as a slice of nostalgia, but that's about it.
Short, simple and fun, Factotum 90 is a must-have addition to any puzzle game fan's collection. With a unique premise and an interesting plot, it only ever tries to be exactly what it is and offers enough of a challenge to be a satisfying experience. A refreshing addition to the ID@Xbox collection.
Painful progression and wonky UI make Albedo a much less enjoyable game than it could have been. If you feel like you are up for the challenge after hearing about our struggles and can get past the game's quirks, then good luck. We applaud you if you can manage to make it through without peeking at a guide.
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.
In conclusion, this another Traveller's Tales LEGO game, with all the baggage that entails. As an example of the breed, it's a very good one, but the age of the model is now starting to show and some sort of revolution (rather than a gradual evolution) must now be overdue. However, given the strength of the source material of these films, it makes a very decent fist of being a good game, as opposed to just being one of the better LEGO games.
Assassin's Creed Chronicles features a generally solid game engine, nice storyline, and is for all intents and purposes a decent proposition. However, it's constantly prevented from shining by some dire level design and so many instant deaths that if you counted them, would probably see you reaching triple digits by the time you complete the game for the first time. There's some enjoyment to be had here, but it's frequently punctuated by massive bouts of frustration. If you want to try the series, you should grab China, since it remains the best of the three.
Since The Living Dungeon is actually quite an interesting board game, the multiplayer side of things does a decent job at entertaining. The banter with your friends makes up for overly long wait times and the never ending brown of the environment. The missing online play is almost essential for a title like this though, since the main reason to play tabletop games on a console is not being able to wrangle eight other people to your house (or being too lazy to tidy up.) For the times your friends can't make it, the single player campaign offers a frustrating distraction. But the poor AI, unlikeable characters, and levels that take seemingly forever to complete due to unlucky dice rolls make The Living Dungeon only for those with active social lives.
Fortified is a tower defence/third person shooter which draws on the imagery and tropes of 1950s pulp fiction. The emphasis is on multiplayer but it can be enjoyed alone if you have the patience to get through some of the more severe difficulty spikes. The 50s theme is well implemented in many areas and the gameplay is challenging, while characters remain different enough to warrant multiple playthroughs. If you enjoy this genre, Fortified is worthy of your time and you should consider dropping it into your multiplayer gaming rotation.
G Prime Into The Rain has an interesting concept, but it's also one that has been done much better in other games. What made games like Blast Off successful was that they were simple to pick-up, but had enough depth to keep players hooked. Soma Games' title is the exact opposite as it's overly complicated and makes a terrible first impression. If you stick with it you might find some enjoyment, but one that still doesn't live up to its contemporaries.