July2022
Review PowerWash Simulator - A Great Way To Chill Out With Xbox Game Pass
If you like simulators, that is
We all had a good laugh when Lawn Mowing Simulator was released and later added to Xbox Game Pass last year, but it ultimately proved a popular addition for many. Simulator games are clearly enjoying a resurgence at the moment, and the latest unlikely PC hit to join the Xbox lineup is PowerWash Simulator, which...
April2021
Review Outriders - People Can Fly's Looter Shooter Soars Into Action
Riders on the Storm
People Can Fly's Outriders does not, we think it's fair to say, get off to the grandest of starts. Kicking off with a prologue that showcases all of its weakest elements at once - the janky cutscenes, buggy facial animations and duff dialogue, it's an introduction to a brand new IP that had us pretty worried if we're being...
March2021
Review Balan Wonderworld - The Balan-dest Platformer On Xbox Series X
Everyone's mad here
When Balan Wonderworld was announced last year, it was a game that seemed completely up our alley. It checked all the boxes for what we look for in a platformer. Unique abilities, colourful worlds, and personality busting from its seams. With the talent involved and being lead by Yuji Naka, the creator of classic franchises such...
September2020
Review Marvel's Avengers - Undeniably Fun, But A Bit Rough Around The Edges
A solid start for the Avengers
Marvel's Avengers, much like the most recent cinematic interpretations of the MCU, is at once a spectacular, bloated, messy and undeniably fun experience. It nails the characterisations of its central superheroes, provides a surprisingly entertaining and lengthy campaign full of bombastic action and addictive combat,...
May2016
Review Hitman: Episode 2 - Sapienza (Xbox One)
Time to kill...
The second episode of the Hitman (Xbox One) content sees the titular assassin leaving the bright lights of Paris and heading to the idyllic Amalfi coast in Italy. The peaceful town of Sapienza hides a dark secret, as a troubled genius has set up home in a mansion in the town, and is busily creating a devastating bio weapon in the en...
April2016
Enter an (episodic) world of assassination
Back in the day, the Hitman series brought a complex mix of costumes, stealth and planning to the murky world of the gun-for-hire assassin. As the the titular Hitman - Agent 47 - you were given a target, a selection of weaponry and left to your own devices to make the hit a reality. We still fondly remember...
November2015
Review Rise of the Tomb Raider (Xbox One)
Rise again
It isn't really the job of a review to comment on the business decisions that led up to a game being released as a timed exclusive on a platform, so if you're hoping for us to praise or admonish Microsoft for throwing a bundle of cash Square Enix's way to bring Rise of the Tomb Raider to Xbox platforms first, you're going to be...
October2014
Review Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition (Xbox One)
Let sleeping dogs lie.
Square Enix are at it again with their "definitive" release of a previous generation title, this time bringing United Front’s open-world, third-person action title Sleeping Dogs to Xbox One with a new coat of polish. But are the visual improvements and included DLC enough to lure you in for another go, or is this purely for...
April2014
Review Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition (Xbox One)
There and back again
When Square Enix announced late last year that an updated version of the Tomb Raider reboot would be “re-built specifically for next-gen consoles,” we couldn’t help but scoff. For a game that we already called “adrenaline-filled” and “aesthetically superb,” — let alone only being on the market for 10 months —...
March2014
Review Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII (Xbox 360)
Strike three. And you're out!
Final Fantasy XIII had a pretty convoluted plot, and Final Fantasy XIII-2 didn’t help clarify it much. Final Fantasy XIII: Lightning Returns adds even more confusion to the narrative, so much so that it’s very difficult to enjoy the tale it’s trying to weave. However, if you can look past the ridiculous, and...
Can it steal the gold?
Since the release of Thief: The Dark Project in 1998, the Thief franchise has been known as the grandfather of the stealth genre. It's mastery of simple, yet elegant stealth mechanics, sound design and environments have been a benchmark ever since. Now Eidos Montreal have taken the development reins for the fourth installment...
March2013
She's back...
When it comes to the social and political issues that surround the dawn of a new era for the game that helped make gaming somewhat more acceptable than it previously was, we’re not expertly placed to comment. Therefore, we won’t. We are expertly placed to talk about the game as a game though, so let’s do that. Tomb Raider is not...
August2012
Review Mini Ninjas Adventures (Xbox 360)
Zero or Hiro?
There’s no doubt in our minds that 2009’s Mini Ninjas was one of the most underrated games of the generation. Cute characters, some great belly laughs, and solid action-adventure was the order of the day. Unfortunately, the game was pretty much overlooked. Disappointingly for fans, Mini Ninjas Adventures is a Kinect-only spin-off...