Latest Reviews
Not Another Space Shooter
Space shooters have been around since time began. Well, at least since video games began, at least. There are plenty of them still on the market, flooding consoles, PC and mobile devices with their simplistic styles and gameplay ranging from the easy to the super challenging. Indie Developers INFramez Technology's Hyper...
We'll avoid the obvious tagline
Oxenfree is an unsettling game. The word "unsettling" can be used to imply many things though, so we can't just leave the review there. Nonetheless, that doesn't mean that we'll come up with a more fitting descriptor by the time we reach the conclusion. In order to bolster our attempt though, we'd best provide an...
Juno it makes sense
When Stoic first pitched the concept of The Banner Saga to potential Kickstarter backers in 2012, it was clear that they had potentially struck gold from the get-go. With a $100,000 target, the company managed to raise over seven times that much to bring their tactical RPG to life. Now, just a day or two over two years since the...
A worthy resurrection
It's hard to talk about Resident Evil 0 without mentioning the Resident Evil remake that graced gamers back in 2002 on Gamecube and again in last year's excellent HD port. It's entirely possible for some to dismiss RE 0 as the inferior game when weighing pros and cons. For instance, the new playable characters aren't as...
Legend of Zera
There is a trend of older games being ported to the Xbox One at the moment and it's offering Xbox gamers an opportunity to try titles they may have missed on the PC or Wii U. Unepic is the latest in line and is surprisingly deep, considering it was largely developed by one man in his spare time. It's a role-playing platformer with a...
Review Cubot - The Complexity of Simplicity
Simply complex...or something along those lines
Cubot - The Complexity of Simplicity is a game that makes a virtue of its simplicity. At its heart, it is very clearly a mobile game transplanted on to the Xbox One. It's fair to say it doesn't stretch the graphical abilities of the console but are the whistles and bells successfully replaced with old...
Review Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India
Rough before the smooth?
When the first of the Assassin's Creed Chronicles trilogy was released, there was genuine hope that it would evolve from the "decent-but-flawed" category and that by the third iteration, would have made it all the way up to the top deck. With (at least) two more games due, it was a safe assumption that the developer would...
Lovely, Not Friendly
It's always strange for a gamer to admit defeat. After all, many games are predicated on being the hero, and accomplishing a goal such as saving the world. Sometimes this just doesn't happen, though. There isn't always a happy ending, and in many cases there is no conclusion at all. Not due to a developer ending the game after...
To Boldly Go...
Starpoint Gemini 2 is a direct sequel to Starpoint Gemini, which was released for PC back in 2010, developed by Little Green Men Games. It's described as a "space trading and combat simulator" which takes place in the Gemini system, a large area of various interlinked regions. There are upwards of 70 individual ships to pilot, which...
Just the tip
Couch multiplayer has really been making an indie gaming comeback recently, with varying levels of success. The latest guest to the party is four-player space combat title Starwhal from Breakfall in which players control unicorn of the sea, the narwhal. In space. Obviously. From the off, Starwhal will put a smile on your face as it's...
Review Super Party Sports: Football
Off your head
Indie titles are coming across to the Xbox One thick and fast and while some publishers are trying to port any old mobile game to the platform, that approach isn't necessarily going to work as gamers are getting wary. Fortunately though, some titles work just as well on console as they do on mobile. Super Party Sports: Football is one...
Or: How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Post-Apocalypse
Let's make no bones about it, it's clear from the outset that with Fallout 4, Bethesda have created a wonderful thing. The preamble leading up to your entry into Vault-111 – complete with the much-ballyhooed character creation system - is nicely detailed and believable enough to draw...
A New Hope?
There's been an awakening. Have you felt it? From soup commercials to comic books, toys to movies, it's impossible to ignore the force that Star Wars has over the entertainment realm this holiday season. The hype even extends to the video game world, as the beloved Star Wars: Battlefront series is making a return after a 10-year snooze...
Review Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition
Certainly not definitive
Considering how much better PC versions of games generally were in the last generation, it's been nice to see so many titles make the jump from Xbox 360 to Xbox One. Games such as DmC: Devil May Cry: Definitive Edition have seen huge improvements both graphically and gameplay wise. For the most part, these enhanced versions...
Review The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Hearts of Stone
Itchin' for more witchin'
CD Projekt RED sure knows how to treat its fans. Not only was The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt a fantastic and deep RPG, but fans were rewarded with a consistent trickle of free DLC that ranged from new quests, outfits, and even a "New Game+" mode. Now, Hearts of Stone — the first paid expansion for The Witcher 3 — has released...
We can dance if we want to
Once upon a time, if one wanted to play a dancing game, it was a case of heading down to the arcade to show your expertise (or flail about hopelessly) on a Dance Dance Revolution machine in full view of the general public. Playing at home meant fastening a plastic dance mat to the floor with increasing quantities of...
Monsterous
We thought we'd take the "in-your-face" approach to reviewing Ghost Games' apparent "reboot" of the Need for Speed franchise, which we were disappointed to learn has very little to do with 1994's Road & Track Presents: The Need for Speed. We will not apologise for it because nothing can hold us back. We're edgy. We're cool. We're...
Far from the bottom line
Good games are usually more than the sum of their parts. You can have an average story and average gunplay going on, but still find that the game as a whole is fantastic fun because of the way it all comes together. On the other hand, you can have the best suite of options and the greatest game world ever, only to find that...
Review Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Back but not better than ever.
Having three different developers at the helm of video gaming's biggest franchise has been an interesting move by Activision, and one that has put Call of Duty in a bit of an identity crisis. Last year, fans were treated to the excellent Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. The first offering from Sledgehammer Games took an...
Not enough meat on its bones
Before setting off, let's get one thing clear: Fat City is not out there fat shaming anyone. It's a reference to the rich affluence of New Orleans' "Fat City" neighbourhood, as well as talking about all the fat wads of banknotes the game's main protagonist Chris Knox is banking as you play through this simple, yet at...
Review Rise of the Tomb Raider
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...
Partly party
Toto Temple Deluxe is yet another entry into the recently bulging "party game" segment of the Xbox One market. We all know the type of game that the description of the genre conjours up, with those titles generally being a bit limited in single player, but coming alive when like-minded friends pop round with some intoxicating liquor, or...
Striking the right chord
Had you asked us two years ago if we'd be reviewing a Guitar Hero game in 2015, the chances are that we would have laughed you out of the building. So, we were as surprised as anyone when Activision announced that they'd be reviving the franchise this year and attempting to bring it into the current generation. And...
Combat Evolved
343 Industries took a lot of risks with Halo 5: Guardians. Tampering with the fundamentals of a series as respected and beloved as Halo could be disastrous, but the Microsoft-created studio went ahead and did it anyway. Considering Halo 4 divided the fan base and caused many to worry that the franchise might be in the wrong hands, you...
Going viral
Plague Inc made a splash on mobile when it launched back in 2012 and millions of copies have been sold in the three years since release. With the strategy genre still under-represented on consoles, this pandemic simulator is a welcome addition to the Xbox One store, but the question is whether or not there have been enough improvements...
Revolutionary
You have to hand it to recently formed Norwegian developer 4Bit Games; getting your first title straight onto the Xbox One store is no small achievement, especially when your company had no prior games industry experience. Orbit is a retro-styled space brawler which combines the intensity of four-player multiplayer battles with the...
Review Wasteland 2: Director's Cut
Putting The Fun Back Into "Dysfunctional"?
First released on the PC back in September 2014, Wasteland 2: Director's Cut is a sequel to the 1988 title Wasteland, a game that has been credited with providing the inspiration for the Fallout series of games. So, it has quite a legacy to live up to, and some mighty big boots to fill! The question we hope...
Review Adventure Time: Finn and Jake Investigations
Adventure Crime
The first hour of Adventure Time: Finn and Jake Investigations is a bit rocky. If you've played a classic adventure game before, you should have an understanding of the agenda almost immediately: search the environments as thoroughly as possible by talking to NPCs, interacting with objects, and collecting items that could be useful...
The only bay in the pillage?
There seems to be an increase in low price titles from smaller studios in the Xbox store recently, offering a range of gaming experiences for budget-conscious gamers and giving independent developers an opportunity to break into the mainstream. Monkey Pirates is a naval combat title from the five man team over at...
Review The Escapists: The Walking Dead
Pixel Zombie
The Walking Dead is one of those franchises that seems to be everywhere. From television to every other type of merchandise, Robert Kirkman's comic series has become a global phenomenon and the video game industry has more than taken note, with mobile iterations and story-telling masters Telltale Games giving the zombie epic a highly...
